[lace] Re: Helpful cheap tools
At 02:06 PM 3/7/06 +, The Browns wrote: For those of us who can't get to fishing shops, possible we could use good eyebrow tweezers .Any thoughts? I don't know about bobbin lace, but eyebrow tweezers are essential for sewing. I like the kind that are cut off on a slant, so that you can turn them over and use the corner as a point. This kind is the most common nowadays. (In my youth, tweezers were either cut off square or ended in a point -- the slanted tweezer is about as good as the pointed one for point jobs, and better than the square one for linear jobs, so the former standards have become quite rare.) At 06:14 PM 3/5/06 -0600, Barb ETx wrote: I also inserted a crochet hook in an old retractable ball point pen..long before they started selling them. I was looking around for a thermometer case to carry my #8 crochet hook in, and all of them were a tad too short, so I cleaned out a felt-tip pen -- one that had been used up by somebody else, so that I wouldn't try to write with my crochet hook. (My pens are black, this one is white.) I cut the point off with my pocket knife, then picked out the wick, blotted out the ink, and spent a week or two washing it -- I left it on the sink and shook, emptied, and re-filled it every time I washed my hands. This was at least ten years ago, and I still have a #8 crochet hook at the bottom of my purse -- along with a cheap tatting shuttle and a ball of #10 thread. The shuttle is also wound with #10 thread, but I make the picots big enough that I can use the pick attached to the shuttle instead of the crochet hook, which makes it possible to work in dim light. The hook comes into service most often for picking up stitches around the heel flaps of my socks. I like knitting just as well as tatting, and I can use the socks -- I don't know what I'll do with the edging I'm tatting, should it ever grow long enough to go around something. (Mom just stashed hers here and there; a few years ago my sister found a snippet of Mom's tatting while sweeping her guest room.) (Mom always used tatting cotton -- probably #70.) I've also got a plethora of glass doilies and yarn covers, but like to have the crochet thread as a back-up -- and last summer I suddenly realized that there was an imminent need for baby booties while out gossiping, and was glad I could start crocheting right then. Got them finished in time to leave them with the baby's great-grandmother, too. -- Joy Beeson http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ http://roughsewing.home.comcast.net/ http://n3f.home.comcast.net/ -- Writers' Exchange west of Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.A. where Spring has sprung, but I suspect that those tulips and daffodils are going to be sorry they stuck their noses out. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: [lace] Re: Helpful cheap tools
At the start of this discussion, a bobbin holder made of tongue depressor was mentioned, but not detailed. I use these very cheap holders alot. Get basic tongue depressors from the First Aid section of your store, or colored ones from the craft store. Use wire cutters to snip a piece off the corners. Cut from the long side (across the grain) with the cut a bit under 1/2 centimeter. The corner bit will snap off and flip away. (It's helpful to do this part out doors, then you don't have to clean up the scattered bits.) This leaves a section at each end sticking out. Slide the holder under a group of bobbins, put an elastic band on one end, over the bobbins, and on the other end. Quick, easy, cheap. These holders can be stacked and fastened down to the pillow with a ribbon or one of those crocheted stips. Zigzag it back and forth over the stack of bobbins, pinning it down on eaach side. Or fold the sides of the work cloth over the pile of bobbins, and then put the ribbon back and forth over it. If well pinned, the bobbins won't move no matter how the pillow gets moved around. Happy lacing, Alice in Oregon -- where winter returns for the week - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Fw: [lace] Re: Helpful cheap tools--reverse tweezers
Hi all, First I want to apologize for not being 100% sure of the maker. But at Convention last year in Denver I bought a bobbin with one of these little swivel things on the end. It is exactly the 'rotary hackle' that Tamara is talking about but in stead of that metal shaft there is a wooden bobbin (nice looking too!). It's wonderful! I *think* that the maker was Richard Worthen. Can't find a web site for him though. Anyone with any thoughts? It is a lovely piece though and if anyone is interested I will send you a photo of mine. Be safe and make lots of lace! bobbi ~*~ Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy, and taste good with ketchup. == On Mar 7, 2006, at 19:37, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Robin) wrote: I have a pair of reverse tweezers, but I didn't get them from Holly. They're a little longer than a bobbin, which I prefer to the very short hackle pliers. And, since they're made from ribbon-shaped metal instead of the round (wire-shaped) metal of hackle pliers, I find it easier to pinch them open. Ah... But the hackle pliers on the swivel-handle that Clay had introduced me to aren't round at all at the pinch part... :) They're as small as others at the business (thread holding) end, but they flare out immediately into a comfortable 5mm flat width where you pinch them to open... And, as Clay had said, the handle is both skinny and as long as most bobbins, so can be paired with a bobbin when two need to run parallel for a bit (retiring the broken end of a thread and introducing a fresh one)... Also, at their widest part, they're still only 5mm wide, which means they don't take up as much space on the pillow as the more traditional, shorter ones. They really _are_ great, at least the original ones are. You can see them here: http://www.traditionalangler.com/Griffin_FlyTying_Tools.asp Griffin-made are the ones I used to get; I don't remember what the other brand (the ones where part of the spring protrudes) was, since I never got any. -- 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] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Fw: [lace] Re: Helpful cheap tools--reverse tweezers
