RE: [lace] Cookie pillow question, and digest

[Alison Gray]

Hi everyone

This is a very interesting question. It occurred to me that the prevalence
of cookie shaped pillows in the UK might be because Honiton pillows are
cookie-like. Or is that just how modern Honiton pillows are shaped? I must
confess my ignorance about this, but I don't remember seeing anything but
cookie-type pillows on a visit to the museum in Honiton some years ago.

Alison in Colchester, Essex, UK who is getting very excited because I'm
going to a lace day on Saturday and lace group on Monday 

-Original Message-
From: owner-l...@arachne.com [mailto:owner-l...@arachne.com] On Behalf Of
Sally Jenkins
Sent: 12 October 2015 19:45
To: lace@arachne.com
Subject: [lace] Cookie pillow question, and digest

Hello lacers,

It seems I have not received the digest in several days. Has there been no
activity, or have I been inadvertently dropped? (I will find out if I see
this message posted, right?)

I have been wondering about the history and/or development of the cookie
pillow and its use. It seems all over Europe except for the U.K., the
bolster is the primary way of making lace, but in the U.K. and the U.S., the
cookie pillow is customary. What caused the change? Maybe this is addressed
in a book someone can point me to.

Just curious,
Sally

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Re: [lace] Cookie pillow question, and digest

[Laurie Waters]

It seems to me that you can think of the development of equipment in terms
of the demands of the industry. The patterns most in fashion need a
particular thread weight, and the weight of the thread governs the working
surface and bobbin type needed. This in turns governs hand position.  
In Belgium the use of the 'cookie pillow' is seen in photographs back into
the 19th century, especially in the Wallonie region.  These are often used
with a box-like base with a drawer with a peg sticking up so you can rotate
the pillow around a central peg in the support.  But free round pillows have
also been used, often very large diameters.  And the Belgian square cushion
with the slightly domed surface down its length (like lengthwise slice of a
very long cylinder), can be traced back to the very earliest portraits of
lacemakers in the 16th century, in several countries.  Both these forms are
used with the palms facing down and the bobbins manipulated mostly with the
fingers. Bobbins rarely leave the support of the pillow, the only time you
pick up a bobbin is to put up a pin. This type of support aids in working
with very fine thread.  The problem of stopping bobbins from rolling in this
process is mainly a matter of practice.
Contrast this with how bolster or cylindrical (round or slightly flattened)
pillows held across or away from the seated lacemaker, with or without a
support. The bobbins often hang down freely either in front or to the sides
of the working area which is hard on the thread, so thicker threads tend to
be used with these pillows. Here the palms face up and the bobbins are
picked up and often held in groups.  Fingerwork plays a big part, but also
the action of the wrist turning. 

And of course, the bolster pillow held with the long axis oriented right and
left helps with continuous laces in that you just keep turning the pillow
and never have to reset the entire work and all the pins to the top of a
pattern. I'm thinking this is probably the primary reason the bolster pillow
evolved. With the flat pillows or cylinders held out in front of the body
(like they do in Spain), you still have to reposition the work when you
reach the end of the pillow.

I would argue that in looking at the English bolster and Honiton pillows,
you use both hand positions.  Remember, the large English Midlands bolster
and square pillows are extremely large,  often presenting an almost flat
surface which helps keep tension off the threads. But spangled bobbins are
difficult to maneuver with a hands-down position and get any speed, so
lacemakers often use a combination of both techniques.  In Honiton, in
making very small motifs, it's advantageous to lift the bobbins off the
surface, but the small bobbins can be difficult to control, so again you use
both hand positions.

Then the combination of bolster set into the middle of a cookie pillow, or
even in the upper part of the Belgian-type square domed cushion (often used
in Switzerland) combines the support the bobbins need to handle fine thread,
the speed you can get with the overhand position, and eliminates the
repositioning of the work for continuous laces.
You can go very fast on either class of pillow, but I suspect that the
equipment and hand position evolved to meet the technical limitations of
whatever fashion dictated.

Take a look at the lacemaker monuments at
https://www.pinterest.com/LaceNews/lace-monuments/.  These statues honor the
lacemakers of different countries and is a nice way to study the pillows and
hand positions used in various countries.  Funny how there's no monument
honoring English lacemakers - Lace Guild, are you listening???

Laurie

 



Laurie Waters
lacen...@gmail.com, lswaters...@comcast.net

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Re: [lace] Cookie pillow question, and digest

[Ann Blunden]

I have seen flat square pillows and Square pillows with Rollers, and 
flat round pillows  all being used in Tonder in Denmark with Continental 
Bobbins and Danish bobbins.


