Whipped Wheel, Buttonhole Stitch

'Card for Auntie F'

'Card for Auntie F'.
 TAST 11,Whipped Wheel ,  TAST 2, Buttonhole Stitch
Experimented with adding beads. Learning Curve :  Not sure about doing them random here. Also difficult to keep tight in. Can't use thick thread and small beads. Like them on the last row though.

Cross Stitch

Pic of Provence made for Mum. 2002. Cross Stitch. Was getting ill at the time and had lost a lot of my visual memory so every little bit was done by memorising and reciting the number of stitches and gaps to do. The slowest thing I've ever made. Enjoyed doing it though. Sat in the car alternately stitching and dozing whilst waiting for Joanna having her dreamed of horse riding lessons (thank you Nanny and Granddad Figures). There was often a robin singing in the trees nearby. So beautiful.

Beaded Double Wheatear Stitch, Butterfly Chain Stitch, Double Herringbone Stitch

'Card for Auntie J' : TAST 5, Double Herringbone Stitch, Beaded Double Wheatear Stitch, Butterfly Chain Stitch,

Knotted Buttonhole Stitch

'Majesty'

Stitch 36: Knotted buttonhole , 'Majesty'. Double, beaded and looped. Circles, neatness. Got the idea for the colours from a picture on Pinterest, maybe a Persian tile. The rest is geometry. Rather pleased with this if I do say so myself ! :-)

Open Base Needlewoven Picot

' Starburst'

' Starburst'. TAST 42: Open Base Needlewoven Picot.

I drew a few circles and went round them doing the picots. For the beads, when I did the set up for the picot with the pin i threaded the bead onto the third thread when it comes round the top of the pin then did the rest as usual. This leaves a little loop at the end so I fished about with the wrong end of the needle at the bottom of the picot to find the middle thread then just pulled it a bit to take out the loop from the top. Then underneath the work I pulled through the bit of slack. This made the picot stick up a bit more too. The middle is just filled in with french knots of course. I was really chuffed that such a simple pattern came out so effectively :-)

Closed Base Needlewoven Picot, Scalloped Detached Buttonhole Stitch

'Botanical'

Yes, OK, I will admit I'm really very chuffed with this. I added a leaf made with Scalloped Detached Buttonhole Stitch and another with the TAST  41: Closed Base Needlewoven Picot. I've called it 'Botanical'. So chuffed with it that I gave it to my Mum for Christmas :-)

'Botanical'

Having a Go !

 I've found with doing the TAST this year it's been a breakthrough for me to say to myself - this is not the proper one, this one is for practice. It released me from the feeling that everything I make has to be perfect enough to give away or display cos the ingredients are so expensive, and that it needs to be perfect first time. I've done far more unpicking than I've ever done before, but I think the quality of my stitching has actually improved cos I'm more laid back about it. I've also got more confident by copying not the details of people's work but the style. I suppose it's dealing with my English reserve. I've really enjoyed seeing the work of Luiz on Stitchin Fingers and have tried in my head to say : think like a Brazilian - and be bolder and brighter,  think like an architect - and use a ruler! Mind you, my taste and preferences are still very English :-)

One of the things that has got me back into sewing is a little dream I've had since I've been sick. It's based on a memory of working in the Nursery. The littlies would be draped with a man's shirt put on backwards as an apron then would stand in front of an easel and paint. Just slop it on for the simple pleasure of seeing the colours and the shapes. No pressure to perform, to paint a something. Just learning to become familiar with the tools and enjoy the act of making. I think it has been part of my inner healing to want to express myself. And I want pretty things, niceness, colours, form. My old ways of expressing myself have become severely limited by my body's limitations. But I'm still me on the inside. Even more so if that makes any sense ! Like a child learns to talk by babbling, talking scribble, playing with sounds I can learn to express myself by playing with different ways of expression. What fun :-))

Buttonhole Wheel Cup

* Buttonhole Wheel Cup, TAST 40.  Small - straight up with a button in. Large going outward, with spiders web filling to cover up the gap, then going inwards in the middle. Rather pleased with the frilly effect. Detached Buttonhole Covered bead. Love the effect of the special thread - pig to work cos it twists and knots.

Italian Border Stitch

Stitch 39: Italian Border stitch

Stitch 39: Italian Border stitch, 'Ode to Autumn', ° Negative Space. Enjoyed working with browns, and pleased with the gold leaf. * Couching,

Hedebo Style Embroidery, Knotted Loop Stitch

'Peach Delight'

° Hedebo Style Embroidery,Stitch 38: Knotted loop stitch  , 'Peach Delight'. 

