[lace] Bobbin Lace Survey Results
I decided that the end of the survey would be when I finally finished sewing together my lace heart and I did that this afternoon :-) I still hate the knots but I should be able to mask them against the second heart once that is made. They will be interlocked so if I start the second one at the right point (still to be finalised) then the end of that one should also be masked. Anyway, here are the results. I got a total of 47 responses, thank you. Several people mentioned more than one dislike so the numbers below total to rather more than 47. Some of the descriptions are broad. This is for a variety of reasons including the need to maintain some people's privacy. The first three items are the ones I listed originally, and then they go in random order! Winding bobbins = 7 Finishing = 13 Tallies (all types) = 12 Sewings = 6 Look of used bobbins = 1 Torchon fans = 1 Insufficient time = 2 Pricking = 3 Finished look = 3 Removing pins = 3 Replacing pins in pincushion = 3 Mounting = 4 Need to turn pillow = 1 Torchon spiders = 1 Starting = 1 Thread breaking during work = 1 Classes = 1 9 pin edge = 2 False plaits = 1 What a varied group we are! Still, it is reassuring to know that I am not the only out there who dislikes the finishing off bit. I have a question on that but will put it in a separate email ... Thank you again to those who participated. Helen (in an overcast Vancouver, BC on the west coast of mainland Canada) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
I don't mind winding bobins, sewings or tallies. Making prickings and sewing on to fabric are ok too. What I do hate is taking out pins and finding a mistake or a long loop where a thread has got caught round a pin. Jean Glasgow, Scotland - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
-Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of miladamarshall Subject: Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey We all seem agreed that the most enjoyable part is the actual bobbin clicking! To get over the worst bit, of pricking and winding bobbins, I usually start doing this in small stages before I have actually finished the previous lace - an hour or so at a time. This way, the pricking is easiest as it is best done in small bits, before the concentration goes. Winding (setting up the winder) I try to do in batches of (50 / 100) bobbins, and as I usually do Binche, I do start before they are all wound. Hello Fellow Spiders and Milada Marshall I have just received Issue 79 of The Lacemaker and on the front cover is portrayed Milada Marshall's Binche mat 'Tournament'. Many congratulations Milada, it's exquisite! I have quickly glanced through the magazine (no time to read it thoroughly yet) but have been unable to find any information relating to this wonderful piece. Perhaps you could tell us a little more about it please. Catherine Barley Henley-on-Thames - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: As I sit here yet again avoiding the final sewing of my current lace piece (the first of two interlocked hearts, only 12 pairs for goodness sake!), I find myself pondering on what aspect of bobbin lace people dislike the most. I know lacemakers who profess to dislike most - or even hate and avoid at all costs - each of the following items. As you will have gathered, I fit into the second bunch though I am quite happy doing numbers 1 and 3. So which category do you fit in? (Sorry needlelacers and tatters!) Or is there something else that should be on the list? I will happily summarise the responses to the list in a couple of weeks so feel free to answer privately. There are no wrong answers ... 1) Winding bobbins 2) Final sewing together 3) Tallies (leaves, squares, triangles, any other type) I don't find bobbin winding tedious as long as I don't have to do it all at once. Like others I find watching TV whilst winding makes the task less onerous. Pricking a pattern is just part of the process, gives me chance to understand the pattern before starting to make the lace. Sewing together at the end just takes time, I never do it when I'm tired or without a good light, what it really annoying is having to undo errors made because I was too impatient to finish. I use magic threads for any awkward places where manoeuvring a crochet hook would be difficult. Tallies and leaves are OK now but I didn't like them at first. My biggest dislikes are the mounting of lace onto fabric and working Beds nine pin around corners where all the pins get in the way. -- Eve Poole, Dorset, UK - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
1) Winding bobbins 2) Final sewing together 3) Tallies (leaves, squares, triangles, any other type) The above aren't exciting, but what I really don't like doing are large areas of cloth stitch. There's not enough challenge or interest value in working them. Sue - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
