Re: [lace] Spulfix bobbin winder for counter-clockwise winding

> J Reardon wrote: > > If you don’t mind my asking, why is it important to wind the bobbins in a > particular direction for Idrija? (I know I probably spelled that wrong.) Yes please, I would like to know that, too. I was under the impression that bobbins were wound

[lace] Block pillow question

I still don't see why you think half blocks are purely spacers, Malvary. This is the first time in over 25 years of making lace I have heard of this. I have several half blocks, and use them as and when needed, especially when working things like bookmarks, which tend to be 1.5 blocks in length.

RE: [lace] date for Bucks point

I saw the question. A year or two ago the Met had a Vigee LeBrun exhibit. She was the artist who painted the French aristocracy right up to the Revolution and even beyond, as she also fled. I thought it would be interesting to have a viewing of lace such as in the paintings. Most of it was

Re: [lace] Winding Idrija bobbins for use "palms up" on a bolster

In Malta and Gozo we wind clockwise and work palms down. Karen in Malta. - 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://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/

[lace] Re: hint

Hi, I feel I should post a warning. Small elastic bands work very well to keep two bobbins together. But, I'm a slow worker and my large Bucks Point piece took a year to make. During that time the rubber bands perished and stuck to the wood leaving blue or black coloured rings on the bobbin

[lace] Smithsonian Ipswich lace pillow

Dear Janice, Lorri and others, Thank you for all the interest. Hopefully this thread will help shed more light on a very important part of American handmade lace history. Janice writes: "One thing I did notice though was that the Smithsonian lace had a left footside whereas most English lace to

Re: [lace] Block pillow question

I stand corrected - if you need to use your half blocks to work on, so be it. On the other hand, if you have a block pillow in a frame, you cannot overhang a part of a block even temporarily, and having a space at the bottom with no block in it does not give very good support for your

[lace] date for Bucks point

Hi Arachnids I saw the posting requesting information about the date point ground started and have been waiting to see the response. Unfortunately there has net been even one, I was hoping someone else would come up with something as I have found no reference that actually gives a date and I am

Re: [lace] Winding Idrija bobbins for use "plams up" on a bolster

This is an interesting question! In Spain we also wind counterclockwise. And we work mainly palms up. I don't know if lacemakers who work palms down wind clockwise. Would love to read your opinions!! Now my opinion: I imagine that it is not important which way you wind, but wind all bobbins the

Re: [lace] Winding Idrija bobbins for use "plams up" on a bolster

I wind counterclockwise as I was taught that way due to the spinning on the thread. I do this for which ever lace I make and which ever pillow I use. L Sent from my iPad > On 11 Dec 2017, at 09:51, AGlez wrote: > > This is an interesting question! In Spain we also

Re: [lace] Re: Block pillow question

I only use the hot-wire outside, preferably on a windy day as it makes the foam cut straighter. The foam I use is called XPS, it does not bead and let off little pearls like most foam, and it can easily be cut with a stanley knife, but I use the hot wire purely because of my hand tremors. Much

[lace] Winding Idrija bobbins

For Jean & others—when using an Idrija bolster pillow, the bobbins are wound counter clockwise. Also, be sure to wind them nearly full, even if you need to use scrap thread first, then wind over it with your Idrija thread. As to a bobbin winder for Idrija bobbins, check with Allie Marguccio.

RE: [lace] Block pillow question

Hi, I am with Annelore here. If you work over the half block to place your corner in the right place you are still using it as a spacer, not just to keep your lace at the right distance from you, but also to work the lace in the right position over the spacer. I have even got full width but only

Re: [lace] Block pillow question

> > I still don't see why you think half blocks are purely spacers, Another reason for using half and quarter blocks is to get a corner entirely on a full block. The wider the edging the bigger the corner will be and the more difficult it can be to get it positioned entirely on a block. The

RE: [lace] Re: hint

Hi, You are so right Jane, 1. I would NEVER use elastic bands on my bobbins or other wooden objects (bad experience many years ago). It seems that the rubber and wood react together and the rubber rots even quicker. Tie a piece of thread around the bobbins to be marked (with a loop knot for

Re: [lace] Re: hint

First, the elastics don't hold bobbins together, they are just put on the bottom of each bobbin as a marker. And these ones just fall apart when getting old, they don't 'melt' (I don't know what they are made of, not rubber or anything like that, and they don't seem to last very long). And it

