Double Blogging My Stitching

Did you know this is a secondary blog for me? My daughter and I have a “creative ventures” blog called 2 Create in Color. I love the play on words for the 2Create turning into To Create! Because we do! Our brains function on the creativity channel all the time. We use the blog as a way to prompt ourselves to actually get off our hineys and play with our toys — to act on those creative imaginings.

The reason I opened this blog for my TAST work is because I didn’t want to saturate 2Create with weekly TAST stitch samples. I had planned on only putting my TAST Fabric Journal crazy quilt blocks (which will summarize the previous 4-5 stitches) on there.

But I have yet to start the first block and the second one’s targeted time is coming up. I couldn’t stand the suspense though, and the other day I put up my first 4 stitch samples and ~~sqeeee!~~ my new threads!

Yup, I got my Coton a Broder and 2 skeins of Soie d’Alger from Hedgehog Handiworks in the mail right after I got back from my Arizona vacation! You can see them here in the 2Create post.

Aren’t they pretty????? I did as suggested and just picked colors that caught my eye, plus a few neutrals because every now and then I love a neutral tone-on-tone look.

It’s a good beginning!

Gail

Stitch of the Week 7: Detached Chain Stitch

Take a Stitch on Tuesday, February 26, 2013   Welcome to week 7!

Seven already? It’s my lucky week — I’m home from vacation and I’m going to get caught up 🙂 So calling all TAST re-runners, let’s stitch this week!

This week’s stitch is Detached Chain stitch. Here is the SharonB’s Stitch Dictionary pages with instructions on how to do it.

• Detached Chain:  http://inaminuteago.com/stitchdict/stitch/chain-detach.html

Here are the stitch variations related to *Detached* Chain listed on that page that are not future Stitches of the Week. There are many other chain stitch variations listed, but they’re all *attached* chains and I think I’ll address them later when some of them show up as stitches-of-the-week!  If you like trying out variations, this is the only one for this week. (For your convenience, listed here to open in a new window)

• Variation: Feathered Chain Stitch

Here’s what SharonB wrote for TAST 2012 Week 7: Detached Chain Stitch. You can read her instructions and see inspiring examples at these links.

• http://pintangle.com/2012/02/13/take-a-stitch-tuesday-week-7
• Here’s some creative inspiration for this stitch from the TAST 2012 stitchers.

Please follow her procedure and put a link to your published Detached Chain Stitch pictures in the comments of the latest TAST post here. Just click the post title, and scroll down to the comment section!

Also, please post the link to your Detached Chain Stitch photos in THIS comment section if you also wish to share it here. It doesn’t matter when you get it done, because if you are following this blog, you’ll have a bonus benefit…

If you miss a stitch but then are able to work it later, go ahead and put your link on the matching Stitch of the Week post.  Each week, I will round up ALL NEW stitch LINKS entered at this blog, whether they are from the current stitch or a past one. Yours won’t be lost back there on an old Stitch of the Week post! I will put them up Monday (noon-ish PST) in a weekly recap post, about 12 hours before I put up the Stitch of the Week.

Of course, I will be putting my TAST 2012 Re-run stitches right here on this blog, because that’s why I started it in the first place 🙂

Happy Stitching!

Gail

Old and Antique Stitching Notions

Beautiful silk threads on show at Mary Corbet’s Needle n’ Thread.  Here’s something to know about me: I’m more fascinated by the labels than the threads!

I love old advertising, unique and old labels, but IESPECIALLY love old sewing notions and related items (like embroidery and yarn crafts) with their original packaging. I can run up quite a bill at a thrifty store or antique/junk store 50 cents and a dollar at a time with this type of thing! And I have done, more than once. My most recent discovery was a handful of crochet instruction booklets with advertising and classifieds from the 50s!

Add to the fact that I recently started doing some collage art, and I want to scan those silk thread labels, print them out, and incorporate them into a collage or 20 🙂

My mother-in-law graciously gifted me her stash of supplies in her sewing bench for my birthday one year. Most of it was 30+ years old and in beautiful condition. It is especially precious because it has family history! A package of snaps for 15 cents, with two missing… a green seam ripper (I’m all about green!)… wooden thread spools with the thread and all the labels attached. Happy me!

I wonder if I could embroider with the silk sewing threads on the wooden spools that are that old? They *look* OK, but…

Gail

What Colors to Choose When Stash Building?

One of the things that is becoming a constant conversation in the back of  my mind (yes, I have voices in my head LOL) is which colors of threads to purchase for my CQ and embroidery stockpile. Having just struggled through weeks of indecision about colors of coton a broder to order from Hedgehog Handworks duing their Feb sale, I am hoping that someone can lend me some insight.