Bobbin Lace Survey [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: As I sit here yet again avoiding the final sewing of my current lace piece (the first of two interlocked hearts, only 12 pairs for goodness sake!), I find myself pondering on what aspect of bobbin lace people dislike the most. I know lacemakers who profess to dislike most - or even hate and avoid at all costs - each of the following items. As you will have gathered, I fit into the second bunch though I am quite happy doing numbers 1 and 3. So which category do you fit in? (Sorry needlelacers and tatters!) Or is there something else that should be on the list? I will happily summarise the responses to the list in a couple of weeks so feel free to answer privately. There are no wrong answers ... 1) Winding bobbins 2) Final sewing together 3) Tallies (leaves, squares, triangles, any other type) I don't mind winding bobbins and use my Newey winder for longer lengths, but use a piece of thread for a yard or more, otherwise I do it by hand. I don't mind doing tallies. I must have done my 1,000 by now and they hold no fear for me but I still manage to get some holly leaves amongst them. No big deal, just undo it, let the bobbin hang down for a while so the thread gets the kinks out. I do not dislike sewing it together. I think I did a reasonable job on the last piece of Beds with about 30+ bobbins meeting from opposite sides using Jean Leader's method of knot tying and making rolls behind the work. When I made a wedding hankie in Buckspoint I joined it okay but I chickened out of sewing it onto the fabric as my hand sewing looks horrible. I was fortunate and it was hand carried to Europe where it was sewn on professionally. DD still has to get married, it looks like that will happen next year, but I get to use it for display purposes until then. Hope she waits until after IOLI convention, then I might be able to put it in the display room. I do dislike pricking for something like Buckspoint but I will do it, but when I am working on my own designs I tend to put pins in as I go. Sometimes the design works itself out on the pillow. Something that looked right on the computer does not work in real life. What I really dislike is taking out a forest of pins and seeing a mistake! Next time I need to sew an edge onto fabric I will try the sewing machine. A lacemaker at my guild did such a nice job with the machine that I had a hard time telling how she had done it, but then my eyesight is not that good. Janice Janice Blair Crystal Lake, 50 miles northwest of Chicago, Illinois, USA http://jblace.wordpress.com/ http://www.lacemakersofillinois.org/ - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
We all seem agreed that the most enjoyable part is the actual bobbin clicking! To get over the worst bit, of pricking and winding bobbins, I usually start doing this in small stages before I have actually finished the previous lace - an hour or so at a time. This way, the pricking is easiest as it is best done in small bits, before the concentration goes. Winding (setting up the winder) I try to do in batches of (50 / 100) bobbins, and as I usually do Binche, I do start before they are all wound. The overlap (lassen) I also do in small stages, as again you need to concentrate very hard. Mounting onto fabric is harder - you have to get the correct fabric, and making sure it is exactly square is a fiddle. But its mounting a circle thats the worst - getting it exactly round takes a bit of undoing (or reverse stitching). Tallies etc are OK, provided you join in the non-worker side first. The hardest result to achieve is when in a piece of Binche you have both the usual thin long rectangular ones, and the sideways gate ones, and trying to get them looking the same - judging the number of rows to work, and making sure they are firmly anchored. In some patterns, whichever way you do them, one of the worker pair needs to be the worker in the next tally, with only 1 or 2 stitches inbetween, and its so easy to use the wrong one! When using the plain Binche bobbins, there is little to distinguish the worker, so its all down to thread length. So, do I have a 'worst aspect'? maybe doing leaf tallies, making them nice and firm and regular. Thinking about it, its probably doing picots in Beds - not the edge ones, but those on the inbetween plaits, where there is one either side, and trying not to get a hole in the plait at the same time. Also, the nine pin edge in Beds seems very boring and fiddly. It will be interesting to see the results. Milada Marshall in a very wet Somerset - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
Sewing together! This is why I've been so quiet recently :o) I haven't been making lace because to do that, I've got to clear my pillow which means sewing the current piece up. It's only a rectangular border, a beginner's piece of Torchon but I really can't convince myself to sew the stupid thing together! Helen in Dorset (no longer in Somerset) [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: As I sit here yet again avoiding the final sewing of my current lace piece (the first of two interlocked hearts, only 12 pairs for goodness sake!), I find myself pondering on what aspect of bobbin lace people dislike the most. I know lacemakers who profess to dislike most - or even hate and avoid at all costs - each of the following items. As you will have gathered, I fit into the second bunch though I am quite happy doing numbers 1 and 3. So which category do you fit in? (Sorry needlelacers and tatters!) Or is there something else that should be on the list? I will happily summarise the responses to the list in a couple of weeks so feel free to answer privately. There are no wrong answers ... 1) Winding bobbins 2) Final sewing together 3) Tallies (leaves, squares, triangles, any other type) Over to you in eager anticipation :-) Helen (in Vancouver, BC on the west coast of mainland Canada where it has been a beautiful sunny day) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
