Re: [lace] In defence of speed
Robin said something like it's the work, not the finished thing that is the satisfaction. Me too. That's why I'd like to be able to work more quickly, so I can get a bigger fix of solving the problems, which is the pleasure of lacemaking ahead of other arts and crafts for me. That's also probably why I enjoy teaching so much; that is problem solving all the time. Either sorting out why people have gone wrong, helping them make the corrections and not make the mistakes again or working out the best ways to help each person to understand what they will be doing next; it's pure pleasure. When I have a row of cloth stitch to do before I need to select the optimum place to do a sewing, or several rows before I start a braid stitch, if I can do the same quality of work more quickly why wouldn't I want to. It's the sewing, or the perfect start in the perfect place which is where the challenge is, and that's where I get most satisfaction. The lace I make is used purely for teaching purposes; I have none on display. My addiction is in the doing, and I also have many cut-off unfinished pieces kept as samples where I have learnt all I am going to and I'm neither enjoying the work or the prospect of the finished item. Another aspect of speed which hasn't been mentioned is the difficulties which teachers experience trying to design a piece of lace for a class. We often work a sample several times (and inflict it on our 'tame' students) trying to get some idea how long it might take 'average' lacemaker to do the piece. It is one of the most difficult design tasks trying to estimate how many of the necessary techniques will they have time to do in the day, the weekend or worst of all, the 3 hours of a Lace Guild Convention workshop, and thus decide how complex a piece can be. How many of those tricky moves can I get near the start, so everyone can do them in class. How straightforward can I make the last third because that's the bit that will sort 'average' from 'a bit faster'. How detailed do I need to make the accompanying notes so everyone has a chance of finishing at home? But my heart sinks when I have one of the Lacemakers described by Helen(?) who tension and tweak every thread at every stitch as I know I will go home frustrated at how little they were able to achieve even if they don't They may be quite content in their work, so I have to respect that, but surely they'd get even more pleasure (as well as value for money!) if they could work just a tiddy bit faster. Jacquie in Lincolshire Sent from my iPhone - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] In defence of speed
Question is Jacquie am I a tame one or a picky one that's what I want to know ;o) Claire Kent,UK Claire Allen www.bonitocrafts.co.uk Crafty stuff I want to show off. On 24 Jun 2011, at 10:11, Jacquie Tinch wrote: Another aspect of speed which hasn't been mentioned is the difficulties which teachers experience trying to design a piece of lace for a class. We often work a sample several times (and inflict it on our 'tame' students) trying to get some idea how long it might take 'average' lacemaker to do the piece. It is one of the most difficult design tasks trying to estimate how many of the necessary techniques will they have time to do in the day, the weekend or worst of all, the 3 hours of a Lace Guild Convention workshop, and thus decide how complex a piece can be. But my heart sinks when I have one of the Lacemakers described by Helen(?) who tension and tweak every thread at every stitch as I know I will go home frustrated at how little they were able to achieve even if they don't They may be quite content in their work, so I have to respect that, but surely they'd get even more pleasure (as well as value for money!) if they could work just a tiddy bit faster. Jacquie in Lincolshire - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
[lace] In defence of speed
Clay said - It seemed to take forever, and I vowed I would never again work a project in which I could not enjoy the process from start to finish. and I do not have a burning desire to finish, just a compulsion to make the lace as beautiful as I possibly can. So... speed is never an issue. May I be so bold as to say that these two statements are a little contradictory? If you were able to work faster the scarf would have grown quicker and would not have seemed so tedious, while for more challenging and enjoyable projects, working faster (while maintaining the same high quality) means that you would be able to make more of the designs you are inspired by. It's a win win situation, surely. Also, just because you can work faster doesn't mean you have to if you would prefer not to in any particular situation. Even though you are nearly finished on a project you have loved working, you do say that you have the next few lined up. Would you really think any less of your finished lace because it took you six months to make instead of eight? There would have been exactly the same amount of study needed, the same new techniques mastered, the same number of bobbin moves, the same number of pins placed. It also means that within the same (longer) time frame you would be able to challenge yourself more, learn more new techniques, make larger pieces that you might otherwise hesitate about starting. Perhaps the lack of satisfaction with your more quickly produced pieces of embroidery which didn't please you as much as the bigger projects was simply because they didn't challenge you enough, rather than the time they took to make. Somewhere along the progession of this discussion there seems to have crept in a slight inference that speed equals inferior work. Although perhaps for some people working faster might mean they cut corners on the tensioning, or leave less than excellent work because they don't want to 'waste time' undoing, for most people who work fast, it is because they are handling the bobbins efficiently and moving their fingers faster. They will be just as meticulous with the quality of the finished work. A good example would be Pat Read; her fingers move so swiftly it is difficult to exactly see how she moves the bobbins, but no-one would suppose that the quality of her lace could be improved, while the quantity she is able to make is to be envied and appreciated by all of us who benefit from her enormous output. Jacquie in Lincolnshire, who would love to be able to work faster. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] In defence of speed