I am comng off of years of minimal embroidery with a bin full of all colors of stranded floss. All that floss was purchased by the handfuls on big sales during my cross-stitch years. I wanted to have many colors at those prices, for the convenience. Now, however, I have less of an urge to purchase everything available, plus these other threads are quite a bit more spendy.

I know that I will always reah for colors in my favored personal palette, but should I also have a stock of neutrals? Darks and pales? How much of my new threads should intentionally be out of my comfort zone so that I can create thread work with interest?

Opinions? Advice? It’s all welcome!

Gail

Stitch of the Week 6: Chevron Stitch

Take a stitch on Tuesday, February 19, 2013   Welcome to week 6 of working through the TAST 2012 list of stitches in 2013!

This week’s stitch is Chevron stitch. Here is the SharonB’s Stitch Dictionary pages with instructions on how to do it.

• Chevron stitch: http://inaminuteago.com/stitchdict/stitch/chevron.html

The only variation of Chevron stitch listed is Half Chevron, and we will see that later on as the TAST weeks roll by. So get creative with Chevron stitch because that’s all there is! Look for inspiration at the two links below.

Here’s what SharonB wrote for TAST 2012 Week 6: Chevron Stitch

• http://pintangle.com/2012/01/16/take-a-stitch-tuesday-week-6/
• You can read her instructions and see inspiring examples there.
• Here’s some creative inspiration for this stitch from the TAST 2012 stitchers.

Please follow her procedure and put a link to your published Chevron Stitch pictures in the comments of the latest TAST post here. Just click the post title, and scroll down to the comment section!

Then:

Please post the link to your Chevron Stitch photos in THIS comment section if you also wish to share it here. It doesn’t matter when you get it done, because —

If you miss a stitch but then are able to work it later, go ahead and put your link on the matching Stitch of the Week post.  Each week, I will round up ALL NEW stitch LINKS entered at this blog, whether they are from the current stitch or a past one. Yours won’t be lost back there on an old Stitch of the Week post! I will put them up Monday (noon-ish PST) in a weekly recap post, about 12 hours before I put up the Stitch of the Week.

Of course, I will be putting my TAST 2012 Re-run stitches right here on this blog, because that’s why I started it in the first place 🙂

Happy Stitching!

Gail

Recap Week 5

Here’s another weekly recap — the only stitch samples posted here during the past 2 weeks are mine. (as of 12 hrs before this publishes)

Did I lose you all already? I hope not! I’m not seeing any links from us re-runners at Pintangle TAST either. Let’s get stitching! 

https://tast2012rerun.wordpress.com/2013/02/17/my-cretan-stitch-samples/

Everyone will know that new links have been added this week to any stitch at this blog because I will list them in a recap post on Mondays.

Week #6 — coming up in 12 hours!! 

Gail

My Cretan Stitch Samples

My set of Cretan Stitch samples (week 4.) Yes, I am a stitch behind! I am on vacation, so I think I’m doing pretty well 😉

I started off with a line of basic Cretan stitch. Then, remembering something from the Pintangle info, I decided to fill a shape. I wanted to see how different placement of the stitches affected the look of the ridge that ran down the middle.

I also wanted to play with working stitches along radial lines. You can see my chosen center points (dots with the purple pen) in the pictures below.

To keep the unique angular look of Cretan stitch, you can’t bring the needle out of the fabric too close to the centerline — there has to be some offset between the ends of the stitches on one side and the ends of the stitches on the other… that might not make sense to somebody else 😉 but at least it will be a good reminder to me.

After stitching my curvy shape, I realized that my basic stitch needed — wanted — a second layer. I like the way one strand of brassy-colored floss looks on top of the size 5 perle cotton. What bugs me about having the Cretan stitch so flattened out is that it looks like a sewing machine zig-zag with bad tension settings.

This is my favorite sample. I love how this nests and goes completely geometric! It also makes me want to grab a narrow ribbon and tuck it under the center. I can see myself couching with this 2-row technique.

Playing with some tone on tone color choices. A slightly bluer green for the under layer, then a green the same hue as the fabric, but more saturated, on top with longer arms and offset.

Being in a hotel room, taking these photos, it’s hard to get them to show the color the way I want even using Photoshop. This looks way cooler in person 🙂

A bit of erratic EKG Cretan stitching to fill in the space. This could be useful!

I picked up this piece of fabric at a closeout-lots fabric store. It is a home decor fabric with a thin sprayed-on foam backing. Luckily it didn’t grab the needle too much. $5.99/yd. I’ll be using it for more than stitching samples but it was nice to add some variety to what I brought with me.

Gail