As I sit here yet again avoiding the final sewing of my current lace piece (the first of two interlocked hearts, only 12 pairs for goodness sake!), I find myself pondering on what aspect of bobbin lace people dislike the most. I know lacemakers who profess to dislike most - or even hate and avoid at all costs - each of the following items. As you will have gathered, I fit into the second bunch though I am quite happy doing numbers 1 and 3. So which category do you fit in? (Sorry needlelacers and tatters!) Or is there something else that should be on the list? I will happily summarise the responses to the list in a couple of weeks so feel free to answer privately. There are no wrong answers ... 1) Winding bobbins I'm like a few of you, wind while watching tv, calming and want to be able to get on with the business of making lace. 2) Final sewing together Dont mind this as long as the thread doesn't break half way through the tying off. Which does happen sometimes. If it doesn't tension properly then I am unhappy. Taking pins out is a pleasure because I can finally begin to see the pattern in its glory (others patterns not mine:-), a real disappointment if I find an error that far back. 3) Tallies (leaves, squares, triangles, any other type) I think I am ok with leaves, generally, not keen on tallies, but I haven't had to do many. Sometimes if I am unhappy with something I work a pattern which does include them to persuade myself to work at them. Don't mind a few sewings but dislike masses, my tensioning looses its tidy look. What I love is working beautiful lace that flows well and leaves you with a sense of achievement and pride. Most lace needs putting away for a few days and looking at with fresh eyes, then I am not fixated on any minor mistakes, g Sue T Dorset UK Over to you in eager anticipation :-) Helen (in Vancouver, BC on the west coast of mainland Canada where it has been a beautiful sunny day) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
At 6:20 PM -0800 12/7/07, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: 1) Winding bobbins 2) Final sewing together 3) Tallies (leaves, squares, triangles, any other type) I hate any and all sewings, so I stick to continuous laces. That still leaves me with the problem of joining at the end, if it's a hankie edging or a circular edging -- so far, I've put off trying to do that joining myself, but have some pieces to make that attempt on, if I ever get up the nerve to try it. -- Mary, in Baltimore, MD [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
My thoughts on the subject -- a bit long, so delete at your leisure. 1) Winding bobbins 2) Final sewing together 3) Tallies (leaves, squares, triangles, any other type) Hate??? None of these do I hate. Each is a function of lacemaking that needs to be learned. When first learned, each takes concentration. If no one claimed they were hard, they would each just be a step on the ladder of learning -- on the way to the next step. In the beginning, winding bobbins seemed to take a long time because I was eager to work on the lace. I learned to wind with a string to greatly speed up the process. Now I find that winding under a yard is as easy by hand as setting up a winder. Though I am known for taking bobbins to meetings and winding longer amounts while listening to tedious discussions at church. The other factor on winding bobbins is that I have several projects going. I can wind bobbins at my leisure for a future project. I can pick and choose my winding times. When I had only one pillow, I had to wind, etc, before I could again make lace -- thus prime lacing time was spent on the routine chores. The same thing with pricking patterns. This can seem like it takes forever if you're eager to get started on the lace. When planning projects in advance, pricking can be done in small doses and at times of your choice. Tallies are cloth stitch variations. I think there may have been too much said about them being hard. Sure -- perfect shapes take practice but you can make acceptable ones a lot sooner than the acclaimed 1000. Use temporary pins at the corners of your square tallies until you get the feel of it. Have the worker end on the opposite side than it started. Leaf tallies are controlled by the angles of your edge passives. Set up a practice pillow with two pair and just try using different angles. Keep the angle consistent the entire tally. Sewing together is a necessary skill. It's not really harder than other lace skills, just needing practice. It's only done once on a project, if done at all. We have to make a lot of lace to get a small amount of practice on sewing amd finishing. It also takes some time to learn the various methods available to us. It helps to just look at one pair at a time and deal with it the best you know how. Then do another pair. Take a break, a drink, a walk -- then do the next pair. One pair at a time is not a big chore. I have to tell my finishing tale. I made a hanky edging that started and ended on a corner (though I prefer patterns that start other places). I did the sewings all across it with one method. The more I looked at it, the more I disliked the result. All the knots were carefully unpicked. I did the sewings a different way, cut the bobbins off the threads leaving tails to weave in, and removed the pins. The sewn corner did not match the other three. I finally figured out that one row was missing. After a few days of muttering, I repinned the lace, unpicked all the knots for the second time, tied my bobbins back on all the cut threads, moved the beginning lace over a row where it should have been, did the missing row and tied off everything for the third time. Somehow, after that, other sewings have seemed fairly easy.G If you have read this far without falling asleep, I think what I hate is my thread breaking right at a pin with no tail. And my thread running out a half inch from the end of the project. And -- most of all right now -- my left hand too sore and weak to use. One-handed lace is very slow but I've done 5 inches of a rose and got the bobbins reset to do another one. Alice in Oregon -- hoping to get out of this hard cast and into a brace this week. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Bobbin Lace Survey Again
