Re: [lace]...and Arachne notes

[bevw]

That's a coincidence. I took an evening workshop in 'how to use the
internet' for work. We were to search for a subject of choice. I had been
struggling with bobbin lace, and typed in 'bobbin lace' in the search engine
(was it altavista?!) and there was Arachne. That was April 1996 when the
messages were about the first anniversary!
Another useless tidbit, the instructor had suggested we type in 'Indy 500'
because that was his interest, and I wondered why I would want to check out
the Indy when bobbin lace was 'my' interest...and (the factoid continues)
when I posted to the lace list about the divergent topics, someone wrote to
me that yes indeed there were lacemakers at the Indy races and they would
sit together with their lace pillows while the cars were warming up. Yeah,
right... but I went along with it, if lacemaking could be encouraged at the
Indy...so if anyone reading happens to combine car racing and lacemaking,
I'll be glad to hear of it :p

On Sun, Apr 20, 2008 at 9:52 PM, Alice Howell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:


> Three years later, May 1996, my husband set up a computer for me and made
> me sit down and 'type something' in the search.  I typed 'bobbin lace' and
> found Arachne -- just after its first anniversary.  There were 300 members
> at that time.  A year later someone suggested that Arachne needed to have a
> conference and t


-- 
Bev (near Sooke, BC on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of Canada)

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] Lurkers

[Elizabeth Ligeti]

To Nancy Nicholson,  Dundee--

Please don't go back into hiding!   If we were all lurkers there would be no
list to read, - would there?!!

We were all beginners at one stage, but that is no reason to only read, and
not participate.  Even asking a question will start a new thread, and be of
interest to others.

Remember - No question is dumb or silly.  We are all here to help each other,
and if you are having a problem with any lacemaking, - well, ask the List -
there will always be someone who has tried that pattern, and can help you!

We all love helping each other, especially people new to lacemaking, and
seeing them progress through the months and years gives us great pleasure.  A
lady on this list (and she will know who she is!) lives in a more remote area
of Australia, and with some help from the Aussie chat list, is now, after
about 2 years, a most prolific lacemaker, who does beautiful lace, and designs
her own, etc. She also turns bobbins, and does so many other things, that I
feel exhausted just reading about her activities  :))

Watching her early efforts, and how her lacemaking has "bloomed" has given us
so much pleasure, so please, new-comers, share your struggles (and I know how
hard it can be at the beginning) with us, and let us help you where we can.
However, if you don't chat on the list, - we don't know who or where you are,
and what help you need.

Regards from Liz in Melbourne, Oz.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

--
I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users.
It has removed 151 spam emails to date.
Paying users do not have this message in their emails.
Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] Before BL, and Arachne notes

[Alice Howell]

A variety of needle skills came before I met up with bobbin lace.  I learned 
embroidery and crochet before age 10, and continued with knitting, crewel, 
needlepoint, counted cross stitch, and various freemotion machine skills.  I 
was about age 50 when I saw a lady making BL at a festival.  Then I saw a 
listing for a class at our local fabric store and that started the whole 
adventure in 1993.  

Three years later, May 1996, my husband set up a computer for me and made me 
sit down and 'type something' in the search.  I typed 'bobbin lace' and found 
Arachne -- just after its first anniversary.  There were 300 members at that 
time.  A year later someone suggested that Arachne needed to have a conference 
and the kind members in Nottingham, England, volunteered if we would come to 
Nottingham University.  Thus Arachne was the reason I ventured across the pond 
the first time.  It was a lovely week.  (This year lacemaking takes me again to 
Europe... to the OIDFA Congress.)

Arachne also opened my eyes to the wide variety of laces in the world, and the 
many different ways some stitches can be done.  It has brought me many new 
friends whom I would otherwise never known.  I thank Liz for her generousity in 
starting and maintaining this group even though she no longer has time to 
participate regularly.

Alice in Oregon -- where we had sunshine, rain and hail today

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] Hello again

[Elizabeth Ligeti]

I can vouch for Annette's Honiton Veil - it is absolutely exquisite.

I have been watching it's growth for the last 20 years - little sprig by
little sprig, and now to see it completed is great. It is a credit to
Annette's patience, and masterful skills, too, and although many years ago,
she told me she doubted if her daughter would ever wear it, as she was not
into that sort of thing, I am So glad that she has changed over the years, and
was happy to wear this superb veil with pride.

Annette brought the veil to the Lace Day following the wedding, so we could
all admire it. (and that is the biggest Understatement of the Year!!  Admire
is not the word - Gasps of amazement and awe is nearer it!)

Regards from Liz in Melbourne, Oz
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

--
I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users.
It has removed 151 spam emails to date.
Paying users do not have this message in their emails.
Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Re: [lace] Happy Birthday to us

[bevw]

So that makes this April 12 the 13th anniversary of lace-at-arachne-dot-com.

How appropriate, from the 'anniversary gift list' we can choose from Honey,
*lace*, hollyhock, and citrine as presents to ourselves!

-- 
Bev (near Sooke, BC on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of Canada)

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Re: [lace] Re: Lurkers and questions

[bevw]

Yes, totally!

On Sun, Apr 20, 2008 at 7:07 PM, Tamara P Duvall <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>
>  same question as asked 3 years ago, may elicit different answers today --
> profiting *all of us*.
>
>
Only the unasked question is the dumb uestion.
For instance, something as seemingly obscure as 'how do you hold the bobbin
when you wind it...?' is not at all a useless question.
I recall 'way back someone did ask that - and the replies were thoughtful
helpful.
Having said it, it is up for grabs again, too ;)

-- 
Bev (near Sooke, BC on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of Canada)

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] Re: An Old Newbie Lurker comes out of the woodwork!

