[lace] Yardage
Hi Arachnids When I started writing my Bucks books I was determined to show the lace as competed items. Until then the Bucks books had mainly samples, a few motifs and the occasional fan and collar and I felt they did not do our lace justice. Consequently I have become involved in yardage. The lower edge of the half slip in my geometrical book and now the edging round the christening gown underdress (34 repeats) and the front panel of its overdress (even more and still going). Fortunately I enjoy working many repeats as much as I enjoy puzzling over a new piece. Don't even think about the speed, just enjoy making your lace and it will grow. Happy lacemking 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] Re: Yardage - Speed
I have a friend's bobbin that has the words "one inch of lace equals a quarter inch of dust" ... kind of explains the dust in this house me thinks VBG Warm regards, Laura Forrester @>++ laura_ros...@yahoo.com http://lauraslace.blogspot.com/ http://funkyglassbeads.blogspot.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] In defence of speed
laceandb...@aol.com wrote: May I be so bold as to say that these two statements are a little contradictory? If you were able to work faster the scarf would have grown quicker and would not have seemed so tedious, while for more challenging and enjoyable projects, working faster (while maintaining the same high quality) means that you would be able to make more of the designs you are inspired by. It's a win win situation, surely. Spoken like a true product person. My interest in bobbin lacemaking, as will all my craft interests (and there are many, many of those!) is in the doing, not in the having. Unlike Clay, I won't continue to waste time on a project that I've gotten bored with or come to dislike. It's the sitting at the pillow, playing with beautiful tools, making something beautiful, that I love. Finishing is irrelevant. I have a short attention span and if I lose interest in it, I cut it off and start something new (= more inspiring). My friends have crowned me the uncontested Queen of Unfinished Projects. Those are just the things that I still have on hand, in case I decide to go back to them. In many of my interests, I don't even know how to finish things, on others I just haven't had enough practice to do a decent job. No problem, because "I never finish anything anyway!" For a process person, it's working on it, not the finished object, that is satisfying. Robin P. Los Angeles, California, USA robinl...@socal.rr.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] good things are happening lacewise in Maine, USA
You're stuck with me in Maine from August 16-31. As I mentioned privately. lrb -Original Message- From: tess parrish Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2011 3:17 PM To: Arachne to post Subject: [lace] good things are happening lacewise in Maine, USA This is the time of year when many people in the eastern United States take their vacations in Maine. So I am inviting any lacemakers who are coming up here to let us know if they would like to meet any of the newly forming group of active lacemakers in the state, no matter where these summer visitors might be staying. The state of Maine is very large, like most of the United States, so it has been hard for all of us to get together on any kind of regular basis, but it is finally happening and we have been meeting monthly for several months now. . Our members come from as far north as New Brunswick, Canada, and down into seacoast New Hampshire. Not all of us can be at every gathering, so we move around the state as much as we can to make it easier for all no matter where they live. The group is still small and widely spaced, but the will is there and we keep in constant touch by email. Arachne is where we all check in every day to learn new things and to solve problems, and for a little far-flung group like ours it is a godsend. So please, if you are vacationing here this summer, or if you live permanently in our area, we hope that you will contact us and say hello. Summertime in Maine is the best for lacemaking, especially outdoors! Tess Parrish (tess1...@aol.com) in Falmouth, Maine, just north of Portland. Jeri Ames (jeria...@aol.com), in Winthrop, Maine, very near Augusta. Johanna Hildebrand (hildb...@nbnet.nb.ca) in Frederickton, New Brunswick, Canada. And others in between! - 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] In defence of speed
