Re: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam
This is a little late as I'm still catching up on unread digests after a week at the beach! Jenny Hester wrote: Styrofoam is the building material which is blue. Jenny is correct. I have a half sheet left of this builder's foam insulation that I bought at local building supply. Written on the foam is Dow Styrofoam Brand and extruded polystyrene insulation. I believe Styrofoam is a Dow Chemical Co. brand name. It is not quite as dense as ethafoam It is light weight but can be glued to plywood or hard board base to make it more manageable. I have several pillows made of it for demos and try-it pillows. I also made a block pillow that folds in the middle so that a 22 inch pillow would fit into an 18 inch suitcase and I had several blocks so that I could use the same pillow for 2 different classes at IOLI in San Diego. Invention is a Necessity of Mother Louise in Central Virginia [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam
Ethafoam, ...is not quiet!! I have found builder's foam (the kind of polystyrene with tiny bubbles in it) to be noisy, but have never heard anything when pinning into true ethafoam (polyethylene). just my humble opinion, Robin P. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA http://www.pittsburghlace.8m.com/ - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam
From: nerakmacd [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] I'm wondering which pillows you prefer, and why. I know that the ethafoam can become worn easier after much use with the pins. Is it the same with the straw, or does the straw tend to 'regroup' better after being used over and over with the pins. My first pillow was made from an old McCall's Needlework magazine, with felt roller and lightly-padded cardboard apron. The next was made during a class, a travel-size roller pillow. The base is wood, the roller is rug padding wrapped around a dowel (with a layer of wool blanketing), and the apron is fabric-covered, stuffed very densely with polyester batting (I believe that's wadding, in England). Then I made 3 cookie pillows. The first (24) had a wood base and was stuffed with polyester batting, but not densely enough. It sagged in the middle, and some pins have trouble penetrating densely-packed batting, so I don't recommend it. The second cookie (16) was stuffed with circles of rug padding, each bigger than the one below (yes, below--an inverted pyramid, so the topmost layer was continuous, bent down over the others), with wool blanketing over the padding. This is an excellent, inexpensive, easy home-made pillow. The third cookie (12) was stuffed with wood grit. This is bits of wood, coarser than sawdust but finer than anything else. Well-stuffed, it makes a great pinning surface but it was heavier than the 16 one! And I got the stuff when they were getting rid of it at work--I have no idea where one would get more. I then made a bigger roller pillow, the base just like the travel one only larger. The roller is again rug padding and blanketing. I stuffed the apron with wood grit--bad move! Much too heavy. Then I started buying pillows. I have foam blocks (feels more like builder's polystyrene foam than polyethylene foam), a seagrass cookie, a small straw bolster, and a Simone Toustou (don't know what it's stuffed with, but it never smelled like seagrass or straw). Some people have blocks made from industrial-grade felt (1 thick). I bought some felt but haven't covered the pieces or made a frame for them. I wouldn't say foam or straw are one better than the other. Foam is too light by itself, it needs a wood base to make the pillow sit still. I don't like it for Midlands bobbins because they lay flat on the flat surface and are hard to grab, but Continentals have a narrow waist that sits above the flat surface and so are easier to grab. Straw and seagrass are *much* too much work to make pillows from, IMO, so I didn't have those till I'd graduated to buying pillows. But that was home-made vs. store-bought, not beginner vs. experienced. Robin P. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA http://www.pittsburghlace.8m.com/ - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam
In a message dated 19/07/2004 22:25:14 GMT Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: My first pillow was made from an old McCall's Needlework magazine, with felt roller and lightly-padded cardboard apron. Do you actually mean it was made from the magazine? Or made from directions in the magazine! I grew up with these magazines as a touch of American exotic in 1950's England. How I envied the girl's bedrooms with all themed furnishings - so very different from post war Britain, the dolls houses and the unusual soft toys and all the gadgets and materials we couldn't get. One of my best presents ever was a daisy winder sent from Canada (probably by my brother when he first emigrated or maybe my aunt before that) as I was able to some of the things I'd been reading about for years. The ones I have are the later ones when they went to a small size, the ones I first remember were a lot bigger. But I don't remember ever seeing lace of any sort in them apart from Battenburg-ish, crochet and knitting - not even tatting, I think. Mum probably still has some of these early magazines in her workroom (polite name for a store room as with only about 2 sq ft of floor uncovered it's a bit hard to do any work in there, Malvary knows exactly what I mean). And her remaining two or three lace pillows (Malvary and I keep borrowing them) are on the top shelf to the right of the door, just above the fabrics, some dating back to when we lived in Herne Bay pre 1961. Oh what fun we'll have one day! Jacquie - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam
