Wednesday, 18 June 2014

WIPW - Curvy lines

Work In Progress Wednesday, that is what W I P W stand for. It is a project to help us get on with our needlework in progress. Read about it at Pintangle.

I have made progress on several projects. First the two regular ones:

Kafferepet
The Rope Stitch quilting on the inner section of the border is now complete.
This quilt will become a UFO, packed away with mothballs and moisture sucking powder during the hot and humid summer months. See you again in September!


Swedish Cushion
After the two last geometric designs of the star and the box I thought it was time for some gentle curvy lines.
The long line is worked in TAST #72, a lovely stitch.
The swirl in darker light blue is #95 Linked Cable Chain.
The swirl in lighter blue is #97 Shell Chain.
The dot at the bottom is a collection of #19 Bullion Knot Stitches.



Here are some of the other WIPWs.
TAST Travel Sampler
Do you remember this cloth from last week's post?
It has now been divided into sections, each to hold a  TAST stitch and is a travel sampler to be worked during my summer holiday away from home.

TAST Reference Cloth
Whenever I am looking for a suitable TAST stitch for a project I go over my various samplers (there are at least five), check my pictures on the blog or go to Pintangle and search through the TAST FAQ tab. What I really want is to have all the stitches numbered, named and illustrated in the same place for easy reference. Instead of an elegant book of stitches, like many of the other TAST participants have made, I need something where I would get a good OVERVIEW.

Once upon a time I started on such a chart but the numbers changed as we had break weeks.
You can see that stitches 13 and 23 are actually break weeks. When Sharon re-did her list of stitches my numbers no longer fit in.

I have therefore started again from scratch and will fill in the right stitch in the correct box.
Have you been progressing on your projects, shelved some or started new ones?

28 comments:

carorose said...

That looks impressive. How did you get the names onto your piece? I have just spent hours writting mine onto my 100 stitches sampler and it doesn't look nearly as good as this.

margaret said...

so that is the last of the quilt for us till the autumn, I will miss seeing your weekly progress. Cushion is looking lovely, curves work so well and the bullion knot cluster is very impressive. Such a good idea to have a proper reference of all the tast stitches, maybe I will inspect the progress when we meet in august

Queeniepatch said...

I made a list on an Excel programme in American Typewriter font, then printed it on fabric, ironed fusible vieline on the back, cut out each TAST name, placed it on the reference cloth and ironed it stuck. However, it did not stick properly in some places so have also anchored each label with a detached Chain Stitch. Phew!

Queeniepatch said...

I am sure the quilt is happy not to see me until September! Then it will be pricked with lots more Rope Stitches!
The Bullion Knot cluster is so neat compared with the recent Bullion Vandyke stitches that I did not master, I feel brave enough to try the BV stitches again.

Elizabeth's quarters said...

I also love your bullion stitch flower. Your stitch sampler is a great idea–a kind of periodic table of stitches!

Anonymous said...

I 'll be missing your lovely quilt. The stitches for the curves are perfect. great idea of keeping all the stitches in one place. lots of work, but will be worth it. looks very neat. I am holding the details of the TAST stitches on a folder. your idea is great.

jackiescrafts said...

Great progress on your quilt and your summer project looks interesting
Jackie x

Annet said...

I will miss your reports on the Kafferetpet during the summer, it's such a lovely quilt to watch completion. Your new summer project with TAST stitches looks great, it will be a great reference for your stitching. I like the new additions to your cushion, the bullions made me smile!

Angela said...

Your stitching is exquisite!

Queeniepatch said...

Thank you, Angela. I was pleased that the Bullion Knots came out so neatly - what a difference to those Bullion VANDYKE stitches I made recently, eh!

Queeniepatch said...

I am sure Kafferepet is happy to 'heal its wounds' after all those Rope stitches!
I really want to have a 'coffee table' TAST sample book like the one you are making, but for easy reference this chart is a must.
Proving to myself that I can make a decent Bullion Knot I will have a go at the Bullion Vandyke stitch again!

Queeniepatch said...

Thank you Jackie.
I was in a good mood when I made the WIPW projects so the result was OK. Now I hope to sap into that mood and re-do the recent TAST stitches, too.

Queeniepatch said...

The quilt will be resting and ready for more public attention in autumn.
I thought those linear stitches were suitable for the curve. The question is what to do on the curve on the other side...
The reference chart will be a TEST as well; I am sure I can't remember more than a handful of all the stitches we have learned. Sigh!
A printed version of the instructions will be the next step in this project.

Queeniepatch said...

If I can do the Bullion Knot stitches in a cluster I should be able to master them in a Vandyke stitch. Wish me luck!
It will be interesting to look at the chart and see how the first stitches are easy, then gradually becoming more complex, how a combination of stitches are introduced, then more beaded versions appear. Indeed, a time document, learning curve and adventure in creativity...

Séverine said...

Your tast reference cloth is such a good idea and the swedish cushion is lovely.

Chris(craft) and Dave(photos) Richards said...

I envy you Queenie.....you are so organised, unlike me....I just seem to muddle through with no sense of order ! I love your gentle curves in those lovely textural stitches...these give your piece a great sense of balance....I love it......
hugs
Chris Richards
xxx

Marci said...

your stitching is lovely

Janie said...

You are getting a lot done! Are you serious about using moth balls? Can you ever get the smell out again?

Queeniepatch said...

The TAST ref cloth turns out to be a real TEST! I have forgotten a lot of stitches and have to check them out first!

Queeniepatch said...

I can't imagine you being unorganised! With the beautiful designs you produce you must have both head and hands in order!

Queeniepatch said...

Thank you for your encouragement, Marci.

Queeniepatch said...

These mothballs do not smell of naphthalin, but keep hungry moths at bay - essential in Japan during summer unless you want 'lacy sweaters'.

Pamela said...

Great progress on both of your large projects. I can understand why you have to put the quilt away during the warm weather. We had two very warm days about two weeks ago, but it has been very cool since. Today it is only 60 F. I hope to be able to work on my quilt through the summer.
I'm very interested in your reference chart of stitches and would like to make one myself. My current sample sheet is getting full and is not very organized. What is the size of your fabric and the individual squares? I don't need to start another project, but it would be very handy.

Queeniepatch said...

ALL my quilts, finer embroideries and other fabric treasures are now packed away with de-moisture powder and mothballs. What is left out are the projects I am working on. One summer it was so hot and humid the marks I had made with a water-soluble pen vanished within hours. It was hard to keep track!
Work on the reference chart is progressing well, but I sometimes feel downcast as I have forgotten how to do some of the TAST stitches and need to look them up and practise before I can add them to chart. There are two pieces of fabric, each measuring app 20''x20'', to house 145 TAST stitches. Each square is app 2.5''x2.5''. So far I think it is looking good. Show and Tell on next week's WIPW!

https://linsartyblobs.blogspot.com said...

Your reference cloth is a great idea, so easy to see all the stitches at once.

Queeniepatch said...

It is! I have now worked the first 40 stitches and I am already pleased with the ease I can see and compare the various stitches. I should have started on this much earlier!

Anonymous said...

What a good idea your reference cloth is, you seem to be so methodical in your work. Nice work on your cushion a lovely colour of thread too!

Queeniepatch said...

If I had been a methodical person I should have made this ref cloth long ago! However, it is never too late!