[lace] Tonder/Bucks
Sue and David OIDFA had a study group going in the late 90s to clarify exactly that point. There is a large class of laces, now called "point ground laces". Virtually every lacemaking country in the 19th century made a version of this kind of lace. Point ground, of course, is CTTT pin. So in 2001 OIDFA published a booklet detailing the results of their research into the specific national geographic differences between all the point ground laces, including Bucks, Tonder, Bayeux, etc. The booklet is called POINT GROUND LACE, ISBN 0 95406960 9. It is very detailed, with more information than I ever expected to find. It includes things like how the footside was usually worked, how tallies were spotted in the net and if they appeared in the net, how the headside was worked and the extra pairs stored there, etc. It also lists the huge number of books they consulted. Lorelei - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] Bucks versus Toender et al
Dear Sue, I am an avid Bucks Point fan but try as I might I cannot detect what the essential difference is between Bucks and Tonder perhaps you could enlighten me. In my experience the main differences are these:- - Toender is worked in the opposite direction from Bucks (but I don't) - Toender is characterized by - large holes surrounded by honeycomb stitch I find these days that regardless of which point ground lace I am making, I use Chantilly techniques, and probably a few I've developed myself. The end result looks lovely and only a lace-maker could tell the difference. I very rarely fill in a petal for a floral motif with whole stitch - too easy to see when you either have too many or too few bobbins. Half stitch is much more forgiving. Also, I never put any extra twists on the inside of a gimp in a motif. That way the filling always comes right up to the gimp. Sometimes I will add an extra one or two on the outside to compensate. I use Elwyn KENN's "looper" technique whenever possible in order to avoid the need for adding in short extra gimps. Can't thank of anything else relevant right now David in Ballarat Sue M Harvey Norfolk UK - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] threads
The beauty of Polycotton thread is that is holds its shape, and never creases!! The bad part is that it is springy and wants to do it's own thing, - not what I want it to do! The half-hitch does not always stay done up for one thing. However, I find lace made from a good polycotton is useful, - especially for Lace to Wear, as it looks like it is brand new and just off the pillow, no matter how old it is,and how badly treated when not in use! Lots of great colours, too. Regards from Liz in Melbourne, Oz, where it is uncomfortably hot today - 37ºC or about 100ºF. lizl...@bigpond.com -- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter. We are a community of 5.8 million users fighting spam. SPAMfighter has removed 295 of my spam emails to date. Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len The Professional version does not have this message - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Victorian Farm now Scottish jackets
There are a number of different styles of Scottish jacket. The most common is a Prince Charlie, which is very like a normal dinner jacket, but shorter. It's worn with a vest and bow tie and is always black. The other types are single and double breasted variations with or without flaps at the hem including the Montrose, Kenmore and Sherrifmuir. They are worn with jabot and cuffs in lace, and they are made of either black suiting fabric or coloured velvet to match a main colour of the kilt. They are all fitted so it is hard work making them. I have to make two this year for my sons who are highland dancing. Not looking forward to it. A tip for buttons. Instead of sewing, use an awl to punch a hole and push the large shank at the back of the button through the fabric and thread a piece of cord through it long enough to join all buttons. Then just sew either end of the cord at the top and bottom of the front of the jacket. It makes the buttons sit better and you don't lose any, but you have to be careful with the awl not to damage the fabric. One little boy came to a comp last year minus his white shirt. So we found a safety pin, borrowed a strip of lace and folded the lapels of his Prince Charlie up, then covered the front with the lace and he was able to dance. And he beat me.  --- Rochelle Sutherland & Lachlan (10 yrs), Duncan (9 yrs) and Iain (7 yrs) www.houseofhadrian.com.au From: Karen Zammit Manduca To: Sue ; Brenda Paternoster Cc: Arachne Sent: Tuesday, 20 January, 2009 2:55:41 AM Subject: RE: [lace] Victorian Farm was lace-digest V2008 #276 How would you change a suit jacket into a Scottish one? What is so different? Just interested. Karen in Malta Stay connected to the people that matter most with a smarter inbox. Take a look http://au.docs.yahoo.com/mail/smarterinbox - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] Italian translation, please?
