TAST 2010 - WEEKS 38 - 44

Week 38 - Picot Chain Stitch

This is as much as I got done in the assigned week.  I kept thinking I would add something else or take something out, but I never got around to it, and now I don't remember clearly what I was trying to do.  I can see I worked a spiral, worked the chain with picots on either side, and worked the chain zigzag.

Weeks 39 and 40 - Buttonhole Picots

The background cloth is another piece of tea dyed dish towel.  The Watercolour shows up a little better than the Wildflower thread, but there's not much to see.  Sadly I didn't put a lot of time or thought into this assignment.  It was Thanksgiving week and I was juggling two overlapping online classes.  The picots are lost in the terry loops, and because they're placed randomly along the irregular lines, they're hard to spot anyway and not worth the effort IMHO.  I'll simply say the upward spikes have bullion picots and downward the chains. 

Weeks 41 - 44:  Checkered/Magic Chain, Woven Cross,

and Crossed and Plaited Feather Stitch

Magic Chain:  3 rows of chain just under TAST '10.

Woven Cross:  above and below the single line of beads.  I considered weaving the lettering which I added later, but ran out of time and steam.

Crossed Feather Stitch:  the top row, worked in Wildflowers.

Plaited Feather:  bottom rows.  If you look at the tangled center, you can maybe see I worked the plaited version between 2 rows of straight-sided feather stitch.

Even though my work was lackluster toward the end, I feel a sense of accomplishment for having completed the challenge and extreme gratitude to Sharon B for leading us through this wonderful learning adventure.  Tuesdays will not be the same without a new stitch to look forward to.  I'm thinking I might pick up the ones I missed in the original TAST challenge, and after that I'll probably tackle the Stitch Files.

You can view all of my TAST 2010 work here and original TAST here.

You can also view the photo pool for all TAST '10 participants here.

Join all of us at Stitchin Fingers, an international, online community for all manner of stitchery, fiber and needlework.

TAST 2010 - TURKMAN STITCH

TAKE A STITCH TUESDAY - WEEK 36 - TURKMAN STITCH

Sharon B was right in us this is an easy stitch and an attractive border as is.  However, I couldn't think of much else to do with it other than vary the stitch horizontally or vertically.  Here's what I did left to right:

1.  This looks like the traditional stitch and starts out that way, but if you look closely you'll see that after the first two stitches I lengthened the next two by one thread, then go back to the original and alternate from there.  I like this effect, gives a texture of crackle and looks somehow lacier.

2.  Started off normal, then a little zig-zag, then back to normal until I veer off to the left by changing the position of the first stitch.  You can see where I began the righthand diversion; the first stitch begins to the left of the last stitch in the upper, single column and covers the gap left by the top of the left branch.

The right branch experiments with horizontal variations.  I might have avoided the "nubs" if I had made the changes more gradual and by paying closer attention to the tension.

3.  Exactly like #1

4.  Upper portion of this column is worked evenly but more open.  Below I worked two side by side rows.

5.  Didn't want you to think the squiggles in Column 2 were mistakes.  Here's an entire column done zigzag style with random stitch length variation.

6.  The final column show a gradation in stitch length.

I don't particularly care for this stitch on its side, but I think vertically it doesn't make much difference upside down. 

See what other TAST'ers are doing on our Flickr site.

TAST 2010 - EASTERN STITCH

 Take a Stitch Tuesday, Week 2

Eastern Stitch

I wasn't very enthusiastic when I started this stitch, but the more I worked it the less rigid it became.  I could alter the appearance with tension, size and thread, and I found it could go in about any direction.  Take a good look at the bird; the stitches have been worked every which way: horizontally, vertically, diagonally, reversed direction, curved to outline, distorted to fill and taper.  With the exception of the outer border, bird legs, upper beak and eye, all the stitches are the Eastern. I had already stitched the outside border, but those X-stitches could just as well have been Eastern Stitch.

A note about the feed dish.  It's an old button, a 1/4 inch deep cup with scalloped edges.  The flat bottom is a 2-hole sew-through (no shank), which enabled me to stitch in the seed bead corn. Got to fatten the hen, you know.

The Eastern stitch tutorial and more information about TAST 2010

can be found here.  And you can see the work of other TAST participants here.





