WIPW - Filling in Gaps

Last week I worked hard to push my various Work In Progress projects forward. This week I am filling in gaps.

Swedish Wool Embroidery Collar
All the main flowers are completed so I started adding smaller ones strewn over the background.

Swedish Cushion
I added the only remaining TAST stitch, #65 Buttonhole Bar.

I can not call the cushion complete until I have added some text, a date and initials or something. To do that I will need to consult my books on fonts and initials, which I do not have access to at the moment, so the cushion has come to a standstill for the time being. I expect we will get some more TAST stitches next week that could be added as well... IS this an endless project?

TAST Reference Chart
The Alternating Up and Down Buttonhole Stitch, TAST #126, and its Beaded version, #127,  are the last additions to the chart.

Have you been filling in some gaps? Go to Pintangle to see Sharon's progress as well as many others'.

TAST #126 - Alternating Up and Down Buttonhole Stitch

TAST (Take A Stitch Tuesday) stitch #126 has a long name - Alternating Up and Down Buttonhole Stitch, but it is an easy one.

I played around and found that it is hard to make it look neat and tidy on a curve, it resembles a crunched up barbed wire.

I also found that I have a tendency towards making the two arms V-shaped, but the upright ones look OK, too.

May I suggest that you:

1) go to Pintangle to learn this stitch

2) post a photo of the result on your own blog

3) leave a link to your blog post on the Comments form at Pintangle 

4) let others see your work and look at what they have made

5) have fun!

WIPW - TAST Marathon

WIPW followers are in for a treat this week. Sharon has some stunning work. Go to Pintangle to check it out, read others' blogs and why not join in the fun.

My Work In Progress Wednesday report this week includes:

a) progress on the Swedish wool embroidery collar
b) an amendment; I forgot to report on some TAST stitches for the Swedish Cushion
c) a stitch marathon of 16 TAST stitches on the Swedish Cushion - I have almost reached the Finishing Line
d) TAST reference chart

Swedish Wool Embroidery Collar

Yet another flower has sprung forth.

An Amendment
I should have included these TAST stitches in a previous blog post about the Swedish Cushion but totally forgot about it while in the UK.

#39 Italian Border Stitch in green

#41 Closed Base Picot in orange

#119 Woven Trellis Stitch in dark orange

Swedish Cushion
Now for the work I put in this week, a real stitch marathon, 16 stitches!!!

Inside the Sailors Edge circles I used TAST #18 Half Chevron as a filling stitch

In the middle #91 Straight Sided Feather
On the left #92 Crossed Feather (purple and yellow)
On the right #93 Plaited Feather (light pink and yellow)

From the left:

a) #81 Raised Chain, version 2

b) #117 Bullion Vandyke (still can't do them neatly!!!)

c) #44 Portuguese Border 

d) #124 Closed Herringbone

Look at the red and blue stitches:
Left: #120 Double Herringbone Stitch
Right: #121 Twisted Lattice Band

Purple stitches in #26 Up and Down Buttonhole
Light green stitches in #126 Alternating Up and Down Buttonhole

Leaf: #105 Alternating Buttonhole Cable Chain

Fruit: #104 Buttonhole Cable Chain

 Purple stitches on teal ribbon: #122 Chained Bar

 Purple on teal ribbon: #123 Woven Chained Bar

Almost completed! 

114 TAST stitches!

Left to do is only one stitch, #65 Buttonhole Bar and I will not include the 13 beaded stitches.

TAST Reference Chart

I added these Beaded Herringbone Stitches #125 to my reference chart.

TAST #125 - Beaded Herringbone Stitch

Here is a nice stitch, the Beaded Herringbone, TAST stitch #125. Go to Pintangle to learn!

At first I had difficulty to place the right amount of beads on the leg of the Herringbone, and as you can see I have placed the second leg of the stitch either after the last bead (second row) or between two of the beads (third row), as it should be according to Sharon's instructions.

I have also played around and made a few variations.

Great fun to play with beads again.

Look what I was given!

While in the UK I had the opportunity to meet embroidery oracle Pamela Allen of Hokkaido Kudasai.

Although Pamela and I both live in Japan, our homes are so far apart it has been difficult to meet there. By chance we were both in London at the same time this summer, and after various setbacks i.e. seriously delayed trains, me running out of pay-as-you-go airtime balance, heavy rain showers, we finally found each other amongst the crowds of central London.

Oh, what a delightful person! We had a great time chatting and I felt as if we had know each other a long time.

Anyone who has followed Pamela's blog knows her love for Japan and Hokkaido, but especially her passion for needlework. Pamela is so open minded about stitching and tries her hand at all sorts of techniques. She is also fast and blogs about one finish after another. Right now she has a series of Christmas ornaments that she made, mounted, photographed and prepared for one-a-day postings on her blog while in the UK. You see, she is organised as well!