Gentle Spiders, In the book I'm currently reading (The Dress of the Venetians, 1495-1525; by Stella Mary Newton), among the many untranslated Italian (and/or Venetian) words/phrases/sentences there's one, which I'd really, really would like to know the *exact* meaning of. It's: Provedadori sopra le pompe I learnt, from various contexts (the phrase keeps coming up again and again), what it *is*. It's a little committee of 3 people who are, in essence, "clothes police". They investigate the clothing transgressions of upper class women (mostly), bring them to the attention of the Grand Council, which then debates, legislates and issues new proclamations forbidding this, that or the other (dresses have to be of single colour only; no brocades. Sleeves have to be "straight and narrow"; none of the "ducal" or "bird's craw" excesses. Sleeves should use no more than 2 yards of fabric per pair, even on the undershirts. Etc). So, I do know what they *do*; what I don't know is what the committee's title means, literally. Do we have someone with fluent Italian who can translate the title for me? I can make a stab at the "le pompe" bit; I assume it's "pomp" in the sense of "pomp and circumstance". But, the other two words, in that particular configuration...? -- Tamara P Duvallhttp://t-n-lace.net/ Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland) - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] floral torchon
Dona I realize this answer is very late relative to your inquiry. I have seen some individual floral torchon patterns designed by Geraldine Stott and they are very pretty. I have not seen the whole book, but based on the individual ones, I'd say use hers. She is a very good designer with clear diagrams. Lorelei - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] chemical lace
Sue Chemical lace is a machine made lace based on embroidery. the base fabric is some kind of synthetic which can be easily dissolved with acid or some other chemical solution. The machine does cotton thread embroidery upon the synthetic fabric. The embroidery pattern is designed in such a way that the needles go back and forth catching other parts already embroidered. The entire fabric is then soaked in an acid or chemical bath to dissolve the background fabric. Then just the cotton embroidery threads are left. Chemical lace. I don't know exactly when this technique was developped. Lorelei - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
RE: [lace] Tamara's Toss
Thanks for update David, I have been wondering whether your Tonder piece was finished yet, another question as I hope to start making some myself shortly, I am an avid Bucks Point fan but try as I might I cannot detect what the essential difference is between Bucks and Tonder perhaps you could enlighten me. Sue M Harvey Norfolk UK - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] Lace Guild website update
We've just added a new selection of items from the Lace Guild's Collection to the Lace Gallery which you can access from the Guild page - url below. You'll also find some new items on the Errata page (accessed from Publications). Thank you to Jean Nathan for recently pointing out an error in 'An Introduction to Bucks Point Lace' . You'll find the correction on the Errata page together with some in other Lace Guild publications including 'Lace'. Do please let us know if you think you've come across an error in any of the Lace Guild's books or the magazine - you'll even find a 'Report an error' form on the web site to make it easy for you. Jean and David in Glasgow where we had snow yesterday but it's all gone now --- Jean and David Leader Lace Guild website: http://www.laceguild.org - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Thread Identification
On Jan 19, 2009, at 10:51, laceandb...@aol.com wrote: Most of the threads on large plastic cones are industrial threads so although that doesn't exclude cotton and linen, The large (1000m) cones of both Bouc and Fresia linen had been wound on plastic cones for years (though I don't know for how many. 15 at least). Some of them have their labels *inside* rather than outside, so that's another possiblity of finding out what the thread is. -- Tamara P Duvallhttp://t-n-lace.net/ Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland) - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Cleaning Lace/Other - Long