[Tamara P Duvall]

On Apr 20, 2008, at 16:35, Ruth Airey wrote:

PS I am hoping there is a good photo of the veil and wondered whether 
there is

somewhere I can put it online for people to see?


There is.

http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003-date

is a site where Arachne members who don't have their own websites (and 
some who do) show their work and, sometimes, post problems that the 
rest of us can look at. But I hope that someone else will advise you 
how to upload photos to that website; I'm totally 'puter-illiterate, 
and happy to remain that way :) If no-one answers you privately, write 
to the moderator (Avital), whose e-address is at the end of every 
message posted on Arachne.


Glad to hear that your health has improved enough to rejoin us and 
that, with children out of the house you now have more time to resume 
lacemaking. But, what a *bang* of a re-introduction, with a butterfly 
field to fill in a 4-weeks' time! Children... :)


--
Tamara P Duvallhttp://t-n-lace.net/
Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland)

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Re: Fwd: [lace] Happy Birthday to us

[[EMAIL PROTECTED]]

Congratulations to you Liz, for starting the whole thing
And happy birthday Arachneians, one and all!
Nancy
Connecticut, U.S.A.

_
Click for information on obtaining a VA loan.
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2111/fc/Ioyw6iifTKRTbPiUM5w2APnHuvMuoP7Na
83zj5i41dY2hKgZWQSXgz/

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Fwd: [lace] Happy Birthday to us

[Tamara P Duvall]

There had been no big anniversary ho-ha this year. But, with the recent 
thread (started by Nancy-the-lurker), I thought this post was worth 
re-posting.


Begin forwarded message:


From: "Liz S. Reynolds" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: April 12, 2000 14:08:14 EDT
To: lace@arachne.com
Subject: [lace] Happy Birthday to us
Reply-To: "Liz S. Reynolds" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>


For the record, today is the 5th birthday of the original lace list.
Between lace and lace-chat and the digests, we have 1120 members.
Who'd have thought there were that many lacemakers on the net? I 
certainly

wouldn't have guessed it back in 1995!

Congratulations to all of us for bringing the old Renaissance art so
successfully into the Information age.

-Liz
-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED]



--
Tamara P Duvallhttp://t-n-lace.net/
Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland)

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] Re: Lurkers

[Tamara P Duvall]

On Apr 20, 2008, at 8:33, Nancy Nicholson wrote:

I am a novice at lace making and find it quite hard going at times.  I 
do have
a tutor but it is only every couple of weeks at present which makes it 
a long

time when you need advice.


That's where Arachne comes in handy -- for those in-between times. You 
still get some delay in response but 24-48 hours is a lot shorter than 
2 weeks :)
I am going through a book at the moment on my own and have become 
unstuck again!!


As more and more people have all the tech-toys at their fingertips, you 
can ask more specific questions and, the responses you'll get 
(privately, in addition to the verbal ones here), things like scans of 
diagrams of a particular problem, or photos of similar laces to compare 
-- are likely to be as good as a lesson with a tutor.


Books are a great way to learn; I had been making lace for 4 years, 
just from books, before I ever saw lace being made by others (at my 
first workshop). Books force you to answer questions for yourself, and 
those are the answers which you're likely to remember much longer than 
those which had been "handed" to you by a teacher or a fellow 
lacemaker. OTOH, answering all questions by yourself can result in 
re-inventing a lot of wheels (I'm a queen of those re-invented wheels 
), which, in a long run, is a waste of good lacemaking time.



Reading your emails on how knowledgeable you all are is a little off
putting in contributing so this may be the last you will hear from me 
in a

while!


Please, continue to post now, that you've taken the first step and 
de-lurked! Today, you'll ask; tomorrow, you'll answer :)


*All of us* had more questions than answers to begin with, even those 
who sound like "know it all" now (I joined Arachne in June of '95; two 
months after the list started). And all of us still run into a problem 
or two once in a while, which we need help with. One of the most 
fascinating things about BL is that there seems to be no end to 
discovery; you're *always* running into new puzzles and learning new 
tricks.


As Arachne membership has grown (when I joined, there were 50 of us; I 
think the number is in thousands now), so has the cumulative "pool of 
knowledge". The same question as asked 3 years ago, may elicit 
different answers today -- profiting *all of us*.


--
Tamara P Duvallhttp://t-n-lace.net/
Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland)

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Re: [lace] Lady Penelope

[Patty Dowden]

Noelene, you can't be serious!  I count it a red letter day when we 
are graced with one of your poems.  I have also reached the age where 
I meet new friendly people every day (no matter how long I have known 
them!  Your lovely rhymes are a delight.


Patty 


-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] RE: ethafoam pillows, and wecome to the lurkers

[robinlace]

 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: 
I also have the One and Only  some additional weight would be very helpful, 
because this pillow doesn't like to stay put!!  Even tensioning the threads 
causes it to shift around.  So you should consider which issue is more 
important when you decide whether or not to use a heavier material (ie., 
plywood) on the bottom.-


I don't have that problem because I work on a pillow stand that has two small 
posts to keep the pillow from pulling toward me off the stand.  Most of what 
I've done on that pillow was Rosalibre, which uses coarse thread and lots of 
tugging and tensioning.  

A number of pillow stands have a stop of some sort at the front (the side 
facing the worker).  Many tables used by lacemakers also have a stop, as they 
are often designed to tilt (writing desks, computer tables, etc.).

I'd also like to welcome the lurkers that are speaking up.  Please don't 
withdraw again!  Even if you don't have an answer to a question, it doesn't 
mean you don't have opinions of value (did you try that?  then tell us how it 
worked for you!), or questions that others also have but were afraid to ask, or 
ideas that could be useful to the rest of us.  Honest, we old-timers (I've been 
on Arachne since a few months after it started, and been making lace for about 
20 years) don't bite hard at al!Most of us know only too well how much 
there still is for us to learn.  