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 - RAISED CUP STITCH

OMG is that background what I think it is?  It is if you're thinking towel!  I made a batch of Earl Grey tea stain the other day and couldn't just pour the leftover down the drain.  What was handy was a threadbare dish, er, tea towel I'd used as a blotter from my last dye session.  "I wonder what it would be like to stitch on?", I mused as I stuffed it into the Pyrex measuring cup that held the tea.  As soon as the towel was rinsed and dried I found out.

I finished Week 12 early, so I was happy to keep my fingers from wriggling in anticipation of  Monday Night and the latest TAST temptation.  I worried (not really, this was a rag!) about embroidery needles and sharp points catching on  tiny, terry loops, but since the velour finish had long ago worn away from the printed front side, the fabric was very giving and yielded to my large tapestry/yarn needles with ease.  For this sampler I ended up using only #5 perle cottons and fingering weight wool/silk yarns.

About 2/3's down I started a line of twisted chain.  I wanted a little more height so I layered a second row right on top. You can see I got much better dimension with yarn seen in the single layer of twisted chain below (brown).  The gray line is knotted buttonhole stitch threaded with a piece shiny raffia, probably something that once tied up a package.  Seems like I had just gotten down that charcoal line of Sorbello than twas time to download Week 13, Raised Cup Stitch!  Am I the only one who has a pavlovian response to Sharon B's challenge posts?

I got all of those raised cups stitched waiting in a doctor's office for DH.  They are all worked with the silk & wool yarns.  I love their organic shapes, how they flop and smoosh together.  The white one in the center  is an example of decreasing to make the cup turn inward.  The coppery bit you see are "stamens" emanating from a French knot.  I added irregular cretan stitching awaiting DH's lab work the next day, routine medical, btw.  I was satisfied that that finished the upper portion, but had to experiment a bit to get the rest as you see below.

I tried couching down some pussy willow yarn, had a little spiral going, but the color seemed to light.  I made it worse by weaving in a darker yarn.  Ugh.  Check out the raised cup centers, wooden and agate beads too big, faux pewter spacer beads.  No, no, no.  Too fussy.  Not in keeping with the rustic look I wanted.

What was I thinking?  That thing ,btw, is a freeform crocheted motif that's been waiting around forever to unite with its  kind to become a scrumble.

So I end up with unfilled cups and graduated French knots on the bottom.  Swapped out some of the beads in the other row with French knots --  and

a bullion (white cup on the left!).

And now a sort of tutorial.  Working the raised cup stitch reminded me of a motif I learned a few years back on the CQ Embellishers forum.  I was thrilled to make it, especially since I hadn't learned any fancy stitches.  The other Embelles used this effectively as sea anenomes in some of their wonderful underwater fantasies.  The motif is so simple, it really doesn't require illustration.

Thread a tapestry needle with yarn or chunky thread.  I find this easiest to do on my left index or little finger, but a pencil could be used instead.   Begin at the top finger joint and wrap the yarn upwards about four times, covering the tail as you go.  Wraps should be loose enough for you to work the needle underneath.  Pass the needle downwards behind the wraps, holding the top coil with another finger.  Now work around buttonhole stitch around, pushing the

stitches close together.  When the round is completed, weave in the end.  You now have a little ring motif you can stitch to your work and embellish with beads.  I used to like to make these using a funky variegated yarn, sparkly and frizzy.  They can also be used to make little nests as in the example below

This is from my project for Sharon Boggan's Encrusted Crazy Quilting class.  If  you haven't tried one her courses, you do not know what you're missing.  They are outstanding and comparable to a semester of study complete with textbook. 

TAST 2010 - SORBELLO

I've become a real fan of knotted stitches for the extra texture they provide.   Sharon B gave us beautiful examples of Week 12's Sorbello stitch, which makes interesting patterns when used in repeats and presents itself nicely for the addition of bead embellishment.  She had one example of the stitches worked densely together as a filler, and she varied a thread or two adding color and textural variety.  I really liked the appearance, but I didn't want to copy her application.  I chose to apply a similar version as a border.  My stitches are more open, and I used a single variegated thread (Watercolours, one strand).

It's dense and textured enough, though, that glancing at the actual cloth, the stitching almost looks like crochet or chunky cotton lace.

