Saturday 4 May 2013

TAST #64 Top Knotted Buttonhole

TAST stands for Take A Stitch Tuesday and you can read all about it on Pintangle.

TAST #64 is another Buttonhole stitch,  the Top Knotted Buttonhole. It is not difficult, but a bit fiddly.

On my sampler I first made a simple row of stitches in pale Perle 5, then worked a row of orange,  uneven, free-growing stitches in a tricky thread from Oliver Twist, a very beautiful but twisty thread!

What a difference between the two rows of stitches; all sorts of ideas came to mind, enoki mushrooms, railing, flowers, weed, writing, WRITING! How about using detached Top Knotted Buttonhole stitches in all directions, angles and heights, upside down, back to front and double, and wouldn't it somehow resemble Thai script? I just had to try it out!

I don't think I have managed to make a good look, there should be more circles instead of knots, (should I have used beads?)...
To anyone who can read Thai - this is just imaginative writing -  I do apologize if you feel I have misused the language. It is meant to look like a poem.

Every character is made up of TAST #64 stitch + a few Straight and Pistil stitches.

...............
As you can see the 'Thai' poem is mounted on a card.  I wrote about how to use cardboard to mount pictures here.
I had a lot of the other TAST projects unmounted  and spent some time making them up.

For storing, I wrap the cards in acid free tissue paper and keep them in a box. See a corner of such a parcel in the bottom right corner.

However, before putting them in my Embroidery Archive, I display these cards around the house. The Thai Poem is now leaning against a pot plant.
My philosophy is that the more we have on display, the less we see. That's why I like to have just a few quilts or embroideries on show at a time and then change them around. 
A good time to switch decorations is of course when we celebrate an event or the season is changing. Why have a Hallooween quilt on show then the cherry trees are in full bloom? 
Why not have something with a heart around St Valentine's Day? 
How about a theme, all the Blackwork you own on display in one room, the canvas cushions grouped together on the sofa, on a side table a collection of ATC cards in May make way for some pincushions in June...

I also like to have a bit of 'eye candy' when I open a cupboard door. Here, another TAST card is nestling with some socks in the cupboard. It makes me smile every time I open the door.
To me this is a great way to enjoy those small 'useless' items we have. Haven't you heard the question: 'But what's it for?' when you show a mini quilt or doily to someone who is not into needlework. To me the answer is: 'Visual Delight'.

20 comments:

latha said...

WOW!!! I love the orange uneven top knotted buttonhole stitch..and what a way to display all the lovely works! A real virtual delight indeed.

margaret said...

another new language has popped up this week Queenie, so inventive. I was interested reading about what you do with all your creations, love the way you have mounted the tast pieces.
I now have the answer "visual delight" when asked in future. Unfortunately some people think if there is not a set purpose to a piece there is no point in it well we know now the point is visual.

Julie Fukuda said...

It makes you happy while doing it. It makes you happy to finish it. And coming across it makes you happy once more!

Queeniepatch said...

True! True!
If you have a whole collection of quilts or cross stitch and keep them out of sight for a year, it is like meeting up with an old friend when you do see them.

Queeniepatch said...

I am fortunate to have some textile items, made by friends or inherited, that I wouldn't have been able to do, or are not 'my style'. By displaying them on their own they don't clash with my own work. Swedish wool embroidery with a strong folksy flavour, Japanese silk embroidery or Scottish tartan don't mix well on the same wall - in my opinion.

Queeniepatch said...

Thank you Latha. The Top Knotted Buttonhole has so many possibilities. Just change the thread and you have a new look.

Annet said...

I like your scribbles with top knotted buttonhole. Thanks for sharing your visual delights!

Anonymous said...

Lovely samples and great idea of suggesting that it looks like a script.I too could see the similarities with some east Indian languages.
Chitra

Queeniepatch said...

Isn't it fun to look at a stitch and figure out what you can do with it. It's a bit like Lego or clay.

Queeniepatch said...

Well, Chitra, it was actually when I saw one of your stitch variations that I was reminded of writing. WHAT language? I guess it is Queenie-ish?

carorose said...

Wow, you really have been busy. Those pieces are impressive. Good idea to keep rotating them. My problem is that other people see them and I tend to give them away.

Queeniepatch said...

I give away a lot of things, too, but I want to keep at least one TAST embroidery sample for each stitch.

Lis Harwood said...

"Visual delight", well said indeed.

Isabelle said...

your cards are really nice. I have too a lot of tast project unmounted, and I don't know what to do with them.

Stitching Lady said...

What a wonderful blog post, Queenie, with a tiny little peek into your surroundings, slowly I can read also those letters in "Queenie-ish" - I think I can already do it. And this is finally the clue and answer for the often heard question, the question which I am asking myself, too. Nice to have your post for breakfast read!

Anonymous said...

What a lovely way of keeping your work, it is always important to enjoy looking at what you have created.

Lins Artyblobs said...

More text! Another visual delight.

Anonymous said...

LOL! it's Bengali, oriya, assamese

Queeniepatch said...

Well, it must be an international language understood by all who love needlework!
Thank you for always giving me so much inspiration, Chitra!

Mrs. B. said...

A really imaginative use of the stitch. And a very wise philosophy. I definitely have clutter issues, which I'm trying to resolve. I like the idea of displaying pieces in unusual or unexpected places.