Hear, hear, Jacqui, I do agree with you. And I must emphasize that when I say speed, I mean speed with style and accuracy, without mistake. On the other hand, we each bring different things to the table, and while I am not process oriented, I understand that many are. I am not. My daughter insists on making bread and pies by hand. I use my heavy duty mixer for both. As long as the bread and pies are tasty, and there was time enough to make them, whether one wants speed or process really doesn't matter. But we won't ask Clay and others to go for speed if they don't want to, and please don't ask me to emphasize the process. I do enjoy the process, and I am learning a lot about lacemaking by making 2 yards of the same 1 inch square repeat. I relieve the boredom my listening to books, or listening to what's on the TV. And I understand about the original lacemakers a lot better. The thoughts in this discussion have been fascinating. Very helpful to me, too, with ideas that have been well thought out over time. As a group, we think. Not always the same, and that's good. Lyn in Lancaster, PA, US, (note I've always put it all, and spelled it out, because not everyone knows the abbreviations) where the air conditioning is on today because of the humidity, and for the dog, a Newfoundland, who suffers more than DH in the heat. 8 p.m. and it's 81F 24.5C. "cold" front coming. -Original Message- >From: laceandb...@aol.com >Sent: Jun 23, 2011 6:51 AM >To: lace@arachne.com >Subject: [lace] In defence of speed > >Clay said - "It seemed to take forever, and I vowed I would never again >work a project in which I could not enjoy the process from start to finish." >and "I do not have a burning desire to finish, just a compulsion >to make the lace as beautiful as I possibly can. So... speed is never an >issue. " > >May I be so bold as to say that these two statements are a little >contradictory? If you were able to work faster the scarf would have grown >quicker >and would not have seemed so tedious, while for more challenging and >enjoyable projects, working faster (while maintaining the same high quality) >means that you would be able to make more of the designs you are inspired by. > >It's a win win situation, surely. Also, just because you can work faster >doesn't mean you have to if you would prefer not to in any particular >situation. > >Even though you are nearly finished on a project you have loved working, >you do say that you have the next few lined up. Would you really think any >less of your finished lace because it took you six months to make instead >of eight? There would have been exactly the same amount of study needed, >the same new techniques mastered, the same number of bobbin moves, the same >number of pins placed. It also means that within the same (longer) time >frame you would be able to challenge yourself more, learn more new >techniques, make larger pieces that you might otherwise hesitate about >starting. > >Perhaps the lack of satisfaction with your more quickly produced pieces of >embroidery which didn't please you as much as the bigger projects was >simply because they didn't challenge you enough, rather than the time they >took >to make. > >Somewhere along the progession of this discussion there seems to have crept > in a slight inference that speed equals inferior work. Although perhaps >for some people working faster might mean they cut corners on the >tensioning, or leave less than excellent work because they don't want to >'waste time' >undoing, for most people who work fast, it is because they are handling >the bobbins efficiently and moving their fingers faster. They will be just >as meticulous with the quality of the finished work. > >A good example would be Pat Read; her fingers move so swiftly it is >difficult to exactly see how she moves the bobbins, but no-one would suppose >that >the quality of her lace could be improved, while the quantity she is able >to make is to be envied and appreciated by all of us who benefit from her >enormous output. > >Jacquie in Lincolnshire, who would love to be able to work faster. > >- >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] bobbin flicking
Nancy I use the thumb flicking method of moving bobbins when I am making tallies, but not for other parts of the lace. I have not noticed any effect on the thread unwinding or winding too much. In tallies the flicking happens with alternating thumbs: left thumb flicks to the right, right thumb flicks to the left. I have found this method makes really good tallies, and it is fairly fast. Lorelei - 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] Lace Identification Booklet & Hapsburg veil
Hello All! Thank you Linda for posting the link to this article. I'll admit to drooling over the Lanvin sleeve detail on my way to downloading the booklet for reading later. Thanks Karen for posting the veil link--what a fabulous piece! The 88x102 stitches/rows per inch scale is almost beyond comprehension. The photo of MM Post's daughter wearing the veil in 1927 makes me wonder if the picture was taken at Mar-A-Lago, her former Palm Beach home now owned by The Donald? In today's news, the Corcoran is going to receive one of the Monet *waterlily* paintings from the Clark estate. Wouldn't it be grand if it was up on the wall by the end of the year? That would make a really fine trip to DC--the veil & Monet in one visit. M. Sincerely, Susan Hottle, Erie, PA, USA with another 6" of rain today. Enough already! - 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] good things are happening lacewise in Maine, USA