My next variation was going to be a line of elongated stitch alternating high and low positions of the knot.  I discovered it was easy enough to work side by side stitches this way by varying the tension of the first part of the stitch .  When I went to work it on my sampler, I decided to do it in two passes, working the upper knotted stitches and leaving spaces for the lower knotted ones to be filled in afterward.  Using a single strand of a different Watercolour thread, the stitches were too dense.  Too many threads made the line too busy and the high-low knot effect got lost.  I'll try the technique another time, maybe even experiment with alternating colors.

After removing the second pass (lower knotted) stitches, I decided I liked the spacing, which led me to place the lower knotted stitches directly below their counterparts, creating a nice diamond in the negative space (perfect for a seed bead or French knot?).  To me the obvious next move was to at least partially fill the spaces between the stitches and balance the high-low with a centered knot at the join line.  For this I used 2 strands of hand dyed cotton floss that matched the deeper colors of my border thread.

At this point I realized my remaining stitching space was limited; spirals, curves and the like would have to wait for another project.  I opted to repeat the first two rows.  This repetition gave me another the appearance of little circles (a skinnier thread would have produced little diamonds).  Nice.  I could have left the sampler alone at this juncture, but something else was needed to fill the void between stitches of the center two rows.  I thought X's  like I did in the other rows would crowd and distract from the little O's.  I didn't want to introduce a new thread either.  I took a single strand of the floss and made the elongated, center knotted X's.  I like the look.  The background space is filled but subtly.  There is certainly room still for beads and French knots, but I'm going to let that go -- for now.

TAST 2010: BULLION BUTTONHOLE

The stitch for the 11th week of our Take a Stitch Tuesday challenge is suitable for a variety of applications.   In terms of CQ seam treatment, I doubt it can be beat in its potential for embellishment since the combinations of stitch variations with sequins, beads, ribbons, buttons, charms and other threads seem limitless.  The bullions (and mine are hardly exemplary) require time and patience but are so worth the effort.

I used a piece of Procion dyed Aida and worked my samples as they might appear over a seam, but certainly they provide enough interest and texture to be included in a contemporary embroidery project.  In the first row I used #12 silk perle from Vikki Clayton; I've had this for some years and I doubt she stocks it anymore.  I worked the buttonhole upwards and downwards in one pass.  I varied the height of the bullions but kept the variations symmetrical.  I left spacing for additional embellishment like buttons or flower beads, but I opted to try a little SRE, a loose French knot (aka Montano knot) and a petal.  I filled all the spaces but it was too much, and you can see where I didn't take time to scratch over the stitch holes.  On reflection I deem the SRE here out of proportion with the more delicate stitch size.  A poor choice, but I just wanted to get an idea.  For the record, all the bullions were straight; several got ruffled though when I removed the silk ribbon stitching.  I actually like a version that would be more relaxed with some of the bullions drooping, not sloppy, just an occasional irregularity.

 The second element is comprised of two rows of bullion buttonhole worked close together and then laced with a decorative cord.  Space is left between the bars of bullion for additional embellishment.  Ribbon or some other thread or yarn could easly be threaded under those bars.  The basic thread here and in the next pattern are both single strands of Caron Watercolours.  I'll talk about the cord in a minute. I wanted to add, I really like the way some of the bullion clusters nestle and curve together.  Another time I would try to make them all appear like that, a softer, less rigid look.

The final section is again two rows worked in a curve with a little more space between them.  I thought a line of beads worked as a center row would be pretty.  You're surely aware that were this to be a finished decorative project I'd probably have beads all over the place, especially crowning those bullions.

What I did instead is run the cord under the bullion rows, and it's a shame it's not showing up that well because it is a sublime thread!

Glitter cord it's called, and I found it in a fiber art store in Christ Church , NZ.

I bought a couple of skeins and hoarded them until recently when I discovered I could purchase more and so much more directly from the artist, Jane Van Keulen.  When you visit her website, take time to peruse her gallery and see her lovely work.  Back to the Glitter cord.  Jane's colorwork is scrumptious.  That alone would be enough, but this cord has additional properties of being soft and almost sensuously slinky the way it drapes over hand and fingers.  It's too bad the sparkle doesn't show up in these pix. 