And do tell us whereabouts (in general terms) you live.  You might be surprised 
to find out there's a guild and/or a few Arachneans right around the corner!  

Robin P.
Los Angeles, California, USA

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

RE: [lace] Lurkers

[Noelene Lafferty]

Like Clay, I too found Arachne when I first started making bobbin lace some
10 years ago, and I was all alone in a small country town, and ill enough to
devote my time to teaching myself from books.

Arachne was a godsend, with so much useful information pouring in whenever I
asked a question.There seems to me to be too few beginners on Arachne
lately, asking beginner's questions.   I still find that whenever even the
simplest of questions is asked (like the recent one on covering foam for
pillows), the information that surfaces always contains new ideas.

So please, Nancy, if you've come "unstuck", let us know what the problem is,
and see if we can help.

Noelene in Cooma, Australia
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Arachne's unofficial poetry muse
Just for good measure, and for any new members:

Some people knit wool into blankets
Some crochet with treble and chain.
Some people cut lovely new fabric
Just to sew it together again.
But me, I like to use bobbins,
I weave patterns in thread without fear.
And if someone should say it's so useless,
"So are peacocks and rainbows, my dear"

[EMAIL PROTECTED]

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] Replica Christening Gown Again

[lace1]

Thanks to those who replied about my query re the new replica christening gown 
being used by the British royal family.  As I suspected, there seems to be no 
evidence of handmade lace on it.  I did think that we would have heard about it 
before now if any lacemaker had been commissioned to produce work for it.  I do 
think it is a great shame though and sadly indicative of the current situation. 
 I won't be pursuing any further enquiries but don't let that stop you all :-)

Helen in Vancouver, BC on the west coast of mainland Canada where we seem to be 
having a repeat of yesterday's weather.

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Re: [lace] ethafoam pool noodle

[Alice Howell]

I wanted to comment on the use of the pool noodle.  It works for a one-time or 
short term project.  It does not hold up over a long time.

I bought a travel pillow with a small roller.  After making about 4 yards of 
narrow edging on it, the pins didn't hold very well.  I discovered a valley 
under my pattern.  Just that limited use of the central one inch had 
disintegrated the foam.  When I took the roller apart to see what was in it, I 
discovered the pool noodle.  It was replaced with strips of woolen fabric 
wrapped around the central dowel, then the fancy cover was put back on it.  
It's been holding up very well now, over the time of several different projects.

Alice in Oregon -- snow yesterday, sun today but still cold.

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

RE: [lace] Re: Le Pompe 1559

[Sue]

Thank you one and all for information regarding Le Pompe, think I will
hang on to it for a while.

Sue M Harvey
Norfolk UK

No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG. 
Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.2/1386 - Release Date:
18/04/2008 17:24
 

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] Beds Bookmark in Color

[Patty Dowden]

Is the pattern for the Beds Book Mark available anywhere?  That is 
something I would like to try, I love the way you added color (or is 
the pattern designed that way?).


Lorri
Here's a link to Arachne Webshots for a picture:
http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2352827590048870129abqGRX

+++
Here's the story:

The pattern is 'August' designed by Carol Andrews on page 102 of 
Barbara Underwood's "A Bedfordshire Lace Collection".  Since it was a 
summery theme, I chose a bright yellow cotton to work it in.  At the 
time, Cathy Belleville was running a lace class for the Lace Museum 
in Sunnyvale, and she said something close to the following "But the 
barley needs to be gold, doesn't it ?!"   (Leading me down the garden 
path, she was)


So, in the end, the yellow is cotton and all the other colors are 
silks.  Since Beds is a lace where you can add and throw out at will, 
changing the colors worked rather nicely.  The leaf tallies are 
hiding all kinds of mayhem.  What I personally like best are the 
sunflowers, they seem so alive!


If you wish to perpetrate this yourself, I can give you some hints, 
but since the threads were talking to me, I can't give you a blow by blow.


One hint, I do remember.  When you knot silk, dampen it with a drop 
of water, otherwise the knot will just slither out of its constraints.


Good luck!

Patty 


-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] An Old Newbie Lurker comes out of the woodwork!

[Ruth Airey]

Hi
I re subscribed to Arachne after a long break during which my health has
deteriorated sadly. The reason for my return is that now our then teenagers
are grown and no longer living at home we have managed to gain a craft room
in which my lace no longer has to compete for space and can be left as and
when I like.
As soon as the room was finished in March my daughter announced her wedding
was to be on April 19th and requested an extra long wedding veil with
butterflies all over it. I dropped everything to do with housework and study
(I am also studying for my degree) and set to making butterflies in lace. I
managed 10 in between March 20th and April 19th. Not bad going I thought. I
worked from morning until night most days with very few breaks to achieve
this and after such a long break from lace making I am extremely pleased
with the result.
I used any butterfly patterns I could find in my collection and found the
only bit I didn't enjoy was winding the bobbins!!!
 So in a way this email is by way of reintroduction and a celebration as the
wedding was yesterday and went fantastically well considering the lack of
prep time.
I was reading arachne and chat too which encouraged me to keep going and I
have been looking forward to saying hi to old friends. Jean and Tamara are
two names I recognise but there are a lot of new friends I am looking
forward to meeting too. Anyhow I realise this is the lace list and not chat
so as not to be off topic I will keep this short and look forward to future
correspondence.
Happy lacing
Ruth Airey
(Ongar Essex UK)
PS I am hoping there is a good photo of the veil and wondered whether there is
somewhere I can put it online for people to see?

