MYSTERY OBJECTS

[Stanley]

If there are no takers by midday I shall knock it on the head..... (You've see them before!)

[Gloria]

Are they used as weights?

[Stanley]

No Gloria, they were an essential component in a shuttle.

[Gloria]

Is it what the yarn was wound around?

[Steeplejerk]

Are they for holding the bobbin in place in the shuttle ??

[Stanley]

Neither of those answers is right but it is connected with how the yarn package is held in the shuttle. Think of what the pirn is mounted on.

[PanBiker]

Are they stoppers for the end of the pirn holder.

Having said that doesn't the foot of the pirn engage in a holder in the shuttle?

[Stanley]

Yes, there is a clip Ian.
This is obviously too obscure and will be annoying people. These hardwood pegs are the pivot that holds the foot of the shuttle peg in the body of the shuttle. They are steeped in oil and do the job perfectly and cheaply. Very easily replaced.
Next one?

[PanBiker]

I never thought of that and realise now that my previous suggestion was a bit rubbish.

Looking at the picture again they appear much larger than they probably are.

[Stanley]

No, not rubbish Ian, just an intelligent guess that was wrong. We all have them from time to time!

[Gloria]

What are these, and what are they used for?

IMG_3940.jpeg

[Stanley]

Are they for pulling something up?

[Gloria]

No Stanley they are not for pulling something up.

[PanBiker]

It's a good one Gloria.

[Cathy]

Do they hold threads Gloria and keep them separated?

[Gloria]

No Cathy, nothing to do with threads.

[Big Kev]

For child control?

[Gloria]

You are spot on Kev.

IMG_3942.jpeg

[Big Kev]

They had some in the Victorian classroom at Blists Hill Museum.

[Gloria]

They had some in the Victorian classroom at Blists Hill Museum.

Terrible weren’t they?

[Big Kev]

They had some in the Victorian classroom at Blists Hill Museum.

Terrible weren’t they?

It was an interactive classroom complete with a teacher, he was terrible too. Kept 'swishing' his cane above his head

[Stanley]

I've been in that classroom with my Carleton students many a time but never come across them.
(Oh no I haven't. I'm confusing it with the Victorian school at the Black Country Museum! )

[Stanley]

What is it? (It's about half an inch in diameter.)

[Stanley]

No takers? I'll give it today to see if anyone has any ideas. We have had it before.....

[Gloria]

Does it go on the bottom of a lazy Betty, the long string for the light above a bed?