TAST 2010 - CLOUD FILLING

I found this Week 10's stitch could be light and airy, make a linear statement of its own, a wonderful seam treatment with unlimited possibilities for embellishment.  This little sampler was stitched on a piece of woven raw silk, very burlap-looking, that I dyed with saffron for a recent class at Quilt University with Marjie McWilliams.

I really liked the way Row 1 turned out.  I made the foundation bars with two side by side stitches, but because of the looseness and irregularity of the background weave it looks like I stitched little v's. For the first layer of lacing I used #5 perle in yellow, and because it doesn't stand out on its own, I added a second layer by lacing through the center bars only and going under the background thread directly below the top bars and above the bottom bars.  The result is like a row of spiders, and I think I'm going to have to file this idea away for a future CQ or Halloween project.                                                    The detail to the right shows how I vertically worked this next segment  .  Obviously it was a waste of time because the stitching looks the same on its side!  Two strands of metallic floss were used for lacing.  The sparkle seems to have gotten lost.  Below left is a closeup of the lace yarn I used.  If I pulled it taut I would just have a line of navy; however, the looseness and ease of the yarn made it possible for me to pouf  it  out.  If this section looks uneven, it is.  I laid out the foundation bars in a gentle wave.  The the rows of stitching are parallel, so the lacing follows the undulation.  A less bulky yarn would have shown this better.      The fourth segment is an experiment that didn't work for me here with my choice of lacing yarn, a tweed, cabled cotton in a heavy worsted weight.  My plan began with the base of detached chains with the tack-down stitches pointing inwards to accomodate a  second lacing.  Nothing I had on hand provided enough contrast, so I left it bare, and although it begs for further embellishment in the center, you can see the design I was going for with the graduated spacing of upper and bottom chain stitches.  Here the center anchors are beads which stay in a straight line unlike the beads in the previous section which parallel the top and  bottom rows.

The final section of the sampler shows top and bottom row anchors as bullion stitches.  I am definitely not proud of these.  They have a rather gnarly appearance mainly because of insuffienct wraps.  I used beads again for the center row.  I would have used them to help camoflauge or tidy up the bad bullions, but I didn't want to waste the beads.  Lesson learned.                                                       

TAST 2010 - RAISED HERRINGBONE BAND

For these weekly studies I rarely plan a design first.  If the stitch is new to me, I practice the basics on a doodlecloth .  When I can grasp the mechanics of the stitch, I don my thinking cap then may or  may not scribble down  the variations I come up with.  From  this point I pretty much work spontaneously, although I do strive for a reasonably balanced composition.   I'm no stranger to the frog pond.  Sometimes experiments fail or need to be further modified.

  

This stitch was somewhat deceptive in that it changed with each layer. Combinations of threads and yarns I thought would work, didn't always.

I started with scraps of onion skin dyed Aida and cheesecloth.  I think scrappy, shabby and rough were in the back of my mind.  Generally I begin with what I deem will be the largest of stitch elements.  In this case it's the shaggy diagonal.

Instead of a satin stitched foundation I used a piece of oversized,  faux suede ric-rac.  I centered the herringbone over the zigs and zags and then wove in the chenille yarn.  Next was the light blue diagonal in #8 perle.  The herringbone is worked in silk/wool yarn, and the lacing is cotton suede.  I used the same yarn for the satin stitches on the curvy diagonal that intersects the ric-rac bar.  This element was intended to show curves and irregular foundation width.  Blue herringbone with French knots are two strands of cotton floss which is then woven with a strand of Vikki Clayton's silk perle from her dragon series.  I don't know if she still produces this color, but it's been one of my faves and now I'm out of it because I used it liberally throughout this sampler.  You can see it clearly in the unembellished, uneven satin diagonal in the lower left and echoed in the two vertical curves of satin foundation on either side of the big spiral.  Those two have cotton perle (#10 or#12) herringbone and then laced with strands of eyelash yarn (those are the brown strings you see in the picture, some of which are copper metallic).  What's really neat, to me, is the way the lashes arch and hang over adding a third dimension to the sampler.  A shame that effect doesn't show up in the scan (how could it, the lashes are all smooshed down!).  I later worked the same dragon perle as a running stitch border line before fringing the background fabric.