Re: [lace] date for Bucks point

Hi Alex: I tried to find an answer, too, but like you I had little luck. The French book “Dentelles Normandes: La Blonde de Caen” is a history book and has a lot of information about Blonde lace, but the emphasis is on business, not on technique, though there are a few places where they

[lace] Elastic bands

Jane and Jopie have both written of problems in using elastic or other rubber bands on their bobbins. Jane wrote: warning. Small elastic bands work very well to keep two bobbins together. But, I'm a slow worker and my large Bucks Point piece took a year tomake. During that time the rubber bands

Re: [lace] hint

> that would be a lot of work, and really slow me down > way too much, considering how often they change in Binche I tried the elastic thing once and once only! My problem was that stopping - at all - irritates me. Plus, at times I merrily laced away without remembering the elastics were on

Re: [lace] Re: hint - elastic bands on bobbins

I have used small stretchy/elastic hair bands on bobbins to keep the workers identified so I don't mix them up. These have a thread type covering so I don't think they would stick to the bobbins when they get old. I've also used the little stretchy hair bands without a thread covering for small

[lace] Propose an OIDFA Work Group for S vs. Z Threads and Winding Bobbins

A preview of the letter below was sent to a prominent lace expert / volunteer.  She has often wondered why no one has written something comprehensive on S vs. Z Threads and everything you'd ever want to know about Winding Threads on bobbins.  She thinks no one feels qualified.     That is why

Re: [lace] Propose an OIDFA Work Group for S vs. Z Threads and Winding Bobbins

Dear Shirley and others interested in threading a needle. The simplest way to know you are using the wrong side of the needle is when the thread doesn’t go through the eye of the needle, assuming of course you have lined everything up properly. Simply roll the needle between your thumb and

Re: [lace] Propose an OIDFA Work Group for S vs. Z Threads and Winding Bobbins

Thank you Jeri for your very informative message below. Not being an embroiderer, both my Mum and sister were excellent in that area, so I had no need while growing up, I had no idea that a needle had a right and wrong side for threading. That is one activity which always brings out the

Re: [lace] Propose an OIDFA Work Group for S vs. Z Threads and Winding Bobbins

Thank you so much Carol. I will persist in my needle work with victory in sight. :-) Now to go read Barbara's missive on threads. Cheers, Shirley T. On 12-Dec-17 11:03 AM, Carol wrote: > Dear Shirley and others interested in threading a needle. > The simplest way to know you are using the

Re: [lace] Propose an OIDFA Work Group for S vs. Z Threads and Winding Bobbins

I would be interested in joining the work group on S and Z bobbins and winding bobbins. In 2010 I wrote a small book on the structure of threads for lace. Jeri reviewed it on Arachne at the time. This is a fascinating, sometimes difficult and important topic not generally understood. The

Re: [lace] Smithsonian Ipswich lace pillow

Foot side on the LEFT...Rafael’s book suggests Ipswich workers might have been influenced initially by immigrants from Europe, and continued to use left foot side thereafter. Page 70,”...Lakeman (d.1862)continued to make lace in the way she had learned it as a girl, though women in England were

Re: [lace] Smithsonian Ipswich lace pillow

This has really been and interesting thread. Hurrah for Arachne Lorri From: owner-l...@arachne.com on behalf of Karen Thompson Sent: Monday, December 11, 2017 6:16 AM To: Arachne Subject: [lace] Smithsonian

Re: [lace] Winding Idrija bobbins for use "plams up" on a bolster

Interesting! Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I also noted while studying in Barcelona that bobbins were wound counter-clockwise. Sadly, for the life of me I could just not get the hitch right! The clockwise hitch is eternally cemented in my brain. The instructor of said class told me

[lace] date for Bucks point

Thank you Alex and Devon for chiming in on the question of beginning of the point ground laces. Devon, it would be interesting to see your pictures. It seems reasonable that the lighter, airier fashion in the late 1700s with tiny sprigs lent itself to the double thread ground c-t-t-t as opposed to

[lace] Footside on left or right?

The question of why the footside of yardage lace is either on the right (mainly English laces) or on the left (mainly European continent laces) has come up regularly over the years and no-one seems to have a definitive answer other than the Brits do everything the other way around from their