[lace] Re: B & B France
Hi Sorry if I have sent this email to the wrong list. Does anyone know of a Bed & Breakfast in France, where the Husband is a lace designer & cook and the Wife is a Lacemaker? The thought I had the correct email address, but have had no response. Regards Karen Australia - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] First Lace Pillow
Sue, Your pillow sounds very much like the dimensions of a needlelace pillow like the one I was given recently. It is very hard and heavy. Janice Janice Blair Crystal Lake, 50 miles northwest of Chicago, Illinois, USA www.jblace.com http://www.lacemakersofillinois.org - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
[lace] New Australian book
There's a new book out here in Australia of Torchon lace designs - see http://tinyurl.com/42b8nbn I've got my copy, and am delighted with it. Noelene in Cooma nlaffe...@ozemail.com.au - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
[lace] antique bobbins
Many thanks for all the suggestions on how to revive my old dusty bobbins, I will try a few of them and see what comes up the best. 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 arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
[lace] Reviving antique bobbins
Hi Arachnids I was interested in the replies to the query about cleaning antique bobbins. The polishes recommended all sound very useful, especially Grannys Old Fashioned Furniture Polish, I am allergic to many of the solvents and this sounds like it might be my answer. One additional comment I would like to make. No one mentioned that you should not use any of these polishes on the neck where the thread is wound, since any polish remaining here will be absorbed by the thread, and preferably not on the head either as the thread will be rubbing across it. These areas are best cleaned by rubbing with a dry cloth or if they are dirty then clean with a barely damp cloth and then rub briskly with a dry one to remove any dampness and buff the surface. Once you have restored your bobbins the best treatment for keeping them bright is using them. What a wonderful excuse for lacemaking. Keep lacemaking and keep your bobbins bright Alex - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] First Lace Pillow
I still have my first lace pillow from back in 1990. It is an 18" SMP polystrene which my lace teacher sold to me for £8 together with a cover and a cover cloth. It was only when I went to my first Springett's fair that september did I realise that I could have bought direct from them and got it cheaper. I was a little annoyed because the money to buy the equipment had not come from the teacher - it infact came from our employer who gave us £500 for supplies and books. We were supposed to borrow from the equipment library then if we wanted the equipment we bought it and the money was used to replace it with new stuff. Because our teacher didn't work for the company but her husband did I think a couple of the people invovled saw a chance to make a little money. Anyway back to my pillow. It was a lovely shape to start learning on because the dome was really high. This meant that the bobbins hung well on the pillow and being high they didn't need to have short threads to prevent them hitting the table. I loved that pillow. I used it every day for a year. Unfortunately the centre is virtually distroyed. One of my most prized pillows is by Rosemary Robinson (it's her large fan pillow where the centre is circular and moves within the main pillow) not just because of the design but because she always layers felt onto her polystrene so if it does start to break up it will be kept in place. Kind Regards Liz Baker thelace...@btinternet.com My chronicle of my bobbins can be found at my website: http://thelacebee.weebly.com/ - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Who draw the Working Diagrams?
Hello David, > But having used them now for a week or so, I began to wonder who that > wonderful person was who actually drew them. They really are perfection in > their intricacies. As far as I know Ulrike draws them all by herself. Lucky you to have a copy of her first Chantilly book - I'm still searching for it. But the second volume has wonderful patterns as well - work for a lifetime of lace making. Good luck with your piece of Chantilly! Achim. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] First Lace Pillow
Hi Sue et all, Yes, I have a rectangular pillow, which was my first. I made it myself by using a piece of plywood with the corners rounded and a blue 'duck' (sail making canvas)bag fitted over it. It took me a whole weekend to chop straw and remove the nodes from it. Then stuff the canvas bag on one side of the board very tightly with the aid of a short broomstick and a mallet. My arms were extremely sore with all that effort. The pillow holds the pins beautifully but is VERY heavy. It is about 23 by 15 inches and goes from about 2/3 '' on the edge to about 3.5'' in the middle Also, at one time I left a piece of laceon it for too long and the brass pins I'd used had were oxidised and at one with the straw (I found out later that straw is quite acidic). That time I had to take my pins out with a pair of pliers leaving little green dots of 'verdigris' on my lace. It was an expensive lesson as I was unable to remove the spots from my lace and in the end discarded it. Now I use high density ethafoam pillows. I refuse to count my pillows or bobbins for inventory. That is too much lace-time wasted. Joepie, East Sussex From Sue Babbs Mine was a strange, straw-filled, rectangular pillow about 12 inches x 8 inches x 3 inches, which I was given by a friend before I even knew about bobbin-lace. She came from Bedfordshire and told me this was what the pillow was used for. It is nicely covered in blue cotton, and would be a lot more useful if it had a circular cross-section, and could then be used as a bolster. Has anyone else met up with a lace pillow like this one? I used it for the first piece of lace I made from the Readers' Digest handbook, but then gave up trying lacemaking as the thread used was so thick and the design so odd that I couldn't believe it was lace!! Later another fired talked me into going to evening classes with her - and that turned out to be to make lace. Sue - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] First Lace Pillow
Mine was a strange, straw-filled, rectangular pillow about 12 inches x 8 inches x 3 inches, which I was given by a friend before I even knew about bobbin-lace. She came from Bedfordshire and told me this was what the pillow was used for. It is nicely covered in blue cotton, and would be a lot more useful if it had a circular cross-section, and could then be used as a bolster. Has anyone else met up with a lace pillow like this one? I used it for the first piece of lace I made from the Readers' Digest handbook, but then gave up trying lacemaking as the thread used was so thick and the design so odd that I couldn't believe it was lace!! Later another fired talked me into going to evening classes with her - and that turned out to be to make lace. Sue sueba...@comcast.net - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
[lace] Who draw the Working Diagrams?