The large spiral is worked in Caron watercolours .  It stands "naked" because nothing I tried worked over it to my liking.  Ditto its counterpoint circle in the lower right.  This leaves the, um, motif in the upper right.  The horizontal brown bars are #8 cotton perle, as are the vertical blue ones.  Just for fun I wove one of the intersections.  Herringbone is worked over and beyond the horizontal bars in Caron wildflowers (same color as the spirals) and laced with an elastic  cotton yarn that's nubby with metallic copper flecks.

I encourage readers to discover how other participants explore the  TAST2010 stitches.  Please visit our Flickr  group site.

 

    

                                                                                         

TAST 2010 - FANCY HEM STITCH

WEEK 8 - FANCY HEM STITCH

This stitch was easy to work and offers endless possibilities for variance and additional embellishment like weaving or beading. For this sampler I let the lines of stitches stand on their own, as I wanted the colorplay to be evident.

The background is another swatch of hand dyed cotton. The color is a yellow orange with mottles of burnt orange. The threads are all DMC #5 perle, except for the variegated ones which are Caron's Watercolors.
Mostly I experimented with stitch size and number of wraps. Here's what I did starting from the top:

Row 1 - Smaller stitches, with foundation lines close together with maximum wraps around the bars.

Row 2 - Same as first row except fewer wraps.  I  discovered with stitches this small I was able to keep the   wrap thread entirely on the surface.

Row 3 - Slightly larger length and distance between foundation stitching.  With moderate number of wraps the diamond  and "x" are apparent, offering perfect placement for beads.

Row 4 - Stitches are the same length as 3, but foundation lines are further apart and wraps are limited to 2.

Row 5 - Here I laid down 3 foundation lines not too far apart.  I alternated lines wrapped in each stitch; ie, wrapped lines 1 and 2 the first half of the stitch, then switched to wrapping 2 and 3.  Alternating wraps opens the possibility for additional patterning.  I worked mine to form a zigzag.

Row 6 - Varying the height of each stitch.  I imagine this could be worked with greater irregularity for an abstract or distorted look.  To keep wrap tension even I was limited to the number of wraps per stitch.  I realized a problem when I had finished; some of the threads coming and going from the cloth beneath the wraps show.  I'm thinking about ways the larger stitches could be embellished.  An "X" over the wraps, partially wrapping or faux wrapping the wraps, lacing different fibers or ribbon are some of my ideas.

Rows 7 & 8 - Show the stitch can handle at least a gentle curve.

I have not stitched the sampler onto the sangria fabric, and the knotted snippets are not attached.  I just laid them there for effect.

You can see samplers from other TAST participants (at least 200 from all over the world) at the group Flickr site.

TAST 2010 - ROPE STITCH

ROPE STITCH - Week 7 of Take a Stitch Tuesday 2010.  It took me a couple of days to figure out this stitch.  It's not difficult, but I often have trouble when orienting thread under needle.  Remember I'm the one that has yet to master the very basic picot stitch in Hardanger.  Hopefully you can see my progress.

The background for the stitches is a scrap of hand dyed Aida cloth.  I worked all of the columns from the top and began on the left.  The first two columns are #5 pearl; the only difference is the number of threads.  Boy, the picture sure shows up the inconsistencies, and YIKES!, I moved over a thread about half way down .  Column 3 was loosely stitched with a strand of Caron Watercolours. It looks sloppy.  I think the reason it's uneven in places is that when I tried to take out a stitch or two it was it was
hard to pick up again.  I finally got the hang of it toward the end.

Column 4, I made the coils closer together, and it looks neater.  I had no difficulty creating the circle.  Column 5
looks like a whole 'nother stitch.  For this I made the coils right up against each other.  It's like satin stitch with more dimension. Column 6 was worked with silk and wool fingering yarn, and it behaved beautifully.  Not so with the slippery rayon thread I used  for the first layer of Column 7.  I stitched a second layer with the Watercolours, staggering the start.

Notice anything different about Column 8?  Nothing remarkable except I worked this and the remaining rows in the opposite direction.  See how the coils slant in a different angle?

I stitched the little sampler onto a piece of batik, the colors of which remind me of sangria.  From here on this becomes a work in progress.  I'll likely play with more buttons and threads.

