Sunday's Stitches - March 8

Been playing around with stitches for a month now -- it's a learning process.

I've started to get bored with just "stitching" aimlessly so I decided to put this week's stitches to work by applying them to elements I will find useful in my art quilts.

Three of my favorite materials to work with: silk dupioni (flat or torn or shredded,) dyed or painted cheesecloth, and metallic threads. I dug those out and applied my Sunday's stitches accordingly.

This time I work with the blanket stitch, seed stitch, couching stitch, cross stitch, french knot and ermine stitch (I still have to work on this one as my ermine look like stars!) All four of these stitches are very useful in art quilting and I can see endless possibilities. I love the cross stitch on the cheesecloth, and torn dupioni silk often finds its way into my work.

Stitch ,

is a great resource

website.

Check it out.

EG also puts out a delicious magazine by the same name "Stitch" (which is United Kingdom based) that some chain bookstores (Barnes and Noble, Borders) carry here in the States. It's pricey, but exquisite and full of inspiration.

This week I will be working on Van Gogh Iris - trying to get it ready for the NC Quilt Symposium. I'm doing some free motion embroidery on the leaves and background, as well as adding some beads and hand stitching. I'm also working on a few skirts and dresses for Sabrina., and a bunch of other stuff.

It's good to be home. Thanks for the e-mails. I'll be around visiting blogs this week when I get caught up.

What are YOU working on this week?

Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.

Neocolors, Color Resist and Sunday Stitches - All Rolled into One!

This week, I wondered what would happen if I used a white tone on


tone as a base fabric and layered on some Neocolors.


I was hoping the "tone" on the tone would act as crisp resist -- it did.

Originally I was going to use the resist theme for stitching, as it really came out nice and clear. However, turning the fabric over, I decided I liked the backside better for what I had planned for it. I colored a pretty good sized piece of fabric and have tucked the rest of it away for future use - to experiment with the resisted side.
For now though, I sprayed my little piece of sunset (saturated it actually) with spray starch and scrunched it up into a teeny tiny wad. I loosely rubber banded it and put it on top of a heater vent in my bathroom with the door closed so Gizmo wouldn't eat it! I left it there for a day until it was totally dry.

This morning I undid the rubber band and check this out - a nice little wrinkled, (but not crinkled as I had hoped) sunset - a perfect foundation for Sunday's stitches. Some of you may recognize this "starch and crinkling" technique from Nellie's Needles blog. I have a big fan of Lake Michigan series quilts in particular, and decided I wanted to try this out for myself.

Typically I just stitch into the fabric, but I put a piece of batting behind my little sunset piece before stitching. This worked out well because pulling tight as I draw the needle up, really accentuates the crinkling effect.

I played with this using different weights of perle cotton, various strands of embroidery floss, and some hand dyed variegated threads. I can see possibilities here - with practice.

Learning Curve:

For next time.....

1. Use less water next time and don't put the piece on a towel while painting (the towel wicks moisture AND pigment) which I believe will avail better color saturation;

2. Saturate fabric entirely with heavy spray starch next time. (I don't think I used enough spray, AND I used a light starch);

3. Wad the fabric tighter and smaller in an effort to create teeny tiny stiffer wrinkles.

This week - take chances, experiment, step outside of your comfort zone. It's okay if things don't turn out as you've planned. Sometimes that's the best part.

Sunday Stitches - February 8th

The only problem I had this morning with my stitching was in choosing what color(s) to use. I'm still working on the sunrise and mediterranean painted linens so I wanted to choose colors that compliment those color ranges.

This week I worked on the Backstitch, Split Stitch and Closed Fly Stitch, in addition to continuing practice on the chain stitch, straight stitch and whip stitch.

I decided to do something with it - so I made some flowers with chain stitched petals and little french knots in the center. The leaves on the yellow flower utilize the closed fly stitch. In order to learn this stitch, it is suggested that you draw out your leaf shape and then fill it in with the closed fly stitch. That is what I did the first time, but it was not really necessary. This stitch can be worked open or closed (with no space in between the stitches).

I also worked with the backstitch and the split stitch. Those are great outlining stitches, as well as I used the split stitch for the stem of the flower.

Sunday's Stitches - February 1st

The RUNNING STITCH. Love, love, love this one. It's easy AND the best part - it can be manipulated in a zillion ways to create additional colors, textures, etc. I hand painted another piece of really nice linen I bought at the Lazy Daisy, with Neocolors, and brushed some water over it with a fan brush to create a nice painterly surface upon which to stitch. Using a variety of colors of perle cotton I worked the Runinng Stitch straight, curved, in trios, in a wave pattern with the ALGERIAN EYE stitch. I've read this is a great stitch to use as a foundation upon which to build other stitch patterns. I can see that possibility and am going to explore that.

(Click on the stitch names if you would like to learn how to do these stitches.)