[lace] Re: Advent Calendar
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [lace] Re: Advent Calendar problems Dear Jean and David Leader, It seems that we on Arachne owe you a very special public *Thank You* for your annual efforts to amuse and challenge us during the Christmas season... Hear, hear! I love your Advent Calendar. I don't have one of my own any more :), but I love going to the Lace Guild website every day to open the latest window. And thank you Jean, for your Introduction to Buck Point booklet. I have several Bucks Point books, but this is the one I'm learning from. It's clearer and more helpful than the others for a beginner like me, and I was very grateful to find it. I've also bought your Beds booklet, even though I don't plan to try Beds for quite a while. Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Re Busy lists
Claire Allen wrote: I'm not quite sure how Father Christmas can offend people from other faiths when he is not exactly a religious symbol himself. I too am an Atheist and I celebrate Christmas as the winter solstice festival that was hijacked when Christianity came to this country. And if people are not prepared to respect the main religion of the country they are living in maybe they should rethink where they live. (That is not intended as racist by the way). Claire Kent, UK I quite agree. Anyway, I can't see that many British Muslims or Sikhs or Hindus are going to be offended by Christians celebrating Christmas. I'm certainly not! Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Re: lBusy Lists
One year we decided to celebrate Roman Saturnalia instead of Christmas. I did a lot of research on this but in the end, it was surprising how similar the Saturnalia was to Christmas. For instance, the giving of fruitcake is from Saturnalia and the wearing of peaked hats like Santa hats and the giving of presents. When my sister-in-law and her family arrived for just the dessert she inquired about why we were all wearing Santa hats and we had to tell her we were celebrating Saturnalia. I think appeared to be a non-sequitor to her. Devon How enterprising to celebrate Saturnalia! Did you also include the drunkenness that seems to have been part of Saturnalia? I'm always amazed when I read about the customs of Christmas as to how many of them pre-date Christmas. Yule logs, evergreen decorations, gift-giving, holly, mistletoe, carol-singing, candles and so on were all pagan. At least the ancient pagans can't claim to have invented lace Christmas decorations :) Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Swedish woven hearts
The woven paper hearts are a Swedish traditional decoration, for Christmas!'d suggest you make a few with colored construction paper and you'll quickly understand what to do with the lace pieces once you've made them. To learn how to make them, look at this web site: http://permo.homepage.dk/ Thanks so much for this link - the hearts are lovely! I was getting fed up about the fact that a shoulder injury means I won't be able to get a Christmas tree this year (too heavy to maneouvre into place, and I don't much like artifical ones). I thought I might be able to make some unusual Christmas decorations to compensate - and these are perfect! Straight down to Hobbycraft to get some fancy paper to make them with... (Sorry for bringing up the H word, but they are useful for some things) Regards, Annette, London ___ Win a castle for NYE with your mates and Yahoo! Messenger http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Re: Busy lists?
Not only am *I* a dyed-in-the-wool atheist Me too. Last year, while writing a Christmas card to my neighbours, I did stop to wonder why an atheist was sending a Christmas card to a Muslim family! When I was a Catholic, a long, long time ago, I used to think that non-Christians who celebrated Christmas were trying to have their cake and eat it. Then I realised that there's been a mid-winter festival here long before the Christians co-opted it for Christmas, so I have a perfect right to celebrate that :) At least it gives me an excuse to make lace Christmas decorations. I was amused last week when some of the big shops along Oxford St in London said they wouldn't be having a Father Christmas this year, because it might offend people of other faiths. And yet they seem happy enough to profit from and promote the orgy of Christmas present-buying that's going on now! I don't have a DH, so I have to write all my Christmas cards myself... Regards, Annette, London ___ Moving house? Beach bar in Thailand? New Wardrobe? Win £10k with Yahoo! Mail to make your dream a reality. Get Yahoo! Mail www.yahoo.co.uk/10k - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Political comments
Her message is rife with inuendo if not actual reference and it is in more than the sig. I will quote the two most offensive parts...That the extent is limited is not my fault; I don't happen to have any shares in Enron or Haliburton, nor am I in the upper 2% bracket, so my income has plummeted even faster than the dollar vs euro has since the advent of the current administration Isn't this just a statement of fact? I'm not American, but I understood that the richest Americans have benefited from tax cuts over the last 4 years, and poorer Americans haven't. ... I even gave up going to the U film club (to see Farenheit 9/11) tonihgt; ... I'm completely lost as to why a reference to going to see this film is political. If you don't like the economy and political climate here go to where ever you came from. I would have thought that any American citizen has the right to disagree with the policies of the American government, without being told to leave the country... Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Pipers 90/2
I've never seen 90/2 Pipers' silk, and their website doesn't list it either. I haven't checked Piper's web site recently, but their price list from Jan 2004 still lists 90/2 Twisted gloss silk - I'm actually using it at the moment to make a fan. I hope they haven't discontinued it! Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Fan pillows
The fan I'm making at the moment is fairly small, and fits across the flattish top of an 18 cookie pillow. I can't get a pillow much larger than that, because it would strain my shoulders to reach it (I have short arms and injured shoulders!). The Kleinhout pillow has two pie-shaped movable suggestions, as you suggest, which would be ideal, but I suppose I'm thinking about flat, pie-shaped sections in the centre of a cookie pillow (with sloping sides). A cone-shaped roller sounds intriguing, but I can't work out how you would make one, or how it would fit into an existing roller pillow. I don't suppose any supplier makes such a thing? Regards, Annette, London PS I heard about Mt St Helens on the news - I hope if it does erupt it isn't too serious. Are you very near? Alice Howell wrote: This brought two thoughts to my mind. First -- the recent discussion on patterns lifting from the pillow. One reason was the conflict of putting a flat pattern on a curved pillow. A fan is a flat item. For the lace to fit best, it seems like it should be made flat. While I haven't (yet) made a fan (that class is coming next spring), I would think that the pattern would need to be worked on a flat surface as big as the fan. The bobbin area could be shaped to suit the bobbins and lacemaker. A small fan would fit easily on a cookie pillow. A larger fan may need a special pillow design. The cookie with the two or more pie-shaped movable sections is one solution. The second area of thought was the cone shaped roller. Curved items can be made on a cone that has been fitted to the shape of the pattern. The cone can be inserted into a roller pillow, or a cut out section of a cookie pillow. The working surface stays at the optimum center of the pillow, and the bobbin surface would stay consistent. A used roller pillow I acquired had a cone roller with it that the previous lacemaker had devised. If a person plans to make only one fan, a usable pillow could be constructed out of builders foam. It doesn't last for extensive use, but works well for a short time. When you all figure it out, let me know. I'll have to have a fan pillow next spring. G Alice in Oregon -- where we are waiting for the second eruption of Mt St Helens in a week. They think the next one will be bigger than last week. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Re: Fan Pillows
Rather than having a pillow especially for fans I made an extension for my 22 inch round pillow. That sounds like a good idea. I can't make that kind of thing myself, but I might be able to find someone who can. Thanks! Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Re: Fan Pillows
From what I've heard, the Newnham pillows were superb - it's a shame they're not still available. The disc pillow you mention sounds a bit like the collar pillow that Central Scotland Lace Supplies do. They also have a fan pillow that sounds like the Newnham one. I've already been referred to Rosemarie Robertson, so I'll contact her and see what she has. If the pillow has a domed apron, it might be what I'm looking for. Thanks, Annette, London From: Brenda Paternoster [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [lace] Fan pillows I don't know if anyone still makes them but at one time Karl Newnham (who ceased trading many years ago, but was the Rolls Royce of pillow makers) used to make a fan pillow which was shaped like a quarter of a circle and worked like a block pillow in that it had segments that were moved along as the work progressed. He also used to make disc pillows. which were a flat disc of high density styrene/ethafoam with a collar shaped apron around it. The disc rotates as the work progresses and the bobbins rest on the apron area. Mine is only 12 inches disc diameter, but he made them up to about 18 inch diameter. I think Rosemarie Robertson of Bobbins ad Pillows makes a similar pillow, but she doesn't have a web site and my price list of hers is four years out of date! I have used my disc pillow to make a small fan, but for the large fan that I made, for Marie's wedding, I used a 24 inch cookie pillow./ - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Re: Fan Pillows
I bought an oval pillow from the lace suppliers in Scotland - the name is something like Central Scotland Lace Suppliers. It's the equivalent of a 24 inch round pillow, but with two chunks chopped off so that it has parallel straight sides. The advantage of this shape is that it's easier to reach all of the pillow, especially the centre, than a circular one. The shape almost matches a fan so would be good for that. However I'm not sure that this will meet your domed requirements, it is almost flat. I find it interesting that you want a domed pillow for Bruges bobbins. When I use Midlands bobbins I like a domed pillow, or use a flat pillow on the diagonal. When I use Binche bobbins that can roll, I prefer my pillow to be as close to horizontal as I can get it, so that the bobbins have no gradient to roll along when I put them down. I'd forgotten about CSLS. I now see they actually have a fan pillow, though it looks a bit flat. The reason I don't like flat pillows is that I don't like working with the pillow horizontal (which I have to do with Continental bobbins). I know that's what they do in Europe, but it's the lack of tension on the bobbins that bothers me - I've got used to the weight of the bobbins hanging down providing tension. Maybe I should just try and get used to working flat. Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Re: Lace in London
Not in London, but easily accessible... The weekend of December 4/5th is the country's largest lace fair, at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. You can get to Birmingham in 90 minutes by train from London Euston, and the NEC has its own station. Regards, Annette - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Elwyn Kenn's books
Thank you for all your comments about Elwynn Kenn's books. I bought Australian Wildflowers in Point Ground yesterday from Jacqui (Larkholme Lace) at Swanley Lacemaker's lace day. The patterns look lovely , though it'll be a while before I can try them. It sounds as if I will have to look out for the third book second-hand. Jacqui, when my teacher saw just how many books I'd bought from you, she was gob-smacked. Later in the day, when she saw me looking through a beading book on the Spangles stand, she came up behind me and said, No! NO! very firmly in my ear... But you had a super selection of books, several of which I've waiting to buy for a while. It was a lovely day - I haven't been to one before. Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Elwyn Kenn's books
I have a copy of Elwynn Kenn's Point Gound Patterns from Australia and am wondering how different her other books are, ie is it worth getting the other books as well? Are the patterns all different? I'm not ready to do her patterns yet, but after hearing of the problems people have getting lace books, I now buy anything I like the look of as soon as I see it, and I do like her patterns. Jacqui, will Larkholme Lace be at Swanley Lace day on Saturday (you're listed on the tickets as being there)? If so, will you be bringing Australian Wildflowers in Point Ground Lace with you? Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Pattern copyright