P.S.  In response to Connie's remark that I may be too self-critical, I have to say I do try to be objective. This is a case where the sampler doesn't look that bad in the fabric, but I confess to shock when I saw it enlarged on the screen. Every flaw (just spotted another, but I'm not talkin') seemed to fly in my face. My posts usually detail my personal learning process of which self evaluation is an important part. When I make mistakes, I share them. I suck up the embarassment and remind myself that some muse wants me to learn by trial and error, to keep myself honest, and ego in check by experiencing creative lessons in humility. :-)

TAST 2010: BUTTONHOLE EYELET FLOWER

I haven't viewed any of the other samples from the group, but I suspect my flowers may appear a bit different.  They certainly don't resemble anything close to Sharon B's prototype.  Still it was a good experience for me, always nice to add a flower to the stitching repetoire, and it did force me to practice multiple bullions. 

The background is hand dyed silk from Vicki Clayton.  I began with the red petalled flower.  Um, the flower was supposed to have only five petals,  but I don't think it matters how many.  What's wrong with my petals  is I was inconsistant with the number of bullion wraps, so they are not equal size.  I then switched to the three smaller versions.  I did count wraps.  They look askew, but really they are even and could lie flat if I pressed them or tacked them down; I preferred to let them have their more dimensional look.

I got bored with the basic flower, so I surrounded the second large wheel with two rows of flat-lying but curving bullions.  Then I worked the bullion "rose" between the 2 large flowers.  I began with a French knot and used different threads and colors for the petals.  I made bullion clusters next.

Looking at the goofy flowers stitched "naked" onto a piece of cloth, I decided I needed some kind of coordinating element.  This is what happens when one doesn't plan ahead and design first.  I added stems and leaves.  I'm sorry, I have to laugh, and it's perfectly okay for you to join me.  The first flower looks like it's wearing a hat (It's getting close to Derby time here), and the other big flower sprouted wings and looks more like shield backed by crossed spears.  Seriously, what's wrong here is no focal point!  Seriously-er, what's wrong with me?  The challenge does not call for a finished piece of art; no more than the exercise of practicing a new stitch on a doodle cloth is required.  Forgive me.  I type with tongue in cheek. 

The hand dyed (be me!) gauze drape is a nice touch, yes?  I have to brag that the silk perle and ribbon are also hand dyed from  my red cabbage experiment.  I forgot to say the cotton perles used for the flowers were all #5 DMC and the rest is Watercolours.

So what's with the business to the left?  Well, it may or may not be a preview of next week's TAST.  I had in mind to try partial buttonhole wheels as a seam treatment.  I hand stitched on a piece of blueberry dyed linen with the idea that I might continue the colorway next week.  I might -- or not.

TAST 2019 - Knotted Buttonhole Stitch

As you see I continued this week's stitch on the same fabric piece as w\Week 4.  I like this stitch because you can work it in just about any direction.  I've used this stitch before, so I did only three things with it this time.  On the left is a green patch where I tried to similate grass using 6 different threads.  I overlapped the rows (working from top to bottom) and made the stems different sizes and working a few of the stitches under previous ones.  The middle section looks kind of chaotic.  What I attempted was to create twigs with the buttonhole stitches worked from either side.  Most of this area was done in #5 perle, but I used a single strand of Watercolours to work a couple of "sprigs" and also the French knots.  On the right is a spiral.  I love how this stitch holds a curve and how the little stems also curve.  I finished early, so I now have plenty of time to practice bullion stitches for next week.

Below is the whole sampler for Weeks 4 and 5.

TAST 2010 - BEADED HEDEBO EDGE

This week's sampler is worked on hand dyed fabric (Cashel?) with DMC pearl cotton.  Blue beads are #6 seed; the yellow are cubes.  The fargo rose uses 7mm silk ribbon that I recently dyed with saffron.  As we are encouraged to do in the TAST challenge, I looked for different or less obvious ways to utilize the given stitch. 

In the first row I was trying to see first if the curve could be worked in or out.  It can, but you may have to change direction if you can't work the stitch backward.  Next I wanted to see if  it could be linked by shape.

When I finished the "squares" , I realized I had created little frames which shouted to be filled.  Since the sides lay loose on the surface, I thought additional weaving or lacing could be done easily.  In the left square I used a simple dove's eye as might be worked in a hardanger kloster, and on the right I wove spokes.  My rose looks a little naked in the center.  I remember now that  I had originally planned to attempt my initial, N, which could be easily rendered with three lengths of edging.