[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/jpeg which had a name of 
faint_grain.jpg]

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Re: [lace] what did you do before bobbin lace

[Clare Settle]

Although no one in my family was particularly interested in crafts, I was
often taking art classes as a child.  I learned how to sew in junior high
school, and got taken up by that for a while.  When I was 14, I met someone
who crocheted, and asked to learn.  From there, I initially made afghans,
and then got into crocheting fine doilies.  Later I learned to knit, and did
sweaters and the occasional afghan.  But it was t o o  s l o w.  I dabbled
in embroidery, bead embroidery and Hardanger.  And a bit of punchneedle.
And did some more sewing (made some suits, made the blouse for my wedding
"dress" (the skirt was an antique Victorian petticoat with hand-worked
eyelet around the bottom).  Oh, and I did some photography.
 
Then I found weaving!  Whee!  So much faster.  And I got sucked into
learning more about weave structures and color.  Tried spinning and tatting.
Then I had back surgery.  Knew I wasn't going to be able to weave for a
while, and had seen someone making bobbinlace at the local weavers' guild,
and knowing it was also weaving, merrily ordered a pillow, some bobbins,
some thread and the "Torchon Lace Workbook" by Bridget Cook.  Darn cool
stuff, and I met a group of lacemakers.  Even more fun!  
 
Since then, I dove headlong into complex weave structures and complex bobbin
laces.  I have dabbled in beadweaving, beaded jewelry, jewelry metalworking,
knitting lace, knitting socks, machine knitting, more photography, Rozashi
embroidery, cross stitch, more punchneedle, Kumihimo, and heaven only knows
what else.  Right now, I'm doing some beadwork and crocheting in fine
silver.
 
If I could ever focus on one thing, I'd probably get really good at it.  But
I keep on finding interesting things to try.  Of course, that often means
trying new laces, too.  Who can resist?
 
Now all I have to do is retire from my paying job (I don't care for getting
older, except for heading towards that goal!), and I'll have time to do all
of these fascinating things!  Nah, probably not even then.  But I will be
having fun!
 
Clare
Milford, CT

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] new museum in Calais

[nicky.hoewener-townsend]

Hi spiders
I discovered last year when stopping off in Calais that there was to be a
new purpose built museum to be called Cite Internationale de la Dentelle et
de la mode-Calais, dedicated to lace being built in the town. It is to chart
the history of the lace makers of Calais, machine lace workers many of whom
originally came from the Nottingham area. I was then told that it was due to
open March of this year, so when my DH and I stopped off a couple of weeks
ago I decided to check out progress.

At the tourist info office I was told it was now due to open in November
this year, and there was an exhibition about the project at the Musee des
Beaux Arts. We went along to visit, it is just across the small park form
the Tourist info office, and have a look. I was able to pick up an 8 page A3
size pamphlet in French and English which gives a lot of detail about the
project. We then decided to try and find the actual site of this new museum,
not too difficult. It will be a huge complex some 2,500m sq of exhibition
space, alongside the quayside in what was once the machine lace making area
of Calais. They are renovating the former Boulart factory and extending it.
Some 500m sq will be available for temporary exhibitions. It also seems that
there has been some liason between Calais and Nottingham and a group from
Calais visited the exhibition "The Lacemaker's Story" at Charnwood Museum,
Loughborough last year.


From what we saw, I have to say I'm a little sceptical about whether it will

open in November or not. They were still tiling the roof, and of course I
couldn't see inside, but it seemed that there is a heck of a lot of work
still to do. Anyway, whenever it does open, it will be a fabulous place to
visit with all kinds of wonderful things going on.

Next door, well just round the corner I discovered Noyon - Boutique Dentelle
on rue de Vic, absolutely masses of machine lace of all colours and widths,
and some lovely sheer ribbons and some quirky lace items, a bit of an
aladdin's cave. Great fun.

Nicky in Suffolk

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Re: [lace] Pillow help needed

[bevw]

I do not like to push the big divider pins into my ethafoam pillows either.
(it seems barbaric!)
The corsage pins are ok.

I only use the big divider pins on the pillows stuffed firmly with wool or
straw.

Jenny, your directions and advice are brilliant, as always. Thank you for
sharing them.

On Sun, Apr 20, 2008 at 4:14 AM, Jenny De Angelis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>
> One thing I never use on my block pillows are the usual divider pins as
> they are quite thick and make a large hole in the pillow.  I buy some long
> glass headed pins which tend to be pretty fine and use those as dividers
> instead. Some haberdashers sell pins that are long and fine with pearly tops
> to them, here they sell them individually but they come on a card.
>

-- 
Bev (near Sooke, BC on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of Canada)

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] Lurkers

[Jean Nathan]

Nancy don't disappear again.

Not all of us are that knowledgeable. I think most of us with experience 
know a lot about one type of lace, a bit about others, and nothing at all 
about the rest. So we all need help from time to time - I know I do.


I've been making lace for over 10 years. I'm fine with Torchon, Bruges and 
free lace, OK with Bedfordshire, hate Milanese because of all the sewings, 
can't do Honiton because it's too fine and I break the threads, and I'm only 
just starting out with Bucks point - and boy! am I making a mess of some of 
that!


We only know what we do by asking. We've all been beginners and probably all 
know the mistakes you're making because we've made them (and still sometimes 
do).


Jean in Poole, Dorset, UK 


-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Re: [lace] lace Before Bobbinlace

[bevw]

Definitely, "you can say that again!"

