WIPW - Don't They Look Good Together?

For the (probably) last Work In Progress Wednesday report of the year I can report on some progress on the Pile 'em On and the completion of the Chicken Scratch project.

Pile 'em On

Here I worked the Half Rhodes Stitch in various colours and the Norwich Stitch in light grey. Both were easy and fun, and had they been worked on real canvas they would have looked much neater.

Chicken Scratch

I completed the central band of stitches on the Chicken Scratch cushion. (Excuse the blurred photo).

Then I made it into a cushion. I added lace at the shorter ends so that it would look good next to the charming cushion my friend Jacquie Harvey once made for me. Don't they look good together!

Season's Greetings to you all.

WIPW - The Lazy Chicken

Work In Progress Wednesday. It is slow going here. The Chicken is lazy and does not want to Scratch much!

Chicken Scratch

I have not made much progress, and did not have anything to post last week. This is as far as I have been able to work:

I hope YOU have more time!

WIPW - Not Much To Write (Home) About

It has been another busy week with little time for embroidery. My Work In Progress Wednesday report is not much to write (home) about, but here goes:

Pile 'em On

 I added three columns of Canvas Fern Stitch.
They are framed on two sides by Four Sided Stitch in white that my Mum once started on this cloth. I think she intended to make a small table runner. When I first found this project amongst her belongings I thought of completing the table runner, but the tension of my stitches did not match that of hers so I turned this piece of cloth into my own free form embroidery project, Pile 'em On.

Chicken Scratch
On the 'chicken farm' the crosses are beginning to twinkle like stars...

Off to busy myself with other things than embroidery, I'm afraid.

WIPW - One week delayed

Last week I had no opportunity to post a Work In Progress Wednesday report. Sorry!

I was able to make a little bit of progress, though, on my projects.

Chicken Scratch

Three strands of embroidery floss frame the red squares on the Gingham check, and red floss outline a larger area.

I then started stitching a new area in the middle of the cloth.

Pile 'em On

 Three Canvas stitches were used to fill in the background; Plaited Stitch (blue and variegated blue) Crossed Goblin Stitch (gray) and I finished the light green Reversed Cross Stitch that I had left half finished in July.

 

I hope you have had a much more productive week.

WIPW - A Dancing Doll Needlecase

Today, Work In Progress Wednesday  is about

Conveyor Belt Needle Case

I completed it with a few stitches, a 'tongue' and a little metal mesh bead.

 When I showed the work last week, a professional designer told me she saw a dancing figure in this one. I hadn't noticed but think she is right!

This is the other side.

With this project out of the way, what shall I do, start a new one? No, wait, there are some UFOs. I'll get to work on them first.

Pile 'em On

I haven't worked on this for ages so it is high time I put some more Canvas stitches into it.

Chicken Scratch

This Chicken Scratch project is something I have only been working on while travelling. However, I will probably not go on a train journey for some time, so will complete this at home.

WIPW - Appleton

Work In Progress Wednesday for this week is featuring my

'Conveyor Belt' needlecase 
wool embroidery. I am stitching on black cashmere with Appleton wool. Wonderfully soft!

 These are the shades I selected.

Last week I showed the design I had marked on the black cashmere, and

this is how it looks now.
It is far from completed, but was the most enjoyable work!

WIPW - Fruity Cushion Resting

This week, Work In Progress Wednesday reports on the completion of the

Fruity Cushion.
I made up the cushion, lined it, attached a zipper and added a tassel for each corner.

For the lining I used a special kind of thin silk crepe used for Japanese summer kimonos, 楊柳 youryuu.

 In my stash I have a number of samples of summer silk, and the width was perfect for the  lining.

For the tassels I cut up lengths of the linen thread used in the embroidery.

The cushion is now resting on my bed.

So with the cushion completed I need another project. 

Conveyor Belt Needle Case

Starting back in February I made several needle cases in a 'conveyor belt' fashion in wool embroidery from a Swedish design. (There are five WIPW posts starting with this one).

The needle cases have all been given away, but I will be needing one more for a gift, so I drew the design and mounted the black wool in a hoop.

WIPW - The Ripe Cushion

Work In Progress Wednesday.
At last I find that I have some real progress to report. I have completed the embroidery on the

Fruity Cushion
I feel the embroidery is ripe enough and I am ready to start constructing the cushion.

The orange zig-zag stitches at the edges are not part of the original design, but I thought they make a good frame and balance the colours. One can see them as the cardboard box in which the fruit is being sold!
Bon apetite!

WIPW - At last some progress!!!

WIPW - Work In Progress Wednesday.

