Terry Hadford

Nicole Alderman wrote:Raven and I are working on the Straw Badge requirements. I'm trying to think of useful, relatively easy things people make with lacework. I know NOTHING about lacework! Anyone have a beginner-level lacework task (or two or three) that can be accomplished in 2-4 hours?

I think that's a wonderful idea. I've attached a photo with a few examples of small projects like edging a hankie or a coaster (smaller yet), making a Christmas decoration or a bookmark. Earrings are also pretty. There are lots of patterns for crochet, knitted, bobbin and needle lace available on the web.

When I was living in the tropics 3 years ago a friend told me her solution - smear on a little bit of liquid soap. I  have used only this since, just a little castile soap (moistened bar soap works too) rubbed in my armpit carries me though the day except if I have been doing heavy labor. In which case I just reapply when I take a break. I tried alcohol and crystal sticks but neither worked as well as this for me.

Great idea. Here's a link to eHow with a recipe that I haven't tried but will now. https://www.ehow.com/how_6404573_make-soap-used-oil.html

In Morocco I am discovering 'agave' fiber being made into very soft fiber. Many desert cultures have used it historically, but the traditional hand processing is very hard work from the descriptions I've read. It could qualify as a plant source needing few inputs. I've been told that weavers here can buy a commercial grade of yarn and I'm searching for a sample to use in my weaving. Will add an update if I'm successful.

That looks like a finished (hemmed) edge to me. If you can check the side(s) of a piece of fabric that isn't hemmed, look for an edge like the one in my pic. Its even but not perfect, and may have slight puckers or bumps. I'm a beginning weaver and I can only now appreciate the level of skill that it takes to produce a 'clean' selvage edge. I had the good fortune to 'inheret' some old linens when my partner sold his mother's home in Slovakia. We had no room in our suitcases (they weigh a ton - another clue that its linen and not cotton) so I convinced him to mail home 2 boxes of linen sheets and tablecloths. He REALLY thought I'd lost it. Now that we sleep in them, he thinks mailing them wasn't such a bad idea.  The pictures are of one hand loomed sheet that is amazing to my unskilled hands.
Your pics and story of visiting your friend's home with her beautiful embroidery is very touching. Her work is really wonderful! I hope the other pieces in the trunk are just as lovely.

Hi Burra,
You are very lucky to have those sheets. The way to tell the difference between cotton and linen is to slide you hand inside the folds of the fabric. The linen will feel cool, the cotton will not. Those do look hand crocheted, that is a very popular form of lace in Portugal. We saw it on all the altar cloths in cathedrals throughout Portugal. In that pristine condition, I would guess the previous owner didn't use them much. There's a tradition in Italy of girls embroidering 'First Night Sheets' for their wedding night. Don't know if the same tradition existed in Portugal but maybe....... They were so treasured by the bride that they were usually put away in safe keeping. There's a good chance they might be hand loomed too. Check the selvage edges and if they're not as perfect as a machine made sheet then you've got yourself a real treasure. Its my guess that you'll appreciate them more than the son who left them in the trunk.

I've been told that in times before refrigeration hard cheese was stored in the cold pantry wrapped in a vinegar dampened cloth and put in a cheese keeper. (The keeper was a triangular shaped lid with a dish for a base, you can sometimes find them in antique stores.) The vinegar is supposed to reduce mold contamination while keeping the surface moist. Haven't tried this as I have a fridge.

There is a Canadian weaver living in Japan on a sericulture farm. Brian Whitehead has taught here in Vancouver at Maiwa's program many times. His website has lots of interesting info: http://japanesetextileworkshops.blogspot.com/

That is a wonderful Russian video. Most of it is clearly demonstrated but my partner was able to translate the crucial part about boiling the fiber with his rusty Russian. The presenter said there are a number of different ways to ret the fiber and that this is his method.
First he prepared the lye solution from wood ash. He removed all the big pieces and mixed it until it was only fine particles and it feels slippery. That slippery feeling is the alkali.
The first method he mentioned was just to leave the green material to soak for 2-3 ?days? (he was speaking quickly and it wasn't clear to my partner what the interval was, but it can't be weeks, the fiber would dissolve after that long).
The option he demonstrated was to speed up the process by boiling it. He tested the fiber after 2 hours of boiling and showed that the translucent fiber was starting to be visible so it was ready to wash. This method is also used by White Hmong Thai people to ret hemp. They boil the hemp for 3 hours and then wash and physically crush it.
When he was combing it, he said that the short fibers could be added back the longer fibers during spinning or you could make a very fine thread just with the short fibers alone.

The download of RMH plans worked perfectly for me just now.