Firstly, a big thank you to the 37 people from 8 different countries who have already kindly provided their answers. Since there must be more bobbin lacers on the list, I encourage you to pipe up with your response too - I will keep it anonymous if sent privately, I promise! So far, I have had to divide the answers into 16 different categories which is wonderful. I am really pleased that people didn't feel obliged to keep to the list that I initially provided (though I am also quietly pleased that my dislike of finishing is just in the lead count-wise). Of course some of you may not agree with the groupings when I let you know the answers in a week or so but hey, it's my survey :-) As I mentioned in the original email, there are no wrong answers. What you dislike may be someone else's favourite and that is just fine. In the same way different people find different tasks easy or difficult, it is what makes the world a great place. Please keep your answers coming ... Helen (in Vancouver, BC where we had a sprinkling of snow overnight but nowhere near as much as last weekend - and let's hope no flooding this week) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
On 8 Dec 2007, at 02:20, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: 1) Winding bobbins If there are a lot to wind it's relaxation time and I'm usually watching TV as well. Or there may be lots of colours and textures and putting them all together and winding as I go is part of the fun. 2) Final sewing together That's the best bit, almost finished! Always make the join if you have one whilst the lace is still on the pillow - much less likely to pull it out of shape. 3) Tallies (leaves, squares, triangles, any other type) Get stuck in and work a pattern with LOTS of tallies, and by the end you'll be able to make them without pulling your hair out and they won't be a big deal any longer For me the bit I dislike is making a proper pricking on card, tedious and hard on the fingers (apply the plaster before you get a blister!). For yardage lace it has to be done but for one-offs I use plastic film over the pattern which, with a good pillow, I find is quite adequate. Brenda in Allhallows, Kent http://paternoster.orpheusweb.co.uk/index.html - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
Am I the only one who actually likes leaves, plaits and tallies? Not that mine are perfect, though getting better with more practice. I am not keen on winding, and told husband I quite fancy the super-duper winder I saw on a UK lace supplier's website. Just waiting now, if he got the hint Agnes Boddington - Elloughton (dreary and dark like it has been for the last 2 weeks, with storm forecast for tomorrow) - UK - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
Hello Helen, quite an interesting survey! 1) Winding bobbins Since learning how to do it quite fast by dragging the bobbin back and forth on a string it's no problem - and I also see it as Zen time as Kate so nicely put it. 2) Final sewing together Hate it. I'm too impatient at the end to get a piece off the pillow and may make a mess on an otherwise fine piece. I'm doing yardage (or rather metrage) right now. Knotting off is bad enough. 3) Tallies (leaves, squares, triangles, any other type) I didn't make too many of those yet, most were in this butterfly: http://tinyurl.com/24z94g. I'm getting angry with myself if they get jagged edges, though. But that's probably just a matter of exercise. One more point that someone in a german forum mentioned lately and she didn't like to do at all: 4) Pulling out the pins ... which I like, since that's the time were the final result shows up. And something I don't like to do, since it's tedious and strenuous for my eyes (and even hand and fingers): 5) Pricking the pattern I pre-prick all the patterns anyway, since it makes work much easier and faster (the needles slip into place nearly by themselves and I don't have to stare that hard on the pattern while making the lace). Best, Achim in grey and wet Berlin. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
If only ready-wound bobbins were available!! Definitely winding the bobbins is the pits for me. Jeanette Fischer, Western Cape, South Africa - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
(sorry Helen I hit reply and not reply to all and so sending again) Oh gosh, I have trouble with square tallies, (although they are improving on the bucks mat that I'm half way round) but I also hate pricking the patterns before working them - I tend to prick a little bit then prick as I go. And probably a little impatient when winding the bobbins - a do enough to get started then wind as I need them - generally cannot wait to get the pattern going. Perhaps that should be my new year's resolution to not get so excited/eager when making my lace Celia ( in Plumstead SE London UK) 1) Winding bobbins 2) Final sewing together 3) Tallies (leaves, squares, triangles, any other type) Over to you in eager anticipation :-) Helen (in Vancouver, BC on the west coast of mainland Canada where it has been a beautiful sunny day) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: 1) Winding bobbins 2) Final sewing together 3) Tallies (leaves, squares, triangles, any other type) Over to you in eager anticipation :-) Helen (in Vancouver, BC on the west coast of mainland Canada where it has been a beautiful sunny day) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
