Friday 30 June 2017

Friday Homework for Lesson 26: Zig-zag Stitch

This week there are evening lessons again here at Sunday Stitch School. I have had time to complete the homework, but no chance to hand it in, until this late hour.

Stitch 26, Zig-zag Stitch was easy, quick and fun. I had no problem whatsoever to fill in the allocated square, although this fabric has given me a lot of trouble with other stitches:
Wouldn't this grid be perfect for a garden scene where you need a lattice for rambling plants? Or fill in each blank space with some colourful thread and you would have a patchwork quilt!
This is a stitch to play with!

Wednesday 28 June 2017

Work In Progress Wednesday - Elna is Snacking on a Snake Sandwich

It is snacking time at Work In Progress Wednesday.

A week ago, late Wednesday night, after blogging about the preparation I had made to sandwich and baste Trinity Green, I actually lined up and layered the backing, the wadding and the flimsy. It took me only three hours to crawl on the floor and baste the entire quilt! Believe it or not, I did not have any pain in my knees or a sore back the next day either!

Since then I have been feeding my Elna sewing machine with the sandwiched quilt:

Elna has munched her way through the 'snakes', the columns of triangles, and not brought anything back up - yet!

Working with the walking foot is much easier than I expected, and I now only need the time to work and this stitch-in-the-ditch job will be completed.

After that I will do some free motion quilting on the 'tagliatelle' strips. That part of the cooking might be a wee bit more difficult...

Sunday 25 June 2017

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 26: Zig-zag Stitch

Welcome to Sunday Stitch School where we have reached the end of the alphabet. This lesson will feature a stitch beginning with Z, the Zig-zag Stitch.

French name: Point Zig-zag en Croix.

I have found it in several books and tinkered with it before. It is easy and fun.

Work it like this:




Take a double straight stitch at the end of the row, then begin the return journey.



Aren't they nice?

On my Aida sampler I made the mistake of using variegated thread, NOT a good idea.

Homework:
Fill a square on this 'fake' canvas. There should be no problem, this time!?

Friday 23 June 2017

Friday Revision Homework - Stitches 21 - 25

It's lucky that Sunday Stitch School runs evening classes and I can hand in my homework late at night. Although I finished the Sunbonnet Sue sampler in time, it has been one of these days and it it not until now, past 10 pm Tokyo time, that I can show my summery of stitches.

The homework was for a seasonal Sue. The rainy season is on in Japan and that is why Sue is hiding her face underneath an umbrella - Sunbonnet Sue ought to be called Umbrella Sue.

Whipped Running Stitch was used for the outlines.

Upright Cross Stitch works well as a filling stitch, both on the teaser (the Wellington boots) and on the hand, where I staggered the stitches.

The Y Stitch with its loop made good raindrops, I think.
 The Vault Stitch was a challenge to do on the plain weave.


Wednesday 21 June 2017

WIPW - Ready to Make a Sandwich

Work in Progress Wednesday:

Greeting Card

I made another birthday card of a floral basket. Wool embroidery with a smattering of Perle.

 

Trinity Green

I went shopping to get wadding and quilting thread.
I pressed the quilt top.
I pressed the back.
I am ready to make a quilt sandwich and start basting the three layers together.

Sunday 18 June 2017

Sunday Stitch School - Revision: Stitches 21 - 25

It is time for a revision of stitches 21 - 25 at Sunday Stitch School. Here is a summery of them.

Click on the headline to learn each stitch and read more about it.

21 Upright Cross Stitch
Easy and fun to stitch. Great for filling a larger area.




22 Vault Stitch

I tried two ways of working this striking stitch. With purple thread I worked so there are long stitches on the back, too. This eats up a lot of thread but makes a very sturdy stitch.
In the example in yellow, most of the thread is on the front. You save thread this way, but the result is not as compact, and it is easy to pull the thread too tight.
To avoid puckering and get a good solid filling stitch, I'd go for the purple method.

and, a note to self, DO use real canvas for Canvas work!