Jacquie wrote: And her remaining two or three lace pillows (Malvary and I keep borrowing them) are on the top shelf to the right of the door, just above the fabrics, some dating back to when we lived in Herne Bay pre 1961. Oh what fun we'll have one day Mum did a lot of dressmaking for Ann Ladbury (older English Arachians might have heard of her) and got lots of fabric at bargain prices - problem is many of them are 1960's polyesters in 1960's colours! When I was home in April I was given a LOVELY piece of green with flowers to make a nightdress (that's hard to say with your tongue in your cheek). I think it would be a little warm for a nightie especially in our Ottawa summers. Mum also let me have a few scraps of material to dress my bear to take to the Lace Convention. There was much discussion as to whether I could have all three pieces, because she thought she might need one of them for something. (The bear is about 5 tall so you can imagine how small the pieces of fabric were!) When mum was in hospital a few years ago Jacquie and I did sort out a few bits and pieces - I acquired a couple of reels of cotton thread and a table cloth with an ironed-on transfer all ready to embroider. Not sure what Jacquie took. Not a lot, but a start on the big sort out that we will have to do one day. I will be there again in September, so perhaps I'll be given something else, and I'll probably be borrowing a lace pillow for the time I'm there as I'll be going to class with Jacquie a couple of times and attending mum's lace group's meeting (it is the day before her 90th birthday and they are hoping she will attend). Jacquie - did you remember to measure mum's travelling pillow to see if my roller will fit it? Malvary in Ottawa where a storm was rumbling around the region all evening, but missed my house. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam
At 02:15 PM 7/17/2004, you wrote: Styrofoam is to be avoided. This .. breaks down to crumbs and is a mess. Ethafoam, ...is not quiet!! ... it is self-healing, meaning that it will hold up to lots of torture by pins. And VERY lightweight. It comes pre-molded to shapes that work for us in the form of pillow kits from Snow Goose, etc. Builder's insulation foam is another foam which has been widely used. It can be purchased at very reasonable prices from building supply stores, I think we have discussed the various foams in the past. My experience is that the type of ethafoam used by Snowgoose in the USA is excellent. I have some that's been in use over 10 years and are still good. I bought a foam pillow in England in 1997 that I have had to discard because it broke down already and had holes in the foam. A pillow from somewhere else had the squeeks that someone hated. So did I. Some pillows from the UK that were made of the super dense foam you have there were harder to pin in to, and hurt my fingers pulling them out. (I sold them to a friend who had stronger fingers than I do. She loves them.) I found the seagrass pillows worked just fine, but I have no special comment on them. The swim pool noodle roller I had disintegrated with less than 5 yards of lace made on it. I recommend it only for special projects that are one-time things. Use wool fabric on rollers and they'll last forever (as long as you keep the moths out of it.) I really appreciate the lightness of the foam pillows because I transport them so much to meetings, classes and demos. I try to use the heavy pillows only at home, whenever possible. This discussion has centered on foam and/or straw pillows. Don't forget you can make good cookie pillows and bolster pillows from wool fabric that is layered on. Test out the products available in your area. Names and materials may vary. People's tastes differ. The pillow you love might be the one your friend hates. Whichever one you use, make lots of lace. Alice in Oregon -- survived the 3rd 12-hr day at county fair. One more to go. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam
I put some of the material that you use under carpets to keep them in place under my polysterene pillow, it do help a lot to keep it in place. I prefer the polysterene ones as I easily can make a new one if I want to start another lace and have not finished the one on the pillow I need to use :-) Ann-Marie - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam and starch
Hello If you make a piece of lace that needs starching, do you make those too on a straw pillow? I have used my polysterene(builders insulation) pillow mostly but once in a while a straw pillow. But I am always afraid that the straw pillow will be destroyed if I put something wet on it. I put on a piece of a plastic bag if I remember if before I start the lace but sometimes I have not done that. How do you do when you need to starch a piece while the pins are still in it? Ann-Marie, Sweden - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam
I have read this thread with interest and noted that no one has yet mentioned one draw back of the straw pillows and that is the little visitors that sometimes appear when using them. I personally have not experienced this but know of a couple of people who have had to throw theirs out because they (the pillows) became infested with insects that had hatched? in the warmth of their homes. I seem to remember some years ago there being a mention of it in Lace magazine. I think the article suggested it was possible to bake the pillow in the oven at a certain temperature to kill the bugs but you would have to be very careful to avoid spontaneous combustion, alternatively you could put it in the freezer inside a plastic bag for a week or two. The only problem then is that you would have a pillow with loads of little dead bodies in it. Yuk! I have probably still got the article if anyone is particularly interested but it would take a while to find it. Anyone who has a straw pillow and not looked at it lately would be advised to check it. If you have had it for a few years without problems then you are probably OK. I think the problem only arises when the straw in its original state is contaminated with eggs at source. Having said that I have a straw roller pillow, cookie pillow and honiton pillow all of which I love but don't get to use very often. The weight of the honiton pillow means it stays in place when working on it. I would imagine a polystyrene pillow would have a tendency to move around. JMHO. There is also a slight dried grass smell that eminates from them which I like but could possibly cause problems if anyone was allergic. And to add to the other thread on pillows I also have 2 block polystyrene pillows which I made and 2 cookie polystyrene pillows. Jane, Portchester UK -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of nerakmacd Sent: 17 July 2004 18:54 To: Clare Settle; Lace list Subject: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam As a total novice, I notice that many intermediate and experts have a mixture of both ethafoam and straw pillows. I'm wondering which pillows you prefer, and why. I know that the ethafoam can become worn easier after much use with the pins. Is it the same with the straw, or does the straw tend to 'regroup' better after being used over and over with the pins. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam
Hi All, It sounds to me as if its another example of 'two countries divided by a common language' - which was said by someone whose name I can't remember! Carol - in a showery Suffolk, where we have had rain, thunder, and sunshine in just one afternoon! ). I wonder why the names are different like that. Weronika - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam (long)
Hi Karen and Karisse ! First of all, I wonder if Karisse made a typo, or if your honiton pillow is really 50 in DIAMETER!! Did you mean circumferance? That makes a lot more sense. I have a straw filled honiton pillow which I bought from Holly VanSciver. She has them made to very strict standards, and this one is about 15 inches in diameter, roughly 46 inches in circumferance, and about 7 inches high. It is made so that it can be used on both sides. And yes, it is very, very firm...I can't depress it with my thumb. But the straw is very finely chopped, and so the pins go in fairly easily and hold extremely well. In other words, it is an ideal Honiton pillow. Too bad I don't do Honiton! I bought this before going to a Honiton workshop, and after finishing the project, moved on to other things. One of these days, I'll get back to it... it IS a beautiful lace! As for the question about straw vs. ethafoam... As Jean Nathan has already said, straw pillows definitely weigh a great deal more than foam. If you tote your pillow to classes or to Guild meetings on a regular basis, this consideration is worth noting. If you keep your pillow in place at home and rarely move it, then the characteristics of straw may appeal to you. I find that straw pillows come in a variety of qualities... even among those which have been professionally made. Straw is a catch-all word that is sometimes used to describe a variety of natural fibers found in pillows. I have a wonderful Swedish roller pillow (an ebay find, years ago...) which currently sells for two to three hundred dollars. It is filled - VERY firmly - with sea grass, and will probably last far longer than I will. There are no slubs or knots of grass joints to interfere with the smooth entry of the pins. And the weight of the pillow insures that it doesn't easily scoot around on your work surface - a consideration that I appreciate. But as the original price of this one suggests - good straw pillows take time and a great deal of expertise to make, so the price is usually fairly steep. I also have a straw filled pillow which has an unknown grass, and contains the slubs I've mentioned. Although it looks good (covered with linen, nice size, etc.) it isn't much fun to work on. I have an antique Danish pillow which is covered with dark green serge and is stuffed with straw. This was done very carefully, so there are no slubs, and it would be delightful to work on, but I don't want to risk hurting the wool cover (which already has one tiny hole in it...) This one is a beauty - its twin is pictured in Whiting's Old-time Tools and Toys of Needlework on page 180. If I weren't concerned about the integrity of an antique, this old pillow would still be cranking out lace after all these years!! Now to the man-made substances. They're relatively inexpensive. When you mail-order one, the shipping isn't more expensive than the pillow. They're portable. And, like straw, there is a range of quality among the options... Styrofoam is to be avoided. This is the stuff that comes formed around our computer parts, coffee pots, and most other breakable items when they're packaged for sale. Stick a pin in styrofoam just a few times and it breaks down to crumbs and is a mess. Ethafoam, according to Jean, is not available in the UK, but IS available in the US. Because the UK has a much longer tradition of lacemaking, and quite a few more experienced teachers spread over the country, they seemed to have been quick to discourage the use of ethafoam. It shares the qualities I spelled out