Dear Spiders, Thanks to all, I can see that I am going to have to get a book and study the technique, and there was me thinking that I could just run off a learning piece from a few instructions.
Happy lacing Sue M Harvey Norfolk UK Looking forward to the Norfolk Lacemakers laceday on Saturday, where we are having as speaker Jan Jefferson the wonderful Amish Quilt lady, what a treat. ----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Alice Howell Sent: 27 February 2006 17:44 To: Sue Cc: [email protected] Subject: RE: [lace] Re: s Gravenmoer half stitch --- Sue <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > So how do you work this half-stitch? > Just curious Hi Sue, I'm sure you are curious. But don't expect detailed explanations on the list. It takes a full page of step by step instructions in the book to explain it. I'll try to summarize the differences. Regular half stitch has one worker that goes across the section desired -- call it 'the diamond'. That worker goes across one row, and back across the next row. Diagonal half stitch is worked only one direction -- say, right to left. On the diamond, each pin on a side that slants to the right is worked twice. Each pin on a side that slants to the left is worked only once. Coming off a pin on the right, on the first pass the pin is not closed and the lead worker thread is taken across the row with CT. Then you return to that starting pin and close the pin, taking the new worker across the row also. Essentially, both threads of the pair entering the diamond at the pin are worked across the diamond, thus putting twice as many threads across the half stitch space. This makes a much firmer lace. On the ending side of the diamond, left side in this case, the pins that slant left are used once. The pins that slant to the right are used twice. The first time, the pin is not closed. When the second worker comes along, it closes the pin. You end up with two theads (one pair) coming off each pin, as is normal, but each of these threads has acted as a worker instead of only one of them. I caution people not to try this from my summary because I left out the nitty-gritty details of how many twists and where --- and all that stuff. The twists must be put in correctly or the tension is all wrong. Get a written copy of detailed directions when you want to try it -- or have a live teacher on hand. Some of the modern patterns of 's-Gr don't use the special headside, and use very little gimp. Other than the half stitch method, there's little difference from Torchon. (Some people say these patterns are not 's-Gr, but are really Torchon.) In fact, any Torchon pattern can use the diagonal half stitch instead of regular halfstitch, for a change. Those who learn the diagonal half stitch and wish to practice it, can do so without learning all the particular features of 's Gravenmoerse. Traditional 's-Gr has two symetrical designs that are alternated. These designs are either geometric or reflect the things that are important to the family or village -- like boats or trees. Each design feature is 3-6 inches long, so a repeat of the two designs takes quite a few inches. Torchon designs are usually quite short -- only an inch or two per repeat. This makes a big difference in appearance from 's-Gr. Traditional 's-Gr has a straight headside with special edge stitch features. Be aware that there are real 's-Gr patterns, and also Torchon style patterns using the diagonal half stitch. Some interesting patterns can be made combining the features of the two laces since they use the same grid, but we don't really have a name for these hybrid patterns. I think 's Gravenmoerse is a fun lace to make, and I enjoy the time I spend with it. I have a project ready to use on demos this year. It makes a nice contrast to the projects my friends will be working on. Happy lacing, Alice in Oregon -- raining, but lightly so far today. - 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]
