In a message dated 8/24/06 10:26:22 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> Tthe black paper envelope my needles came in says "Made in England". So at > some point my fine steel knitting pins crossed the Atlantic. > > Dear Collectors, In my collection are many old packages of needles of various types. They are all wrapped in the black paper - which must have been treated with some chemical (to prevent rusting?). But, heed the word "must". I do not know for a fact. Also, I have a set of eight 8 1/2" long steel knitting needles that my grandmother used to knit stockings and mittens. They came to me in an interlocking-type wooden tube (one end slides into the other). Maine is a part of the world where many small wood products have been made over the years. The wood has no finish of varnish or any similar product - it is raw wood that has become darker with age. I *suspect they believed* the wood absorbed moisture before it got all the way through to the needles.. After over 100 years, there is a very little rusting of the needles. Please bear in mind that I do not knit. I just treasure these needles, partly because grandmother never used them in front of me and refused to sew, mend, embroider or do any type of needlework. By age 7, I was begging neighbors to teach me how to embroider! Within 4 years, by age 11, I was making clothing for myself and my first book on needlework had become a personal treasure. If you are a collector-type person, starting at an early age is helpful. Now, I have 60 years of collected embroidery memories, and 3,300+ books that feed my needlework addiction. Sometimes a really old book has the best answers. At least, it is nearer the source, and not something partially imagined that has been put on a website by an inadequate researcher and is being repeated as truth by those who should know to go back to source material. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