If only ready-wound bobbins were available!! Definitely winding the bobbins is the pits for me. I always choose patterns with tallies or leaves as they are quick and take up a lot of space! Final sewing together is tedious but you see results - not like winding the bobbins that goes on forever! Jeanette Fischer, Western Cape, South Africa - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
HI Agnes and all, I love tallies/leaves as well. When I did my 5 meters I had 10 leaves in every repeat and the repeat was only 4 cm long. Needless to say I've done my 1000 leaves! As to dislikes, I'm not keen on sewings. However, I'm getting better at them now that I have a lazy susan (latch hook?) that came from a wonderful secret pal. I don't avoid pieces with them any more. Cindy - in grey Wisconsin At 04:43 AM 12/8/2007, Agnes Boddington wrote: Am I the only one who actually likes leaves, plaits and tallies? - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
The best part is the excitement of starting, when you can see the perfect beauty of the piece in your head. The worst part is when it is finished and it doesn't match your dreams. Fortunately, you can have the first without the second if you shake the theory that you have to finish everything you start. Devon **Check out AOL's list of 2007's hottest products. (http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop000301) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
1) Winding bobbins 2) Final sewing together 3) Tallies (leaves, squares, triangles, any other type) Nothing like a survey for dragging all the lurkers out of hiding! I agree with most that winding bobbins is no problem - a nice mindless task for while watching TV or chatting to others at a lace group meeting. I avoid tallies as far as possible but unlike some if I have to do them I find square ones easier. My leaves always look like holly leaves! Sewing in at the end is pretty horrible. Using Christine Springett's Magic threads helps a bit. But worse than all for me is mounting the finished lace on whatever it's for. I have a hankie edging which was my forever project for a few years but I finally finished it during summer 2005. It's pretty good lace though I say it myself but I just haven't dared sew it on to some fabric yet because I know my sewing is not as good as my lacemaking! And as for sticking lace on to cards - don't even go there! Hazel (in wet, windy and cold Oude Wetering, Holland) ___ Support the World Aids Awareness campaign this month with Yahoo! For Good http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/ - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
I don't really object to any of those things... although I confess that once I've decided to begin a piece, I am impatient to get the bobbins wound! But long ago, I learned to just wind lots of thread on those bobbins, because I can re-use them over and over again without having to do a lot of winding. I'm working a project now that was wound two projects ago! (probably two years ago...?). Tallies are my friend now, and the joining is exciting. One thing you may want to add to the list is mounting the lace (when appropriate), as in a handkerchief. Clay -- Clay Blackwell Lynchburg, VA USA -- Original message -- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] As I sit here yet again avoiding the final sewing of my current lace piece (the first of two interlocked hearts, only 12 pairs for goodness sake!), I find myself pondering on what aspect of bobbin lace people dislike the most. I know lacemakers who profess to dislike most - or even hate and avoid at all costs - each of the following items. As you will have gathered, I fit into the second bunch though I am quite happy doing numbers 1 and 3. So which category do you fit in? (Sorry needlelacers and tatters!) Or is there something else that should be on the list? I will happily summarise the responses to the list in a couple of weeks so feel free to answer privately. There are no wrong answers ... 1) Winding bobbins 2) Final sewing together 3) Tallies (leaves, squares, triangles, any other type) Over to you in eager anticipation :-) Helen (in Vancouver, BC on the west coast of mainland Canada where it has been a beautiful sunny day) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
Me, too! I dread winding bobbins and put off projects just because of that. I used to bribe my boys when they were little to wind for me, so I could do drudge work like cleaning. In repayment, they got the left over thread that they called lion hair. They'd play with that and make things with it...usually curly fur for creations. I do wind them all to start (by myself), but just getting to the winding point is a mental game. I love to make tallies and feel that the hardest for me were square. I'm doing a yardage piece that will stay on the roller pillow for a while. It has many squares in it and they're finally looking squarish. Sewings are no big deal. It takes time, but to me on a nice piece of lace I should take time and have a neat finish. Just like doing a neat and tidy pricking ahead of time is important. So maybe starts and finishes make a huge part of nice work for me. Another thing to also add, I dread adding pins to my pincushion! (Silly, I know) I like to reach and grab a sticking-out pin rather than fish from a dish or bowl. But taking the time to refill the cushion seems a bit of a waste of time that I could be doing another stitch. More wasteful for me, though, is grabbing from the dish, figuring out which way is up, retreiving pins from underneath my nail, putting back the extra one I grabbed. Oh well, the rest of lacemaking is so much fun, I'll deal with refilling pincushions! Off to make lace! Laura Sandison Lace! in New Mexico, USA If only ready-wound bobbins were available!! Definitely winding the bobbins is the pits for me. Jeanette Fischer, Western Cape, South Africa - Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