23 Whipped Running Stitch

So easy, it is child's play. A great stitch to use with fancy thread that only needs to be whipped over the running stitches and not penetrate the fabric.


24 X-Ray Stitch

Vary the length of the stitches and you get a variety of designs. It would be good for Christmassy things!


25 Y Stitch

This is a fun stitch to use for writing, or floating ghosts, or a bustle of people, or a packed disco dance floor, or if worked horizontally in orange, gold fish....


Revision homework.
Make a seasonal Sunbonnet Sue and use only the five stitches above.
What stitch would be good on this grid, I wonder?

Friday 16 June 2017

Friday Homework for Lesson 25: Y Stitch

I have worn my fountain pen out while scribbling ys.
Easy and fun. 

I realized that upside-down, the y becomes an h! 

Also that they remind me of the dementors, the guards of the wizard prison in the Harry Potter books/films.

I like the yellow ink best!

Thursday 15 June 2017

WIPW or rather WIPT

A day late I will have to call this Work In Progress Thursday.

I have ripped off almost all the paper from the back of

Trinity Green

Compare it with last week's picture:

I will have to go shopping for some wadding. Also I will have to check for any torn seams or other weak points. Then comes the sandwiching, basting, practicing machine quilting on some spare odd blocks, and finally the machine quilting. It will all take some time so let's see what progress can be made until next week Wednesday.


Sunday 11 June 2017

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 25: Y Stitch

Welcome to a penmanship lesson at Sunday Stitch School. Yes, penmanship!

I have not found any good stitches beginning with Y, so what to do?
Why, make a Y, of course!

We will be practicing joined-up writing by stitching a small 'y'!

Write Stitch it like this:
 Make the first part of a Fly Stitch, but at an angle.

Then insert the needle a little bit down and away from the right side edge.
Exit the needle where you want the curly loop.

 Wrap the thread around the needle as you would for a Twisted Chain Stitch.

 Pull through and

 anchor the stitch, a bit tighter than this, though.

You have written a 'y'.

See how I have practiced with blue 'ink' on my Aida sampler.

Homework:
Fill your fountain pen with blue, or green, ink and practice your calligraphy ys.
Or rather thread the needle and start stitching.


Friday 9 June 2017

Friday Homework for Lesson 24 - X-Ray Stitch

Friday homework:

The X+Ray Stitch  was more fun to work than I first thought. Here I have added it to last week's homework - the Whipped Running Stitch circles.


Wednesday 7 June 2017

WIPW - A Bit More to Rip

There is a bit more paper to rip off the

Trinity Green 

quilt. You can now see the variety of green, and it is the wrong side of the fabric.

Compared with last week's photo:
No need to comment.

Sunday 4 June 2017

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 24: X-Ray Stitch

Welcome to Sunday Stitch School where we have reached the letter X of the alphabet.

What X stitches are there? Well the Cross Stitch forms an X, but we have already worked both the standard Cross Stitch and the Upright Cross Stitch.

Question: So what do to?
Answer: Create a new stitch, of course.

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, got the first Nobel prize in Physics for his discovery of the X-ray. Who has not been X-rayed at least once? Being able to see the condition of our teeth and bones e.g., has helped hospital staff give us the right medical attention.

So let's honour this discovery and invent the X-Ray Stitch. Or am I too late? Maybe this stitch already exists. One thing is for sure, there will be no Nobel Prize in Embroidery for this.

Mattia suggests Point de Rayon X as a French name.

I put together a cross with some straight stitches:

Both the cross and the rays can be of various lengths.

Homework:
Add some X-Ray Stitches to last week's homework
You have a free choice of thread. Enjoy!

Friday 2 June 2017

Friday Homework for Lesson 23 - Whipped Running Stitch

This is my homework for Sunday Stitch Nursery School.

I made curved lines with cups and plates, stitched Running Stitches in lime green on those lines and then Whipped them with a variety of fancy threads, mainly in orange.



 The fabric puckered beautifully.
Child's play or contemporary art?