Enjoyed using these threads, I bought them on holiday in Spain some years ago. Rather pleased at getting the knotted Loop Stitch border to do that wavy line, even if it does look like a NYPD badge :-) 

Hedebo - what an interesting discovery. I looked it up after last weeks stitch of the week and tried it out. It comes from a village in Denmark. Should be white on white of course but that was beyond me at the moment. Put the heart in the middle cos I plan to give it to my sister for Christmas. Not as perfect as cutwork and hardanger, and not perfect work but quite pleased with it nonetheless. Made up the heart and the design from the Hedebo idea. I like Hebedo Back Stitch because it has a little lump in the top and makes more texture and line than Detached Buttonhole Stitch. The hoops are my finger.

Beaded Hedebo Edge, Appliqué,

Stitch 37: Beaded Hedebo Edge

'Golden Delicious', TAST 37, * Beaded  Hedebo Edge - Double, Applique. My first attempt at appliqué apart from sewing guide badges on. Also learned to cut out my design on card with a cutter. Learning Curve :Message to self - using stretchy materiel is not easy for applique. But I like the effect. Learned to do the edging with two needles on a piece of wire (straightened paper clip) off a Brazilian embroidery site.

Pistil Stitch

'Speedwell heart'

'Speedwell Heart', Stitch 34: Pistil stitch border. Enjoyed working the pistil stitch. Pleased with the effect, but not the best showcase for the stitch. Should have incorporated it in the flowers. The button and bead come off a necklace - been looking forward to using them. Needed the seed stitches in the flowers to give them some life.

Butterfly Chain, Double Herringbone, Double Wheat Ear

* Butterfly Chain Stitch, TAST 20, * Double Herringbone Stitch, TAST 5, Double Beaded Wheatear Stitch, TAST 16,

Drizzle Stitch

'Poppy'

Stitch 35: Drizzle stitch , 'Poppy'. Ribbon Straight Stitch, and Stem Stitch. Steep learning curve - dont try to get too many ribbons down one hole, and draw the hole in the middle at the beginning - all guesses go pear shaped. Drizzle stitch is OK despite all the re-threading cos of the wonderful little threading thing that my sister got me. I fancy getting a bead in at the top, will have to work on the right sized needle and the right sized bead. Rome wasn't built in a day. Still learning about being willing to unpick, gradually getting better about it. Love the shine in the ribbon.

Linked Double Chain Stitch

'Across the Universe'

Stitch 32: Linked Double Chain . 'Across the Universe'. Not done this quite the same as the demonstration, but didn't get on with it's geometry. Rather pleased how got the metalic effect with using stranded thread in grey with one strand of sewing machine white thread. Of course Joanna noticed I'd got the beads wrong. Chuffed with the overall effect. It wasn't intended to be a pic of the cosmos, I just had a phrase out of a Beatles song in my head while I was stitching.

Sheaf Stitch

'Sitting Dog'

Sheaf Stitch, TAST 33, 'Sitting Dog'.  Seed Stitch and Beaded Chain Stitch. 2 shades of stranded thread. Surprising how much thread is used up in textured stitches. Lovely effect though. This is ginger. Quite chuffed cos from a distance it does look like her. Experiment with texture for fur. Again it looks better from a distance. Learning curve - when will I learn to do a sampler first ? - takes a while to get into my stride with a new stitch. Tho with the effort it takes to do each pic I don't think I'd manage the sampler too. Well, these are my samplers.

'Sitting Dog'

On this pic with the different light the border in Chain Stitch with the little pearls shows up better. They're off a necklace from Auntie Eunice. Have hung on to it for years in the dream of making things with it one day.

Algerian Eye Stitch, Pekinese Stitch, Cast on Stitch, Oyster Stitch.

'Liz-tangle' which morphed into 'Butterfly Garden'* Algerian Eye Stitch, TAST 29,    * Pekinese Stitch, TAST 31, * Cast On Stitch, TAST 30, *Oyster Stitch, TAST 28

Trying out the idea of a Doodles and Tangles with contrasting textures. Varigated green stranded thread for Algerian Eye filling, and borders. Pekinese St using wire out of the back of Ruth's old computer, ribbon off a present, green and cream embroidery ribbon from Bev.

Added Cast On Stitch Butterfly, and French Knot and Stem Stitch lilac Budlia.

 

Didn't like the design balance so changed the butterfly. Don't like the new butterfly quiiiite as much as the other.