On Sun, Apr 20, 2008 at 2:57 AM, Daphne Martin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>
> Its funny how Bobbinlace takes over your life is`nt it???
>


-- 
Bev (near Sooke, BC on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of Canada)

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Re: [lace] Pillow help needed - polystyrene...ethafoam

[bevw]

In self-defense: The correspondent needed a source for the blocks, and SMP
is a lace supplier of some - yes the SMP blocks are polystyrene, but they
are ready to go, as it were. And the shipping to Malta from the UK might not
be too costly (just doing some second-guessing).
Dow has its product everywhere LOL. The ethafoam I use for lace pillows is
blue (I have some white, from computer packing, some pink, from sound system
packing); there is a new black product for flotation that the plastics guy
showed me, for it being of higher density. It has a 'skin' on it, for its
industrial purposes. I didn't think it was suitable for lace-block-pillow
making.

You are right, the product varies throughout the world.

'closed-cell foam' is the generic term for ethafoam. It is the closed-cell
property that makes it ideal for lacemaking, where the self-plastic heals
from pinning. But, Dow doesn't cater to lacemakers, that I know of ~ so we
use what we can.

The cheap pool noodle product is the least stable (for pinning into) of the
ethafoams; for a while there was a jumbo noodle, in purple, that was quite
good.

On Sun, Apr 20, 2008 at 12:48 AM, Jean Nathan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:

> Bev wrote:
>
> "SMP lace in the UK sell block pillows and extra blocks. For info, the
> website is www.smplace.co.uk"
>
> I think we've had this discussion before. SMP pillows are made from
> polystyrene (the while stuff), not ethafoam.



-- 
Bev (near Sooke, BC on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of Canada)

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] Wire for Tatting

[Patty Dowden]

Hi Patty,
Might I ask you what wire you use to tat?
Thanks,
Nancy

=
I have used several different weights to Tat, but the most successful 
was 2 plies of AWG 40-something nickel wire for winding electric motors.


Here's a link to Arachne Webshots for a picture: 
http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2352827590048870129abqGRX


Patty

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] Re Lurkers

[ann.humphreys]

Nancy please don't go back into lurkdom. You can learn so much from this 
group. Don't be afraid to ask anything at all as someone will give you the 
answer. I shall look forward to hearing all about your progress in 
lacemaking.


Ann
Yorkshire UK 


-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

RE: [lace] silk thread - Malta

[Karen]

Bev - I believe that the 'custard' colour you describe so aptly comes from
ageing of the piece. I suspect that years of exposure to light give it that
colour. Well, I guess this is something else I have to enquire about.
Karen in Malta

-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of
bevw
Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2008 2:56 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; lace@arachne.com
Subject: Re: [lace] silk thread - Malta

I do not know where the thread came from for the Maltese lace... but mulling
it over - I have a piece of Beds Maltese, and a silk machine-lace tablecloth
from England, maybe from the 1920's - the handmade lace is of much finer
thread, but both are shiny, slippery, and that particular 'custard' colour.
Perhaps the silk for both came from the same source. Silk thread was
produced in England,  could have come from France (similar to Aur Ver a
Soie?)? - or the Orient?

Apart from that, another resource to mend the Maltese lace would be a
same-vintage silk textile that could be unravelled of a length of the
thread.

On Sat, Apr 19, 2008 at 4:41 PM, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> I don't claim any expertise in Maltese lace, or silk threads either.
>
> But recently, I used Au Ver a Soie to make a small piece, and it was
> delightful to work with.  My hunch is that this silk is not glossy enough
> for Maltese.  The weight of the thread is probably right, and  the color
is
> the wonderful natural (unprocessed) silk color.
>
> So, for anyone knowledgeable about the silk once used for Maltese, could
> you please tell us how Au Ver a Soie  measures up for this?
>
>

-- 
Bev (near Sooke, BC on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of Canada)

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] Re: Le Pompe 1559

[Ruth Bean]

As Tamara says there has been only one edition and one impression (1983) of 
Le Pompe 1559. This sold for £9 and  the ISBN was 0 903585 16 2 (current 
13-digit equivalent  is 978 0 903585 16 3 - with different check digit).

We still have a few copies available which were put aside with minor 
imperfections like marks on the covers, yet
on Amazon UK today two used copies were being offered at £88 and £134 
respectively (+ shipping), which may be why the vendor (in Sue's case) 
selected a 'competitive' £49.99!

Unfortunately internet book prices can be very misleading for the unwary. We 
often see our books offered on the internet at many times their list price, 
even when still in print and available from us. For example today Amazon UK 
showed used copies of two of Barbara Underwood's Traditional Beds Lace books 
at over 5½ times list price, alongside Amazon's new copies at near list 
price!

 Nigel Bean


| On Apr 16, 2008, at 5:15, Sue (Harvey) wrote:
|
| > I was just about to put some books on ebay including Le Pompe 1559 when
| > I noticed another offer of the same title they were asking a starting
| > bid of £49.99 the reason stated was it was 1983 first edition with ISBN
| > 0 903585 16 2 - mine is identical but I was always under the impression
| > that the last number (i.e. 2) meant the edition, so can anyone tell me
| > if I am correct in my assumption that someone is on the make? or have I
| > got a book more valuable than I thought.
|
| Ruth Bean -- the publisher of the book -- is (or used to be) on this
| list and will correct me if I'm wrong, but it has always been my
| understanding that there had ever been only one edition (and a single
| imprint) of this one. My copy has the same date and ISBN as yours and
| cost U$ 19.95+ shipping, 18yrs ago. Which already included the vendor's
| shipping and profit, since I bought it in US. By today's exchange
| rates, $19.95 translates to £9.99... How are the mighty fallen! .
| - -- 
| Tamara P Duvall

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] Lurkers

[Nancy Nicholson]

I have been avidly reading all your emails for a long time now and 'lurking'
all the while.  I noticed someone this morning asked that lurkers should
contribute so I would like to call all of us 'lurkers' just to tell people
what you are doing just now.