For those who detest sewing the lace to a piece of fabric, the Kantcentrum will do this for a very reasonable price. I've have them do a couple pieces for me. One was my first Flanders piece, which they joined and mounted. The other was a Duchesse handkerchief corner. Both were expertly finished and the turn-around time was exceptional--although I done remember exactly what it was, I do know that I was pleasantly surprized with how quickly I received the finished pieces. Carole Dublin, OH USA - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
On Dec 7, 2007, at 21:20, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Helen) wrote: I find myself pondering on what aspect of bobbin lace people dislike the most. 1) Drawing the pricking with proper pin-placement. I tell myself that irregularity only adds to the charm but the obsessive part of me keeps saying it ain't so. And I'm too 'puter-illiterate to do it that way (besides, the disorganised part of me finds 'puter-generated prickings dead and boring) 2) 3) Pre-pricking. But, if I don't do it, the lace ends up being too disorganised even for my taste. 3) Winding bobbins. Since I usually make small pieces, it's hardly ever worth it to pull out the winder. Winding 10-20 pairs with 12 of thread each is a pain in the psyche :) Even worse is finding that the thread I wound is just a wee bit too fine or to coarse for the pricking. 4) Finding that, although I was certain I knew precisely how to proceed, the lace I'm making doesn't conform to the idea which lives in my mind's eye. I've learnt to make samples before I hit the main project which takes care of some of the problem but means that I wind even more bobbins than I would have otherwise. OTOH, when I think I know how to proceed and it actually does work out that way... Christmas every time :) 5) Finishing, especially if the end has to be joined to the beginning and het lassen is not an option. 6) Mounting. Whether appliqueing or sewing just one edge makes no difference; I have two left hands when I sew and can make the prettiest lace look hideous. Don't mind talllies (find them boring to make but worth while for the look) and absolutely don't mind sewings. While any of the 6 above -- what I think of a preipherals to lacemaking -- can send me into avoidance deep enough to do housework instead, once I'm working on the pillow, there's nothing I dislike, even if I get bored by some things (repetitive actions) to the point where each ends up looking different. Yours, still too drugged up (after an unexpected appendectomy, which took 26hrs out of my life) to think about pillow work -- Tamara P Duvallhttp://t-n-lace.net/ Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
Hi spiders, I'm trying to think what I dislike most about BL. WAinding bobbins isn't too bad, I do it either infront of the TV or use the bobbin winder. Sewings - those are OK too especially as I have done so much Honiton that and Milanese that it doesn't bother me anymore. Tallies? After my course in Malta my tallies are better - not perfect and the square ones are really bad, so I can put the square ones into the dislike category. But when I think about the lot I think I dislike pricking most. Miriam in Arad, Israel - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
I friend rang the other day, asked what was I doing, I said watching mindless TV and winding bobbins by hand. She asked why, seeing I had a bobbin winder. I answered so I can sit in peace and watch some mindless TV. The only thing I hate is refilling my pincushion, like Laura. Noelene in Cooma [EMAIL PROTECTED] I agree with most that winding bobbins is no problem - a nice mindless task for while watching TV or chatting to others at a lace group meeting. Hazel - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
Hi All, I an not too enamoured of the mounting of the lace pieces which need it! I always used to do it my hand, in the traditional way, but one of my friends volunteered to mount a handkerchief edge when I was chuntering one evening about having to do it. Naturally, I didn't turn down the offer, only to realise a bit later on that she was going to machine it to the linen. I was taken aback, to say the least, as I wasn't sure that was a good idea, but didn't like to say this to her!She told me that she'd have it for me in about two days time, so I gritted my teeth, and wondered what I had done to my precious lace. But - when I rceeived the lace hankie, it was beautiful!The mounting was done with a very fine zigzag stitch, and was of course far neater than I could have done by hand - the upshot of it all being that I now mount most things with the zigzag stitch on the machine, the exceptions being things which are round or oval, and which I still do by hand.I know that traditional lace-makers are probably horrified at that, but it really is a lot neater than I can do it now, and I am also sure that, had the old lace-makers had these new-fangled machines for taking the tedium out of lace making, and speeding up the earnings rate, they would have used them! Take care, and may your pins never bend. Carol - in Suffolk UK - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