Look what she gave me:

Isn't it a delightful scissor fob? Pamela has combined her skills of embroidery, beading and cord making.

THANK YOU, Pamela for the beautiful gift, and for taking time out of your hectic schedule to spend a few hours with me. Next time I hope we can find each other in the crowds of Tokyo, maybe at the quilt show in January.

WIPW - Approved!

WIPW (Work In Progress Wednesday) helps you take a step closer to completing that needlework project. Read more at Pintangle.

Swedish Wool Embroidery Collar
I have worked another flower designs on the collar:

I am rather pleased with this particular design as I am sure there is no such flower in nature. Pure fantasy!

Swedish Cushion
On the cushion front I have added the following to the centre line:

TAST #49 Knotted Feather Stitch (yellow)
#38 Knotted Loop Stitch (light brown)

Here are some #57 Sailors Edge Stitch. The hollows will be filled with some stitch later on.

At the Festival of Quilts I meet up with Margaret and showed her the cushion. I am pleased to say she approved of how it looks, and I must say it does look better in reality than in these pictures. This blue fabric that I am stitching on is IMPOSSIBLE for the camera to capture properly. Compare the blue in the picture above and below, neither is the true blue! Sigh!

TAST Reference Chart
Of course I added #124 Closed Herringbone

TAST #124 - Closed Herringbone

TAST (Take A Stitch Tuesday) stitch #124 is named Closed Herringbone and is perfect for reversible embroidery.
On the one side you have the tight Herringbone like a braid, on the other two lines of neat Backstitches. If the fabric is light enough you will then see the Herringbone on the other side through the fabric. This kind of embroidery is called Shadow work.
On my sampler I have only shown the Herringbone itself.

Go to Pintangle to learn, share and enjoy.

Festival of Quilts - Hunting for Embroidery

My love of embroidery should be known by now. I am on a constant embroidery hunt and searching for nice stitches on quilts at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham was no exception.

Look what I found:

Jan Whitehouse and Sandy Chandler: That's Life
Machine quilting and Redwork by hand, and the title is so true, don't you think?

Colette Sinclair: The Garden Scape
'Rough' embroidery on distressed fabric - absolutely delightful.

 Miyuki Hamaba: Presents
(that was a very wide ric-rac)

 Janina Moore: Windows

 Can you hear the birds sing?

Catherine Percival: Wool Garden
Plum blossoms in wool - winter flowers in the cold air - almost like a haiku poem.

 Lynne Smith: Tray Cloth Quilt
The embroidery looks so elegant against the crisp white background.

Lesley Davies: Japanese Style Kimono

Look at the BEAUTIFUL sashiko, and the family crests have been appliquéd neatly by machine, such a pity the kanji writing is placed incorrectly.

Clair Crouchley: Naiad
A delight in beads, thread and stitches

Jacquie Harvey: Gift Bag and Tag
Jacquie is specialising in embroidery QUILTING, but adds few sequins for embellishment as well. This is a gift bag you don't want to put in the recycle bin!!!

Festival of Quilts - Quilts

My internet connection has been poorly and I am late in posting images of quilts from the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham.

Anyway, here are a few pictures:

 Beth Miller:  Still Life - Poppies

Les Q-Ers: Q 4 Quilters

Linda Forey: Balancing Act

Janine Visser: Triangle Trail

Sally Stott: Arnhem Shuffle

Claudia Pfeil: Fire and Ice

Look at the close ups below.

Tracy Aplin: My Love for Liberty

Pam Stanier and Quilters' Trading Post: Fish at Sea

There will be many more photographs on the internet from other visitors to the show. Among them Michelle Hill has a good selection.

Festival of Quilts 2014 - Birmingham Fashion

Festival of Quilts, held in Birmingham every August, has kicked off.

Apart from all the beautiful quilts on show, and the many stalls where you can buy all sorts of quilt related items, this event also includes a Fashion Show.

I was impressed by not only the mix of garments at the show, but also the professional lighting and sound.

When my friend Jacquie Harvey, a master quilter who has made many hand quilted garments, had her beautiful bolero in silk dupion modelled, the spotlight caught the glimmer of the silk.

Glimmer did also the corset made by Alysn Midgelow-Marsden. She had incorporated fine metal foils in autumnal shades on the sheer fabric.

Another good friend, Rosemary Hillman, showed the wedding dress she had made for her daughter's wedding. There was a wave of 'Wow' heard from the audience when the model walked down the cat walk.

A totally different bridal look was created by the talented Emily Barfield, whose four wedding dresses, although elegant and feminine, had skirts of such sheer fabric they were transparent. (click on the link above to see someone else's photo)

Daisy Collingridge is another new designer who amused the audience with her collection of quilted garments, and when I say quilted I mean QUILTed. No need for a duvet when you go to sleep in one of these:

There was also stunning wearable art from Finland, Estonia, Russia, USA and a number of British quilters. To all of them I would like to say BRAVO!