Merry Xmas and a happy New Year

Wordless Monday 14

Reversed buttonhole bar

TAST stitch 94 is reversed buttonhole bar. TAST stands for Take A Stitch Tuesday, a challenge at Pin Tangle.

I stitched 3 rows on 18 count linen. The first one is done in perle 5 and Caron Watercolors.

The second row is done in perle 5. I alternated the direction on the buttonhole stitch every four stitches.

In my last row I stitched large buttonhole stitches with beads in perle 5. Then I added the second part of the reversed buttonhole bar at both sides of the beads.

I stitched a curved reversed buttonhole bar on my second pebble.

The threads are perle 8 an Fuzzy Stuff by Rainbow Gallery.

Take a closer look at my 18 count sampler here.

Christmas cards

This year I participated in the Christmas card swap at Fibre Fever again. Yesterday this beautiful Christmas tree arrived. It’s made by Marja.

And this is the card I made for Janny. The edge of the ornament is Hungarian braided chain stitch.

A detail from the pulled thread, it’s framed cross filling. I found this stitch in Pulled thread embroidery by Moyra McNeill.

I’ve used perle 8 on 20 count linen.

Seagulls and the Sea

. . . is the name of this beautiful watercolour ATC. It's made by Debbie in Canada.

Work In Progress Wednesday - December 18

Last week I shared the last finished patches of my Christmas project. It didn’t 

take much time to find a nice layout for my wonky patches. I pinned notes on 

the patches to make sure I would know how to sew them together.

It only took me one evening. As you can see there were a few bigger gaps between the patches. I didn’t want to hide them, but had no idea what to do.

So I flipped through my embroidery books and found a chapter about insertion stitches in Mary Thomas’s Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches. This would be a great way to decorate the gaps and strengthen the quilt. It was the first time I tried this technique, so I did it by the book. First I attached a piece of cardstock at the backside with tacking thread.

This would keep the patches in place when I stitched the insertion stitch. 

First I filled the small rectangle at the left side.

I stitched knotted insertion stitch AKA knotted faggot stitch in perle 5. This stitch 

is similar to Antwerp edging, which I already knew. Apart from stitching without a hoop, it was quite easy.

Then I stitched the second gap, which started small at the left side and becomes wider to the right. Here I stitched knotted insertion stitch in cotton a broder from right to left.

The next gap was tricky, it had a Z-shape.

I decided to use the knotted insertion stitch again and make two corners. 

The thread is perle 8.

This last gap was the biggest, ½ x 1 ½ inch. Too big for a normal knotted 

insertion stitch.

So I added buggle beads while I stitched the knotted insertion stitch in cotton a broder. Before securing the thread, I took it through the beads again to keep them in place.

I didn’t had time to make a label and stitch my info. But I knew I had some pre-printed labels in the back of my cupboard. I wrote my info with a permanent marker and stitched the label to a false backing with a running stitch in cotton a broder.

Then I appliquéd the false backing to the backside of the quilt and sewed a hanging sleeve.

So here it is, all finished in time for Christmas. I just love the wonky look of it!

This quilt only took me one month from start to finish. It's 17 inch wide at the top and 22 inch high in the centre (about 43 x 56 cm). Here I wrote about the start with a link to Teesha Moore, who inspired me to make this quilt. I wrote about the patches here, here and here. You can also take a closer look at this quilt and the patches in my Flickr album Christmas inspired by Teesha Moore.

More info about Work In Progress Wednesday at Pin Tangle.

Crossed and plaited feather stitch

TAST stitch 92 and 93 are crossed and plaited feather stitch. TAST stands for Take A Stitch Tuesday, a challenge at Pin Tangle.

I stitched my sampler on the last space that was left on my 14 count Aida sampler. There was not enough room to try both versions in separate rows, so I started my row with crossed feather stitch and switched halfway to plaited feather stitch. 
My first row is done in perle 8, normal stitches with green and wider stitches with purple. This is crossed feather stitch . . . 

. . . and plaited feather stitch.

I thought both versions could look nice for braided hair, so I stitched a row in wool. First crossed feather stitch, . . .

. . . then plaited feather stitch. I think I like the plaited feather stitch more for braided hair.

A wide crossed feather stitch in perle 8 . . .

. . . and plaited feather stitch with the same threads.

A small stretched crossed feather stitch with perle 8 . . .

 . . . and plaited feather stitch with the same threads.

Crossed feather stitch in Stef Francis spun silk with flames. This thread changes in colour and thickness.

Plaited feather stitch with the same thread.

And here’s my 9 x 9 inch Aida sampler with some of this year’s TAST stitches. Take a closer look at my sampler and all details in this Flick album.

Reversed buttonhole bar is this week’s TAST stitch, but I only have my 2 simple rows for TAST 2007 to share. You can read my old post here.

Wordless Monday 13

Paris

This month’s theme for the ATC swap at Fibre Fever is Paris. My ATC for Marja was inspired by the blackwork theme at &Stitches. Instead of using another colour I designed my own blackwork pattern for the background. The Eiffel tower is the outline of this cross stitch pattern.

Straight sided feather stitch

TAST stitch 91 is straight sided feather stitch AKA upright feather stitch. 
TAST stands for Take A Stitch Tuesday, a challenge at Pin Tangle.

I stitched my samples on 14 count Aida. First I wanted to see the difference if I altered the size of the straight sided feather stitch. The rows at the left and centre are done in perle 8, the right one in perle 12 in the same colour.

Then I made a stacked row in perle 8.

A border in green and purple. First I made tiny straight sided feather stitches in cotton a broder. Then I connected them with cross stitches in stranded floss.

Another border, this time in perle 8. First I made the blue straight sided feather stitches. Then I added fly stitches in green.

Take a closer look at my complete sampler here.