The second row began as an experiment to see if two edges could be woven between the beads.  They can, but I left the second strands bare as a contrast.

The last segment is always my favorite to try.  What happens if I distort?  In this case I made the foundation cross stitches irregular in size, length and direction.  Voila!  Abstraction.

TAST 2010 - KNOTTED LOOP STITCH

The knotted loop stitch is fun to work and offers far more possibilities than what I've stitched here.  Be sure to see the border and stacked examples Sharon B shows on her Pin Tangle website along with the tutorial on how to do this stitch.  Basically it is two straight stitches, upper and lower, combined with a knot

My background is a piece of craft felt with metallic threads that I've dyed and then overdyed with rust.  My fish (silk & wool yarn) shows the usual center placement of the knot.  So does the centipede to the right.
The fun thing is the knot can follow a curved line beautifully, yet the line can appear more to the top or bottom depended on the length of of stitch above and below, as with the bottom centipede.  It creates a kind of spine.  I managed a small spiral, and tried to make concentric circles.  With the "fossil" in the upper left, I tried to skew the stitches every which way.  Even though I varied the length and spacing of the straight stitches, the "spine" is still evident, just not as knobby.  Incidentally the other threads used on the sampler are a gold perle cotton and Caron Watercolours and Wildflowers in the same colorway.

Do look at Sharon's samples.  She shows a thick and thin border , filler possibilities, and flowers!  There is a Take a Stitch Tuesday group on Flickr if you'd like to see amazing work by global participants.

TAST 2 - DIAMOND STITCH

The diamond stitch is a knotted stitch, and I wasn't able to do much with it.  The background is hand dyed and is actually a medium teal color.  Looking left to right, the first column is plain diamond stitch worked in Caron Watercolours.  The second column is worked to the center from top and bottom with stitches graduating in size horizontally and vertically.  This is two strands of Vicki Clayton's premium silk floss, turquoise. The three small columns of diamonds are used here as filler stitches.  The thread is a variegated cotton floss.  The central portion of the sampler is free stitched to determine how much distortion is possible and to test to see if the diamond stitch could be laid out in a curve.  I think the stitch is far more interesting used in this manner.  The effect here makes me think of a madonna in silhouette; in fact, I left some space above her bent head in case I decide to add a halo, but then I think that can be filled in with imagination.

Two strands of handdyed cotton floss were used for this part.  Another thing I wanted to try was to see if the diamond stitch could be worked horizontally as well as vertically, or if it could be made into a grid.  I couldn't get the stitch to work across, so the final columns show how I did vertical rows, sharing holes between each column.  I introduced two new threads in the final grid section.  The first column is done with two strands of metallic which behaved very well even with the knotting.  The final column on the right is 2mm silk ribbon; it too was manageable.

Stitch Explore 09 - April: Casalguidi

Here is my effort at Casalguidi. It is just a sampling of some of the raised and pulled stitches. I enjoyed these and will probably add more. I went to a linen fabric for the pulled work, and it was a refreshing change from the red, white and blue on gray I had been using. Here, too, is proof that I do use a hoop on occasion.

I'm not certain, but the fabric may be Dublin. I began the long, meandering line by couching down a cotton yarn. I satin stitched over it with #8 perle, then did the over stitching with Caron Watercolours. Then I made more lines with buttonhole bars and detached buttonhole. I used plain buttonhole to stay stitch consistent and for flat contrast. I worked a few bullion knots because they were mentioned and because they are such fun to do. ;-)

For the pulled stitches I used #12 perle and worked part of the pattern provided in Carol's pulled stitch tutorial. From her whitework lessons I tried, I'm not sure how successfully, to make faggots with a #5 perle. These showed up better than the stitches done with #12. I think #8 or #10 would have been better choices; I didn't have any on hand but a few that would color clash.

You realize the above is just doodling. I'm sure there are many ways to vary these stitches . The whole time I was thinking how I might distort or make the stitches irregular, so I have some ideas I'll save for another playtime session.

SPIRAL TRELLIS - February Stitch Exploration 09

The stitch for February's Exploration 09 is the Spiral Trellis. If you clicked on the second link you would see how beautiful and perfect are Sharon B's examples. I have not yet reached that level of expertise, but I like the stitch and plan to attempt more experiments.

