TAST: Feather Stitch

Feather Stitch hasn’t been a friend of mine in the past but I’ve got on well with it this time around. I think the main problem was trying to get the stitch perfect. This time I haven’t bothered that much about it and the stitch was worked out well. So below you will see from the left: standard feather in chunky thread, closed feather in perle (need a thread that will behave itself to get the shape right), double feather in a knobbly thread, slanted feather in viscose ribbon and long armed feather (or spline stitch) in a slippery thread.

Strangely I also though feather stitch was due for an appearance – perhaps we’re all getting TAST ESP!

TAST: Chevron & Eyelet (Algerian or otherwise)

I decided to have a go stitching on paper for a change so my excuse for not having the Chevron stitch for last week is that I was waiting for the paint to dry! So here they are:

Above is Chevron stitched on watercolour paper. When I first started stitching on paper I thought “o, no, I can’t see where I’m going” but the secret soon revealed itself – make the holes first! This works really well with the Chevron stitch. I needle punched the holes, positioning the hole by eye, then stitched through them making it very easy. (and no counting!!)

Here is the Italian version of Algerian eyelet (??!!). Its overlapping in two colours. Now I wondered if paper could handle the whole eyelet caper but the trick is to bump up the scale and use a large needle to punch the middle holes. Of course in this case you can’t pull the thread as you can with fabric. These eyelets are 2cm square (just under the inch square). I think this kind of thing – stitching on paper – would be great for gift cards – a bit of colour, a bit of stitching and its done.

Lastly, for the purists out there. A more traditional eyelet worked on linen.

This for all those who, like me, have their heart into stitching. Have a wonderful week.

TAST: Other news

Yes, yes I’m working on the old Chevron stitch, got plenty of ideas just need to sit down and stitch it! Just wanted to share my triumph of getting the TAST webring to appear in my sidebar, complete with image. As a blogging novice sometimes the “simple” instructions just miss out on stating the obvious and the hidden. In wordpress if you cut and past some html code whose syntax is wrong it just gets deleted on you. No word to say “hey, check that code there”. The html code hiccuped around the image source bit. (Hiccuped and produced extra /’s and >’s!!) But I have finally got it working (YAY!) And managed to fix my sidebar after losing the login link etc by not realising that if you remove the “meta” part of the sidebar it kills all the admin links. Hope my Xplorations here saves someone else the frustration of this all.

TAST: Cretan Stitch

Here’s my little sample for this week. I love the way this stitch is a very easy filling and can quickly fill a free lowing shape.

I think I am going to include it on my buttonhole flowers piece.

TAST: Inspirational!

Having done a look around at everyone’s work I can understand about some of the comments about TAST being a bit daunting. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all however I quickly reminded myself the reason we are all doing this is to have FUN!!! So on to Cretan stitch this week….

A few sites that have me looking to push my boundaries are Random Applique - amazing flower power, Quieter Moments for anything but quiet colour and a reminder that a little piece can be stunning and  TextilePlay just because I like the embellisher work!

This week is definitely going to be a little fun piece!

TAST: Detached Chain

I have to confess that detached chain is not a favourite of mine so I did I little just so I could say “been there did that!”

So here there are (above)- in two different thicknesses and a variation at the end referred to as Russian detached chain (a group of three in fact!)

However the real reason I didn’t get much done in the past week was that I was at the Embroiderers’ Guild of South Australia’s Summer School. I went along to two wonderful 2-day workshops, one of which was Suzette Rugalo’s “Lady Anne” (pattern can be see at Dollmaker’s Journey) and the other was on Indian embroidery.

And above is the start of my Indian Bag. Lots of chain stitch but no detached chain! The shisha is attached using herringbone stitch which works well with the diamond and herringbone is featured above the reverse applique (big green patch). Lots more work to do as Indian work is just absolutely covered with embroidery.  Have to say that I’ve been enjoying everyone else’s posts (little and big) and am amazed and inspired by it all.  Thinking seriously about signing up for one of Sharon’s classes and the posts about them have helped me to understand what goes on in a “virtual” class.

TAST: Buttonhole Stitch

I just love buttonhole (blanket) stitch. It is so versatile and can be used anywhere. My favourite is making buttonhole rings on long haul plane flights. The image below shows some of them – easy to do and mindless (which is important after the 7th hour in the plane..)

I use these as surrounds to shisha mirror (as per banner image) or include them in tassles or use about anything. Basically you take you favourite thread, make a cardboard ring (mine are about the size of a ten cent piece) and then buttonhole around them. Its a great conversation starter on planes!

I also like the buttonhole flowers you can make. The image below is a number of flowers stitched on a painted background. I intend to keep on building up the layers add some beads for extra sparkle.

The image looks a lot redder on my screen than it actually is. I have used a number of different textured threads and will continue to build up the layers.

TAST: Virtual Herringbone

Decided to try something a bit different. Stitched with string on canvas then painted it. Then cut the string away to leave me with a virtual herringbone stitch. Found that if you wet the string first and iron it dry it flattens and will give a better impression. Anyway – just a little experiment!

Above shows part with the string still in and the impression that was left. This was BEFORE I discovered a better way to flatten the string to leave an impression. Thinking about stitching a thinner thread over the top.

TAST: Herringbone

The first thing I did when Sharon B posted the stitch for the week was to reach for my favourite stitch book, The Stitches of Creative Embroidery by Jacqueline Enthoven, and have a wander through the Herringbone section. Here are some of my Xplorations! 

This is traditional herringbone, stitched using a slippery thread (above).

This is “skinny-bone” herringbone.

This is closed herringbone using a knobby thread. I like the effect of lace. Thread wasn’t great to stitch with but the effect is good.

This is threaded herringbone using a chunky thread interwoven on a thin herringbone base. I liked the way the “s” curve beomes the most striking feature.

This is crisscross herringbone stitched with a nice chunky thread. Covers a lot of ground quickly BUT needs tension to keep it under control (i.e. a hoop!).

Lastly a double inverted herringbone! I liked this one in the vertical orientation. Would look good in two different threads as well I think.

Looking forward to next week’s stitch Xploration.