Per Susan: "I am sure you all here have a wealth of info on the best ways to clean lace or keep it white." Oh! My! Once again, the clean laces in my archival storage boxes are levitating! This is for the new members of Arachne. Lace should not be compared with clothing washed with heavy duty soap. Functional clothing is usually not saved (collected). In the past, clothing was worn until it became rags, then discarded. Today, being unfashionable is an excuse for getting rid of clothing before the effects of washing become apparent. Lace is an entirely different matter. The first course of action when washing lace should be to use distilled water and the least invasive soap recommended by museum conservators. Lace can last hundreds of years, if properly wet cleaned. My collection represents 4 Centuries, is varied as to type, and quite large. I learned about cleaning embroideries in museum conservation classes, and adapted the methods for laces. Some of my lace was extremely filthy when acquired. Usually I re-wash laces that antiques dealers have washed pre-sale because I know they have used questionable products and methods. Would you drink the last rinse water in which your laces were wet cleaned? That is what the professionals ask. Bear in mind that cleaning agents are never completely rinsed out and they reside in the fibers with new chemicals forever, perhaps developing a chemical reaction. Commercial soaps are nearly always made from very unfriendly-to-lace chemicals. It is not advisable to use directions for washing laces that have been passed down by great grandmothers OR that appear in books published before about the mid-20th Century, when textile conservation became a concern, and museum-qualified conservators began to write advice on this subject. Often, when lace conservation methods are not employed, it eventually becomes necessary to restore the laces. Restored laces (repaired) are no longer "original", and immediately lose value. The new "Oxi" soaps, which every soap maker has recently introduced to the market may all have the same basic ingredients, but in different quantities, and perhaps with some "additions". What is of real concern is that manufacturers are free to change the formulas and do not notify you. For instance - adding lanolin to make soap kind to your hands. You do not know for sure what is in trendy soaps. Some ingredients are attractive to insects. Lanolin is one. Perfumes are not good for lace. One **never** scrubs lace! You float it in distilled water to which an appropriate cleaning agent has been added. The fibers will expand and release stains. Depending on the strength of lace, it can be soaked for varying periods, with water changes as needed. After the final rinse, lace may still look stained when wet, but will dry to be much improved. Would you drink the final rinse water? You are invited to read my free extensive instructions on the subject. Go to _www.honitonlace.com_ (http://www.honitonlace.com) and you'll find them there. Click on "Cleaning lace" - the next-to-last choice in LEFT column. Then, click on the option in first paragraph of the next screen. If you are new to this subject, please print out the instructions and keep them in a binder for the time when they are needed. Read through them completely before you start to wash lace, so you'll have everything needed and you'll avoid serious pitfalls. Jeri Ames Lace and Embroidery Resource Center In a message dated 1/19/2009 10:53:30 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, elationrelat...@yahoo.com writes: The yellow bar was Fells Naptha I am sure (made by Dial), which is available still today and very good for taking out most any stain very well except grease (of which I use Citrol, a mechanic's degreaser from the autonotive supply stores). A fair substitute is a hand milled French soap. My grandmother made lye soap which served similarly, and was used often for the washing within those "wringer washers" also. Occasionally I see that people make and sell it at fairs, but perhaps is available online. I fear that many simple things are being lost, like putting table salt on red wine spilled on lace or a tablecloth, which removes it completely. I wonder if the soda on grandma's shelf had any other purpose other than to sweeten a load, such as mens clothes from working on the farm or a heavy job. My mother used to use borax in her loads along with Lanosheen and her detergent. She would soak her white towels from the store to get them even whiter. Now she used Miracle White along with her favorite detergent, and it doesn't seem to weaken fiber like oxygen cleaners (or of course bleach!) I am sure you all here have a wealth of info on the best ways to clean lace or keep it white. My main frustration is to pull out
Re: [lace] Thread Identification
