Palestrina stitch

The TAST stitch for week 26 is Palestrina stitch. I’ve added 2 rows to the Aida sampler I started last week. The top row is done in perle 8. I made the Palestrina stitch the same way as the crossed buttonholestitch. The bottom row is done in perle 5.

On this linen sampler I added 2 Palestrina stitch swirls. Caron Watercolors on the left and DMC cotton a broder on the right.

Work In Progress Wednesday - June 27

Two weeks ago Sharon asked if people were interested in joining her for Work In Progress Wednesday. It immediately made me think of all those quilt tops in my cupboard that needs to be quilted. I decided to start with a centre medallion of the Vintage Valentine quilt I made in 2007. It’s all done by hand. The original pattern has 12 blocks around it, but I added a border of 5 cm or 2 inch squares. I never wrote about this appliqué quilt on my blog, so I’ll share a few progress photo’s.

This is the last photo I made at the time.

And this is yesterday’s photo. I was basting the 3 layers with running stitches. The round piece next to my scissors is a magnet, it’s a safe place for my needle when I don’t use it. It safes me a lot of time searching for it!

My daughter helped me holding the quilt so I could take a photo. There’s a bigger photo at my Flickr-page.

The size is 90 x 100 cm or 35½ x 39½ inch. I’m going to hand quilt it.

Old Palestrina stitches

The TAST stitch for week 26 is Palestrina stitch. It was fun flipping through my photo’s for my weekly post, I’m glad my photo’s are labelled! This first sample is my TAST 2007 sampler. It’s stitched with 4 threads of stranded floss on muslin.

This is a seam on block 6 of my Crazy Monday quilt. It’s stitched with 3 threads of stranded floss and I made a pattern by varying the length of the arms.

This is a seam on my crazy ATC Sealife. It’s stitched with cotton a broder.

Palestrina stitch in perle 5 for the border of my sorbello stitch sampler, a TAST 2010 stitch. There’s a slideshow about the making of this sampler here.

Here I made a circle of Palestrina stitches with perle 5. The arms of the stitch are on the inside. This is a work in progress detail of Nefertiti.

Sharon’s examples made me think about my first crazy white block, I think it needs some Palestrina stitches.

Flowers for Algecira

I made this ATC for the March swap at Stitchin Fingers. It’s a pity it didn’t arrive. Of course I’m going to make a new ATC for Algecira.

Cable chain stitch

The TAST stitch for week 25 is cable chain stitch. I started a new red Aida sampler. First I made a herringbone stitch border in perle 12. Then I added the cable chain stitches, green in perle 8 and a blue zigzag in perle 5.

I also added cable chain stitches to the upper right corner of my third block for Karen’s class Embroider, Embellish, Create. The edge is another chain stitch variation: Basque stitch. Both are done in perle 5.

Second Home

I made this book page for Anne for the swap at Fibre Fever. I drew a little house inspired by English cottages. The flowers are hand stitched, everything else is done on my sewing machine. The size is 6 x 6 inch or 15 x 15 cm.

Cable chain stitch: How to continue with a new thread

Today I stitched my first new row in cable chain stitch, the TAST stitch for week 25. When I was halfway I had to start a new thread. This is how I did it. First I started a new thread and came up where the last stitch with the old thread is going to end.

Then I continued with the old thread. I put it around the new thread from top to bottom to form the chain.

I made the knot like a normal cable chain stitch and took the needle to the back.

Then I pulled the old thread through, holding the new thread tight.

I stitched a few cable chain stitches with my new thread before I secured the old thread at the back. That way it's possible to change the look of the last stitch if necessary.

I hope this little trick is helpful for some of you.

Blooming tree

This pretty blooming tree was in my mailbox today. It’s made by Trillian for the book page swap at Stitchin Fingers.

De kat van Paul Klee

I pieced this little quilt in May 2006. The pattern was part of a series of cat patterns after the manner of different painters. The size is 20 x 27 cm or 8 x 11 inch. In October last year I sandwiched and quilted it, but had no time to finish it.
I forgot all about it until last week. (After reading this). I only had to add the binding and stitch a label. This quilt is completely done by hand. It’s my first Work In Slow Progress finish of this year!

Read more about Work in Progress Wednesday at Pin Tangle. I’m sure it will help me working on my WISP’s again!

Old cable chain stitches

The TAST stitch for week 25 is cable chain stitch. When I was flipping through my photo’s for this weekly post I found many samples. I wasn’t aware that I used it that much. Of course I start with my TAST 2007 sampler. It’s stitched with 4 threads of stranded floss and green cotton a broder on muslin.