Hi Everybody: Jacquie wrote: Somewhere along the progession of this discussion there seems to have crept in a slight inference that speed equals inferior work. snip for most people who work fast, it is because they are handling the bobbins efficiently and moving their fingers faster. They will be just as meticulous with the quality of the finished work. I work in crafts (hand bookbinding) and the best binders I know - the ones who do the finest work and get commissions from all over the world - are also some of the fastest. My observation is that their speed comes from three sources: - they know exactly what to do so they never have to stop and think, - their skill level is so high that each movement can be made surely, accurately, and quickly, and - they also know what to obsess over and what to leave. Some things actually don't matter because they will iron themselves out later on in the process. I always think of this when I see some lacemakers who tension every stitch and then later on in the same row they realize that the next stitch sort of loosened the previous one so they go back and then tension the two of them and then they do the next stitch and go back and tension all three, etc. until they finally crawl to the end of the row and then tension the whole thing. Usually they are making a fairly simple pattern where careful tensioning at the end of the row is all that is needed, but they don't realize that because they never try it. As they gain experience their lacemaking will speed up because they will learn to watch their lace and see exactly when tensioning is needed and when it isn't. Adele North Vancouver, BC (west coast of Canada) - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] In defence of speed
Hear, hear, Jacqui, I do agree with you. And I must emphasize that when I say speed, I mean speed with style and accuracy, without mistake. On the other hand, we each bring different things to the table, and while I am not process oriented, I understand that many are. I am not. My daughter insists on making bread and pies by hand. I use my heavy duty mixer for both. As long as the bread and pies are tasty, and there was time enough to make them, whether one wants speed or process really doesn't matter. But we won't ask Clay and others to go for speed if they don't want to, and please don't ask me to emphasize the process. I do enjoy the process, and I am learning a lot about lacemaking by making 2 yards of the same 1 inch square repeat. I relieve the boredom my listening to books, or listening to what's on the TV. And I understand about the original lacemakers a lot better. The thoughts in this discussion have been fascinating. Very helpful to me, too, with ideas that have been well thought out over time. As a group, we think. Not always the same, and that's good. Lyn in Lancaster, PA, US, (note I've always put it all, and spelled it out, because not everyone knows the abbreviations) where the air conditioning is on today because of the humidity, and for the dog, a Newfoundland, who suffers more than DH in the heat. 8 p.m. and it's 81F 24.5C. cold front coming. -Original Message- From: laceandb...@aol.com Sent: Jun 23, 2011 6:51 AM To: lace@arachne.com Subject: [lace] In defence of speed Clay said - It seemed to take forever, and I vowed I would never again work a project in which I could not enjoy the process from start to finish. and I do not have a burning desire to finish, just a compulsion to make the lace as beautiful as I possibly can. So... speed is never an issue. May I be so bold as to say that these two statements are a little contradictory? If you were able to work faster the scarf would have grown quicker and would not have seemed so tedious, while for more challenging and enjoyable projects, working faster (while maintaining the same high quality) means that you would be able to make more of the designs you are inspired by. It's a win win situation, surely. Also, just because you can work faster doesn't mean you have to if you would prefer not to in any particular situation. Even though you are nearly finished on a project you have loved working, you do say that you have the next few lined up. Would you really think any less of your finished lace because it took you six months to make instead of eight? There would have been exactly the same amount of study needed, the same new techniques mastered, the same number of bobbin moves, the same number of pins placed. It also means that within the same (longer) time frame you would be able to challenge yourself more, learn more new techniques, make larger pieces that you might otherwise hesitate about starting. Perhaps the lack of satisfaction with your more quickly produced pieces of embroidery which didn't please you as much as the bigger projects was simply because they didn't challenge you enough, rather than the time they took to make. Somewhere along the progession of this discussion there seems to have crept in a slight inference that speed equals inferior work. Although perhaps for some people working faster might mean they cut corners on the tensioning, or leave less than excellent work because they don't want to 'waste time' undoing, for most people who work fast, it is because they are handling the bobbins efficiently and moving their fingers faster. They will be just as meticulous with the quality of the finished work. A good example would be Pat Read; her fingers move so swiftly it is difficult to exactly see how she moves the bobbins, but no-one would suppose that the quality of her lace could be improved, while the quantity she is able to make is to be envied and appreciated by all of us who benefit from her enormous output. Jacquie in Lincolnshire, who would love to be able to work faster. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003 - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] In defence of speed
laceandb...@aol.com wrote: May I be so bold as to say that these two statements are a little contradictory? If you were able to work faster the scarf would have grown quicker and would not have seemed so tedious, while for more challenging and enjoyable projects, working faster (while maintaining the same high quality) means that you would be able to make more of the designs you are inspired by. It's a win win situation, surely. Spoken like a true product person. My interest in bobbin lacemaking, as will all my craft interests (and there are many, many of those!) is in the doing, not in the having. Unlike Clay, I won't continue to waste time on a project that I've gotten bored with or come to dislike. It's the sitting at the pillow, playing with beautiful tools, making something beautiful, that I love. Finishing is irrelevant. I have a short attention span and if I lose interest in it, I cut it off and start something new (= more inspiring). My friends have crowned me the uncontested Queen of Unfinished Projects. Those are just the things that I still have on hand, in case I decide to go back to them. In many of my interests, I don't even know how to finish things, on others I just haven't had enough practice to do a decent job. No problem, because I never finish anything anyway! For a process person, it's working on it, not the finished object, that is satisfying. Robin P. Los Angeles, California, USA robinl...@socal.rr.com - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
