TAST 2010 - SIENNESE STITCH

                                       Take a Stitch Tuesday, Week 24
The Siennese stitch may look like a cross stitch, but it is constructed quite differently.  Click on the link above to see the tutorial.  There is a twist in the thread at the center that provides texture to the stitch, but it's difficult to see when rendered in a dark thread or in a smallish stitch. 

I experimented with 11 different threads and yarns to make the Siennese stitches.  You can see I've used them as individual, pattern grouping, and couching stitches.  I think the background is a 28 ct. lugana.  The grid-thingy is a piece of latch hook canvas that I dyed.  Here's another orientation. 

Take a look at how other participants are interpreting the TAST stitches!

TAST 2010 - TRIPLE & WAVED CHAINS

Weeks 22 and 23 of Take a Stitch Tuesday - chain stitch variations.  Not much to say here; the stitches were easy to work and and afforded some interesting possibilities for change.  With the triple chain I played with the orientation of the side chains and then placed the triads in different arrangements.  The zig-zag one doesn't show up well; I should have used two strands of floss to stand up to the #5 perle.  I worked this pattern using two needles.

The wreath is made from two different variegated green threads, but I did not work the leaves in pairs.  I worked stitches in one color first and then filled in with the other.  The two vertical lengths of waved chain are similar and used the same double strands of floss.  In the skinnier one I work each bottom stitch through the same hole.

A word to thank all of you who read my blog and take time to leave much appreciated comments.  I am not ignoring you!  I do love to look at your work and leave feedback and hope to resume that practice again.

TAST 2010 - SLIPPED DETACHED CHAIN

TAKE A STITCH TUESDAY - WEEK 21

I like the way the slipped detached chain can make blossoms.  My background is cotton duck.  I did a running stitch border in a rayon cord and later, to my regret, wove in the novelty yarn which I now find distracting and would remove, were I to have another use for this sampler. 

I laid foundation columns of feather stitch with a single strand of Watercolours ("wildberries"?) then proceeded with the blossoms in the same thread.  I worked from top down and started with single slipped stitches, then double and finally triple toward the bottom.  I wanted the droop effect atop the second column, so I used French knots to represent spent blooms, followed by reverse pointing single slip stitches for fading flowers, then proceded as I did with Column 1.  To bring filler to some of the negative space I stitched a "background" vine in the rayon cord, leaving it unembellished.  With some #5 purple perle I made a few bees.  It occurred to me to make a butterfly using 2 detached chains with the slipped stitches between them, but I didn't really know where to put it.

Back to the border.  I like it on the right side.  On the left it competes with the floral column, and it's bugging me so much I've got to remove it.  Yes-s-s-sss.