Wordless Monday 2

Work In Progress Wednesday - September 25

No, I didn’t start a new WIPW project,

I knitted a spine for my fabric book Trees.

And I have bound all pages.

More info about Work In Progress Wednesday at Pin Tangle.

Old Siennese stitches

TAST stitch 83 is Siennese stitch. TAST stands for Take A Stitch Tuesday, 
a challenge at Pin Tangle.

This is one of the stitches I learned and never used again, so all I have to share is my old TAST 2010 sampler. I started with Siennese stitches in Caron Watercolours.

For this sample I used 2 different colours perle 8.

Here I turned each next stitch a quarter. So the beginning straight stitch was at the left, the top, the right and the bottom to make a square in perle 5.

Another experiment with perle 5. The second part of the Siennese stitch is wider than the first part in the first and last row. The row in the middle is just the opposite, the second part is smaller than the first part. I also alternated the first part of the stitch from top to bottom.

In this experiment I alternated the stitches in the previous sample in 2 different colours perle 5.

A small row with DMC Jewell effects, a very tricky thread!

Siennese stitches in a variegated cotton thread, the size is almost the same as perle 12.

This row is stitched in perle 8. I alternated the beginning straight stitch from left to top.

In this next variation I made the second part of the stitch on both sides of the straight stitch.

Here’s the simple drawing I made as a reminder.

These freestyle Siennese stitches are done in perle 8.

There are more old samples of Siennese stitch from other participants in the Flickr TAST group.

Wordless Monday 1

Stumpwork faces

This was on my to-do-list for a very long time. I used my book Beginner’s Guide to Stumpwork by Kay Dennis to make them. Unfortunately the face in that book has no nose, so I tried to add noses. I’m not very happy with the nose of the brown haired lady,

grandma’s nose is much better.

Spanish feather stitch

TAST stitch 82 is Spanish feather stitch. TAST stands for Take A Stitch Tuesday, a challenge at Pin Tangle.

I stitched my rows on 14 count Aida. From top to bottom the threads are perle 5, perle 8 and cotton a broder.

This is a progress photo of the blue row in perle 8. I started the stitch very close to where the thread emerged.

Here you can see how I stitched the green row in cotton a broder. The purple row in perle 5 has the same rhythm, but is twice as big. It inspired me to another experiment, . . .

. . . a beaded Spanish feather stitch. This one is done with perle 8 and 2 mm beads.

Before making a stitch I put 2 beads on the thread. One very close to where the thread emerged, the other at the other side of the needle.

Take a closer look at my Spanish feather stitch sampler here.

Birthday card for Margreet

Margreet has knitted some beautiful cards for the birthday girls at Fibre Fever. 

So I thought it would be nice to knit  a card for her. I found the pattern in my book De Breibijbel by Lesley Stanfield and Melody Griffiths. It’s not one of those patterns you can knit while watching TV!

Work In Progress Wednesday - September 18

Last week I shared the making of the backside of the cover for my fabric book Trees. Now it was time to make the front. But first I made a photo of the backside of my tree.

My finished front cover. I was partly happy with it, it just needed a border.

I couched knitting yarn to the edge of the front and backside of my cover.

This will be the inside of the cover, with a pocket to hold the letters and cards that accompanied the pages.

More info about Work In Progress Wednesday at Pin Tangle.

Old Spanish feather stitches

TAST stitch 82 is Spanish feather stitch AKA Spanish knotted feather stitch or twisted zigzag chain stitch. TAST stands for Take A Stitch Tuesday, a challenge at Pin Tangle.

I learned this stitch in 2010 when I was catching up on the last TAST 2007 stitches before the start of TAST 2010. The pink row in perle 5 was my first trial. As you can see it took me half a row to figure how to stitch Spanish feather stitch. The row at the right is done in a variegated cotton thread, the size is almost the same as perle 12. I didn’t like the stitch at the time, so I never used it until . . .

. . . week 5 of Sharon’s class Personal Library of Stitches. I stitched 2 rows in 
perle 5, but had no idea how to experiment with this stitch. Maybe I should read this lesson again before I start my trials this week.

There are a few more old samples of Spanish feather stitch from other participants in the Flickr TAST group.

Made by B & A 11 of 12

Two years ago I made a series of ATC’s from Barbara’s fabric paper. 
I’ve got the one with the arrows at the bottom of this page.

On this ATC I attached a needle tatted flower with a brad. I found the flower tutorial at YouTube. I couched a fluffy knitting yarn at the edge.

Take a closer look at my ATC here.

ATC from Wilma

This lovely owl arrived a few days ago. It's made by Wilma for the ATC swap at Fibre Fever. Thank you, Wilma!

Chained cross stitch in my altered book

TAST stitch 79 is chained cross stitch. TAST stands for Take A Stitch Tuesday, 
a challenge at Pin Tangle.

It took me some time to decide how to use the chained cross stitch, but when I found a lovely vintage picture I knew what to do.

After making the holes I stitched chained cross stitches with rayon thread.

Then I glued the picture on page 60 of my altered book, which was already painted with watercolour paint. Page 61 is painted with acrylic paint. I added a matching Dutch text and tangled  Nipa.

Take a closer look at this spread here.

Raised cup stitch on my garden sampler

I stitched raised cup stitches on my garden sampler, the thread is Stef Francis perle 5. I added woven picots with perle 12. I fertilized it a bit too much!

Work In Progress Wednesday - September 11

This week I made the backside of the cover for my fabric book Trees. Of course 
I stitched it all by hand.

 I found the perfect fabric in my stash. This is the outside of the back cover.

And the inside of the back cover. I made a pocket for the letters and cards that accompanied the pages.

More info about Work In Progress Wednesday at Pin Tangle.