Here is a great version for you: TAST #127 - Beaded Alternating Up and Down Buttonhole Stitch.
Do you remember that I thought its unbeaded version was 'barbed wire'? I had difficulty making it look nice on a curve. Well, others made wonderful curves, Chitra for example, so I just had to try again. This time I used a stencil to draw neat curves and took pains to followed them. However, the 'barbed wire look' is still there as I have used various lengths on the arms. I also used a variety of stray beads, some blood red! The result is maybe an organised messy bloodshed!
Want to learn? Go to Pintangle!
I think the spiky effect is very contemporary, and pleasingly different, a bit like a modern piece of jewellery. Why not deliberately try to mimic the effect of barbed wire? I can imagine this would look stunning in combinations of black and silver, with blood red beads on a white background.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right, it would look impressive. At Sainsbury's Centre of Visual Arts in Norwich I saw an exhibition of Monuments (WWI). Among the modern ones was a gigantic 'ball of knitting yarn', only it was not soft woolly yarn but razor blad sharp barbed wire... Maybe it is from that heart-stopping realisation that I got obsessed with barbed wire...
DeleteThe colors and the beads together are fabulous.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Janie. I had to cheat a bit and used perle #8 instead of #5 that I used for the other samplers. It was too hard to thread the beads with a thick thread and broad needle.
DeleteNo, no nothing messy here. Your stitches are looking like very adorned caterpillars, crawling to a feast in their Sunday bests or dancing?
ReplyDeleteI didn't think of that but you made me have a second look and yes, the stitches appear to be moving, I guess they are hungry. What do thread caterpillars eat?
DeleteYes Queenie, I can see gloriously adorned ' Centipedes ' running in every direction......
ReplyDeletedoing a sequence of dance ! I love the colours too !
hugs
Chris Richards
xx
I was so pleased this time it worked!
DeleteI like your barbed wire far better than the type out in the paddock!
ReplyDeleteI do, too!
DeleteI thought of you all the while I was looking at the embellishments on quilts at the Ikebukuro show. "Oh, Queenie should see this .... "
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see your work (rather than running around in the rain to Seibu ... but I do still have a few free tickets if you know anyone else who might want to go.
Sorry I don't know anyone that I can pass the ticket on to. Rest assure I would really like to have seen the quilts. Next time...
Deleteyes Anneliese is spot on Queenie but sorry can`t help re the diet they have. This stitch works so well on the curve and can just picture it on your cushion
ReplyDeleteWell, I'll feed them some more beads then!
Deletevery pretty - reminds me of a sea critter :)
ReplyDeleteSo many see these stitches as creatures! There is something of tropical marine life here....
DeleteI don't know about being like barbed wire..to me your sampler looks like a celebration of colour and sparks. LOVE it all.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I think the mixed assortment of beads add a lot to this sampler.
DeleteMy first thought was... these look like beautiful fantastical spiders... and I see from a couple of comments above that I'm not the only viewer seeing creatures in your work;).
ReplyDeleteBejewelled creatures, yes, there are many who see movement and 'life' in these stitches - and I was just happy to use up the last of my travel stash of odd thread and beads!
DeleteIt is very pretty barbed wire.
ReplyDeleteI am sure this could be used to depict a real barbed wire with stains of blood, infected puss, rust and tufts of fur...
DeleteNow I am looking forward to trying out the latest version of Up and Down Buttonhole stitch.
What a great sample of this beaded stitch.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised at how much easier the beaded version was!
Deleteyour beaded barbed wire is lovely
DeleteOn a sampler it's good to use many different threads or beads for future projects. It looks great! I enjoyed this beaded version, but still have to catch up on the 'barbed wire'.
ReplyDeleteI am not good at using different threads on my sampler. I know I should, and keep an orderly record of them, like you do. I guess I am lazy and just want to record the basic stitch, usually in a perle thread. I leave 'fooling' around with different threads for later. However, now that I have my TAST Reference Chart I should keep a simple sample there and experiment more with my other samplers...
DeleteI forgot the say, thanks for adding the link to Chitra.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. We all read/follow different blogs and it is a pity to miss out on some great ways to do the TAST stitches.
Delete