Dear Friends, I am currently working on a complex piece of Chantilly from Ulrike's "Schwartzarbeit". It's the one where the working diagrams are on pp.61-63. Firstly I'd like to warn anyone who is attempting this piece in the future that those working diagrams are upside down and thus have to be scanned and flipped - which is no big deal these days. It's no use just turning the book upside down. But having used them now for a week or so, I began to wonder who that wonderful person was who actually drew them. They really are perfection in their intricacies. Whoever you are, you have my heartfelt thanks and praise for a job well done. David in Ballarat - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
[lace] First Lace Pillow
Dear Friends, My first lace pillow was the seat of a hideous vinyl arm chair in a rented flat in Darwin, Northern Territory, way back in 1981. I left it full of 1000 pin holes and only succeeded in making a fine macrame bookmark!! Still Mum treasured that in her Bible till she died. David in Ballarat - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Inventory???
--- On Sat, 16/4/11, lacel...@frontier.com wrote: The cost of the art can sneak up on you. I know some people have one pillow and one set of bobbins, and are happy to keep to that. I tend to get over enthusiastic when I'm enjoying myself. I think back to Arachne 98 when my class list specified bringing 100 pair of bobbins. I gasped, and started counting bobbins. I found I could just make the requirement if I finished two projects, dumped one or two, and spangled all bobbins not yet in action. Then I got to thinking that the average value of those bobbins was about $5 each. That meant that I was packing $1000 worth of bobbins in my bag. I am working on a piece which has 70 pairs of bobbins. The average cost of a bobbin on the pillow is £15 (sterling) in today's money, plus spangle. Call it £18. My husband and I were just talking about the insurance apect of taking the pillow to my lace group. In all, with pattern, pillow, extra blocks, thread, bobbins and also spare bobbins, thread, tools and pillow bag, I walk out of the house carrying a minimum of £2600 worth of equipment. My household insurance would probably not cover this activity. L Kind Regards Liz Baker thelace...@btinternet.com My chronicle of my bobbins can be found at my website: http://thelacebee.weebly.com/ I haven't counted my bobbins since then...and have acquired many, many more of them. (I would guess over a thousand). An inventory would be good for insurance purposes, but it would also shock my mind on how much I've spent on them. (Plus pillows and all that other stuff.) How important is it to have a current inventory of all lacemaking equipment? Is it really worth the time and effort? Alice in Oregon ... looking forward to no rain next week. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003 - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] The Manor House Museum in Bury St. Edmunds (was: Inventory???)
On 16/04/2011 15:29, Alan & Sheila Brown wrote: [snip] The list is endless of the extras we collect. A nightmare when we came to downsize yet again to a much smaller house. My solution was to give most of my antique laces to The Manor House Museum in Bury St. Edmunds together with books on history and identification. This way they have become available to other lacemakers and not just me. Sheila in Sawbo' where it has turned colder and grey. What a generous solution to this problem! And I was eager to visit Bury St. Edmunds and see the laces, until a web search discovered that the museum had closed in 2007. There is a brief video of a sample of the collections, http://gallery.nen.gov.uk/video67970-.html which was exquisitely lovely, and including what appears to be at least one piece of lace. Do you know what has happened since? Linda Walton, (recovering from some sort of 'flu thing in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, U.K., where it is a still afternoon with cool air and hazy sunshine - very peaceful). - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Inventory???