I think there is a point where the copyright issue becomes just a silly bit of nonsense. If you're making items to raise money for a cause, I would say make them, sell them, and if someone wants to come sue you, let them come. Imagine how silly THEY would look, having their attorney send a nasty letter to the care home about the abuse of coypyright. It can still harm the designer though, even if the items are being sold for charity. I know of an author of lacemaking books who found someone was making up her designs and selling them very cheaply. They were made with coarse thread and were very poorly worked (I think they were being made in Asia). The point was that the author works and sells items based on those designs, and because the quality of her workmanship is very high, they are priced accordingly. This other person was not only undercutting her, but also damaging her reputation. This would be the case even if the items were being sold for charity. The person concerned has now agreed to stop selling items based on this author's designs. Regards, Annette, London ___ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - all new features - even more fun! http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Dorset Arts and Crafts show
It depends whether she went in the morning or the afternoon. I was there in the afternoon with my mother and another lady called Janice... Best wishes, Liz Pass,In Poole, Dorset, UK It turns out my mother went to the show on Friday morning, not Saturday after all. I went last year because I happened to be in Dorset that week, but unfortunately I couldn't go this year. I'd arranged to go down to Dorset next week instead - for Weymouth Carnival (which I used to love as a child, but haven't been to for years). I must try and remember about the DAC next year, and plan my visits to Dorset accordingly! Regards, Annette - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Working hands-up
Thanks very much for all the notes and suggestions about working hands-up. I've had a go (I had already looked at the picture on Jo Falkink's website, after Tamara mentioned it in a message about Prague, so I tried tilting up my cookie pillow as in the picture), and it's not as good as I thought it might be. I have what is called diffuse RSI, which means not that there is any obvious damage to tendons or ligaments, but that my nerves now seem to over-react to what I do with my hands and forearms, and signal pain where it probably isn't warranted. So what I'm finding is that hands-up requires more muscle movement in my forearms, to hold the bobbins and twist and cross them in my hands, and also to keep pinning, so it may be more of a strain than hands-down. But I may be able to work out a method of handling the bobbins that suits my hands - a kind of combination of both methods. I was so concerned with doing it right it didn't really occur to me I could do anything that works for me. So thanks for all the suggestions and tips - I now know what the possibilities are. Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Dorset Arts and Crafts
My mother went to see the Dorset Arts and Crafts show yesterday and mentioned there was someone there demonstrating lace. Was this one of you? She said the lace the demonstrator had on show was lovely, that there was some Bucks Point there (I didn't even know she could recognise Bucks Point - she must have remembered the samples of it that I've worked and showed her) and also some lace mounted on a CD. Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Working hands-up
Gabriele, Thank you very much, this is all helpful. I'm trying this on a cookie pillow tilted up to see if it's something my hands can cope with before I spend money on a bolster pillow! Regards, Annette, London G.Kister-Schuler wrote: Hello Annette, I think you are asking for the *german way* of lacemaking: hanging bobbins and holding them in the palm of your hands. So I try to give an answer from here. I am used to work on flat and on bolster pillows. Annette Gill schrieb: I'm thinking of trying to work hands-up, either by making a pillow from a pool noodle, or buying a bolster pillow from the Honiton Lace shop. (I may be visiting Honiton in a couple of weeks). 'But I'm still a bit confused as to how you actually do this. I'm vaguely aware that if you work this way you make some of the stitches differently. For example, do you do half stitch as TC, instead of CT? How would you do other stitches like cloth, cloth stitch and twist, point gound, and so on? First of all, it is not necessary to change from CT to TC. It is absolutely possible to work the same way you are used to. Linen stitch is linen stitch wherever you make it. We do not really know where the differences in handling come from. There is only one logical thing: when you work hanging bobbins you have to hang the inactive bobbins over pins and when you work CT, the last thing you do when you hang them on, is a twist. But when you go on working and take them from the pin, you willhave to untwist them to see if there is a twist or is none. So it doesn't make sense to hang them twisted, because you undo the twist. It saves time to work TC but in the beginning you better work what you are used to. Do you hold all four bobbins you're working with in your hands as you do the stitch? Yes, we do, because we do not move them on the pillow but in our hands. You cross and twist them in your hands and let them hang down (or over longer pins) when the stitch is finished. An additional hint: have a look for the height of your pillow. You should not lift your shoulders while working. If I can tell you anything else, you are welcome to ask. Gabriele from Chemnitz, Germany http://www.kloeppelkiste.de - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] When does a book become rare?
I'd agree - if a book is still in print, you can order it from any bookshop, so I don't think the seller can describe it as rare. Jean Nathan wrote: So that will apply also to every book on weaving, embroidery, tennis, horse riding, and any other hobby, but it doesn't make them rare, especially if they're still in print. Jean in Poole - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Working hands-up
I'm thinking of trying to work hands-up, either by making a pillow from a pool noodle, or buying a bolster pillow from the Honiton Lace shop. (I may be visiting Honiton in a couple of weeks). 'But I'm still a bit confused as to how you actually do this. I'm vaguely aware that if you work this way you make some of the stitches differently. For example, do you do half stitch as TC, instead of CT? How would you do other stitches like cloth, cloth stitch and twist, point gound, and so on? Do you hold all four bobbins you're working with in your hands as you do the stitch? I'd be grateful for any advice before I decide to try this. It sounds like it's a difficult method of working to get used to, but it might be better for me since I have RSI. Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Two-Pair Inventions - distribution
Tamara, What about an electronic version that we foreigners could buy and print off ourselves? That would get round the prohibitive postal costs. I'm sure we're all honest enough not to share out an electronic copy to others who haven't paid for it! Regards, Annette --- Tamara P. Duvall [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The projects included in the booklet - Snowflakes - have been on my website for quite a while; I've now added the photo of the front cover and all the basic info about the booklet, as a separate entry. Both can be reached from the same URL (in the signature), so you can see what it is you'd be getting. On advice from several friends, I've upped the price to a round $10 (easier to remember, and a better profit to The Lace Museum). I think it's still reasonable; the sting - scorpion like - is in the tail, or the shipping costs... ___ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - all new features - even more fun! http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Pool Noodles in Poole
Jean, Thanks for the info about the pool noodles. I'll try and see if there's a supplier locally, and if not I'll try the shop in Poole. My mother often goes up to Poole on the train to shop (from Weymouth) but she walks with a stick, so I don't think she could manage to carry a 5ft pool noodle back to the station! Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Stiffy
It was the same price as Stiffy which I don't like because it goes yellow-y. Do you mean it yellows in time, or when you first put it on? I used some last year on some Christmas ornaments, and it did make them a little less white than they were before. Will they yellow further over time? I also want to use it on miniature dolls clothes, so I'd be interested to know what the long-term consequences are. Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Pool noodles in Poole
Saw these 5 feet long blue, green, red or yellow cylinders obviously made of foam in a shop in Poole, and thought how useful one would be for the centre of a small roller. Then the penny dropped that they must be pool noodles. Never seen one before. Jean in Poole Do you mind me asking which shop they were in? Rose-Marie told me last year I could make a bolster pillow from a pool noodle, but I hadn't the faintest idea where to get them. I'm coming down to Weymouth for a few days for the carnival in August, and might well drive up to Bournemouth or Poole while I'm there, so I could get one. What diameter are they? Regards, Annette - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Holders for Bucks Thumpers
For projects where you choose to use Thumpers, or continental bobbins which don't have spangles, most lace vendors carry a bobbin holder that is wood and has an elastic cord that holds the bobbins in place - and in order. I can't get on with those at all -I find the bobbins don't always stay in the right order. I use crocheted holders for both Thumpers and Bruges bobbins. Crochet a long chain, and then on the next row do a treble stitch into every other stitch in the chain. At the end of that second row, you've got a long ladder - push a bobbin through each hole (or every other hole) in the ladder and bundle the whole lot out of the way. The bobbins HAVE to stay in the right order. g I know treble stitch is called something else in North America, but I can't remember what it is. You may need to use a different stitch anyway to get the size of the holes right, depending on which wool you use. My holders were done in double knitting wool using trebles, and the holes suit both the Thumpers and the Bruges bobbins. Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Threads untwisting
I note that the original problem was not really *breaking* so much as the thread pulling apart which happens when it becomes untwisted. I have had students with this problem with the white Madeira and I feel it is maybe something to do with the way they handle the thread when winding or how they move their bobbins, but I have never been able to analyse quite what. They all use spangled bobbins, but as one student will have the problem and another not even though they are using the same spool of thread.. Does anyone have any opinion on which cotton threads best resist untwisting? As I use Bucks Thumpers or Bruges bobbins (not together!) I have this problem. Although I'm controlling the bobbins' rolling to some extent, I still often get threads untwisting after a while. Twisting them up again never seems very satisfactory, as they're never as tightly twisted as they were when they came off the reel. At the moment I'm tending to use more and more silk (often Piper's twisted Silk) because it seems to resist untwisting. Can anyone recommend any other threads? Regards, Annette in London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Ornery
Thank you all for your definitions of ornery - I think I have the flavour of it now! I realise this subject was straying into Chat territory, but I've had to unsubscribe from Lace-Chat - wading through the digests of two lists is too much for my RSI at the moment. Thanks also for the tip on the pronunication, Clay - I should have realised the E was silent. (It reminds me of when I met an American family at a German youth hostel, many years ago. I asked where they came from and was told, Mrln. I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. They told me twice more, and I still couldn't get it. Then the penny finally dropped - putting the vowels back in gave me Maryland!) Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Magentic pin-pusher
Margot and Lorri, Many thanks for your suggestions - I'll follow them both up. I'm going to the Chelmsford lace fair today - perhaps I should take a magnet and look for magnetic pins! ;) Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Magnetic pin-pusher?
