Oh my, Sue! You're going to challenge me, a kinetic learner, to communicate this to you verbally. - AND on the basis of a very short (but effective) workshop with Julie Van Der Wolf. So I am hardly an expert and may not get all of this right, and will not be offended if corrected. I'll give it a shot, but it may not make sense. First off, we have to establish that the "regular" half-stitch is worked horizontally, from left to right, and then right to left. (or v/v).
Secondly, I'll point out that the lace IS Dutch, so takes a lot of its lessons from the continental laces made in the surrounding countries. Then, for the sake of instant "ah-ha", imagine the kat-stitch ground, or the Paris ground, which is worked in CTCT on a diagonal, resulting in threads heading down on the diagonal (workers diagonally in one direction, passives diagonally in the other) with vertical threads creating a six-sided mesh. The diagonal half-stitch (in the plain and simple version) is worked simply CT for each stitch; and without that extra CT, you don't get those verticals, just the diagonals, with a four-sided hole. Then you go back up that row and start a new row in the same direction, just as you do in Paris ground. One of the distinguishing features of s'Gravenmoerse lace is the way that the threads feed into the half stitch trail or motif from the surrounding "other" part of the lace. On one row, the worker comes in from the outside, and on the next row below it, a pin is placed and the diagonal thread which has just become free on the starting edge becomes the worker for the next row by going around the pin and moving in the opposite direction. So for long stretches of diagonal half stitch, you could imagine a single thread in an endless "Z" formation, with the top and bottom of the "Z" also at 45 degree angles. In addition to the diagonal half-stitch, this lace often features a distinctive edge called a perkinneke. Its construction uses a gimp pair to connect the edge threads with the threads from the ground work - but otherwise the threads in those separate parts of the lace do not intermingle. And finally, the most common ground in s'Gravenmoerse is the virgin ground, which like many other continental grounds requires four pairs per pin. Hope this helps! Clear as mud, isn't it? And, in spite of its continental heritage (NOT point ground, in my humble opinion), this lace has an APPEARANCE of being akin to Torchon, although it is not. This is due to the simplicity of design based on the 45 degree grid of the lace and the relatively few "fancy" stitches involved. Motifs are geometric, often accentuated by gimps. It's a fun lace to explore, and works up quickly once you get the hang of it. For Americans, Susan Wenzel is a teacher who is available for lace days, and there may be others. In Europe, you have a much greater opportunity as many teachers are now available from the Netherlands. Clay Clay Blackwell [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [Original Message] > From: Sue <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: Clay Blackwell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Brenda Paternoster <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Dee Palin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Cc: Lace Arachne <[email protected]> > Date: 2/27/2006 8:10:55 AM > Subject: RE: [lace] Re: s Gravenmoer and Sulky Blendables - was long lace/garters > > To Clay and all spiders, > So how do you work this half-stitch? > Just curious > Sue M Harvey > Norfolk UK - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