Hi Bobbi - Yes, Richard Worthen is the maker, and that is the little gadget that I've mentioned. I gave him one of my own swivel hackles and asked him to put a bobbin handle on it. Since then, he has made hundreds of them! They're handy to have to help with those really short broken threads. I guess it bears mentioning that once Richard has put a handle on then, they no longer swivel, but that's not a necessary component for our use. Clay Clay -- Clay Blackwell Lynchburg, VA Roberta S Donnelly [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: = Hi all, First I want to apologize for not being 100% sure of the maker. But at Convention last year in Denver I bought a bobbin with one of these little swivel things on the end. It is exactly the 'rotary hackle' that Tamara is talking about but in stead of that metal shaft there is a wooden bobbin (nice looking too!). It's wonderful! I *think* that the maker was Richard Worthen. Can't find a web site for him though. Anyone with any thoughts? It is a lovely piece though and if anyone is interested I will send you a photo of mine. Be safe and make lots of lace! bobbi ~*~ Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy, and taste good with ketchup. == On Mar 7, 2006, at 19:37, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Robin) wrote: I have a pair of reverse tweezers, but I didn't get them from Holly. They're a little longer than a bobbin, which I prefer to the very short hackle pliers. And, since they're made from ribbon-shaped metal instead of the round (wire-shaped) metal of hackle pliers, I find it easier to pinch them open. Ah... But the hackle pliers on the swivel-handle that Clay had introduced me to aren't round at all at the pinch part... :) They're as small as others at the business (thread holding) end, but they flare out immediately into a comfortable 5mm flat width where you pinch them to open... And, as Clay had said, the handle is both skinny and as long as most bobbins, so can be paired with a bobbin when two need to run parallel for a bit (retiring the broken end of a thread and introducing a fresh one)... Also, at their widest part, they're still only 5mm wide, which means they don't take up as much space on the pillow as the more traditional, shorter ones. They really _are_ great, at least the original ones are. You can see them here: http://www.traditionalangler.com/Griffin_FlyTying_Tools.asp Griffin-made are the ones I used to get; I don't remember what the other brand (the ones where part of the spring protrudes) was, since I never got any. -- 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] - 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]
[lace] Re: Helpful cheap tools
These are very common in sewing and quilting stores. Clotilde has them in her catalog I believe. Lorri A vendor at a recent lace day was selling telescoping metal rods with a magnet on the tip. They were 60 cm (24) when fully extended but collapsed down to pen size; they also have a pocket clip as a pen does. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: [lace] Re: Helpful cheap tools
For what it is worth, The Ace Hardware stores often has the telescoping magnet pins on the counter as you check out. Susie Johnson Morris, IL - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Re: Helpful cheap tools--reverse tweezers
On Mar 7, 2006, at 19:37, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Robin) wrote: I have a pair of reverse tweezers, but I didn't get them from Holly. They're a little longer than a bobbin, which I prefer to the very short hackle pliers. And, since they're made from ribbon-shaped metal instead of the round (wire-shaped) metal of hackle pliers, I find it easier to pinch them open. Ah... But the hackle pliers on the swivel-handle that Clay had introduced me to aren't round at all at the pinch part... :) They're as small as others at the business (thread holding) end, but they flare out immediately into a comfortable 5mm flat width where you pinch them to open... And, as Clay had said, the handle is both skinny and as long as most bobbins, so can be paired with a bobbin when two need to run parallel for a bit (retiring the broken end of a thread and introducing a fresh one)... Also, at their widest part, they're still only 5mm wide, which means they don't take up as much space on the pillow as the more traditional, shorter ones. They really _are_ great, at least the original ones are. You can see them here: http://www.traditionalangler.com/Griffin_FlyTying_Tools.asp Griffin-made are the ones I used to get; I don't remember what the other brand (the ones where part of the spring protrudes) was, since I never got any. -- 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] Re: Helpful cheap tools
Another cheap friend/tool has just occured to me: tweezers (ordinary, not cross action), fairly large and long (ca 6/15cm), of which about a third (at the business end) is thin _and curved_... I hadn't thought of it earlier, because I don't use it all that often. But, in laces where one has a forest of closely spaced pins (PG, for example), I've found it invaluable; its beak will reach into the forest, to pluck out _the one pin_ which has -- somehow g -- been misplaced. I can't remove it with my fingers, because there are too many other pins too close together, but the curved tweezers are much more accurate and selective... Can't remember where or when I got them, sorry, but they travel with me even to Milanese classes, just in case :) And another cheap date... I don't use brass pins; all of mine -- irrespective of the size and shape -- are either stainless steel or nickel-plated. So my toolbox (ex-cosmetic organiser g) also holds a magnet stick... It's ca 3x0.5x1/16 and it allows me to sweep the floor, for dropped pins in my immediate vicinity, without too much effort. I keep thinking that, one of these days, I'll get a longer stick -- at least 6 -- which would allow me to sweep without having to bend at all, but this one was so cheap -- I found it in the street g -- and finding a new one would mean making an effort... Eureka! I actually _do_ have a better tool... :) Why hadn't I thought of it before... One summer some years ago, I picked up -- at WalMart, where else? g -- a (round, .5) magnet on a (plastic) stick, ca 5 long... Its intended use is to fish out jar lids from their hot bath when canning, and that's how I've ben using it. In July, August and September... The rest of the year it's been gathering dust... Not no more, it won't :) -- 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]
RE: [lace] Re: Helpful cheap tools
A vendor at a recent lace day was selling telescoping metal rods with a magnet on the tip. They were 60 cm (24) when fully extended but collapsed down to pen size; they also have a pocket clip as a pen does. Jay in Sydney [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Tamara P Duvall Sent: Wednesday, 8 March 2006 4:22 PM To: lace Arachne Subject: [lace] Re: Helpful cheap tools And another cheap date... I don't use brass pins; all of mine -- irrespective of the size and shape -- are either stainless steel or nickel-plated. So my toolbox (ex-cosmetic organiser g) also holds a magnet stick... It's ca 3x0.5x1/16 and it allows me to sweep the floor, for dropped pins in my immediate vicinity, without too much effort. I keep thinking that, one of these days, I'll get a longer stick -- at least 6 -- which would allow me to sweep without having to bend at all, - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