hi hallo, an other small test is fire just burn a bit and smell if it smells like paper it will be cotton or linnen or hemp (could be hemp if you say it is that old, hemp was sometimes trangly more available then linnen) then you do the Brenda magnifying test for making the difference to long (linnen) and short staples (cotton) if it smells quite burned plastic ..well. c'est la vie if it smells like you are burning hear or burning pigs skin then you might think it is raw silk francis belgium no more freezing now it is raining and wet and dirty ... laceandb...@aol.com schreef: Delores, Two other factors can make thread stiff; one is the amount of twist. There was a cotton thread called Unity that was around when I started making lace (about 30 years ago) which was *the thread* for Bucks as it was highly twisted and the lace made with it was *crisp*. Some threads are starched on the reel; Gutterman's cotton quilting thread is one. This is starched to make it smooth to sew with, but when it is washed it fluffs up a tid and is much softer. Disappointing for lacemaking if you weren't expecting it. Linen thread on the reel often doesn't feel that much different to cotton. It is when you was if and iron it damp with a hot iron that the difference shows. Linen feels like it has been starched. Brenda's tip about looking at the length of the individual fibres is probably the best and easiest, but I do also wonder if it might be poly-cotton. Most of the threads on large plastic cones are industrial threads so although that doesn't exclude cotton and linen, it is also very likely that it is at least partly synthetic. If that is the case, we need to go back to Brenda again and ask if polyester used for a cotton look-alike sewing thread is continuous filament or short staple. No reason you can't use it for lacemaking (sharp intake of breath from the purists, perhaps). In fact if you ever want to mount lace on poly-cotton fabric it makes sense to use a compatible thread for the lace. When you came to wash and iron, the care instructions are the same for both. Malvary and I have several blouses of Mum's, with applied lace, and some are cotton thread, some polyester, but they all look just as good 20 or so years on. Jacquie in England - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.176 / Virus Database: 270.10.9/1902 - Release Date: 19/01/2009 9:37 - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] bookmarks for Obama
Bev, the text says that they will be made not that they are finished. Sorry , we have still to wait. Ilske - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] bookmarks for Obama
They are made, perhaps they aren't uploaded yet. But they must be somewhere, maybe at the Museum site itself. I'll try to find them to share the link, because they are really beautiful. On Mon, Jan 19, 2009 at 10:51 AM, Margot Walker wrote: > I think there are no photos because the press release says the the museum > "will" be making the bookmarks. In other words, they aren't made yet. > > On 19 Jan 2009, at 14:43, bev walker wrote: > > Hi all >> >> I have just received a press release from Musée de Retournac about the 12 >> bookmarks sent with 12 books from la Ville Retournac in France to the US >> Presidential Inauguration. There are two lovely photos, one of a bookmark >> in >> > -- Bev in Shirley BC, near Sooke on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of Canada - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] bookmarks for Obama
I think there are no photos because the press release says the the museum "will" be making the bookmarks. In other words, they aren't made yet. On 19 Jan 2009, at 14:43, bev walker wrote: Hi all I have just received a press release from Musée de Retournac about the 12 bookmarks sent with 12 books from la Ville Retournac in France to the US Presidential Inauguration. There are two lovely photos, one of a bookmark in progress, and the other of several of the beautiful bookmarks, on an art nouveau theme. I tried to find them at their website, to share with you - perhaps someone with a fast connection can locate the photos (probably in the press-release section). Margot Walker in Halifax on the east coast of Canada Visit the Seaspray Guild of Lacemakers web site: http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/quinbot - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] bookmarks for Obama
Hi all I have just received a press release from Musée de Retournac about the 12 bookmarks sent with 12 books from la Ville Retournac in France to the US Presidential Inauguration. There are two lovely photos, one of a bookmark in progress, and the other of several of the beautiful bookmarks, on an art nouveau theme. I tried to find them at their website, to share with you - perhaps someone with a fast connection can locate the photos (probably in the press-release section). The headline is here: http://www.ville-retournac.fr/actualite%2010.html -- Bev in Shirley BC, near Sooke on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of Canada - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Victorian Farm was lace-digest V2008 #276
