Re: [lace] Ghost pillow, voodoo pillow, pins

[b...@historichousehunter.com]

I make a good amount of Binche, and I originally used a "voodoo board". Now I 
prefer circling the pinhole marks on the diagram with a small pencil circle, 
and sometimes I lightly draw a swirly circle or an asterisk at a special 
stitch, like the next stitch to-do when I'm putting it all away (instead of a 
sticky arrow), so when I take it out agai, I know where to start. 

This way if I have to un-lace because of a mistake, I just erase the light 
pencil marks, and there isn't anything permanent on the diagram like actual pin 
holes. When I used the pins and voodoo board, the pinholes would confuse me if 
the pins fell out of the board, etc. 

Maybe someone will find this helpful--

Beth Harpell on a gorgeous breezy and sunny day in New Jersey 




Virginia "Beth" Harpell 
Historic Property Specialist
www.HistoricHouseHunter.com
973-650-1637 Cell
973-770- Office
RE/MAX House Values
101 Landing Road
Roxbury, NJ 07850
RE/MAX 100% Club 
& NJAR Circle of Excellence 

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Re: [lace] Ghost pillow, voodoo pillow, pins

[Bev Walker]

Totally yes, can always make another diagram.
...and arrows! Vive la difference! I prefer them for Binche, as it takes me
as long to fumble around with pins and a board as it does to do same at the
lace pillow. For me the arrows are faster! I make a copy on heavy card-type
computer paper of the diagram, prop it anywhere convenient, use different
colour arrows, one for each point I need to keep track of - how it is with
Binche, lots going on in all directions. Sometimes I jot a note on the
arrow. Just in case the arrow flies off when away from my lace place, I put
the arrows copy inside a sheet protector. Even if it doesn't take long
to find place on the diagram vs. work in progress.
Great to have choices and to be able to do whatever it takes to enjoy
making the lace!


On Sun, Sep 17, 2017 at 9:11 AM, Anita Hansen 
wrote:

> In my initial Binche class it was suggested to use the sticky arrows.
> Hated them! It is so much easier to pull a pin out of the foam and quickly
> move it than it is to get an arrow off of paper and repositioned.



-- 
Bev in Shirley BC, near Sooke on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of
Canada

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[lace] Ghost pillow, voodoo pillow, pins

[Anita Hansen]

In my initial Binche class it was suggested to use the sticky arrows. Hated 
them! It is so much easier to pull a pin out of the foam and quickly move it 
than it is to get an arrow off of paper and repositioned. Also i use a bunch of 
pins and there would not be room for all arrows.  Since most of the time I am 
working on my lace at home I don't worry about pins falling out in transport. I 
think if I were going to travel I would look into getting thicker foam so I 
could push them all the way in for transport. It is also very unlikely I will 
make a pattern twice and if I do I can always print another diagram! So pins 
win hands down for me too!
Anita Hansen... who is looking forward to Binche design class in October with 
Kumiko!
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 

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[lace] ghost pillow, voodoo pillow, pins

[Lyn Bailey]

For most laces, some sort of diagram is usually sufficient to know where you
are without further markings or pins.  With the fine thread and confusion of
Binche, or more complicated Flanders at least, that is not always the case.  I
began with sticking arrows, but pins in a cork board wins hands down for me.
Actually takes less time.  The diagram can be used over again, as most of the
holes are pinholes.  I find that the pins do not usually come out of a cork
pricking board, even on transatlantic flights in check through.  Bent pins are
another matter, but that’s what they make pliers for.
The important thing with any kind of similar aid is to pay attention to what
you are doing, analyze what your are doing, look for patterns in method, and
work on freeing yourself from the board.  Paint by numbers is one thing, and
lace is another.  On the other hand, a ghost pillow can mean the difference
between completing your project and cutting it off the pillow

Lyn in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA where it is warm and muggy, with mostly
sun, or few clouds.

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Re: [lace] Ghost Pillow

[Noelene van Iperen]

I started lacemaking in 1969 although I have only mainly done very simple
patterns over the years as I worked fulltime but I love the Arachne emails and
I find the Ghost Pillow correspondence totally fascinating - you are never too
old to learn something new. Noelene

> On 14 September 2017 at 23:59 Ilske Thomsen 
wrote:
>
>
> I agree with Lyn
> > Using a ghost pillow does slow you down,
> I do it in another way. I work along as usual but when I had to stop why
ever I put one or more, it depends, glass head pins on the point I stop on the
working scheme. So it’s easier for me to find later where I was. And I lay
the last bobbins together but away from the flock.
>
> Ilske
>
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Re: [lace] Ghost Pillow

[Ilske Thomsen]

I agree with Lyn
> Using a ghost pillow does slow you down,
I do it in another way. I work along as usual but when I had to stop why ever I 
put one or more, it depends,  glass head pins on the point I stop on the 
working scheme. So it’s easier for me to find later where I was. And I lay the 
last bobbins together but away from the flock.