Is there such a thing as a magnetic pin pusher? I'm thinking of something like the magnetic screwdrivers that loosely hold on to the screw so all you have to do is guide it into the hole and then screw it in. Holding a fine pin, locating the pinhole with it and then pushing it in is causing me problems with RSI, and I thought if there was a pin pusher that could hold the pin so all I had to do was push it in, it would help a lot. Regards, Annette, London ___ Yahoo! Messenger - Communicate instantly...Ping your friends today! Download Messenger Now http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/download/index.html - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Lace events in UK in May
BRITISH LACE EVENTS IN MAY Does anyone know of any residential lace courses and/or lace days in the UK in May? Great Escapes have a course running on 21st-23rd May with Sandi Woods in Derbyshire. The URL I have for them doesn't seem to be working, but the email address is [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone (0) 1825 733422. Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Re: Translation
Der Kloppelbrief wurde um eine DIN-Stufe verkleinert! DIN is a German standards body. So I think what this is saying is that the pattern has been reduced by one DIN size - I assume that means by one size on the photocopier. That probably means the A and B paper sizes that we use in Europe. Sorry to be rather vague, but that's my best guess. Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Re: lace-chat-digest V1 #2295
On the 12th day of the Eurocentrically imposed midwinter festival, my Significant Other in a consenting adult monogamous relationship gave to me: TWELVE males reclaiming their inner warrior through ritual drumming, ELEVEN pipers piping (plus the 18-member pit orchestra made up of members in good standing of the Musicians Equity Union as called for in their union contract even though they will not be asked to play a note). etc etc... Love it! I've just got back from the London Symphony Orchestra's Christmas concert at the Barbican, where we were allowed to join in with this one. The conductor, Richard Hickox, was far from happy with our tempo during Four Calling Birds, Three French Hens, Two Turtle Doves. He said we were much too slow and we had to do it several times before he was satisfied. I dread to think how we would have fitted in FOUR hours of recorded whale songs, THREE deconstructionist poets, TWO Sierra Club calendars printed on recycled processed tree carcasses! Regards, Annette, in London To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Archives
From: Avital Pinnick [EMAIL PROTECTED] I have not noticed any increase in spam since using mail-archive... I've noticed a big increase in spam since I joined Arachne. It may be nothing to do with the archiving, and it may be nothing to do with Arachne at all, but I do get a lot more spam now than I used to before I joined. Regards, Annette in London To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Re: Red shoes
I've never bought red shoes, but my first pair of ballet shoes were red leather. When I was a teenager, I bought a pair of yellow plastic platform clogs, with 5 or 6 heels. I had a matching yellow blouse too, and the first time I wore the ensemble, I walked into town and thought I was the bee's knees. I tripped over in the darn things twice, the second time in front of some boys of my own age who laughed at me. I was mortified! I've never had any desire to buy yellow (or red) shoes since... Regards, Annette, London To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Re: NEC
Jane wrote: I think at 3pm they were announcing the draw - we all met up at 2pm, Jean :-). Did we really? By the time I got home I was too tired remember what time things happened. I still haven't really recovered, even with the bucket of candy floss yesterday. I haven't even looked at what I bought. 3pm just stuck in my mind. Jean in Poole I'm really sorry we didn't hear the announcement that you were meeting. I was disappointed that we hadn't made any firm plans to meet, but I haven't been well for the last week, so I left it to others to decide on a meeting place and time. I would love to have met some other Arachne members. By the afternoon, I was pretty tired too, and wasn't paying much attention to the announcements. I felt like a zombie by then - I felt like I was just a walking, talking shopping machine g Regards, Annette, London To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Re: NEC
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [lace-chat] Re: [lace] NEC Annette and I had a fabulous day, yesterday, at the NEC. I loved it - I had a ball! It was my first visit, and I spent way too much money, but then my excuse is that I'm new to this and there's lots that I still need. I daren't even add up how much I spent - it's too scarey (Marks and Sparks sent me their new credit card recently and they kindly give me points every time I use it, so I had to make good use of it!). It's all Liz's fault - if she hadn't offered me a lift, I probably wouldn't have gone g I was thrilled to see antique and old bobbins on sale, especially some Bucks Thumpers - which I've just wound and put on my pillow. I was wondering if I would ever be able to buy some old bobbins, since I don't visit antique shops much, and when I do, they don't have bobbins. What a great show - long may it continue! And thanks for the lift, Liz. Regards, Annette, London To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Re: Blocks
I live *inside* a block! The area of south-east London where I live was laid out for residential use between the wars. It wasn't exactly a proper grid, but where I live now was what could be described as a block. It was a Ministry of Defence site (I've no idea what it was there for). In the late 80s, it was pulled down and about 70 houses built over the site. The developers made 3 closes (dead-end roads) that each wound their way into the block from one of the 4 surrounding roads. But they also built houses on the edges of the site, facing onto three of the surrounding roads. This caused a problem for the numbering on those roads - in the 30s, they hadn't had the foresight to allow for extra houses (like Tamara's numbering scheme). So they borrowed numbers from the existing houses on the other side of the road. Each alternate existing house was given the same number as its neighbour, but with an a after it (eg 31a) and its number given to the new house opposite (eg 32). I bet this didn't go down well with the residents, since a number like 31a suggests you're a flat in a house, rather than a whole house. Come to think of it, I don't think many of us like our street name, Bill Hamling Close; it was named after a local Labour MP in the 70s. It makes it sound like a road on a council estate, even though it's actually a private development g (Why not Hamling Close, for goodness sake??) Why on earth they did this, I don't know. Maybe it was some kind of deal with the local Labour council to allow the developers to build houses here. One of the other new roads was also named after a local luminary, Margaret Gardener Drive. But, get this, the third new road was named Ministry Way, which sounds much posher. Why? Because that road is where they built the larger, smarter houses! I'm gob-smacked by all these numbering systems. Does anyone know when the standard British system of numbering with odd numbers along one side of the road and even numbers down the other came into being? The older streets in the heart of London use an older system, where the buildings are numbered consecutively down one side, and then back up the other. It makes finding your way around central London a nightmare, since you can never be sure which numbering scheme is in use in any particular street. Regards, Annette, London To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Re: Starting a torchon bookmark
Dear Annette, ...She also says, on page 48, that the two pairs of bobbins hung on a temporary pin are actually used double - i.e., although you have two pairs, treat them as one. If it was me, I think I'd be tying each pair together after I'd worked the first pin, to remind me to use them double. You'll end up with a double-thread working down each side of the top spider - it'll give a more solid edge to the start of the bookmark. Does this help at all?? Or only confuse you more? (BG) Regards, Ruth Budge (Sydney, Australia) Thank you. I'd got the point about using the first four pairs of bobbins as a single thread each, but my mistake was to assume I had to keep doing this for each pair that I added in. Now I've got that sorted out, I think I can do the rest of it. Thanks also to Eva, Tamara and Barbara! Regards, Annette, London Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://mail.messenger.yahoo.co.uk - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Threads
If you like making lace, you might as well bite the bullet and make the best investment of your life; buy Brenda Paternoster's booklet Threads for Lace; edition 2 :) Tamara P Duvall Sandy, I'd second this. I'm a beginner too (I started lacemaking this summer), and this book was recommended to me a couple of months ago. I've found it invaluable when trying to work out what thread to use for a pattern, if I don't have the one specified. The booklet also has a very useful introduction to threads, eg their thickness and composition, how the different materials behave (silk, linen, cotton etc) and so on. Well worth the money! Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Starting a Torchon bookmark
Can anyone shed any light on Geraldine Stott's method of staring a Torchon bookmark, as described in The Bobbin Lace Manual? The description is a bit vague, and I've tried a couple of different interpretations, but they're clearly both wrong. If anyone can clarify what she means, I'd be very grateful! Regards, Annette, London Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://mail.messenger.yahoo.co.uk - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Square bobbins in UK
I love square bobbins, and have asked all the UK lace suppliers I know about them . . . . there doesn't seem any demand for them in the UK , so no supply . .:-( Sulochona Chris Parsons does them. They're not on his website or in his catalogue, but if you phone him, he'll send them. ( http://www.lace-bobbins.co.uk/index.html, phone 01373 812023) Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Square bobbins in UK
Sorry, I forgot to mention that Winslow also do square bobbins, a couple of types. Regards, Annette, London Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://mail.messenger.yahoo.co.uk - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Square bobbins in UK
Some years ago I purchased a pair of square bobbins for my secret pal of the time. It must have been at chepstow and therefore would have been from Winslow bobbins, I think... Patricia in Wales Yes, Winslow still do square bobbins, I have some - they do a couple of different types. Regards, Annette Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://mail.messenger.yahoo.co.uk To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Acceptable behaviour