The link I just mentioned directed me to 3 excellent tutorials. Still I had trouble in the beginning. As with most knotted stitches it takes me awhile to get thread wrap right. My first attempt was actually the plain trellis stitch that is worked back and forth in rows, whereas this trellis is worked continuously so a spiralling line of knots results. I looks very much like beading. After frogging my rectangular trellis fill, I went straight for a heart shape in spiral. I should have known better!

A & B are built up too high before decreasing, and the stitching lines aren't flowing. In B in used a chain stitch foundation, an I idea I read about on Elizabeth M's blog Quieter Moments. Elizabeth thoroughly researches stitches and is gracious to share her experiments. Trust me, Elizabeth can find the ultimate innovations possible in a stitch, and not only that, her needlework is supurb. Back to the doodle rag, my use of the chain ( I later learned from Elizabeth she used a reverse chain) was so I could add embellishing stitches to fancy up the dimensional heart. I was thinking of a lacy valentine. I forget what I had in mind adding a second row of backstitching around C. When I remember, I'll get back to it. I did make a heart, but it's sloppy . For D, I switched to a #3 pearl hoping it would help me see the knots and bars better. You can see it didn't work for me. I had a sloppy lacy top (I wasn't going for "lacy"), I lost the heart outline, and I still couldn't wrangle those knots into flowing lines. Didn't get better with E when I returned to #5 pearl.

Here is a continuation of the sampler I began last month. My designs are a little large to cover up the linty cloth underneath. I stitched a number of figures and ripped them all out , even though one of them was quite interesting. I wanted to see if I made an s-line into a snaky shape, could I build it up to create a third dimension. Answer, absolutely! Unfortunately it was weird looking. After building up the sides and finally drawing them together in a single line of knots, I had a leech! I would have saved it as a curiosity on my sampler had I not realized I needled in all the way around instead of needling out.

While the cloth still held together I went where I should have in the first place -- to a circle. I'm glad I went with the overlapping circle design because it gave me the opportunity to try for variation. I began with the navy circle and finally got the lines to spiral nicely. If I'd stuffed it, it would be a dome, but I let mine peak slightly so it actually resembles a Chinese hat. The light blue area is actually a partial circle, but I was still able to achieve the swirl by ending at one side and bringing the thread up again at the beginning. The partially eclipsed circle with the stripes was constructed exactly like the light blue one.

You can see I finally got a heart filled in. I'm not completely happy with the way the swirling knots come together in the center, but it's a start. On the other hand, I am very pleased with my 4-color spiral.

A NAME I CALL MYSELF - TIFC May

The May challenge concept is a question I ponder all the time. What do I call myself when trying to explain my creative endeavors? When I tried to work through The Artist's Way , polite arguments in my head erupted into battle. Considering myself an artist won out for the time being, but that word itself is inadequate to describe the scope of activity in which I engage.

I invisibly wince when an outsider responds, "Oh, you do crafts!". My body reacts with an inward cringe if they add, "Me, too!" My inner snob and judgemental self silently separate that crafter from me and my artistic values. For me the difference has to do with creating from within, compulsive self expression, following a whim or instinct rather than a pattern. For me the barrier has nothing to do with technical proficiency or aesthetic appeal. My TIFC above, albeit an exercise, is a piece of art because it is a piece of me. It's not pretty, doesn't show proficiency, but it's not intended for anyone but me.

Let me explain my interpretation of both concept and palette for this month's challenge. In a nutshell, I'd resort to looking in a crystal ball to find a suitable name for what I do.

a. needle artist

b. fiber artist

c. textile artist

d. mixed media artist

e. all of the above

f. none of the above

g. some of each

Most of my artistic pursuits involve thread or fiber, some kind of needle or hook. For sake of convenience I generally tell people I'm a fiber artist, leaving them to presume I spin and weave (I don't -- yet) and no inclination that I bead. I have no commercial goals; I keep or gift everything I make. I love to learn new techniques and share what I learn. I have fun. All the time. And to those of you reading this, you will understand why I call myself

FIBERDABBLER. I don't know that there is an answer to the May concept question. Dare I suggest it doesn't matter semantically how others perceive us? I'm evolving, and I love the mystery of not knowing what comes next.

MARCH TIFC COMPLETED