Ilske

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[lace] Ghost pillow

[Alison Gray]

Hi a while ago made a piece of floral bucks for a friend's significant
birthday. I was way out of my depth with only a minimal knowledge of bucks.
I gave myself two years as I was working full time. I first enlarged the
pricking and worked it in thicker thread using a ghost pillow and then
worked it again proper size still using the ghost pillow. It did take most
of the two years and I made lots of mistakes. my friend loved it and I
learned such a lot. I also kept a notebook and charted my progress. I still
keep notes but haven't used the ghost pillow in a while. Alison in dull
Colchester Essex UK

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[lace] Ghost pillow

[Alex Stillwell]

Hi Sue

Well done. I fully agree with your approach. I am the worst at following
diagrams but they have their place. I was tearing my hair out trying to master
Mechlin using diagrams but suddenly my Floral Bucks skills kicked in and I
understood what to do. I was able to abandon the diagram. If the lace you wish
to make is somewhat beyond your ability to make it then by all means start by
following a diagram. By thinking about the techniques you are following you
gradually rely less on the diagram and more on your ability to understand how
to interpret the pricking. I wish more would follow your example.

Blow the dust

Alex

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[lace] ghost pillow

[Lorelei Halley]

I use one also, for Flanders & Binche. I couldn't do those complex designs
without one. And losing track of where I am is the primary reason. Like
Nancy, I like to call it the "voodoo board". I think of it as murdering the
design invented by a wicked sorcerer. And who is going to be defeated, me or
the design.

Lorelei

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Re: [lace] Ghost pillow

[Tregellas Family]

Hi,

Here in Adelaide, South Australia we call these boards our 'voodoo' 
boards  -  when the going gets tough, stick in a pin. :-)


Cheers,
Shirley T.  -  winter is still raging here and won't let Spring come 
visit us just yet.  :-(
Our thoughts and prayers are with those suffering the effects from 
'Irma' and 'Harvey'




On 14-Sep-17 2:14 AM, J-D Hammett wrote:

Hi Lyn and fellow Arachnids,

Thank you very much for sharing, Lyn. There are some really useful ideas here.
I have used an “idiot’s board”


Joepie in a wet East Sussex.




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Re: [lace] Ghost pillow

[Adele Shaak]

I call mine a voodoo board, too!

The first time I used one, I was doing what I now think was a fairly simple
Old Flanders pattern. I couldn’t follow the pattern just by looking at it.
In fact, even once I had the board I still had problems, because I was so
confused that I would get lost during the second or so that it took to move my
gaze from the voodoo board to the lace!

Happily it does get easier with practice, and now I don’t need the voodoo
board nearly so often.

Adele
West Vancouver, BC
(west coast of Canada)

> On Sep 13, 2017, at 1:04 PM, N.A. Neff  wrote:
>
> I agree with Holly Van Sciver that the ultimate goal is to be able to look
> at the lace and see what to do next. I'm getting better at doing that with
> Bucks but I find that old-style Binche/Val/Mechlin is still really
> difficult to do without such a pillow. However, the main thing I wanted to
> add is that I like calling it a voodoo board--you stick pins in it, huh?
> get it? oh well, _I_ think it's funny...

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Re: [lace] Ghost pillow

[lynrbailey]

Nancy, I agree that it is always good to work without a crutch, and some
laces simply don't need such a device, but when one is stretching one's
ability, sometimes to the limit, a voodoo pillow might also add magic to
the effort.  Some Val, certainly, I don't know about Mechlin, but Binche,
with its quirky changes is a definite.  If one were making it as a job,
with repeats more than the 4 found in a handkerchief edging, eventually
there would be no need for a voodoo pillow, but since we're not doing
this to make money, I'll take the crutch.  And sometimes, if the diagram
doesn't work, just doing the pricking can be the answer.  But for that
one must be acquainted with all the unwritten rules about how this lace
is made.  lrb

  Nancy wrote:
  I agree with Holly Van Sciver that the ultimate goal is to be able to
  look at the lace and see what to do next. I'm getting better at doing
  that with Bucks but I find that old-style Binche/Val/Mechlin is still
  really difficult to do without such a pillow. However, the main thing
  I wanted to add is that I like calling it a voodoo board--you stick
  pins in it, huh? get it? oh well, _I_ think it's funny...