Then to finish put Oyster Stitch in the other circle, Straight Stitch and Detached Chain Stitch round the edges. Design learning curve - if something is going to be off centre perhaps best more off centre rather than looking like it should have been centre but missed. Pleased to have got the hang of oyster stitch - had thought it a most obstreperous stitch simply for stitchers to show off, but it was me had got it wrong :-)

Up and Down Buttonhole Stitch

'Gigot the Lamb'

* Stitch 26: Up and Down Buttonhole stitch, 'Gigot the Lamb'. Interesting the difference the different lighting makes - neither is really quite right. The grass is Up and Down Buttonhole Stitch too - bit more random. With  French Knots. Woolly coat cut from old Barbie coat. Finally managed a balanced butterfly with * Detatched Chain Stitch,  but a bit small, or pale ? I like the pale pastel colours, but could look a bit insipid - the sun leeches all the colour out of them. No scale on the grass hummocks - learning curve :-)

Bonnet Stitch

 TAST 25, 'Bonnet Stitch Bijou', * Bonnet Stitch. Learning curve - hard to pull not skewed. When will I learn to do geometric patterns on geometric fabric. Rather like the pattern and colours though. First attempt with ribbon. Experiment with painting on fabric. Colours come out different on the other photo.

Palestrina Stitch

'Teaspoon Shisha', Buttonhole Stitch, and Palestrina Stitch surround. TAST 24. Fancied doing some Shisa but haven't got any of those pretty little mirrors. My inner "Monty Python" whispered try it with something out of the kitchen. Learning curve - If the stitches don't over lap enough they slip off - old clever clogs trying to do it with a spoon :-)

Cable Chain Stitch

Cable Chain Stitch. TAST 23. 'Cable Chain'. Thinking of the rows of rusting hulks on Grimsby docks in the 80s after the Iceland Cod Wars. Much to learn about Shading and Design.

Buttonhole Wheel

'I Dropped the Box of Washers', * Buttonhole Wheel, TAST 22,. Title take off of 'I dropped the button box'.

 §Learning Curve - Keeping the right tension. Making circles circular. 

Some experiments.

Whipped

Going inwards rather than outwards. With beads.

Butterfly Chain Stitch. Buttonhole Stitch.

TAST 2, Buttonhole Stitch, Butterfly Chain Stitch. TAST 20. 'Compassion'. I was thinking about Mother Theresa, well people like her, mainly Jane in Roubaix. The mix of the bright red passion, the white dedicated life, the blue dedication to God, but some black or grey beads to because none of us has totally pure motives. §Learning Curve : I wanted to give a sense of movement, streams pouring out. Lot's to learn still about design. Not the best design to showcase the stitch. Enjoyed doing the Buttonhole Stitch couching on a piece of string border - managed to get into a rhythm, like rowing.

Bullion Bars

'Ginger Biscuit' when she was a puppy, TAST 19, Bullion Bar. §Learning Curve Did the border first to make me get my hand in with the stitch. Rather pleased to get her likeness. Some visual memory returning. Someone said that the border looks like sausages :-)

Half Chevron Stitch

'Jade Princess'.Stitch 18: Half Chevron  and overlapped and used as couching. Couched ribbon and ruffled ribbon. Beaded centre. Steep learning curve - working in circles, neatness, measuring out. Learning Curve : Message to self - use a compass, not just a ruler. Pleased with the colour effects though.

Crossed Buttonhole Stitch.

'Poppy and Wild Barley Study'

'Poppy and Wild Barley Study'. Wheatear Stitch again. Crossed Buttonhole Stitch again, freehand this time. Design - steep learning curve. Study based on walks on the digue river bank. Beginnings of remission making my senses very open to nature. First attempt at drawing from nature. Attempt at windblown wild barley looked like a failed attempt to Annik :-) Chain stitch border. First attempt at a border. Satisfying. Invented Life Ring Stitch for the poppies.

Crossed Buttonhole Stitch

 TAST 17. Crossed Buttonhole Stitch. Message to self - do geometric stitches on geometric fabric. I like the shaded layers of colour.

French Knot and Wheatear Stitch

'French knot Starfish'

 French knot Starfish. Attempt at drawing perspective. TAST week 15.

'Jar by Ruth'

Jar made for me by Ruth. Now full of beads.

Fern

Stitch 16: Wheatear stitch 'Fern'. Flower threads. Got comments for the violin heads. Finally making myself learn to use a hoop. First pic on my sampler piece using a lovely bit of linen given me by Bev my sister. Felt brave to do something on a big piece of material :-)

'Sea Picture'

Attempt at a sampler picture. Weed made with ribbon ruched, couched down cord, and bugle beads left overs of Ruth's. Such fun using this twinkly treasure.

'Shoal of Minnows'

Detatched Stitch 16: Wheatear stitch 'Shoal of Minnows'. Bugle beads present from Ruth. Made the mistake of using shiny thread - had to do mortal combat with it to get it to lie down. Got a mention on the Pintangle TAST 5 featured pieces !

Knotted Cretan Stitch.

'Purple Briar'.  TAST week 21. Knotted Cretan Stitch.  Plus French Knots, Bullion Bars/Knots TAST 19 and Detatched Chain Stitch TAST 7. My own design. Stranded cotton on pale blue linen, hand dyed. Real colour looks nicer than the picture. Am learning about geometry and neatness.