A story in the Evening Standard yesterday... A man recently caught a late night train home to Penge, a south London suburb. During the journey he dozed off, only to be woken by strange noises. He opened his eyes to see the couple opposite him making like Bill and Monica. The other passengers, in true British fashion, were all hiding behind their copies of the Evening Standard, pretending nothing was happening. After the couple had finished, they each lit up a post-coital cigarette. At this point, all hell broke loose, with most of the other passengers angrily pointing out that smoking was not allowed on the train. I'm not sure whether this shows we have our priorities right here or not! Regards, Annette, in Mottingham in London (nothing like this ever happens on *my* trains!) Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://mail.messenger.yahoo.co.uk To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Tonder book
Does anyone know if there really is an English translation for the Tonderkniplinger 2 book by Inge Skovgaard? I'm getting contradictory answers from UK suppliers. Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Lace Magazine
Is anyone else in London still waiting for their copy of the latest Lace magazine? I seem to have received everything else that got caught up in the post strike, but not this. Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Re: Bush's visit to UK and beyond
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 23:51:20 -0500 From: Tamara P. Duvall [EMAIL PROTECTED] Because being anti (again, anti *anything*) is restricted It's often used as an accusation here. For example, people who are anti-Bush are being labelled by some as being anti-American. People who are anti-Iraq war are often accused of being pro-Saddam. And yet it's perfectly possible to be opposed to the war, but also opposed to Saddam, to be opposed to Bush's policies, but a supporter of America. A poll published in the Guardian today shows that 62% of Britons think America is generally a force for good in the world, whereas only 43% are in favour of Bush's visit (36% oppose it). It's this sloppy, invalid either/or in public discussion that really annoys me. Both NYTimes and the Wash.Post *report the facts*... Because of our *personal* bias, my DH takes *the same reports* as being anti-Palestine (and sides with Palestine, as a result), and I take them to be anti-Israel That's the nub of it. It's very difficult for any of us to judge things objectively. But if something is perceived by both sides as being anti-them, it's probably got it more or less right. But, *Argentina* for Jews to settle in?!?!?!? Have you lost your cotton-picking mind My statement was merely a rueful comment that things would have been simpler now if the Zionists had chosen Argentina. I didn't mean that that was the most appropriate place for them to go. I was surprised that they even considered a homeland anywhere other than Palestine. The fact that, with hindsight, it would have been less trouble if they had settled in Argentina doesn't mean that's where they *should* have gone. I would support the state of Israel within the boundaries they were originally given, though like you, I disapprove of their occupation of other land. (But then, who am I, a child of the British Empire, to disapprove of anyone else's expansionism? g) Regards, Annette, London To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Bush's visit
Well the BBC is generally regarded as heavily influenced by the British Foreign Office, which has a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel bias (for example, the egregious misquoting of a White House official in which the word terrorist was replaced by activist). The BBC was recently singled out for banning from one of Sharon's press conferences for its persistent anti-Israel slant. Avital I'm not sure how fair that is. The BBC is independent of the Government, to the extent that it regularly gets criticised by governments of both colours of being anti-government - one minute the BBC is being accused of left-wing bias, and the next of right-wing bias. I cannot know what goes on behind the scenes between the BBC and the Foreign Office, so there may be informal pressures on it to conform, but there's certainly no formal requirement for it to toe the Foreign Office line. When the Government tries to influence the BBC, the BBC often makes that public. For example, a government Minister recently wrote to the Director General of the BBC to try to get an investigation into her past by the BBC Today programme stopped (she had been leader of London council in the 80s, when many children in Islington care homes were being regularly sexually abused by staff). The Today programme promptly broadcast this letter and continued its investigation. As a result, the Minister may lose her job. The BBC is a British institution and will naturally reflect the prevailing world view of mainstream Britain. That will inevitably include a less favourable opinion of Israel than the USA has. The USA is perceived by many outside North America of being heavily pro-Israel, so any view less pro-Israel may be perceived as pro-Palestinian by America. If the BBC is peddling a Foreign Office-inspired pro-Palestianian bias, then it's passed me by. For 30 years the BBC has been one of my main sources of news. Yet until recently, I thought the Israelis were the good guys, surrounded by hostile Arab states, while the Palestinians were the bad guys, who kept trying to blow up Jews. A year or two ago I took the trouble to read a little of the history of Israel and Palestine, and as a result, I now have a rather different view of matters. I'm neither pro-Israeli nor pro-Palestinian. But I can now understand what the grievances of the Palestinians are, and am critical of many of the actions of the present Israeli government. I don't know the details of the BBC's banning from Sharon's press conferences. But it might have been for similar reasons to those that got the BBC banned by Robert Mugabe from reporting in Zimbabwe - he didn't like the fact that the BBC was trying to tell the truth about what Mugabe was doing to his citizens and his country. I can't say that the BBC is accurate in all its reporting, and any news organisation inevitably has biases. But I'd trust it more than most other news organisations in the world to get it roughly right most of the time. Incidentally, this whole mess in the Middle East might have been avoided. If I remember correctly, the Zionists of the 19th century had two possible places in mind for a Jewish homeland - Palestine and some land in Argentina. If only they'd chosen Argentina... Regards, Annette Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://mail.messenger.yahoo.co.uk To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Fiftieth birthday
My sisters and I have a tradition of treating the one celebrating their fiftieth birthday to a girls weekend. This coming weekend we're doing another celebration. I need some cute and funny ideas for posters, banners, signs, etc. to decorate our hotel room. I'm doing an iron-on transfer for a T-shirt saying I'm not OLD, I'm just youthfully challenged. Also, doing a bottle of lotion labeled Oil of Old Age. Anyone have any other ideas? Carole Dublin, OH USA I recently bought my mother a sticker for her car that reads, I'm not an OAP [Old Aged Pensioner], I'm a recycled teenager! Maybe you could adapt that g Regards, Annette, London To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Bush's visit
I think it's a joke, but it's been said that Ken Livingstone is insisting that the congestion charge (for travelling by car in central London) will have to be paid and will amount to 600 pounds a day for the entourage Jean, I laughed louder at that than I did at Room 101 this evening - which was pretty funny. Brilliant!!! I hadn't heard this, but I hope it's true. At least London will recoup some of the costs of policing this visit. Regards, Annette To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Spam and scams
... Don't unsubscribe from spam emails - just delete them and ignore them. Responses let them know that your email address is live and could generate more scams/spam. Jean in Poole And don't even open messages you suspect are spam. I didn't realise until recently that some emails contain Web Beacons, which means that when you open the message, the beacon sends back a message to let the sender know that you've opened it. This confirms to them that your address is valid. It seems that Hotmail offers a defence against Web Beacons (see http://www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php/2203251 ). Outlook 2003 can protect against them too. I don't know about other ISPs and email clients. As to not knowing who to trust, I think the advice is never to follow any of the links in these emails, but always to go to the site manually using the address that you normally use. That means you can't be redirected to a look-alike site run by the scammer. Regards, Annette in London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Magic Roundabouts
Ah, the Swindon Magic Roundabout! I lived in Swindon for a few years, when I worked at Intel. Whenever a colleague visited from our sister site in Oregon, we would usually tell our visitor about the Magic Roundabout. Given that they were already disomfitted by driving on the wrong side of the road, and weren't used to roundabouts (I gather there are far fewer roundabouts in the USA than in Britain), the idea of five roundabouts in one usually freaked them out. No, we would say, it's really quite simple. We'd draw diagrams on a whiteboard, showing the layout and the traffic flow, and then send our hapless visitor off in his hire car to try it out. One chap didn't come back for over 2 hours - we were getting quite worried about him and nearly sent out search parties to look for him! Once you know what you're doing, the Magic Roundabout is brilliant. My route to work used to take me into the Magic Roundabout where I had to turn left. Everyone else also wanted to turn left, so there were always long queues in the 2 left-hand lanes of the approach road. Eventually I twigged that all I had to do was zip down the right-hand lane, turn right at the first roundabout, go round a couple of others, then come back to the first roundabout, this time with priority over the poor devils still queing to get onto it, and off I went! I once got lost trying to get to Buckinghamshire (took the wrong turning off the M25, and couldn't get back onto it.) I couldn't work out where on earth I was, until I saw a horribly familiar sight looming up ahead of me in the dark - a Magic Roundabout! I knew I must be in Hemel Hempstead, and found my way from there. (In those days there were only two Magic Roundabouts - how many are there now?) Regards, Annette in London (I escaped from Swindon!) To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Gregorian chants