above, but it has some negatives... The one I object to the most is that it is not quiet!! Put a pin in, and you hear a tiny squeek... pull it out, another squeek. Not loud, but just enough to be annoying to me. But it is self-healing, meaning that it will hold up to lots of torture by pins. And VERY lightweight. It comes pre-molded to shapes that work for us in the form of pillow kits from Snow Goose, etc. Builder's insulation foam is another foam which has been widely used. It can be purchased at very reasonable prices from building supply stores, and shaped with rasps to whatever shape you want. Easily cut with a simple hack saw, you can make blocks, cookies, whatever you want. Cover your foam with several layers of wool felting, and you have a very serviceable pillow. It doesn't have the singing feature I find in ethafoam, but I don't think it is quite as durable either (but haven't had time to test that suspicion). So that's my opinion, for what it's worth!! Hope you find it helpful! Clay Clay Blackwell [EMAIL PROTECTED] [Original Message] From: nerakmacd [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Clare Settle [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Lace list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 7/17/2004 1:00:31 PM Subject: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam As a total novice, I notice that many intermediate and experts have a mixture of both ethafoam and straw pillows. I'm wondering which pillows you
Re: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam
My preference between straw and polystyrene, which is the choice here in UK, is for polystyrene. The straw lasts a great deal longer, and is almost impossible to wear out as far as I know, but straw is so heavy, and I just can't carry heavy things any more. Having said that, it is necessary for the polystyrene to have a bit of weight to it or I find I just cannot hold it down enough to make lace on it! Ann in Manchester, UK - Original Message - From: nerakmacd [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Clare Settle [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Lace list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, July 17, 2004 6:54 PM Subject: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam I'm wondering which pillows you prefer, and why. I know that the ethafoam can become worn easier after much use with the pins. Is it the same with the straw, or does the straw tend to 'regroup' better after being used over and over with the pins. I hope I'm making sense here. Most novices start with the ethafoam because of it's cheaper cost, but as you progress and become better, do you prefer to move up to straw because it's better to work with? Karen Ontario, Canada - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam
Hi all, Just had to delurk to correct the impression that Styrofoam is the stuff that comes as packing material. Here in the UK polystyrene is used as packing material and Styrofoam is the building material which is blue. It is manufactured in a completely different way as it is extruded into sheet form so is like bubble bath foam with lots of minute airbubbles in it construction. Polystyrene on the other hand is lots of balls compressed together which is why it comes apart so easily. Try breaking a piece of Styrofoam and it's hard to do. Nearly all my pillows are Styrofoam and I've had some of them (too many to count!) for over 10 years. Straw is beautiful to work on but as everybody else has said - rather heavy. When I started making lace there were no manufactured pillows and we had to make our own with cut straw, barley being the best choice. I've still got the first one I made but, boy, is it heavy as I put a strong chipboard base on it so you need to be a weight lifter to carry it about. The Kantcentrum in Brugge sells beautiful flat, seagrass pillows in a variety of sizes. A dream to use. Back to lurking after I reply about the Border Lace Jabots, Jenny - Original Message - From: Clay Blackwell [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: nerakmacd [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Lace list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, July 17, 2004 10:15 PM Subject: RE: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam (long) Styrofoam is to be avoided. This is the stuff that comes formed around our computer parts, coffee pots, and most other breakable items when they're packaged for sale. Stick a pin in styrofoam just a few times and it breaks down to crumbs and is a mess. So that's my opinion, for what it's worth!! Hope you find it helpful! Clay Clay Blackwell [EMAIL PROTECTED] [Original Message] From: nerakmacd [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Clare Settle [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Lace list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 7/17/2004 1:00:31 PM Subject: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam As a total novice, I notice that many intermediate and experts have a mixture of both ethafoam and straw pillows. I'm wondering which pillows you prefer, and why. I know that the ethafoam can become worn easier after much use with the pins. Is it the same with the straw, or does the straw tend to 'regroup' better after being used over and over with the pins. I hope I'm making sense here. Most novices start with the ethafoam because of it's cheaper cost, but as you progress and become better, do you prefer to move up to straw because it's better to work with? I must say this is the most active I've been on this list, as I'm usually a lurker, who hasn't done any lace in some time, and I'm finding this thread most interesting. Karen Ontario, Canada - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