This is a seam on block 16 of my Crazy Monday quilt. Just 2 rows of cable chain stitches with 2 threads of stranded floss.

This is a seam on block 7 of my Crazy Monday quilt. Two rows of cable chain stitches with French knots inside with 2 threads of stranded floss.

This last seam is part of block 12 of my Crazy Monday quilt. Purple perle 5 for the cable chain and 2 threads of stranded floss for the French knots and detached chain stitches.

My last sample is the start of my sampler Birth. The cable chain stitch is hard to find in the finished embroidery, so I thought you might like to see how this sampler started.

I wrote about my sampler Birth here.

Eccentric Circles

I’ve made these Eccentric Circles for zentangle challenge #74 at I am the diva. I’ve used Laura’s string and tangled Wigwam inside.

Buttonhole wheels

The TAST stitch for week 24 is buttonhole wheels. First I stitched a few half buttonhole wheels around my bullion knots with cotton a broder.

I made a new block inspired by Karen’s class Embroider, Embellish, Create. On the batik I made a cutwork circle with 3 threads of stranded floss. Then I added the buttonhole wheels with DMC perle 5 color variations. I’m going to add some beads when this block is finished.

There are bigger photos of these samples on my Flicks page here and here.

Block 2 finished

This is my second block for Karen’s class embroider, embellish, create.
I wrote about some details here, here, here and here.

There’s a bigger photo of my finished block and the ruching on my Flickr page.

Mermaid

My first fabric book page for the swap at Fibre Fever arrived! Catherine made this gorgeous mermaid  with  a tail fin swinging off the side. It travelled from Australia to The Netherlands in only 5 days!

Old buttonhole wheels

The TAST stitch for week 24 is buttonhole wheels. For me the fun starts with flipping through my photo’s for my weekly post with old stitches. I enjoy seeing what I already did and start thinking of what more I can do with the stitch.

My first sample is part of my TAST 2007 sampler. It’s stitched with stranded floss on muslin.

Buttonhole wheels is one of the stitches I use a lot in my CQ. This is a seam on block 15 of my Crazy Monday quilt. It’s stitched with 2 threads of stranded floss.

This seam is part of the first block I made for Sharon’s encrusted class. I stitched quarter buttonhole wheels with 2 threads of stranded floss inside the scallops of the lace and decorated it with beads.

This is a detail on my ATC Yellow swirls. I stitched a quarter buttonhole wheel with stranded floss in the corner of the couching.

I made this ATC for a swap in September 2009. Tricia was my swap partner and I knew she liked the turtle beads, so I started with those and added the buttonhole wheels. The edge is decorated with fluffy yarn and beads.

Last week I wrote about how I made the half buttonhole wheels on my CQ without marking the fabric. You can read it here.

Pink orts

My orts jar was very white after all my embroidery for Karen’s class, but now it’s turning pink. There’s only time for my pink embroidery, which has to be finished next week. So I take a blog break and will be back for my weekly post with old TAST stitches on Tuesday.

First cutwork

Before I made the cutwork circles in my first block for Karen’s class embroider, embellish, create, I tried one on a small piece of fabric. That one turned out very nice and I finished it with a piece of fabric behind it and some running stitches.

It’s damp stretched and ready to use in another block.

Half buttonhole wheels

A few weeks ago I wrote about the vintage book page I made for Trillian. One of the seams was decorated with half buttonhole wheels and French knots.
I promised to share how I did this without marking the fabric.

I just cut a half circle from an old floss bobbin and secured it with tacking thread to the fabric. 

Oriental Poppies

Luckily I took photos of my Oriental poppies yesterday, today the rain and wind removed all remaining petals!

TAST meets Stitch Explorer

Some of you might remember I made a laidwork foundation fish for Stitch Explorer in 2009. At the time I planned to finish this embroidery with water-plants. The knotted Cretan stitch was a great excuse to turn my WISP into a finished TAST sampler! First I frogged the big French knot eye and replaced it by a French knot with 1 thread of stranded floss. For the water-plants I’ve used feather stitches, French knots, alternating barred chain and knotted Cretan stitch. The alternating barred chain is decorated with beads. The threads are Caron Watercolor, Caron Wildflowers and DMC perle 5 color variations. There’s a bigger photo’s of this embroidery on my Flickr-page.

Pattern 31

I was planning to do some embroidery on my second block for Karen’s class embroider, embellish, create, but it needed something crocheted. There’s a bag filled with different crocheted items in one of my drawers, but the one I needed was not in it. So I flipped through my crochet magazines and found this pattern. The thread is Pinguin size 12 and I used a size 1 crochet hook.