I am a novice at lace making and find it quite hard going at times.  I do have
a tutor but it is only every couple of weeks at present which makes it a long
time when you need advice.  I am going through a book at the moment on my own
and have become unstuck again!!

I have so far made a lovely heart and a torchon bookmark and lots of practice
pieces.  Reading your emails on how knowledgeable you all are is a little off
putting in contributing so this may be the last you will hear from me in a
while!


Nancy Nicholson
Dundee
Scotland

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] RE: ethafoam pillows, was Pillow help needed

[clayblackwell]

I also have the One and Only.  The first one I bought had been covered by Lacy 
Susan, and I use it a lot.  The second one, I bought as a kit and used a 
serrated knife to lop off a bit at the top so that the pillow would fit in my 
checked luggage.  Then, I covered it as "usual", although I sewed my cover on 
each block rather than pin.  I didn't add any weight to this pillow, wanting to 
keep it as light as possible for travel purposes.  But...  some additional 
weight would be very helpful, because this pillow doesn't like to stay put!!  
Even tensioning the threads causes it to shift around.  So you should consider 
which issue is more important when you decide whether or not to use a heavier 
material (ie., plywood) on the bottom.

Clay

--
Clay Blackwell 
Lynchburg, VA USA 


-- Original message -- 
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 

> >>>Ruth - can you tell me where you bought the ethafoam from and if they sell 
> overseas by mail order. I have been unsuccessfully trying to purchase 
> ethafoam in Malta but few, if any, know about it yet and it doesn't seem 
> to<<< 
> 
> 
> There's a mail-order lace supplier in the US called Snowgoose. They have a 
> website, but I don't know the URL--I'm sure you can google it. They sell the 
> "Everything Pillow", which is a kit. It comes with an Ethafoam circle (the 
> outer rim nicely rounded) with a rectangle cut out of the center, cardboard 
> to 
> glue to the bottom of the circle, foam-core pieces to line the center hole 
> (so 
> it's very smooth), and Ethafoam blocks--I think it's 3 squares plus 4 narrow 
> rectangles, and a cylinder. The hole in the center takes two squares, or one 
> square and two rectangles, or 4 rectangles, or the cylinder plus whichever 
> square/rectangle combination will fill the hole. The cylinder makes it 
> useable 
> as a roller pillow and the squares/rectangles for a block pillow. You have to 
> cover it yourself, and glue the foamcore and cardboard in place, but it's 
> really 
> cheap by US pillow standards--around USD-30 (may have gone up since I got 
> mine). 
> I'm very happy with mine, and I know a lot of othe 
> r happy customers, too. 
> 
> I covered my blocks by a combination of methods. I wrapped the fabric around 
> and sewed the long part shut. I put that seam at a corner/edge, not in the 
> middle of any face of the block. Then I folded the flaps on the ends and 
> pinned 
> those. I glued the fabric around the outside of the cylinder, but used ribbon 
> and pins around the base (over the fabric) and around the box. 
> 
> Robin P. 
> Los Angeles, California, USA 
> 
> - 
> To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: 
> unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to 
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Re: [lace] what did you do before bobbin lace

[Ilske Thomsen]

I did crochet, lots of knitting, every sort of embroidery working with  
paper, wood and other materials. Photographing started with a very  
simple camera a Box today I do it with a dig.camera. A long time  
pottery was my favorite and I would like to do so still today but than  
came lacemaking, no the oven looks at me with sad eyes.

There was a time I made all my dreses, skirts blouses, trousers my own.
Lacemaking after short time didn't mean only to make laces but also to  
reconstruct old patterns and a bit later to design my own laces. Than  
to give classes, to give lectures, to work with our lace-history group  
and I became very interested in identification of laces. A short time  
I tried to do needle lace too but the day has only 24 hours.
Beside this I am very interested in literature and belong to a group  
which is together since ages. And mostly it's me who search via  
internet, find out more about the writer. And often I find books  
belonging in one or the other way to the one wwe read in class but  
have never enough time to read them all, so my list becomes longer and  
longer.
Last but not least I am happy enough to have very near friends living  
not in HH what means to write letters, some still by hand and via  
snail-mail, to keep those friendships alive.
At the moment I organise my books, fotos and lace belongings new to  
make space in shelves and folders.


Greetings

Ilske

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] Pillow help needed

[Jenny De Angelis]

I have more than one block pillow that I bought from SMP Lace, these are 
made from high density polystyrene, the type that is the tiny balls fused 
together. Because it is High Density the holes made by lace pins tend not to 
destroy the pillow too much so that the pillow has quite a long life.


One thing I never use on my block pillows are the usual divider pins as they 
are quite thick and make a large hole in the pillow.  I buy some long glass 
headed pins which tend to be pretty fine and use those as dividers instead. 
Some haberdashers sell pins that are long and fine with pearly tops to them, 
here they sell them individually but they come on a card.


The first one of my block pillows was bought about 15 years or more ago and 
is still going strong with the original blocks. For the first 10years or so 
I used the same side of the blocks everytime then when they began to be a 
bit dented in their centres from continual use I just turned each block over 
to give me a fresh surface to work on.


As SMP are in the UK and I am in Spain I thought that to have a made up 
pillow sent by post would be costly so I just ordered the bare blocks and 
side pieces, by bare I mean uncovered blocks. It also works out much cheaper 
to buy the component parts and do the work yourself.  You can also buy spare 
blocks so that you can interchange those on your pillow.