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[lace] Ghost Pillow

[Lyn Bailey]

Using a ghost pillow does slow you down, but if the lace is stretching your
abilities, I think it makes the work faster because you don't have to spend so
much time figuring out where you are. Also, the ghost pillow is bigger than
the pricking.   I first found out about it by watching our Devon use one at
Liberty Lacers.  And when I took a Flanders class with Annick Staes in
Peterborough England, virtually everyone used one.  I used one on my project,
but soon did not except for 2 spots.  The less you use one, the faster your
lace.  Unless you get stuck, when the ghost pillow saves time.  lrb


I don’t know all the names a ghost pillow is called, but it is a very useful
device, used especially in more complicated laces where repeats don’t really
happen.  You have your pricking on your pillow.  Then usually you have a
diagram or at least another, enlarged pricking on a piece of cork, or other
board which will take pins.  When you put a pin in a pinhole on your pillow,
you put a pin into the corresponding pinhole on your ghost pillow.  This
really helps, especially in those patterns which have lots of pinholes and
thin thread.  I use it extensively in Binche, and sometimes in the confusing
areas of Flanders and even Tonder.
The best results of using a ghost pillow is that you know where you are on
your pillow, so you have an excellent idea of what to do next.  This is
especially helpful on those occasions where you have to leave your pillow.
Happens to everyone.  Then when you come back, you can look at your ghost
pillow and figure out what to do next.
This may be common knowledge, but I have two other things I do on a ghost
pillow to help.  I use ordinary glass head sewing pins, cheap and distinctive,
for the pinholes.  But then I also use a brass pin on the line of a pair to
show where that pair stopped connecting with other threads.  I don’t do this
all the time, but at certain places where I’m leaving the work, and that
particular area is subject to extra confusion.
The other thing I do is when there is a problem, too many or too few pairs in
a certain area, BIG MESS, and I’m leaving, I put a big glass head pin, that
is different from the ones usually used on the ghost pillow, in the middle of
the mess, so I can sit down and immediately locate where I have to work on the
problem.
In other cases, either with or without a ghost pillow, I put 2 pins on either
side of the pair that needs to be worked next when I think that might not be
readily apparent.

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Re: [lace] Ghost pillow

[Kathleen Harris]

Hi Joepie,  I have used this method on both Flanders and Binche, which often 
have such excellent enlarged working diagrams. I imagine it could be used for 
other laces which have detailed diagrams, which could perhaps be enlarged if 
necessary. It certainly helps a great deal!

Kathleen
In an unseasonably cold Berkshire, UK

Sent from my iPad

> On 13 Sep 2017, at 17:44, J-D Hammett <jdhamm...@msn.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi Lyn and fellow Arachnids,
> 
> Thank you very much for sharing, Lyn. There are some really useful ideas here.
> I have used an “idiot’s board” before (a piece of polystyrene or soft board
> with the diagram/enlarged pricking on it to put pins in as you progress) if a
> lace had an extremely difficult section, but put it away once I‘d conquered
> the problem area. I will probably use it more now.
> 
> Happy lace making,
> 
> Joepie in a wet East Sussex.
> 
> 
> From: Lyn Bailey<mailto:lynrbai...@supernet.com>
> Sent: 13 September 2017 16:30
> To: lace@arachne.com<mailto:lace@arachne.com>
> Subject: [lace] Ghost pillow
> 
> I don’t know all the names a ghost pillow is called, but it is a very useful
> device, used especially in more complicated laces where repeats don’t really
> happen.  You have your pricking on your pillow.  Then usually you have a
> diagram or at least another, enlarged pricking on a piece of cork, or other
> board which will take pins.
> <.
> ..>In other cases, either with or
> without a ghost
> pillow, I put 2 pins on either side of the pair that needs to be worked next
> when I think that might not be readily apparent.
> 
> Lyn in Lancaster,
> 
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Re: [lace] Ghost pillow

[Jocelyn Froese]

Hi Nancy, and everyone. 
Things have slowed down at work, a nice break to look at Arachne mail. That is 
interesting about the pillow. I still can't stick pins in my hedgehog. One try 
was all I managed.