Ann Blunden in Brisbane Australis coming out of Lurkdom to chip in.

On 13/10/2015 10:12 AM, lacel...@frontier.com wrote:
 There are many styles of pillows -- flat, cookies, round balls, 
bolsters of various sizes and shapes, roller pillows in a variety of 
sizes and shapes. Lace developed all over Europe in the days when 
communication was much more difficult than today.  The style of lace 
varied, and the bobbins and pillows used in an area were developed by 
the people in that area to suit their lace type.  The threads available 
to a region varied.   It's easy to imagine how variations in equipment 
styles would develop as people found out what worked best for themselve 
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Re: [lace] Cookie pillow question, and digest

[Bev Walker]

Hello Sally and everyone

Bookmark this site, the arachne mail archive where you can check recent
posts,
https://www.mail-archive.com/lace@arachne.com/

Bolster pillows were used in the UK for cottage industry laces, maybe
cookies pillows, too, but not sure. I'm thinking the cookie pillow is more
recent - could be to do with when lacemaking became a hobby.
To see if anyone mentioned in previous posts, you could search 'cookie
pillow' in the arachne archive?!

HTH

On Mon, Oct 12, 2015 at 11:44 AM, Sally Jenkins 
 wrote:

> Hello lacers,
>
> It seems I have not received the digest in several days. Has there been no
> activity, or have I been inadvertently dropped? (I will find out if I see
> this message posted, right?)
>
> --
Bev in Shirley BC, near Sooke on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of
Canada

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Re: [lace] Cookie pillow question, and digest

[Lin Hudren]

let's not forget the block pillow and all those that have drawers or
storage for tools in them.  i just love the variety and i have a "ball"
pillow that i put a yardage pricking on the sides and a motif on the top
and/or bottom.  it is great for when you are finishing up a motif and want
to have the next one ready to lace when traveling.  i have a roller/bolster
pillow that has openings on both ends to stow scissors, extra bobbins and
threads, etc.  if we are only limited in our creativity by our imagination,
think how many opportunities for different pillows that suit our
imaginations.


Hugs, Lin and the Mali

The end of all of our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know
the place for the first time.  -T.S. Elliott

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Re: [lace] Cookie pillow question, and digest

[lacel...@frontier.com]

Yes, the List has been very quiet for a while.  Thanks for posting.
I don't the the historical answer to your question, but wanted to make some
comments on pillows.
There are many styles of pillows -- flat, cookies, round balls, bolsters of
various sizes and shapes, roller pillows in a variety of sizes and shapes. 
Lace developed all over Europe in the days when communication was much more
difficult than today.  The style of lace varied, and the bobbins and pillows
used in an area were developed by the people in that area to suit their lace
type.  The threads available to a region varied.   It's easy to imagine how
variations in equipment styles would develop as people found out what worked
best for themselves.

The cookie pillow does seem to appear mainly in the UK, but the continental
seagrass pillow is much the same shape.  Which came first?

Pictures of early UK lacemakers often show big round balls of pillows.  My
imagination can see someone saying that  since only the top portion of the
pillow was used, so why not make a pillow the shape of the top portion only. 
That would result in a sort of cookie pillow. 

Parallel to the pillow development was bobbin development.  When and how did
the Midlands bobbin develop?  They are used on cookie pillows but are not
suitable for bolsters.  Which came first -- cookies or Midlands?  Did they
develop together?
So -- I did not answer your question, but just make it bigger. I will be
watching for comments from those of you who know about one pillow or another.
Alice in Oregon -- starting a week of mostly sunshine and warm for October. 
Will be spending the next 3 weeks getting ready for my lace exhibit at Latimer
Textile Center in Nov and Dec. Wish it was closer to all of you so you could
see it.



 On Monday, October 12, 2015 11:49 AM, Sally Jenkins
 wrote:


 Hello lacers,

It seems I have not received the digest in several days. Has there been no
activity, or have I been inadvertently dropped? (I will find out if I see
this message posted, right?)

I have been wondering about the history and/or development of the cookie
pillow and its use. It seems all over Europe except for the U.K., the
bolster is the primary way of making lace, but in the U.K. and the U.S.,
the cookie pillow is customary. What caused the change? Maybe this is
addressed in a book someone can point me to.

Just curious,
Sally

-
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:
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