I covered the side pieces by taking the fabric over bottom edges of the 
piece and pinning it to the underside, putting the pins in at an angle so 
that they did not pull out as I continued pulling the fabric taut over the 
rest of the side piece.  The blocks I covered by pulling the fabric taut and 
making a seam along one of the side edges of the block and slip stitching 
the seam closed.  The ends of the blocks I made a sort of rectangular flap 
rather than a triangular envelope type of end, which I stitched into place. 
I would recommend stitching the covering fabric rather than pinning into 
place on the blocks, it makes a much neater finish.


Then once I had the blocks and 2 side pieces covered with some plain blue 
sheeting I laid them together
on a sheet of plain paper, making sure they were snugly together without 
gaps.  Then I drew around the whole pillow shape to give me a pattern to 
take to the local carpentry shop to get a base cut. If you use a carpenters 
pencil, which has flat sides to it, you get a more accurate line because 
that pencil's lead will get right up to the base edge of the pillow pieces, 
a round pencil will not and there will be a little gap between the line and 
the pieces.   I asked the carpenter to cut just inside the pencil line by 
about one millimetre so that the sides and blocks would overlap the base by 
a tiny tiny bit, rather than the wood base protrude out around the edges of 
the pillow parts.


To glue the sides pieces in place I used the white PVA glue, wood glue, 
because that does not burn holes in the polystyrene.  I glued the side 
pieces to the base board and put some plastic kitchen film down the centre 
on which I sat the blocks and could then push the side pieces into place and 
close up to the blocks so that it was all snug.  The plastic film protected 
the blocks from any glue that oozed out from under the side pieces as I 
pushed them into place.  The glue is water soluble anyway so any excess can 
be rubbed away with a damp cloth, and it dries transparent but I didn't want 
the blocks to end up glued into place by any escaping glue.


Once everything was in place and I was happy with it I tied some soft cotton 
tape around the pillow width, over the blocks and the sides going underneath 
and tied a knot at the side down near the edge of the base board and side 
pieces so that it did not leave a dent in the surface of the pillow. I put 
two tapes, one around near the top end of the pillow and one near the bottom 
end.  This would hold everything tightly in place until the glue dried.  I 
then put the pillow on something clean on the garage floor, an old curtain 
or sheet of paper, to keep it clean and then put a clean sheet of white 
paper over the top, could be a clean piece of fabric, but make sure there 
are no wrinkles to dent the pillow parts, I put  a spare bit of board on the 
top of that and weighed it all down with a couple of 5 or 8 litre carafes of 
bottled water placed so that they sat over the side pieces rather than in 
the centre on top of the blocks.  I left it for at least 24hours to dry out 
before taking out the blocks and removing the plastic film from under them. 
My pillow was ready to use.


I think Russell Perrin at SMP still sells the pillow parts, e.mail him via 
his site to ask. I know he sells the complete pillows made up and also spare 
blocks but I am not sure about the side pieces.   He no longer makes the 
parts himself as he sold the machinery for doing so some time ago but he 
still sells the same parts which he now buys from those that have that 
machinery.


R

[lace] lace Before Bobbinlace

[Daphne Martin]

Hello
Before bobbinlace I did a lot of knitting and dressmaking.
The knitting was mainly Intarsia because I loved making the picture sweaters
etc.
I cannot knit now due to arthritis but I still sew.
Reading what other did before Bobbinlace, it seems we were all on the same
track.
Its funny how Bobbinlace takes over your life is`nt it???
Daphne Wet Norfolk England
_
The next generation of Windows Live is here

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Re: [lace] Silk yarn

[Brenda Paternoster]

Hello Jean

2/28 NM means two plies of metric number 28.
One Kg of fibres will yield 28 x 1000 metre hanks of 28/1
or 14 x 1000 metre hanks of 28/2.

Spun silk is better for knitting than filament/reeled silk - less 
slippery and very slightly more elastic.  Good for BL too, but not what 
was traditionally used in Malta.


A sample would be very welcome!

Brenda


I bought several cones in various colours of:

100% silk yarn on cone, lace weight,  For hand or machine knitting, 
150g (5oz) cone, 2/28NM , £8.01, Postage: £1.50


from an ebay shop - ColourMartUK

I must send a sample to Brenda.

I don't know what 2/28NM means, but I'm sure someone here will. It's a 
spun silk.


I bought one to start with to try it out for lacemaking, and I must 
say that for the sample I made it was really great to work with. But 
then I always say that silk tensions itself and it was soft and 
comfortable to touch. Obviously it isn't suitable for fine work as 
it's intended for knitting, but for scarves, waistcoats and similar I 
think it's ideal.


They also sell cashmere, lambs wool, and various mixes of cashmere, 
silk or lambswool in different weights, but I was just interested in 
the 100% silk


Jean in Poole, Dorset, UK

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]




Brenda in Allhallows, Kent
http://paternoster.orpheusweb.co.uk/index.html

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] Lace book by Kraatz on ebay

[Annette Meldrum]

Dear lacemakers


I have just found the book:


Lace by Anne Kraatz (1989) History and Fashion


Item number: 140225329830

 

On ebay with 3 days to go. Very cheap and no bids so far and it is a
wonderful read.

Seller only posts to USA. 

 

I already have this book and love it.

 

Regards

Annette

in wet and rainy South Coast of NSW, Australia

[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of 
image001.gif]

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] Silk yarn

[Jean Nathan]

I bought several cones in various colours of:

100% silk yarn on cone, lace weight,  For hand or machine knitting, 150g 
(5oz) cone, 2/28NM , £8.01, Postage: £1.50


from an ebay shop - ColourMartUK

I must send a sample to Brenda.

I don't know what 2/28NM means, but I'm sure someone here will. It's a spun 
silk.


I bought one to start with to try it out for lacemaking, and I must say that 
for the sample I made it was really great to work with. But then I always 
say that silk tensions itself and it was soft and comfortable to touch. 
Obviously it isn't suitable for fine work as it's intended for knitting, but 
for scarves, waistcoats and similar I think it's ideal.