On 16/04/2011 09:02, lacel...@frontier.com wrote: From: Nancy Neff >If I had known how much usable pillows and bobbins (even Continental bobbins) were going to cost me eventually I might never have started. Thank heavens I didn't know! Now it's too much fun to stop. The cost of the art can sneak up on you. I know some people have one pillow and one set of bobbins, and are happy to keep to that. I tend to get over enthusiastic when I'm enjoying myself. I think back to Arachne 98 when my class list specified bringing 100 pair of bobbins. I gasped, and started counting bobbins. I found I could just make the requirement if I finished two projects, dumped one or two, and spangled all bobbins not yet in action. Then I got to thinking that the average value of those bobbins was about $5 each. That meant that I was packing $1000 worth of bobbins in my bag. I haven't counted my bobbins since then...and have acquired many, many more of them. (I would guess over a thousand). An inventory would be good for insurance purposes, but it would also shock my mind on how much I've spent on them. (Plus pillows and all that other stuff.) How important is it to have a current inventory of all lacemaking equipment? Is it really worth the time and effort? Alice in Oregon ... looking forward to no rain next week. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003 Insurance of bobbins. I put mine under contents which covers them individually up to a certain amount. Some people put them in as tools of the trade'. Since I have many Barry Adams ivory(old piano keys) bobbins if I priced them out I'd need a mortage to cover the yearly premium. It's not only bobbins -pillows, books, threads . The list is endless of the extras we collect. A nightmare when we came to downsize yet again to a much smaller house. My solution was to give most of my antique laces to The Manor House Museum in Bury St. Edmunds together with books on history and identification. This way they have become available to other lacemakers and not just me. Sheila in Sawbo' where it has turned colder and grey. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Inventory???
When this came up on Arachne in about 2002, I decided to buckle down and do my inventory, for insurance purposes. I store it in Excel, with details of spangles, inscriptions, costs, supplier etc. It was a lot of work - and revealed a huge collection of bobbins! Now, the collection grows slowly (generally one or two at a time, apart from the exciting occasion when I was given someone else's collection) so there is not much to do to maintain it / add to it. My son looks ahead in all things, and likes to be prepared for everything. (At 7, he was busy planning the toy shop he would own when he was grown-up, and working out details like whether it should be a shop or a market stall and where he would get the price labels!) So he is very grateful to know that this file exists, so that he has some clue how to dispose of them after my death (which we both hope will be a long time off). Sue sueba...@comcast.net - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] RE: first lace pillow
The guild I first joined had "loaner" kits which newbies could take home with them and keep for two or three months, which gave them enough time to decide whether they wanted to continue making lace. I had only had my loaner kit a couple of weeks before I started looking at suppliers so I could get my own. I bought several dozen "plain" bobbins and spangled them myself, and the guild held a "pillow-making" session where we brought our wooden circles pre-cut, along with a piece of upholstery foam and some muslin (calico to those in UK), and while I stood on the upside-down pillow (rotating around the edge as needed), the fabric was stapled to the backside of the wood until it was nice and tight. I later covered the pillow with velveteen - seemed so elegant at the time. It was 18" in diameter. But I soon longed for something larger... and so began the endless quest for the perfect pillow! So, except for the fact that you *might* have decided not to continue to make lace, your initial investment was very wise! No money spent on pillows that were too small, too flimsy, poorly made, etc. I have one of those lovely straw-stuffed Belgian cookie pillows. It is in need of more straw, and I have no idea how to tackle that project!! Clay On 4/16/2011 8:48 AM, Sister Claire wrote: My first lace pillow was a 60cm straw-stuffed Belgian cookie pillow. It was *far* more pillow than I needed and in the years since I have only rarely used much of its surface. I had never done bobbin lace, never seen it done in person, but dearly wanted to try it. So I contacted an online dealer (now out of business) and naively asked them to put together what I needed to get started. Huge pillow, dozens of bobbins, threads, a book. It cost me a small fortune. They made a lot of money off this naive beginner. Even so, all turned out well. That's not how I would recommend kitting out a newbie, but none of it's gone to waste! Sr. Claire - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] RE: first lace pillow
My first lace pillow was a 60cm straw-stuffed Belgian cookie pillow. It was *far* more pillow than I needed and in the years since I have only rarely used much of its surface. I had never done bobbin lace, never seen it done in person, but dearly wanted to try it. So I contacted an online dealer (now out of business) and naively asked them to put together what I needed to get started. Huge pillow, dozens of bobbins, threads, a book. It cost me a small fortune. They made a lot of money off this naive beginner. Even so, all turned out well. That's not how I would recommend kitting out a newbie, but none of it's gone to waste! Sr. Claire - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Inventory???