We are going out to a Burns night supper on saturday for my 60th birthday, (did I just admit to that, LOL). My husband has a kilt I made to wear at our living history camps and usually wears a red soldiers coat from the period 1800's. He has socks/hose, sparren but no modern jacket, so we have reshaped the bottom of a normal suit jacket, Put different pocket flaps on with raised seams, epaulettes, and a nice shape sleeve decoration in perference to a fancy cuff. Now I just have to sew on lots of small thistle buttons and then sew the lining up and its done. It has been hard work pushing and pulling the firm cloth, so will be very pleased when its finished. It is a very long time since I did so much hand sewing, I am so grateful for my anglepoise lamp and light I use for my lacemaking. He also has the lace jabot I made about 5 years ago, but not sure if he will wear that or not. How would you change a suit jacket into a Scottish one? What is so different? Just interested. Karen in Malta I see what you mean about being recognisable, Thank you for you explanation and for the link which I found very interesting. I have a lace butterfly bought in Bruge in the 1980s which I wonder if its done in this way. When I bought it I bought it as a pretty brooch of lace that I liked, but now see so many possibilities of what it might be. Well better get back to my major task for this week which is converting a mans suit jacket to a scottish one to wear with a kilt. Didn't expect quite so many changes and quite so much hand sewing so its been very hard on my hands and eyes. A bit each day and then I can work on my lace at night. BTW for those who made suggestions to help me last year hunting down music in lace I have managed to adapt a pattern (widen it and change bits) to give - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
RE: [lace] Victorian Farm was lace-digest V2008 #276
How would you change a suit jacket into a Scottish one? What is so different? Just interested. Karen in Malta -Original Message- From: owner-l...@arachne.com [mailto:owner-l...@arachne.com] On Behalf Of Sue Sent: Monday, January 19, 2009 3:26 PM To: Brenda Paternoster Cc: Arachne Subject: Re: [lace] Victorian Farm was lace-digest V2008 #276 I see what you mean about being recognisable, Thank you for you explanation and for the link which I found very interesting. I have a lace butterfly bought in Bruge in the 1980s which I wonder if its done in this way. When I bought it I bought it as a pretty brooch of lace that I liked, but now see so many possibilities of what it might be. Well better get back to my major task for this week which is converting a mans suit jacket to a scottish one to wear with a kilt. Didn't expect quite so many changes and quite so much hand sewing so its been very hard on my hands and eyes. A bit each day and then I can work on my lace at night. BTW for those who made suggestions to help me last year hunting down music in lace I have managed to adapt a pattern (widen it and change bits) to give me a treble clef and musical notes, and am now one week in having done almost half the first of 4 napkin strips. The treble clef is difficult but the rest is working well and quickly. Sue T Hello Sue Chemical lace is cotton embroidery on acetate fabric, then the whole lot is steeped in acetone or something similar to dissolve away the acetate leaving only the embroidery. Discovered in the 1880s I think so Victorian but slightly late for the 1850s setting of the TV programme. http://lace.lacefairy.com/Lace/ID/Chemical.html Once you've seen a few pieces of chemical lace it's very recognisable even though it can have so many different styles. Brenda - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Thread Identification
Delores, Two other factors can make thread stiff; one is the amount of twist. There was a cotton thread called Unity that was around when I started making lace (about 30 years ago) which was *the thread* for Bucks as it was highly twisted and the lace made with it was *crisp*. Some threads are starched on the reel; Gutterman's cotton quilting thread is one. This is starched to make it smooth to sew with, but when it is washed it fluffs up a tid and is much softer. Disappointing for lacemaking if you weren't expecting it. Linen thread on the reel often doesn't feel that much different to cotton. It is when you was if and iron it damp with a hot iron that the difference shows. Linen feels like it has been starched. Brenda's tip about looking at the length of the individual fibres is probably the best and easiest, but I do also wonder if it might be poly-cotton. Most of the threads on large plastic cones are industrial threads so although that doesn't exclude cotton and linen, it is also very likely that it is at least partly synthetic. If that is the case, we need to go back to Brenda again and ask if polyester used for a cotton look-alike sewing thread is continuous filament or short staple. No reason you can't use it for lacemaking (sharp intake of breath from the purists, perhaps). In fact if you ever want to mount lace on poly-cotton fabric it makes sense to use a compatible thread for the lace. When you came to wash and iron, the care instructions are the same for both. Malvary and I have several blouses of Mum's, with applied lace, and some are cotton thread, some polyester, but they all look just as good 20 or so years on. Jacquie in England - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Thread Identification