It doesn't make me *suicidal*(only Gregorian chants have that power g), but it sure saps all my will to continue living :) Tamara P Duvall Me too! I think it's a Pavlovian response to enforced coach trips to Buckfast Abbey as a child (a 2 hour drive that usually left me feeling car-sick). Once there, we had listen to the monks singing Gregorian Chant. I've seen it promoted as relaxing - but it rapidly makes me lose the will to live. It's so *excrutiatingly* boring. I do like purple though. Don't wear bright purple, but I love using purple and gold in craft-work. Regards, Annette in London Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://mail.messenger.yahoo.co.uk To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Mother Teresa
Annette: well. not to get a flaming, bickering thread going but Equal time for the opposing view: there are plenty of us in the world who don't have a high opinon of MT. Sue Ellen That's so ironic! I'm with you and Christopher Hitchens on MT, but was scared of saying anything in my message that might betray that fact, since so many people seem to think she was practically a saint. I was so afraid of offending anyone that this time I've been TOO tactful g Regards, Annette, London To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Argumentative
I'm argumentative by nature, and I *like* a well-reasoned argument, whether I agree with the final findings or not; it's the beauty of looking at something (anything: lace problem, philosophical problem, language/thought process relationship, a twig) from more than one angle that appeals to me... Tamara P Duvall Wow - so I'm not the only one! I too love well-reasoned argument, and get very frustrated by the sloppy way many things are discussed these days in public, in newspapers and so on. But I'm always getting into trouble for it - do you? I've often been chided for being argumentative, picky or pedantic. So I've begun to learn to shut up. Since I'm also naturally somewhat tactless (for example, I said something here a few weeks ago that I realised later I shouldn't have said), perhaps I should say nothing at all! When I did jury service many years ago, I was shocked at how poor many of my fellow jurors' reasoning skills were. Some people didn't seem able to analyse and sift the evidence, to work out what was important and what was relevant etc. They were often judging purely on gut instinct, on whether they thought the defendant looked guilty. One case involved a young man and a couple of policemen. His sister gave evidence on his behalf and make a complete mess of her story. The questioning wasn't particularly aggressive, but she couldn't get her facts straight and was contradicting herself all over the place. It seemed to me that she had been coached to give a certain version of events that my well not have been true, and couldn't remember it properly. There was other evidence that suggested she couldn't have seen what she saw. I happened to look at the defence barrister while this was going on, and he was hanging his head in his hands. He clearly thought the case was lost. But most of the other jurors felt sorry for the young woman and thought she was just nervous and they wouldn't consider that she might have been lying. So he was found not guilty. I still don't know for sure where the truth lay - probably somewhere between the defendant's version and the police's version. But it was the way the jurors decided the case almost entirely on their feelings for the sister that shocked me. Annette in London To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Argumentative
Wow - so I'm not the only one! I too love well-reasoned argument, and get very frustrated by the sloppy way many things are discussed these days in public, in newspapers and so on. I think I've put my foot in it again... I didn't mean to suggest that Tamara and I are the only ones who like a well-reasoned argument! One of the things I like about Arachne is the level of discussions here. It makes a refreshing change from many other mailing lists, newsgroups and discussion forums I've belonged to in the past. Regards, Annette, London To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Canberra and Croydon
Have you tried Croydon?! g Whenever I go there, (which is not often!) I memorise where I'm supposed to go on the map, and when I get there, I find the place bears absolutely no relationship to the map whatsoever. It's as if the people who drew up the A-Z thought the place was so complicated they might as well invent the streets they put in the A-Z. Last time I went there, it took me an hour to get home - a journey that should have taken 15-20 minutes at that time of night. At one point I found myself heading out of town for the motorway. Please don't mention the circular roads to Croydon Borough Council - it's the one horror they haven't yet inflicted on Croydon! Regards, Annette in London, only a few miles from Croydon, but will NEVER go there again You should try Canberra, which is built on circular roads.I was visiting a doctor there recently, and wanted to visit a friend about a mile away to the north of the surgery. But as that involved a maze of roads, I opted for the simpler route of turning south, and linking up with a major road that would curve around to the east then back west and end up very close to where I wanted to go. According to the street directory, that is. I never did find the major road, but some 10 minutes later I found myself at the intersection of the street where I wanted to get to, without ever having been on the major loop road! Since then, we've nicknamed my car the Tardis! I don't know how many times I've headed out there for somewhere new, and found myself either suddenly in the heart of the city, or just travelling in circles. The place is just like the garden in Alice in Wonderland. The only way to get anywhere is to head off in the opposite direction! Noelene in Cooma To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Dirty book about Mother Theresa
I just had a giggle at work today. I work as librarian in a public (city) library, and someone rang up this morning to ask whether we had a book she'd read about in the weekend newspaper. The book sounds quite OK, but the title is... The missionary position it has a subtitle (which I have already forgotten!) something about Mother Teresa and her work, which I'm sure makes it a very worthy book, ... Yours in chuckles, = Helene, the froggy from Melbourne It's not worthy at all, if it's the one I'm thinking of! I think it's Christopher Hitchens' book, and it's highly critical of Mother Theresa. Still, it's a bit more exciting for the dirty old men who pick it up in error than if it really were a hagiography of MT! Regards, Annette in London To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Colour
All the examples given were *male*; is colour-blindness one of those things (like hemophilia, I think) which women *carry*, but only men *get*? Yes, like haemophilia, it's determind by a gene on the X chromosome, so although women can get it, it's much rarer for us than for men. So you're right, it's probably rare among lacemakers. Regards, Annette in London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Handbags
...carrying a handbag and keeping track of it doesn't seem to be second nature to men the way it is to women :) One of my students a couple of weeks ago (I'm an IT trainer) says he carries a laptop computer case around with him, and uses it like a woman uses a handbag, to carry his stuff. Being a laptop case it looks cool enough for him to carry - but it must also be an invitation to thieves who don't know there's no laptop in it! British men don't do handbags, unless they're gay. Regards, Annette, London Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://mail.messenger.yahoo.co.uk To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Left, right
I did eventually learn that if north was up on a map, west and east spelled WE . . . I learned that too, but I still have to stop and think about it. If I run down to the Tube in a hurry, and am faced with a westbound and an eastbound platform and a train on one of them, and have to make a quick decision about which direction I'm going in, I always have to think - it's never instinctive like north/south is. I mostly recognise that Hammersmith and Heathrow on the list of destinations means west, and the places I've never been to are east. But I don't have any problems with left and right. Does anyone have problems with north/south? Regards, Annette, London To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Colour codes
...The sooner you can get comfortable with the diagrams, the sooner the whole world of bobbin lace opens to you. Then you will graduate to the patterns with nothing but a pricking and there will be nothing to stop you! Robin P. I'm not sure I need to hear that. g I'm already neglecting other things to make lace. Several months ago I promised my niece I'd make her a dolls' house doll dressed in Tudor costume for her birthday in July. The poor doll is still sitting on my table, bald and naked from the waist up, surrounded by bobbins and all the other detritus of lacemaking! Regards, Annette in London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Colour codes
Thanks for the explanations of the colour codes. I think I stand a chance now of working out how to do some of these French, Finnish and Danish patterns! I'm still inexperienced, so my kind of level at the moment is the detailed instructions Christine Springett and Roz Snowden give for their patterns. But I'm getting better at interpreting diagrams. I mainly bought these books because I've heard so many of you lament not buying books when you saw them, and then having them go out of print. g Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Colour codes
The BCC (Belgian Colour Code; *not* before computer crash g ) *is* lovely but, once it had been sprung on lacemakers, it began to evolve, so it is no longer pure; every country has its own Middle Ages Latin version of it, with *sub*-philosophies within the overall pattern/rule... :) Where can I find out what these codes are? I recently bought Danish, Finnish and French books and they all seem to be using a different code. Only the French book gives *some* indication as to what some of the colours mean, and the other two don't give any key at all. Regards, Annette in London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Re: lace-chat-digest V1 #2245
Why would you be driving on the pavement? We drive on the road and walk on the pavement (sidewalk). Jean in Poole And if you're a cyclist, you ride on the pavement - or at least they do in London. And speed through red lights... And go the wrong way down one-way streets... Grrr! London cyclists are right up there with loud-Walkman-wearers and people who put their feet up on seats in the trains as far as I'm concerned - bring back capital punishment for the lot of them! g Annette, London To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Roller pillows in the UK