Jocelyn in central Canada where the sky is dark with smoke from northern fires. 
Such a stressful time for so many people. 
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Re: [lace] Ghost pillow

[Susan Vossier]

Thanks Lyn.  I also use a spare bit of polystyrene, which will now be
elevated to the status of ghost pillow or voodoo pillow!

But I like your idea of using different pins for different things, and will
definitely incorporate that idea!

Sue from Montelimar, France, where autumn has definitely taken over from
summer

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Re: [lace] Ghost pillow

[N.A. Neff]

I agree with Holly Van Sciver that the ultimate goal is to be able to look
at the lace and see what to do next. I'm getting better at doing that with
Bucks but I find that old-style Binche/Val/Mechlin is still really
difficult to do without such a pillow. However, the main thing I wanted to
add is that I like calling it a voodoo board--you stick pins in it, huh?
get it? oh well, _I_ think it's funny...

Nancy
normally from Connecticut USA, but wandering somewhere in Italy right now,
marveling at Etruscans

On Wed, Sep 13, 2017 at 11:17 AM, Lyn Bailey 
wrote:

> I don’t know all the names a ghost pillow is called, but it is a very
> useful
> device, used especially in more complicated laces where repeats don’t
> really
> happen...

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Re: [lace] Ghost pillow

[Sue Harvey]

After my classes finished just as I was getting to grip with Bucks Point I 
didn't want to give it up, so I bought a polystyrene block and put an exact 
copy pricking on it as I worked it I put the pins in the corresponding  place I 
learnt a great deal doing it that way as I progressed I slowly stretched it to 
every row then after a while I was confident enough to do without.
Sue M Harvey
Norfolk UK 

Sent from my iPad

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RE: [lace] Ghost pillow

[J-D Hammett]

Hi Lyn and fellow Arachnids,

Thank you very much for sharing, Lyn. There are some really useful ideas here.
I have used an “idiot’s board” before (a piece of polystyrene or soft board
with the diagram/enlarged pricking on it to put pins in as you progress) if a
lace had an extremely difficult section, but put it away once I‘d conquered
the problem area. I will probably use it more now.

Happy lace making,

Joepie in a wet East Sussex.


From: Lyn Bailey<mailto:lynrbai...@supernet.com>
Sent: 13 September 2017 16:30
To: lace@arachne.com<mailto:lace@arachne.com>
Subject: [lace] Ghost pillow

I don’t know all the names a ghost pillow is called, but it is a very useful
device, used especially in more complicated laces where repeats don’t really
happen.  You have your pricking on your pillow.  Then usually you have a
diagram or at least another, enlarged pricking on a piece of cork, or other
board which will take pins.
<.
..>In other cases, either with or
without a ghost
pillow, I put 2 pins on either side of the pair that needs to be worked next
when I think that might not be readily apparent.

Lyn in Lancaster,

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[lace] Ghost pillow

[Lyn Bailey]

I don’t know all the names a ghost pillow is called, but it is a very useful
device, used especially in more complicated laces where repeats don’t really
happen.  You have your pricking on your pillow.  Then usually you have a
diagram or at least another, enlarged pricking on a piece of cork, or other
board which will take pins.  When you put a pin in a pinhole on your pillow,
you put a pin into the corresponding pinhole on your ghost pillow.  This
really helps, especially in those patterns which have lots of pinholes and
thin thread.  I use it extensively in Binche, and sometimes in the confusing
areas of Flanders and even Tonder.
The best results of using a ghost pillow is that you know where you are on
your pillow, so you have an excellent idea of what to do next.  This is
especially helpful on those occasions where you have to leave your pillow.
Happens to everyone.  Then when you come back, you can look at your ghost
pillow and figure out what to do next.
This may be common knowledge, but I have two other things I do on a ghost
pillow to help.  I use ordinary glass head sewing pins, cheap and distinctive,
for the pinholes.  But then I also use a brass pin on the line of a pair to
show where that pair stopped connecting with other threads.  I don’t do this
all the time, but at certain places where I’m leaving the work, and that
particular area is subject to extra confusion.
The other thing I do is when there is a problem, too many or too few pairs in
a certain area, BIG MESS, and I’m leaving, I put a big glass head pin, that
is different from the ones usually used on the ghost pillow, in the middle of
the mess, so I can sit down and immediately locate where I have to work on the
problem.
In other cases, either with or without a ghost pillow, I put 2 pins on either
side of the pair that needs to be worked next when I think that might not be
readily apparent.

Lyn in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA, where we are having a gentle rain, the
last remnants of Hurricane Irma, nothing significant.

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