I have wondered the same thing at one time or another. I asked my insurance agent about whether my supplies were covered under my homeowner's insurance, and the answer was that I would have to compile an inventory (preferably with photographs) and get a "rider" on my insurance to cover these things, since it is clear to me that the total exceeds the limit my insurance company puts on this sort of thing. It would be the same as insuring cameras or jewelry or musical instruments... So, for me, the question comes down to... when will I make the time to take that inventory and the pictures? Sigh... I'd rather make lace. Clay On 4/16/2011 4:02 AM, lacel...@frontier.com wrote: How important is it to have a current inventory of all lacemaking equipment? Is it really worth the time and effort? Alice in Oregon ... looking forward to no rain next week. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] antique bobbins
I recommend Renaissance Micro-cristalline Wax Polish. It's recipe stems from the British Museum to be used for conservation and is acid free. I used it on bobbins, leather and marble already with very good results. Not cheap, but one of the 200 ml cans is probably enough for a lifetime of bobbin polishing and conserving. The first thing I do when I get new (or antique) bobbins is rubbing them with some of this wax. Here's the manufacturers website: http://www.picreator.co.uk/ Best, Achim. Am 16.04.2011 um 00:20 schrieb Sue: > I have just bought some antique wooden bobbins, can anyone tell me how I can > put some life into the wood without using grease or anything that might > damage threads because they are very dusty and look as if they have not been > used in many, many years. > > > > 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 arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] antique bobbins
Hi Sue, the very best thing I have found is "Granny Almans Old Fashioned Furniture Polish & Reviver". It is a mix of linseed oil, distilled white vinegar and sugar! I don't know what the proportions are and have never bothered to try to work it out as it's not expensive. Phone 0116 255 8854 to see if they will send it to you. I see them at craft fairs and steam rallies. She does beautiful corn dollies and straw lace, he does soaps and the like, including the polish. You may have seen them if you go to that sort of event, but not realised about his polish, as I know they do go to East Anglia. They are based in Leicester. It is very liquid, and you need to shake it every time you tip it up as it separates very quickly, but it cleans off dirt without removing the patina, soaks into the wood and brings back a soft sheen. With very dry wood I usually have plenty on the cloth, and rub them over to remove the dirt then leave them to dry. I then give them another rub/pat with more polish and leave to dry (this doesn't take long) and when they don't seem to be absorbing any more, and have dried again, then I polish them up with a dry cloth. It is excellent for any furniture that needs tlc. All my Bucks thumpers and other old bobbins have been treated with it, and some were in a dire condition but now glow. Shame I'm not working on commission. Jacquie in Lincolnshire - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Re: German suppliers
There's even a shop in the center of Berlin, selling lace supplies and handicraft from the Erzgebirge: http://www.kloeppeln-berlin.de/index.php Klöppelstube Rathausstraße 21 10178 Berlin Mitte Tel. +49-30-27576669 Best, Achim. Am 15.04.2011 um 13:56 schrieb Ilske Thomsen: > the question about shops selling lace related materials I answered privately. > But here are the addresses i found again for all of you. > > Klöppelkiste > Wasserschloßweg 6 > 09123 Chemnitz part Klaffenbach > this is far away from Chemnitz itself but a lovely place > Tel: 03712600743 > > Klöppelshop Köck > Hauptstraße 13 > 92539 Schönsee > Tel 09674 258 > > Ilske > > - > To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: > unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to > arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: > http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003 - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
[lace] Inventory???
>From: Nancy Neff >If I had known how much usable pillows and bobbins (even Continental bobbins) were going to cost me eventually I might never have started. Thank heavens I didn't know! Now it's too much fun to stop. The cost of the art can sneak up on you. I know some people have one pillow and one set of bobbins, and are happy to keep to that. I tend to get over enthusiastic when I'm enjoying myself. I think back to Arachne 98 when my class list specified bringing 100 pair of bobbins. I gasped, and started counting bobbins. I found I could just make the requirement if I finished two projects, dumped one or two, and spangled all bobbins not yet in action. Then I got to thinking that the average value of those bobbins was about $5 each. That meant that I was packing $1000 worth of bobbins in my bag. I haven't counted my bobbins since then...and have acquired many, many more of them. (I would guess over a thousand). An inventory would be good for insurance purposes, but it would also shock my mind on how much I've spent on them. (Plus pillows and all that other stuff.) How important is it to have a current inventory of all lacemaking equipment? Is it really worth the time and effort? Alice in Oregon ... looking forward to no rain next week. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003