I want to buy a round roller pillow (I can't get on with continental bobbins rolling around on my flat block pillow). I know SMP have one, but does anyone know of any other supplier who does them in the UK? Regards, Annette, London PS I dreamed last night that torrential rain was falling on London and the Thames was about to burst its banks. Even in my dream, I was wishing the rain was falling on California, on the fires... Is the situation there improving? - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Strikes, fireworks and copes
the UK is just being hit by a postal strike. It's not in all areas of the country at the moment, but it is spreading. The problem is with post going through an area where the postal workers are already on strike, like London. I ordered some lace supplies from Makit on Monday, and am impatiently awaiting them... but no chance of getting them until the strike is over. Then of course there's another risk - some of the local morons in Bournemouth blew up a post box and its contents with a firework November 5th's still nearly a week away. Time the sale of fireworks to the public was banned, but that's another story. Jean in Poole And Bournemouth used to be such a genteel town! I totally agree about the fireworks - they've been going off around here every night this month, it seems. What with exploding fireworks, a police car siren wailing past a few minutes ago (probably some moron has blown himself up with a firework) and trick-or-treaters ringing the doorbell every few minutes, it's not a peaceful evening - I've given up trying to make lace tonight! There were some copes on display at Alexandra Palace at the Knitting and Stitching Show - no lace, just a lot of ornate embroidery. Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Hospital
I returned home last evening, having had my knee replacement operation on Thursday last week to over a hundred emails in lace and lace-chat Jean in Poole I hope you've recovered by now. Were you in Poole General? My mother had a couple of operations there a few years ago, and it seemed a good hospital. But she's just told me that her elderly next door neighbour is in there at the moment, and he can't feed himself. So his daughter has to go up to Poole every day from Weymouth to feed him - it seems the nurses at the hospital don't do it. My mother is appalled - she was a nurse herself. I joke that the next time I need to go to AE I'll get on a train and go down to Dorset - to Poole or Dorchester hospitals. I'd still get seen sooner there than I would if I went to my local hospital! One of the students in my class (I'm an IT trainer) was taken ill last week and went to the Whitechapel Hospital. Even though he was lying on the floor shivering and being sick (there were no chairs), after 5 hours he still hadn't been seen. He gave up and travelled back home to Essex to his local hospital, where he was found to have malaria. We have no post in London, overstretched hospitals, and our public transport is falling apart - why do I live here? g Perhaps I should go back and live in Dorset! Regards, Annette in London To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Life, the Universe and Everything
in base 13 What is 6 x 9? has the answer 42 Was it ever established whether Douglas Adams knew this when he wrote Hitchiker? I can't remember. Regards, Annette To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Orange Mange
In my dialect, the a of orange actually sounds more like the o of women, and the a in mange is like the ay in day... But there's another problem: the stress on orange is on the first syllable, and mange is a one-syllable word. Yes, that's the way we'd say it in England too. Annette To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] The tube
My first trip to London ('68) I fell, *totally*, in love with the tube,
and especially with the little no-nonsense maps of it.
It's hard now to imagine how revolutionary that map of Frank Pick's was when
it was introduced in - what, the 20s? 30s? I forget. Having seen a
pre-Pick map of the tube, where the lines curved and followed the actual
path of the lines, I can see that a similar map of the modern-day tube, with
its 250 odd stations, would be a nightmare to follow.
Sometimes though, the map misleads you in your mental image of surface
London. I've only just discovered that Tottenham Court Rd doesn't run
exactly north-south, as I have assumed for the past 30 years! (On the tube
map it does.)
I used to love the tube when I came to London as a child - to me it was what
set London apart from every other town I'd ever visited. I remember I used
to call Charing Cross station (actually, I think it's the one that is now
called Embankment) The Ear Drop Station, because it smelled exactly like the
drops I had to use to unblock my ears. I still think it's a pretty
efficient way of travelling across London - though not at rush hour! I
never had any trouble getting around - all you need to know is the line you
want, and whether it's northbound, southbound, eastbound or westbound.
The Moscow Metro IS pretty spectacular. I spent one afternoon riding around
it, getting out at almost every station just to have a look at the
architecture.
Regards,
Annette in London
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[lace] Bucks Thumpers
Thank you very much for the various explanations about Springetts and Fountains. I see both Springetts and Fountains are at the NEC. I have another question though. I've just started experimenting with Bucks Thumpers and I think they'll be ideal for me - nice and big. I've so far found that they are sold by Winslow Bobbins, Campbells, Kenn Van-Dieren, and Beeutahful Bobbins. Are there any other suppliers that sell them? Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Trains
Many years ago, I was much impressed by the London underground when I became separated from my tour group, and made it back to the hostel all on my own, without asking anyone, or ever once feeling uncertain longer than it took to read a sign It's certainly well signed and the maps are clear. When I visited Moscow in 1989, their Metro system had borrowed the idea of giving each line its own colour. Unfortunately, unlike the tube in London, where the colours are used consistently on all signage to help you see which line you're on or heading towards, in Moscow they only used the colours on the maps. So to follow the signs to the platform for the right line, you had to be able to read the name of the line in Russian. Worse still, the name of the station was shown just once on each platform, so as the train pulled into the station, you had just one chance the read the name to find out whether this was your stop. This was bad enough if you could read Russian, as I could, but it was a nightmare if you couldn't - and most of my tour group couldn't. They were reduced to using pattern recognition - trying to remember the shape of the most striking cyrillic letters in the name of the station they wanted to get off at. Several of them just counted the number of stops they passed through and hope they'd get out at the right one. The crowning illogicality was that each station had a different name for each line that it was on. That would be like arriving at Charing Cross station on the Northern Line and then walking down a corridor to the Bakerloo line platform and finding yourself on a platform labelled Trafalgar Square. User-friendliness was clearly not high on the Soviet Union's list of prioities! Regards, Annette in London, where at least you can find the right tube train, even if it's likely to come off the rails... To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] NEC Lace fair
Are any of you going to the NEC Christmas Lace Suppliers Fair Birmingham on 29 November - am organising a coach and it would be lovely to meet some of you there. Bye for now Nicky I'm hoping to go. I was originally going to go on the Sunday but the trains from London are so bad that day, I'll probably go on Saturday instead. Regards, Annette in London Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://mail.messenger.yahoo.co.uk To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Sorry
I just wanted to say sorry to those who are kind enough to help me with my various questions if I don't reply for several days. I'm really struggling these days with RSI, and both typing and lacemaking make it worse. Often it's not possible to answer email promptly. As a novice, I'm very grateful for all the help I've received on this list, since I only go to classes every month or two. In over 10 years on the Net, this is the friendliest, politest, most helpful, and most erudite discussion forum I've ever taken part in. g I've been given an old copy of some voice recognition software, which would take away the strain of typing, but I haven't tried setting it up yet. I'm dreading having to teach it to recognise my speech, especially all the lace terms I'm likely to use! Regards, Annette in London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Re: Ally Pally
I'm glad I'm not the only who can't control my credit card when I'm at Ally Pally! The Textile Gallery alone is worth the price of admission - there are always so many gorgeous things there, to look at and to buyand to get ideas from. I was fascinated by the display of dolls, and inevitably bought a book and pattern to try cloth-doll making myself. I walked straight past the hemp stall, not realising there might be possibilities for lacemaking with it. I did get some silk thread from Jacqui Carey which I will try lacing with. Thanks for the tip about not using crochet/tatting thread for PG - I wouldn't have known it wouldn't look right. Incidentally, I've found your book very useful for learning about threads. When I joined the Lace Guild on Saturday, I was given a free back issue of the magazine and found a review of your book in it. I was astonished to read that the reviewer thought it would only be of interest to teachers - I'm a near beginner and have already found it very useful in selecting thread equivalents, and working out how thick and thread and gimp to use for the pricking I had, based on distance between footside holes. And the information about the different types of threads at the beginning was mostly new to me. So, thanks for a very useful book! See you at Tonbridge, Regards, Annette in London - Original Message - From: Brenda Paternoster [EMAIL PROTECTED] ...I haven't tried using any of them yet, but the one I'm most interested in using is the hemp which I guess will work up similar to linen and I've got ideas beginning to go around my head for a project mixing it with Vuorelma linen which is of a very similar size. I also ordered a sample folder of Japanese threads. When it arrives I will think about ordering some of the silk wrapped stainless steel thread. There were a couple of knitted garments on display and they didn't feel as stiff as I expected, but I've no idea how it would handle for BL, or any other technique. Are there any other point ground laces that aren't too difficult? All point ground laces are of a similar type based on the net ground and working angle of more than 45 degrees. They all have a similar level of difficulty, with regular/geometric/simpler patterns through to elaborate floral designs. IMO the thing which makes PG 'harder' than, say, torchon is the fact that PG is usually worked at a small scale with fine thread. Try enlarging the pattern a bit so that you can more easily see what you are doing, and adjust the thread accordingly, but don't use crochet/tatting cotton as the double spinning means that it won't look right with all the twists that PG lace requires. 10 wraps of thread should equal the distance between two footedge pinholes Having spent a fortune at Ally Pally, I dread to think what I'll spend next Sunday at the Tonbridge lace fair. I'll be at Tonbridge too - manning the Lace Guild stand, so please come and say hello to me. Brenda http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/paternoster/ Supporting the [EMAIL PROTECTED] campaign - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] PG lace