Thank you Brenda, There is no label. The 'cone' is a plastic cyclinder and is not smooth. It is about 5 inches in diameter and the thread is ecru. It was purchased from a discount yarn shop in the sixties. I have used it to make samples of edgings when I first started lace making in the nineties. It has a stiffness to it that makes me think it is linen. It is still very stong and I would like to use it for a table cloth edging and was curious. I will try washing a piece first. Delores Miller - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Tamara's Toss
David, your work is so beautiful... I'll never be in your class but it is inspiring, nonetheless! Sr. Claire On Mon, Jan 19, 2009 at 4:23 PM, David in Ballarat wrote: > Dear Friends, > Some of you may recall that large piece of Toender lace I've been working > on. Well this week I finally got back to it after about 18 months doing > other things! I've added a couple more inches this week and am half way > through turning the last of the 4 corners. > > Whilst making one of the numerous tallies, I was half way through one when > the phone rang. I instantly recalled what I've always thought of an > "Tamara's Toss" - because it was the Duchess who taught it to me. That is, > when in the situation in which I found myself, you simply toss the working > bobbin straight over the back away from you and that tally will not move. > > Thanks T - I've done it often. > > What has amazed me this week, is that after almost 18 months away from a > piece, I can recall exactly how many passes in the average tally (32) and > how many pairs I needed in the various floral motifs. > > So now I have about half of the last side to do and will post some more > photos as soon as the progress is worthwhile. For those who want to see this > piece, go to:- > http://www.margorsson.com/Men_n_Lace.html > and click on David Collyer > > Enjoy > David in Ballarat > > - > To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: > unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to > arachnemodera...@yahoo.com > - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Victorian Farm was lace-digest V2008 #276
I see what you mean about being recognisable, Thank you for you explanation and for the link which I found very interesting. I have a lace butterfly bought in Bruge in the 1980s which I wonder if its done in this way. When I bought it I bought it as a pretty brooch of lace that I liked, but now see so many possibilities of what it might be. Well better get back to my major task for this week which is converting a mans suit jacket to a scottish one to wear with a kilt. Didn't expect quite so many changes and quite so much hand sewing so its been very hard on my hands and eyes. A bit each day and then I can work on my lace at night. BTW for those who made suggestions to help me last year hunting down music in lace I have managed to adapt a pattern (widen it and change bits) to give me a treble clef and musical notes, and am now one week in having done almost half the first of 4 napkin strips. The treble clef is difficult but the rest is working well and quickly. Sue T Hello Sue Chemical lace is cotton embroidery on acetate fabric, then the whole lot is steeped in acetone or something similar to dissolve away the acetate leaving only the embroidery. Discovered in the 1880s I think so Victorian but slightly late for the 1850s setting of the TV programme. http://lace.lacefairy.com/Lace/ID/Chemical.html Once you've seen a few pieces of chemical lace it's very recognisable even though it can have so many different styles. Brenda - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] Tamara's Toss
Dear Friends, Some of you may recall that large piece of Toender lace I've been working on. Well this week I finally got back to it after about 18 months doing other things! I've added a couple more inches this week and am half way through turning the last of the 4 corners. Whilst making one of the numerous tallies, I was half way through one when the phone rang. I instantly recalled what I've always thought of an "Tamara's Toss" - because it was the Duchess who taught it to me. That is, when in the situation in which I found myself, you simply toss the working bobbin straight over the back away from you and that tally will not move. Thanks T - I've done it often. What has amazed me this week, is that after almost 18 months away from a piece, I can recall exactly how many passes in the average tally (32) and how many pairs I needed in the various floral motifs. So now I have about half of the last side to do and will post some more photos as soon as the progress is worthwhile. For those who want to see this piece, go to:- http://www.margorsson.com/Men_n_Lace.html and click on David Collyer Enjoy David in Ballarat - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Victorian Farm was lace-digest V2008 #276