This is the time of year when many people in the eastern United States take their vacations in Maine. So I am inviting any lacemakers who are coming up here to let us know if they would like to meet any of the newly forming group of active lacemakers in the state, no matter where these summer visitors might be staying. The state of Maine is very large, like most of the United States, so it has been hard for all of us to get together on any kind of regular basis, but it is finally happening and we have been meeting monthly for several months now. . Our members come from as far north as New Brunswick, Canada, and down into seacoast New Hampshire. Not all of us can be at every gathering, so we move around the state as much as we can to make it easier for all no matter where they live. The group is still small and widely spaced, but the will is there and we keep in constant touch by email. Arachne is where we all check in every day to learn new things and to solve problems, and for a little far-flung group like ours it is a godsend. So please, if you are vacationing here this summer, or if you live permanently in our area, we hope that you will contact us and say hello. Summertime in Maine is the best for lacemaking, especially outdoors! Tess Parrish (tess1...@aol.com) in Falmouth, Maine, just north of Portland. Jeri Ames (jeria...@aol.com), in Winthrop, Maine, very near Augusta. Johanna Hildebrand (hildb...@nbnet.nb.ca) in Frederickton, New Brunswick, Canada. And others in between! - 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] Re: Yardage - Speed
I wrote privately about the subject, but in the main I think the word is "efficiency" which has later come up on the list. That word indicates a combination of speed and quality, and with that, discerning not only what is up to par in outcome, but what can be done to expedite the process. In some ways, it is a thinking/planning ahead and the brain is on automatic pilot to execute the repetitive task (whether fissure or unconscious, or right and left hemispheres both engaged). Of course there is hand/eye coordination. Ability can be innate, but anything can be overcome with practice (if one practices perfectly). It is also perspective, in viewing it as endless, vs. an ability one refines as one works; creating a better effect with more and more refined techniques, adds joy to the journey, so the process is as fulfilling as the end goal or project. Of course seconds stolen can be nearly as fruitful as long sessions, and then one begins to review their approach and technique with each. Also, working at your peak time of the day, and for some, having caffeine and protein in their system, helps with clarity. I tend to do most things quickly, unless I really enjoy them, so knit more slowly, and read very good books slowly (also very delicious food, otherwise I will want to eat more), so savoring the moment brings full pleasure, which may make one faster, but surely helps enjoyment. It becomes not about, "Oh no, I have 3 more yards to make of this!" but rather "Oh no, I will mourn the loss of this project when it is done!" Just a few things I shared... Best, Susan Reishus - 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] Re: Blog About Hapsburg Veil
Rarely does most lace really impress me, but this certainly does! Thank you so much, for sharing! http://blog.americanhistory.si.edu/osaycanyousee/2011/06/the-finer-details-of -the-hapsburg-imperial-bridal-veil.html Best, Susan Reishus - 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] In defence of speed
Hi Everybody: Jacquie wrote: > Somewhere along the progession of this discussion there seems to have crept > in a slight inference that speed equals inferior work.for most > people who work fast, it is because they are handling > the bobbins efficiently and moving their fingers faster. They will be just > as meticulous with the quality of the finished work. I work in crafts (hand bookbinding) and the best binders I know - the ones who do the finest work and get commissions from all over the world - are also some of the fastest. My observation is that their speed comes from three sources: - they know exactly what to do so they never have to stop and think, - their skill level is so high that each movement can be made surely, accurately, and quickly, and - they also know what to obsess over and what to leave. Some things actually don't matter because they will iron themselves out later on in the process. I always think of this when I see some lacemakers who tension every stitch and then later on in the same row they realize that the next stitch sort of loosened the previous one so they go back and then tension the two of them and then they do the next stitch and go back and tension all three, etc. until they finally crawl to the end of the row and then tension the whole thing. Usually they are making a fairly simple pattern where careful tensioning at the end of the row is all that is needed, but they don't realize that because they never try it. As they gain experience their lacemaking will speed up because they will learn to watch their lace and see exactly when tensioning is needed and when it isn't. Adele North Vancouver, BC (west coast of Canada) - 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] In defence of speed
