"Does anyone know - did the lacemakers expertly use one hand to move bobbins, the other to place pins?"
Not so easy to do with spangled bobbins, except I always do the twists at the end of the row and lift the pair back a bit with hte hand at that end, while the other hand fetches the pin to place under it. I guess if she was working a norrow braid lace, the stretching-for-the- pin movement would be what he noticed, as it would happen frequently. I try to get my students to do the same, as you can quickly train both hands to do both movements, but many of them claim they can't possibly put a pin in with their non-dominant hand. However, with unspangled bobbins and a bolster pillow, with practise you can. I was watching one of the teachers in Malaga and her right hand, mouth and brain were focussed on the detail she was explaining to the student, and at the same time the other hand holding two passives and a worker was able to weave the workers through the passives. I didn't believe what I was seeing the first time, but she did it over and over. My hands aren't big enough to hold three pairs in order, let alone weave them through each other. I've tried with one hand, two pairs and that's very slow, hard and clumsy. Jacquie in Lincolnshire - 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://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