Dear Annette, ... I've also done some Downton lace - again, not difficult, although traditionally, like Chantilly, the headside is worked on the opposite side to Bucks. But watch the Downton patterns carefully, as they occasionally have a little Torchon technique or two thrown in!! Regards, Ruth Budge (Sydney, Australia) I'm intrigued to hear of an English lace being worked with the headside on the right, as on the Continent. I suppose there wouldn't be a problem with reversing the pricking and doing it the way I'm used to? (the photocopier at work can reverse images) Or would that make life difficult in some obscure way I'm not aware of? Would the lace police come in the middle of the night to take me away? :) Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Exhibit/exhibition
I hadn't realised that exhibition was used at all in the US, let alone that there was such a fine distinction between exhibition and exhibit. Thanks for all the comments on this. Now I know! I think to American ears, grown accustomed to the shorthand of the press, exhibit sounds 'right' while exhibition sounds a tad pretentious. And yet Frasier and Niles Crane always talk about going to an exhibit and who's more pretentious than they are? g Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Ally Pally
Did anyone go to The Knitting and Stitching Show at Ally Pally this weekend? I came away loaded down with lace books - it was my first chance since I started lacemaking this summer to see a decent range of lace books. I got the first of the Tonderknipplinger pattern books but I haven't worked out yet whether it's more difficult than Bucks Point. I've just started Bucks and am already on the lookout for other point ground laces I can attempt - that's the style I really love. (I wish I could say I like Honiton, since I'm from the West Country, but the motif-type laces don't appeal.) I found a second-hand book on Downton lace - has anyone tried that? Are there any other point ground laces that aren't too difficult? Having spent a fortune at Ally Pally, I dread to think what I'll spend next Sunday at the Tonbridge lace fair. And then Birmingham next month... Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Bruges lace shop
Now that I live in England, 't Apostelientje in Brugge is on my must stop list for going back and forth to the continent! Do you have any further details about the shop? I remember going to Bruges about 25 years ago and seeing some lacemakers, but I wasn't really interested in lacemaking then. Now that I am, I'd like to hop on the Eurostar one weekend and look at lace museums and lace shops in Bruges. Can anyone suggest where I could get further details about lace museums and shops there? Regards, Annette, London Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://mail.messenger.yahoo.co.uk - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Re: Firewalls
The firewall that comes with XP is fairly basic, so I'd get another one if you can. I use Zone Alarm ( from www.zonelabs.com )- the version I use is free, although you can buy Zone Alarm Pro which has more features. The free version seems to work well. I don't know about Norton's firewall (I only use their anti-virus software), but it may offer more than the free version of Zone Alarm. If your firewall keeps notifying you of Trojans, then it suggests that your PC may be under attack and you do need a firewall. If the Norton programs keep disabling, it may be a problem with the way they've been configured, in which case Norton technical support should be able to help you. Or it might mean that some kind of virus is disabling them - again, Norton tech support ought to be able to help you with this. Regards, Annette, London Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://mail.messenger.yahoo.co.uk To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Rolling bobbins etc
I use a piece of fabric that's made from cotton and has a small pile - I don't know what it's called. I bought it to use when beading. I'm not very experienced with continentals yet, but I think it does make a difference. The bobbins still rolled pretty badly the first time I tried them and the thread untwisted. I'm now trying a piece of Bucks Point with the larger, Bruges bobbins, and they seem a bit better. I'd like to try Ultra-suede. I'm intrigued by the idea of square bobbins. I have been told that they're slower to use because they're less slick to move around - they don't slide under each other well. And Tim Parker told me that they often land on an edge when you drop them back onto the pillow - I suppose this would be a problem if you have a lot of bobbins crammed closely together on the pillow. But are they worth trying if you're prepared to sacrifice speed? (which I am - my RSI problem means that working slowly is usually better for my hands.) Thanks for the info about insect pins. If they're so long, I can see they might be a problem if you have to push them right in, say to do sewings. I've just bought some Duchesse pins to try - I'll see how I get on. When I started lacemaking a few months ago, Roz Snowden told me that it was a fairly inexpensive hobby, since once you've got a pillow and bobbins and some other bits and pieces, there's nothing much more to buy - the thread is quite cheap. I was almost dispappointed, since I love going to fairs to buy new things for whatever craft I'm doing. But now I see there are different bobbins to try, (and when you've settled on a style you have to buy lots of them so that one day you can do Miss C's mat g) and different sewing in tools to try, and different pins, and different pillow shapes, and then there are the books... ! Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Sewing-in hook
Couldn't find a picture of this on Tim's website - it this like a latch hook? Regards Liz Beecher Further to what Clay has said, it has quite a deep, sharp hook, which holds the thread more easily than a crochet hook does. Other than that, it's like a crochet hook with the tip bent back, at about the same angle as a Lazy Susan. Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Re: Working with silk thread
Thanks - I'll bear that in mind. I wasn't really aware of the different twists on thread until I read Brenda Paternoster's book. A very useful book - but I never realised thread was so complicated! Regards, Annette, London Hi Annette - I have found that the silk I work with (Tire) likes to lose it's twist when I work with it. It also had a lot of trouble with the hitch jumping off the neck of the bobbin. So for this latest project (a Milanese piece started during a workshop with Louise Colgan!) I took a closer look and my suspicions were confirmed... Tire silk has a Z-twist instead of the S-twist I'm accustomed to. While many knowledgeable people say that that makes no difference, I can tell you that reversing the direction I wound my bobbins made a huge difference in how the thread behaved. So be sure you know which way your silk is twisted, and wind accordingly. Clay - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Working with silk thread
Adele, Thank you very much for all this! I had been looking at Piper's Silks' web site and was confused as to which thread to use, but it sounds as if spun silk is the one to start with. The patterns I've been trying so far are mainly from Roz Snowden's books (I go to her for classes). Although they're small, I can see most of what I've done, with the help of a magnifying glass. But then I'm only using the simpler, Torchon patterns at the moment, where there are decent gaps between the pins. I've just tried my first Bucks Point pattern, and chose a full size one, for exactly the reason you mentioned. Annette The softness of thread produced from any fibre depends so much on how it is spun. Think of silk organdy fabric, which is very stiff - not because it is starched but because of the way the thread is spun and how the organdy is woven. Then think of the finest soft silks and how soft they are. Both silk, but very different - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Re: Working with silk thread
Patty, Thank very much for your notes about the silk threads, and the tips about wetting the knots. I know I can get Pipers Silks in the UK from their web site, but I will look out for the other threads you mention. What are insect pins? I've never heard of them! Regards, Annette, London Dear Annette, I have used just about every kind of silk and I finally worked a miniature parasol from Ann Collier's book of miniature lace for dollhouses (can't remember the exact title.) From my experience with the miniature parasol which I first tried to work in 140 or 160 cotton and it just disintegrated. So I got serious and pulled out some unboiled 3 ply silk in pale blue with boiled silk, doubled, in white for the gimp. I was very happy with the results - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Lazy Susan
Thank you to the people who described a couple of weeks ago how to do sewings with a Lazy Susan (sorry, I can't remember who it was). My first attempt at sewings, a couple of months ago, was deeply traumatic, as I was using a fine crochet hook. I swore I'd never do sewings again. But after reading your advice, I got a Lazy Susan from Tim Parker, and tried it last night - success! I haven't finished it yet, so I can't tell until I take the lace off the pillow how neat it is, but at least I managed to get the blasted bobbin threads through the loops without too much trauma! I also bought a sewing-in hook from Tim Parker - has anyone tried this? The hook was much better at catching the thread than the crochet hook, but I couldn't pull it back through the pinhole loop - it kept catching on the pinhole thread. Regards, Annette in London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Intelligent lacemakers?