Hello Sue Chemical lace is cotton embroidery on acetate fabric, then the whole lot is steeped in acetone or something similar to dissolve away the acetate leaving only the embroidery. Discovered in the 1880s I think so Victorian but slightly late for the 1850s setting of the TV programme. http://lace.lacefairy.com/Lace/ID/Chemical.html Once you've seen a few pieces of chemical lace it's very recognisable even though it can have so many different styles. Brenda On 19 Jan 2009, at 11:45, Sue wrote: Brenda, you may have seen this coming, but I now have to ask what chemical lace is please? Brenda in Allhallows, Kent http://paternoster.orpheusweb.co.uk/index.html - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Fw: [lace] Victorian Farm was lace-digest V2008 #276
Brenda, you may have seen this coming, but I now have to ask what chemical lace is please? Thank you for such great info on the rest of the email, brilliant. I think that they filming would have been done at different points and the producer showing what they showed in the time allotted to each program. I am enjoying watching it though, some reminds mr of my childhood, like you being involved with mangling clothes, but also with the family research it gives a possible insight into one branch of the family around that time. Farming 17 acres of land in the mid late 1800s. No lacemaker known in that side, but onewife and daughter in the Devon family whose husband and sons were farm labourers. It feels a bit like looking through their window watching how they lived. Sue T I saw the Saturday repeat. The regular pinned up lappets looked rather like chemical lace to me, but there wasn't a good enough shot of it to be sure. Yes, the Christmas lappets were Bedfordshre, or rather Beds-Maltese with a meandering cloth stitch trail running down the length of the lace. I do agree that things were sometimes filmed/shown out of order. When Ruth was doing the laundry at one point she mentioned starching - after the laundry had been dried! They didn't use cans of spray-on starch then It was a case of mixing the starch powder with a little cold water and then adding boiling water (to cook the starch, much the same as making Bird's custard) diluting with more (cold) water and then dipping the laundry into it followed by mangling and drying. They showed her using various things like milk or alcohol to loosen stains, and making up the 'blue' for whitening so I'm surprised they didn't show the starching process. I'm old enough to remember my Grandma using a similar mangle in the 1950s. I was allowed to turn the handle but not to feed the washing into the rollers! They had a separate brick built outhouse for the laundry and I think the only mod-con was a cold water tap, but there was probably some sort of boiler to heat the water. Made-up starch and the blue-bag lived on a high shelf along with soda and a bar of yellow soap. BTW, that process of squeezing wet fabric between two rollers is what I call mangling. Using a rolling pin over wet fabric between towels is just rolling - like rolling out pastry! Brenda - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Thread Identification
Hello Delores I have a 1950s book "The Identification of Textile Fibres" which goes into great detail about microscopic and chemical tests to distinguish one fibre from another, but unless you have your own laboratory to hand If you are just trying to decide between linen and cotton the best thing is to look at it with a powerful magnifier, at least x8. Untwist the plies and then untwist a single ply and the individual fibres will separate out. If it's cotton none of the fibres will be more than about an inch or so long, if it's linen they will be much longer, up to about a metre/yard in length. Also spun linen/flax tends to have slubs in it whilst cotton is generally much more uniform. Linen thread is nearly always spun in the S direction, cotton can be either. Is there a label on this cone? or anything printed onto the cone itself? Brenda Could someone tell me how to test a thread to see if it might be linen? I have a large cone of thread I believe is linen but would like to know for sure. Brenda in Allhallows, Kent http://paternoster.orpheusweb.co.uk/index.html - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] Thank you kind people.
Today I was so excited to get a postcard with superb photos of Antique Downton bobbins. One showed clearly that the decorators of East Devon bobbins (Honiton) used the same decorator. To me, that is exciting! Please continue with your generous donations of pictures of antique bobbins. I probably need particularly the USA "Ipswich" bobbins. I have barely two of these. Malmsbury bobbins would be good too. I have possibly 5 pictures of these, thought they are not madly exciting (at least the ones I have.) More decorated Downtons would be great too. Thank you Brian From Brian and Jean; in Cooranbong. Australia - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