Clay said - "It seemed to take forever, and I vowed I would never again work a project in which I could not enjoy the process from start to finish." and "I do not have a burning desire to finish, just a compulsion to make the lace as beautiful as I possibly can. So... speed is never an issue. " May I be so bold as to say that these two statements are a little contradictory? If you were able to work faster the scarf would have grown quicker and would not have seemed so tedious, while for more challenging and enjoyable projects, working faster (while maintaining the same high quality) means that you would be able to make more of the designs you are inspired by. It's a win win situation, surely. Also, just because you can work faster doesn't mean you have to if you would prefer not to in any particular situation. Even though you are nearly finished on a project you have loved working, you do say that you have the next few lined up. Would you really think any less of your finished lace because it took you six months to make instead of eight? There would have been exactly the same amount of study needed, the same new techniques mastered, the same number of bobbin moves, the same number of pins placed. It also means that within the same (longer) time frame you would be able to challenge yourself more, learn more new techniques, make larger pieces that you might otherwise hesitate about starting. Perhaps the lack of satisfaction with your more quickly produced pieces of embroidery which didn't please you as much as the bigger projects was simply because they didn't challenge you enough, rather than the time they took to make. Somewhere along the progession of this discussion there seems to have crept in a slight inference that speed equals inferior work. Although perhaps for some people working faster might mean they cut corners on the tensioning, or leave less than excellent work because they don't want to 'waste time' undoing, for most people who work fast, it is because they are handling the bobbins efficiently and moving their fingers faster. They will be just as meticulous with the quality of the finished work. A good example would be Pat Read; her fingers move so swiftly it is difficult to exactly see how she moves the bobbins, but no-one would suppose that the quality of her lace could be improved, while the quantity she is able to make is to be envied and appreciated by all of us who benefit from her enormous output. Jacquie in Lincolnshire, who would love to be able to work faster. - 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] Blog about Hapsburg veil
Thank you so much for this! I can see a trip to DC is in order! Clay On 6/22/2011 5:40 PM, Karen Thompson wrote: This is the blog I posted on the American History Museum website about the Point de Gaze Hapsburg veil from 1881 made for Princess Stephanie of Belgium for her wedding. http://blog.americanhistory.si.edu/osaycanyousee/2011/06/the-finer-details-of-the-hapsburg-imperial-bridal-veil.html The blog is a very shortened version of my research, and a compromise with the editor for a general audience. I will be glad to answer questions, either here or by e-mail, and would be delighted if anyone has any clues to the transition of the veil from Princess Stephanie to Mrs. Post, or any other insights. The veil is currently on display at Hillwood Museum in Washington, DC, and I would urge any lace enthusiast coming to the area to see it. When not on display it is folded in a large drawer in the American History Museum in Washington, DC, where only a small portion can be seen. Regretfully, the Hillwood Museum did not agree to host one of the tours during the IOLI Convention in Bethesda, Maryland during the first week of August, but any individual can go and see the veil from now through the end of the year. -Karen in Washington, DC, USA - 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] bobbin making
Many years ago, when my youngest daughter wanted to learn to make lace, I used to sit and whittle 4mm wooden canes to make her bobbins. I even used to carve patterns along the body using a Stanley Knife (a make of craft knife in the UK). One of the woodwork teachers taught me how to use a lathe, but it wouldn't take this thin wood. In the end I made over 200 hundred in the lunch hour in the school I worked in. She is now 40+ with 2 daughters who also laced. Two years ago she came with us to the Lace Guild stand at the Knitting and Stitches Show in London. She was amazed at how quickly it came back, when she helped people try the snake, altho' she hadn't laced for years. Shows that a skill like ours maybe forgotten but never lost. Sheila in Sawbo where the sun is shining and the rain hasn't really wet the soil. - 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