what they saw was people bent over pillows doing complex puzzle solving. At one point I heard a lacemaker characterize us as The MENSA of the craft world, which I thought was an interesting idea. I've certainly been struck by the long and literate posts to this list. Most other craft lists I've subscribed to are full of people who can scarcely string a coherent sentence together. I'd already deduced that lacemakers as a group must be more intelligent than other crafts-people! Regards, Annette, London Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://mail.messenger.yahoo.co.uk - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Dolphins
the emblem for Poole Bobbin Lace Circle is a dolphin on top of a Bucks Thumper bobbin. The signigicance of the dolphin in this case is that it's the emblem of the town of Poole, where we have the Dophin Shopping Centre, swimming poole, etc. I've always wondered why Poole's emblem is the dolphin. Have they been known to swim in Poole Harbour? And is the Dolphin Shopping Centre what used to be the Arndale Centre? (I used to love sliding through the middle of the wooden turtle in the Arndale - I wasn't popular with my mother when I did it in white trousers!) Regarding the Poole Bobbin Lace Circle's lace day in the summer - is it open to non-members? Are there suppliers there? Regards, Annette, (in London, but born and brought up in Weymouth) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Lace stamps
You can see these United States stamps at: http://lace.lacefairy.com/LaceStamps/LaceStamps.htm Lori, I notice you've described one of the 2 British stamps as British Explorer. That's not just any British Explorer, that's Sir Walter Raleigh! I hope he wasn't wearing that nice lace ruff when his head was cut off... Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Wedding lace finished!
The lace looks really pretty! I hope the whole hanky turned out well. Enjoy the wedding. Regards, Annette, London PS Nice Borg quote - don't remember that one! --- C. Morse [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm mostly a lurker on this group, but I just finished a piece of lace to attach to a hanky, for a wedding this coming Saturday. I think I've been working on this piece forever, but it's finally done! Pics are up on my blog: http://morseworld.blogspot.com The pattern, btw, is from the Pamela Nottingham book, Techniques of Bobbin Lace. Caroline in NH http://www.atwistonwood.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] The Borg wouldn't know fun if they assimilated an amusement park. B'Elanna Torres, USS Voyager Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/ - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Pricking
Pre-pricking saves pins, saves fingertips, and makes your lace more precise (which can be very important as you get into the finer threads) and therefore more beautiful. I also find it helps with putting the pins in. If I can't see the place I'm supposed to be putting in the pin very well (eg if it's in a tight spot surrounded by other pins) I can sort of feel where to put it by feeling for the pre-pricked hole with the pin tip. Regards, Annette, in London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Re: London fabric shops
--- Leonard Bazar [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: If you visit John Lewis, Oxford Street, and/or Liberty's (both not as good as they were, but still marvellous) don't miss Mccullough Wallace, etc etc Thanks for all these recommendations. I wasn't aware of these, and have been looking for good shops in which to buy fabric - mainly silk - for dolls-house doll costumes. JL and Liberty's had nothing suitable, and they were the best shops I knew of. Many years ago there used to be a lovely shop called Theatreland, off Oxford St, where my mther used to get fabrics for our ballet costumes, but I think it's gone. I hadn't realised there were so many other good shops tucked away in that area. Regards, Annette, London Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/ - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] was London shopping / fabric stores
--- Beth McCasland [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Wtih the talk about Liberty of London (I have an apple pincushion), and stores in New York... If you're ever in San Francisco, may I suggest Britex Fabric store? Wonderful 4 story fabric store with lots of fabric for couture sewing ... Sounds like heaven on earth! Any chance they might be persuaded to open a branch in London?! Annette, London Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/ - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Thread stores/Hobbycraft
Trust me, that Bournemouth Hobbycraft is a model of helpfulness compared to my local one at Crayford. Their displays are a mess, there are gaps in their stock, and the staff don't seem to know anything much. Regards, Annette in London - Original Message - From: Jean Nathan [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2003 6:52 PM Subject: [lace] Thread stores/Hobbycraft There's a Hobbycraft quite close to me (about a 15-20 minute drive). I call it the craft superstore that doesn't sell much. OK for cross stitch, tapestry, rubber stamping, painting, making jewellery with plastic beads or making plastic models of aircraft but not much else. I went there a few weeks ago to get some 30 sewing cotton. Firstly I was offered polyester, then rayon, and finally We've got 30 crochet cotton - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Thead stores in the UK (long reply)
Yes, the VA opens on Mondays now. The costume department itself is super - well worth visiting. The VA shop also has books on crafts that she might like. Jeri, you forgot to tell her that if she's going to follow your itinerary in London, she needs to bring a LOT of money! I could spend a fortune in the shops you mention :) Regards, Annette in London PS It doesn't ALWAYS rain in London - I think it's only rained once here this month! I haven't taken my umbrella out for weeks... --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: ...Another whole day could be spent at the Victoria and Albert Museum (devoted to the decorative arts), but you've indicated you are visiting on September 1, which is a Monday. I recommend verifying the museum would be open on a Monday. The British Galleries (1500-1900) have just been refurbished at enormous cost, and the needlework and costumes are divine. I carry a small flashlight (called a torch by the British) in my purse, so I can discretely light up details of lace and embroidery. Don't make a big issue of the light and turn it off between items you wish to see better, and you will probably be OK with using it. Upstairs is the public collection of embroideries and laces. There are wooden cabinets with what looks like trays in an open room to the side. If you pull them out, you can view many more laces and embroideries than can be shown in the galleries. You can read about the new exhibit facilities in the January/February 2003 issue of PieceWork magazine, which is probably available at your public library. Or - do a search on the internet. Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/ - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Dorset Arts and Crafts show
Elizabeth, Congratulations to your mother on her Highly Commended! I remember the Crinoline Lady, and it was very good. I hope the seahorse goes well too. I'm impressed at the way people can make lace in spite of various physical problems - I always assumed you had to have dextrous hands and very good eyesight, but apparently not. I'm grateful for that myself. I was quite inspired by the pieces on display, and considered joining DACA myself as an out-of-county member and trying to produce something to enter. My mother has entered embroidery before but couldn't this year as she was in hospital on the day you were supposed to take the entries to be judged. I was born and brought up in Dorset (in Weymouth), and am interested in Dorset crafts. I bought some materials from one of the traders there to make Dorset buttons. Many of them are fascinating. And I remember being taught Dorset Feather Stitchery at school - I made an apron for my mother that she still has. (I know it doesn't really count as a traditional Dorset craft.) Regards, Annette, London I was really surprised how few names I recognised at DAC, and certainly no one from the list. However there is one that I must tell you about. It's my mum. She saw an embroidery pattern of a crinoline lady and wanted to make it in lace. Muggins here translated the outline to bobbin lace that is within her capabilities. After all, she is 83 and practically blind in one eye. (The other eye has now been affected by shingles so she is really frustrated at present not being able to see very clearly.) She didn't start to learn lace until she was about 70, after my dad died, and I needed an extra student to keep the numbers up in my Adult Ed. class... I managed to find a simple seahorse pattern for her, ... She's planning to enter it next year. I think that gaining a Highly Commended certificate for the crinoline lady has given her a boost. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Prickings
An alternative method is to cut the pricking slightly smaller than the card, and take a piece of 'blue transparent film' slightly larger, and use this to attach the pricking to the card. You then have to prick all the holes, as before, but you don't have to draw any lines. The main disadvantage of this is the lack of accuracy, and the difficulty of getting the pins in (and out). I was told to do it this way and haven't had any problem with getting the pins in. As to accuracy, I'm not sure how it would be worse with this method - I just try hard to prick dead vertically. I don't have anything to prick onto yet, so I use the bottom of my polystyrene mushroom pillow. I've just bought a block pillow, and intend to use the side of the blocks to prick. I suppose I ought to go and get a polystyrene ceiling tile from BQ! Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Pictures on Arachne
A few weeks ago, someone was talking about the fact that you can't post pictures to this list, and mentioned that this had been discussed a lot in the past. As a newcomer, I don't know what solututions were proposed and rejected, but wondered whether anyone had suggested setting up a Yahoo Group just for the pictures? I belong to a Yahoo Group for Miniature Dollmaking, and although you can't post pictures to messages in that Group, they have also set up a second Group where you can post pictures. If someone wants to post a picture for everyone else to see, they send a message to the main list to say they have put the picture on the MiniDolls Picture Group. If you want to see it, you can go to the Yahoo Groups web site and take a look. Would that work for Arachne? Yahoo Groups are very simple to set up and to join. Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