Hi Agnes et al, No - you aren't the only one! I learned to do leaves and tallies before I was told that most people don't like them, and I still really enjoy doing them! I don't really dislike winding bobbins, but I do feel sometimes that I'd rather be making the lace than actually spending so much time winding when there are lots to wind, so I am so pleased to have quite a collection of bobbin winders.I have one of the original electric winders by Mr Metcalf, and I live in dread of that dying - so to cut down the time using the electric winder, I have two Newnham winders, one Richard Gravestock winder, another wooden one modelled on Richard Gravestock's wooden one, and also the smallest, but not the least of the winders - the tiny one from the Torchon Lace Supplies in Australia! That last is a marvel - it has a clamp to fit on the edge of a table, but also there are some hefty concealed pins to pin it to the lace pillow if necessary - but the pins were so cunningly concealed, I didn't realise they were there for some considerable time ... So - although I do very often sit winding bobbins by hand, the winders are wonderful when speed is of the essence. Carol - in Suffolk UK - Original Message - From: Agnes Boddington [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: lace lace@arachne.com Sent: Saturday, December 08, 2007 10:43 AM Subject: Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey Am I the only one who actually likes leaves, plaits and tallies? Not that mine are perfect, though getting better with more practice. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
Either I missed it on the first reading, or it was introduced after I responded... but I now realize that the thing I hate the most (and yes... the feeling is that strong...) is sewings!! To me, it just interrupts the rhythm of the work, and the finer the threads, the more frustrating it is. So I've long since given up laces which require a lot of sewings (Milanese, for example, which I think is a perfectly beautiful lace, and could hardly wait to learn to do it!) Clay -- Clay Blackwell Lynchburg, VA USA -- Original message -- From: Noelene Lafferty [EMAIL PROTECTED] I friend rang the other day, asked what was I doing, I said watching mindless TV and winding bobbins by hand. She asked why, seeing I had a bobbin winder. I answered so I can sit in peace and watch some mindless TV. The only thing I hate is refilling my pincushion, like Laura. Noelene in Cooma [EMAIL PROTECTED] I agree with most that winding bobbins is no problem - a nice mindless task for while watching TV or chatting to others at a lace group meeting. Hazel - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
Adele and all Gentle Spiders My dread is Torchon Spiders! I once (about the 4th lesson) did 6.5 yds. of an edging with spiders and fans. Now I don't care if I ever make another one. I am trying to overcome that with Julie Hendrick's book 'A Study in Torchon Spiders', it has a real variety. Lorri Ferguson But what I dislike the most is one of the easiest things in all bobbin lace - Torchon fans. It's just that they're so tedious! I did a 5m piece had a very small fan in each repeat, and the only way I survived was to make it into a game - I'd get all the bobbins ready to start the fan, take a big gulp of tea and think All right, - GO! and make it as fast as I could. By the end of fivedamnmetres I could make the fan in 42 seconds. Adele - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: = 1) Winding bobbins 2) Final sewing together 3) Tallies (leaves, squares, triangles, any other type) I have a couple of friends that avoid half stitch at all costs. It can be awkward, and easy to lose your place (and then difficult to find it again). Personally, I like the look of it so much that I refuse to be cowed by it. I even rather enjoy it. I'd rather do that then large areas of cloth stitch--such an inefficient way to weave fabric! I don't particularly enjoy winding bobbins, but I do it watching TV, and spread it out over a number of days, if need be. So that's not a biggie for me. Final sewing together? I don't finish anything so I don't need to worry about that one! LOL I'm okay with square tallies and only tried triangles once (and never tried crescents). I'm uncomfortable with leaves, but mostly because they don't come easily (as did most everythng else in BL) and I haven't practiced anywhere near enough to get the hang of them. I love those fat, pumpkinseed leaves in Maltese lace but all I've managed are skinny bird beaks or leaves that are half fat and then abruptly get skinny for the second half of their length. I admit I tend to avoid patterns with tallies, and refuse to do Bucks patterns that have those squares in the ground for no apparent reason (I refuse to do the squares, not the patterns) in part because I think the result is ugly/silly. I guess I don't much care for tallies--too much work and fuss for nothing all that pretty to show for the effort. Robin P. Los Angeles, California, USA - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