re: [lace] straw. vs. ethafoam
Hi everyone and Karen who asked ;) (I *love* talking about making pillows...) Straw is one of the 'traditional' stuffings for our pillows, because it was commonly available and served the purpose. It still serves the purpose, and I must say a compactly stuffed pillow of straw is a joy to work on - and heavy as others have mentioned. A 'Midlands bolster' that I made from the snatch of directions in the Cassell Lace Dictionary is so heavy it could almost warrant wheels and a transmission - then I could drive it to lace meetings LOL Straw, while not as ubiquitous as it once was, is still around, supposing one is near to a feed store or a farm (the sort for midnight straw-snitching?) - if it isn't cut into v. small lengths it will not stuff solidly enough for our lace purposes, and this, though easy, is a physically tough job - tough on the hands, or the cutting device (but worth it). One bale of straw from the tack and feed store cost me $3.50. I stuffed one honiton pillow, 2 student cookie pillows and the Midlands bolster, and hardly made a dint in the bale - eventually shared some with another lacemaker and composted all the rest. Be careful when buying a bale that you get proper straw - with none of the seed heads - or you might have little plants all throughout the garden if composting the leftovers (but then that might not be a bad thing either). Now, to ethafoam - and by this I meant the ethylene-based plastic foam that is self-healing. Pool noodles are made of it. One pool noodle will last you for years - a short piece will serve as a roller, and when that finally wears out from repeated pinnings after several years of lots of use, cut another piece off the noodle - which, in the meantime, can serve as a core around which a quilt, for instance, can be wrapped, for storage. Just remember where you've stored it. Ethafoam planks are expensive, when you do find a place that sells them retail (ethafoam is used as flotation in sports equipment, for instance) - try a plastics fabricator. In Western Canada, try Industrial Plastics. I was lucky and got an endcut of a 24 wide plank, enough to construct a block pillow. I really like using ethafoam - it is lightweight but the pins go in and hold, so well. I have a layer of wool fabric plus the top layer of cotton broadcloth for the work surface - I haven't noticed any squeaky noises from the pins (they might mutter under their breath a lot from the abuse they get from being crammed in the pincushion...). Generally, the ethafoam is for roller pillows or block pillows - but there are domed/cookie pillows available made of ethafoam - Kenn Van-Dieren has a selection. http://www.bobbinmaker.com/roundpillowkits.html (usual disclaimers) In WalMart recently I thought I saw the surf skimmers for sale - these are like paddle boards for the pool, but they have a tether on them which the user is to tie to the wrist and another bit of plastic machinery that I didn't quite understand - but thought it could easily be cut away if I would buy this device to use as a plastic base for a lace pillow - the skimmers appear to be made of ethafoam but I couldn't be too sure, as they are covered with a fabric, possibly nylon (in a jazzy print, to be sure). The large sign read '$5.00' which would have been a cheap risk - but the skimmers were still tagged at $14.99 - not a clerk in sight to ask, and I had other things to do - with summer stock being cleared might be worth investigating this sort of thing. If you've read this far, you deserve to know the snippet from the lace dictionary from which I made my Midlands bolster: ...a tube of strong material, gathered at both ends and stuffed very firmly with straw. An average size is 43 cm (17 in.) long with a circumference of 80 cm. (32 in.). cheers Bev in Sooke, BC (west coast of Canada) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace-chat] Re: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam
Karen, I think most of us have collections of pillows, both styrene and straw! It gets to be a bit of an obsession (like bobbins, divider pins, books, pieces of all sorts of equipment...) I think we like styrene (ethafoam?) because it is light, and easy to cart around. As you say, after a while, the centres do become degraded, and another one has to be acquired, but they really do last quite a time, so the cost of replacing doesn't come round too often. The straw ones are heavier!And if you are demonstrating, or carting pillows to classes, with all the other gear, that does become a consideration. Straw does last longer, as the little bits of straw fill up the pinholes when the pins are removed - unlike styrene - but whichever pillow type one is using, it soon becomes the one which you swear by! Another consideration with straw pillows is that there are sometimes pockets of the pillow which are like cement, and getting pins into it can be hard on the pins and the fingers - but you get used to it, I think! I have a lot of pillows (I teach, as well as make lace for my own enjoyment) several straw, and several styrene, and I think my criteria nowadays is that the pillow is about 24 across, and flat - other than that, I'm not too bothered whether it is straw or styrene! Happy lace-making to you, and may your pins never bend. Carol - in Suffolk UK, where it has turned into a lovely evening, after the rain and thunder storms earlier! Subject: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam I'm wondering which pillows you prefer, and why. To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