They also sell cashmere, lambs wool, and various mixes of cashmere, silk or 
lambswool in different weights, but I was just interested in the 100% silk


Jean in Poole, Dorset, UK

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] Replica Christening gown

[P & A Lally]

Hi all

I found a couple of photos - one of the original gown

http://members3.boardhost.com/Oranjes/msg/1208552739.html

and one of the new replica gown

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=560768&in_page_id=1770

The Daily mail article states that the new gown was made by the Queens
dresser and Buckingham Palace's team of dressmakers. No mention of
lacemakers. It looks to me as though the pattern of the original satin dress 
has been copied but without the Honiton lace overlay.


Annette in Trentham Vic. Australia
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Re: [lace] silk thread - Malta

[Brenda Paternoster]

Hi Clay

I don't know which threads the Maltese use - as Karen says it's not 
even silk now but a rayon.  I have a Maltese runner/scarf which is 
rayon and much whiter than the typical golden corn colour.


However, I'm pretty sure it would be a filament thread such as reeled 
silk or uncut rayon fibres.  Au Ver a Soie is a spun silk which is why 
it's less glossy.


I have a photocopy, given to me many years ago, of a little 
leaflet/booklet sold in Malta as a tourist souvenir.  It has 
instructions for making Maltese lace but I doubt anyone could learn 
from the very basic instructions - the words (sort of) tell you how to 
make the bobbin hitch, but shows a picture of the thread tied to the 
bobbin!  It then explains half stitch and plaits, there's a very simple 
plaited edging and then a couple of pictures of finished complex 
designs.   Maybe the intention was to make the tourist think that the 
lacemakers are exceptionally talented.


Re thread it reads:
"Thread used does not necessarily have to be very fine, but must be 
strong and twisted.  Pure linen thread is recommended.  It can be found 
in no. 30, 40, 50 in ecru colour.  This is usually used for household 
linen, such as tablecloths, napkins and other similar articles.  Black 
silk thread is used for mantillas, shawls and evening wear.  White silk 
thread is used to decorate handkerchiefs, shawls, stoles and doilies.  
White cotton and linen is used to decorate dresses and for collars and 
cuffs."


Brenda


I don't claim any expertise in Maltese lace, or silk threads either.

But recently, I used Au Ver a Soie to make a small piece, and it was 
delightful to work with.  My hunch is that this silk is not glossy 
enough for Maltese.  The weight of the thread is probably right, and  
the color is the wonderful natural (unprocessed) silk color.


So, for anyone knowledgeable about the silk once used for Maltese, 
could you please tell us how Au Ver a Soie  measures up for this?





Brenda in Allhallows, Kent
http://paternoster.orpheusweb.co.uk/index.html

-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] Replica Christening gown

[Jean Nathan]

If you really want to know if Honiton lace was used on the replica gown, you 
can ask:


Public Information Office
Members of the public seeking information about the Monarchy or Royal Family 
may contact the Public Information Office by post or by telephone. The 
office is unable to respond to enquiries submitted by e-mail.

Public Information Officer
Buckingham Palace
London SW1A 1AA
Tel (during working hours): (+44) (0)20 7930 4832

You can write to Her Majesty at the following address:
Her Majesty The Queen
Buckingham Palace
London SW1A 1AA

I contacted the agent of Linda Bassett, who played Queenie in "Lark Rise to 
Candleford" to find out if she really is a lacemaker or if she's just a very 
good actress, but didn't get a reply.


Jean in Poole, Dorset, UK 


-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[lace] Pillow help needed - polystyrene/styrofoam/ethafoam

[Jean Nathan]

Bev wrote:

"SMP lace in the UK sell block pillows and extra blocks. For info, the
website is www.smplace.co.uk"

I think we've had this discussion before. SMP pillows are made from 
polystyrene (the while stuff), not ethafoam.


I think what is known as polystyrene, ethafoam, etc depends on where you are 
in the world. In the UK:


Polystyrene (expanded polystyrene) The white stuff used to pack white goods, 
TVs, ornaments etc. That packing is usually very light and has little 
density. A higher density is used for lace pillows, swimming pool floats, 
and cheap surf boards among other things. Press it and it's permanently 
dented. I bought a couple of surf body boards very cheaply (GBP 3.00 each) 
from local supermarket at the end of the summer to cut up for pillows. Cut 
it with a knife, and you and everything else is covered in little "white 
balls". Wetting the knife cuts this down a bit because some of the static is 
taken out of them. I bought a hot wire very cheaply which runs off a battery 
for doing the cutting which eliminates the "little balls" and seals the cut 
edge.


'Styrofoam' (extruded polystyrene) is a trade name from Dow Chemical Company 
and is usually blue. Builders' merchants also sell yellow sandwiched between 
foil or board for insulation. Very fine particles and hard. I'd wear a mask 
when cutting it because of the fine particles. Often so hard you can't put a 
pin in it. Lace pillows rely on the dust made when using pins filling the 
pin holes. Lace pillows are more expensive than those made from polystyrene.


Ethafoam (polyethylene foam) is often grey and a bit "squidgy". If cut, you 
tend to see holes rather than "balls" - a bit like a sponge cake. More 
flexible than polystyrene. Uses I've seen: pool noodles (lots of colours), 
packing in the suitcase-type camera cases, packing for some higher class 
ornaments and glassware. Recovers better than polystyrene. Press it and the 
dent tends to recover.


Rather than using the common names, you really need to find out whether what 
you are buying is expanded polystyrene, extruded polystyrene or polyurethane 
in your own country to be sure of what you are buying.


Jean in Poole, Dorset, UK 


-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]