The only thing I dislike about making lace is the lack of full time available to make it. Chores get in the way. Winding bobbins is Zen time and contemplation of play time on the pillow a good thing. Final sewing? hahahaha! There IS no final sewing for yardages. : Talleys have become fun since I learned how to make them fast and reliably. Most laces don't have enough of them to get the hang of it because there's too much other stuff to interrupt the flow. This might be why Maltese has whole fields of them. Kate Henry Indiana USA - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Lace lace@arachne.com Sent: Friday, December 07, 2007 8:20 PM Subject: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey As I sit here yet again avoiding the final sewing of my current lace piece (the first of two interlocked hearts, only 12 pairs for goodness sake!), I find myself pondering on what aspect of bobbin lace people dislike the most. I know lacemakers who profess to dislike most - or even hate and avoid at all costs - each of the following items. As you will have gathered, I fit into the second bunch though I am quite happy doing numbers 1 and 3. So which category do you fit in? (Sorry needlelacers and tatters!) Or is there something else that should be on the list? I will happily summarise the responses to the list in a couple of weeks so feel free to answer privately. There are no wrong answers ... 1) Winding bobbins 2) Final sewing together 3) Tallies (leaves, squares, triangles, any other type) Over to you in eager anticipation :-) Helen (in Vancouver, BC on the west coast of mainland Canada where it has been a beautiful sunny day) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
I don't particularly like winding bobbins, but a bobbin winder makes that task easier. I have not yet been able to make a square tally come out square sigh. I can do leaves kind of okay and haven't tried any other shape of tallies. But I'm still a beginner and still learning so there may be hope for me yet :-D P.S. I'm a perpetual lurker ;-) [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: As I sit here yet again avoiding the final sewing of my current lace piece (the first of two interlocked hearts, only 12 pairs for goodness sake!), I find myself pondering on what aspect of bobbin lace people dislike the most. I know lacemakers who profess to dislike most - or even hate and avoid at all costs - each of the following items. As you will have gathered, I fit into the second bunch though I am quite happy doing numbers 1 and 3. So which category do you fit in? (Sorry needlelacers and tatters!) Or is there something else that should be on the list? I will happily summarise the responses to the list in a couple of weeks so feel free to answer privately. There are no wrong answers ... 1) Winding bobbins 2) Final sewing together 3) Tallies (leaves, squares, triangles, any other type) Over to you in eager anticipation :-) Helen (in Vancouver, BC on the west coast of mainland Canada where it has been a beautiful sunny day) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Ruth R. in OH [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
Hi All, Tallies of all types are difficult for me - more a mental block I expect. I did Torchon Lace by correspondence originally about 20+ years ago and have a nicely worked yellow (Perle 8) sample, various shapes. I obviously did them OK for that, but have found the possibility of having to do them in Bucks thickness thread a real put-off. Mary Carey Campbelltown, NSW, Australia _ What are you waiting for? Join Lavalife FREE - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
As I sit here yet again avoiding the final sewing of my current lace piece (the first of two interlocked hearts, only 12 pairs for goodness sake!), I find myself pondering on what aspect of bobbin lace people dislike the most. I know lacemakers who profess to dislike most - or even hate and avoid at all costs - each of the following items. As you will have gathered, I fit into the second bunch though I am quite happy doing numbers 1 and 3. So which category do you fit in? (Sorry needlelacers and tatters!) Or is there something else that should be on the list? I will happily summarise the responses to the list in a couple of weeks so feel free to answer privately. There are no wrong answers ... 1) Winding bobbins 2) Final sewing together 3) Tallies (leaves, squares, triangles, any other type) Over to you in eager anticipation :-) Helen (in Vancouver, BC on the west coast of mainland Canada where it has been a beautiful sunny day) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
1) Winding bobbins 2) Final sewing together 3) Tallies (leaves, squares, triangles, any other type) Hi Helen: What's the most technically difficult for me is sewings in fine thread - like Honiton. But what I dislike the most is one of the easiest things in all bobbin lace - Torchon fans. It's just that they're so tedious! I did a 5m piece had a very small fan in each repeat, and the only way I survived was to make it into a game - I'd get all the bobbins ready to start the fan, take a big gulp of tea and think All right, - GO! and make it as fast as I could. By the end of fivedamnmetres I could make the fan in 42 seconds. Adele North Vancouver, BC (west coast of Canada) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Bobbin Lace Survey
I dislike winding the bobbins but even more I dislike the sewing in at the end. Depending on the size of the finished project, I can put off the sewings until I need the pillow for the next project. Helene Ulrich Surfside Beach, SC USA - Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
