Dear Ronna, Without wanting to dampen your enthusiam, I would say that your main problem is that you want to do too many things at once as a beginner! Goodness me, I'd never heard of a beginner wanting to try 6 different types of lace when they had only just started learaning !! No wonder it's costing you a fortune!
All the laces you mention except torchon are fairly demanding, and if you don't have the basic techniques at your fingertips, you will drown in conflicting instructions, as some things are not made in exactly the same way in different laces. However, if you really want to try all those things at once, just buy some fairly straight bobbins, made of heavy woods, not pine, with a pointy rather than rounded end, so you can use them for different kinds of lace. Honiton, Withof and Milanese don't require many bobbins, in Honiton and Withof, you keep starting and cutting,(which in itself is difficult for a beginner), and Milanese is a tape lace, so you only use 10-15 pairs, usually, particularly for beginner's pieces. The main thing is that spangled bobbins are awkward to use in those laces, because you keep having to do "sewings" i.e. catching one of the threads with a crochet hook to get it through a bit you've already made so that the lace holds together. As long as your bobbins are slightly pointed at the end, you should be able to use them for any lace. Just because some parts of the world had different types of bobbins from others doesn't mean that we can't make that lace with the bobbins we have!! I did a Rosaline(kind of Withof workshop with spangled bobbins, once, because I didn't have any others, and I didn't want to spend money on some I knew I wouldn't use much after. It worked, it was just awkward to pull the thread through, but with a bit of care, I managed OK. And my teacher didn't blast me off either, she just accepted that I only had those bobbins. My suggestion would be to stick to one type of lace until you can feel you are fairly confident in it, and then do workshops in other types of laces, to see which ones you really like. If you feel Honiton is your thing, go ahead and buy Honiton bobbins and thread, and have lessons, but don't spend all your money buying various things which you may never want to use again after one try!! I did one workshop in Beds (with my torchon bobbins), and decided it was not my cup of tea at all. If I had bought all the supplies plus all the books specially for it, it would have been a complete waste of money. As for books, I suggest you join a local lacemakers's group. Most of them have a library where you can borrow books. A lot cheaper than trying to buy all at once, when you don't even know whether they are good or not. This is my comment about your problems. I hoep you find what you want, and above all, that you keep making lace, which is the most important!! Best of luck, Helene, the froggy from Melbourne Hello all, I have a beginners question about supplies. I have only one style of bobbin right now, I don't know what it is called. It has no spangles, a double head and square base (so it doesn't roll too much). I am going to the convention and have Hointon and Withoff classess. My list of supplies for Hointon has not arrived yet, but my Withoff one has. It asks for Binche or Fine Belgium bobbins 40 of them. I am wondering if I will absolutely have to purchase new bobbins for this or if mine could be used ( I will need the hointon bobbins from what I understand) I am a beginner so the cost of setting up is extraordinary. I would make my own bobbins if I had the time and deminsions. (I turn wood on a lathe, but I am not speedy at it). I want to purchase a large number of books and I am reeling at the sudden cost. I have pins, 2 pillows and a picker and pin puller, I even have a magnifier and sone holders for the bobbins so they don't shift when put away on the pillow. I have about three books so far, but only on Torchon and Milanese. Any tips on cost cutting or prioritizing what I need? My husband is near painic as I start listing what I want. Since I did not know about the conviention till this year I have not set asside for the cost so spreading out the cost and prioritizing is very important for now. Also if I have typos, please forgive - I can't find my glasses. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