All summer the meterological climate in Tokyo has been too hot, and the work climate around me way too hot for sewing. Recently though, the weather has turned to lovely and the work load lessened slightly. The result; I've found a wee bit of time to work on the Fruity Cushion. It is SO nice to SEW again!!!

Fruity Cushion
I've completed the turquoise spikes around the circle and added a lot of French Knots.

I really hope to have more progress to show next week.

Thank you to all my faithful friends who have visited and left kind comments although I have not had the time to answer. I hope to be more blog active from now on.

A birthday card

How time flies when one is busy! As I have been busier than busy, the last month has passed at supersonic speed. The only needlework I have managed to find time for is a simple birthday card, made from scraps of fabric, ricrac and orts.

I hope to be back to a more normal work schedule soon.

WIPW - French Knots

It's time for a Work In Progress Wednesday report. Actually I have found time to progress more than I expected on the Fruity Cushion. I have even started on some of the French Knots.

Unfortunately, for the next few weeks I will be busy with many other things so the progress will slow down again. No time to visit blogs, either. I am so sorry.

NHK Partnership quilt for 2016

Finally I have managed to complete the block I will be contributing to the NHK's Partnership Quilt project for the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2016 in January next year. As you might remember the deadline is August 31st. Read more about it here.

The theme is MUSIC and I thought the key harp, so important in Nordic folk music, would be a good way to add a bit of Swedish flavour to a quilt.
Instead of making the fiddly little flag I usually include, I pieced the background in the national colours of Sweden.

I can guarantee that my key harp has many flaws and is a totally unplayable instrument, but it was fun to make!

WIPW - Minuscule Progress

Work In Progress Wednesday for the last two weeks shows minuscule progress on the

Fruity Cushion

from someone with minuscule amount of free time! I've been super busy with other things.

World Embroidery Day 2015

I have been EXTREMELY busy recently with other things than embroidery. So I did not think I would have much time to stitch yesterday, July 30th, World Embroidery Day. However, I was fortunate!

I had prepared these items for a stumpwork portrait and I thought I would be able to get started on it at any rate, even if I did not finish until much later.

Then by sheer luck a  two-hour-assignment was cancelled and I found myself with enough time to finish the whole portrait. I even mounted it on a piece of cardboard and slipped it into a window card, ready to be sent off to someone's birthday!

I must admit, however, that there aren't a lot of true embroidery stitches on these stumpwork ladies! They are more appliqué than embroidery.

Did you have a good day of embroidery? Did you stitch with others? Will the world have more enthusiastic needleworkers next year?

WIPW - A Bit of Pink

It's time for Work In Progress Wednesday; how quickly the Wednesdays pop up!
I've only made a little progress since last week.

Fruity Cushion

I've worked the spiky triangles at the top and bottom of the fruit, and also started on a bit of pink.

..............

Tomorrow, July 30th, is World Embroidery Day. Don't forget to thread your needle and enjoy a few stitches. If you have the chance, go public and stitch in the park, at the bus stop, in the café or somewhere else where you will be seen and given the opportunity to promote embroidery.
As for myself, I'll be housebound and the only person who will see me embroider has weak eyesight and a short memory, so no chance for me to spread the joy of stitching to strangers. I will blog on my work, though!

WIPW - AC to the Rescue

It has been another week of sweltering heat in Tokyo, but the air conditioning system has come to the rescue. I have actually been able to find pockets of 'cool' time to work on the cushion.

Fruity Cushion

Spending time on the computer is very limited, so still no chance to visit blogs or answer comments. Sorry!

WIPW - Too Hot to Stitch

May I begin with a big THANK YOU for all the kind comments on my last post, and please accept my apologies for not having answered your comments, or visited your blogs.

It was my intention to have completed the Fruity Cushion by now, to have added a lot more canvas stitches to my Pile 'em On, to have finished the Music block for NHK's Partnership Quilt project and to have started a new piece of clothing with Swedish wool embroidery.

Alas, my days are filled with million other things, so the WIPW report this week is another  meagre one.

Pile 'em On

The newly added canvas stitches are:
Double Cross Stich in light blue, and a half finished block of Reversed Cross Stitch in light green. Another coloured thread will be worked on top of these stitches to complete them.

Fruity Cushion

Here I have added new stitches to a number of areas.

It is H O T in Tokyo and hard to stitch. I don't know when my next WIP report will be...

Work In Progress Wednesday - Sloppier than Sloppy

I have not been able to spend much time,  and even less focus, on my needlework recently. This report shows that most of my work is very sloppy.

Pile 'em On
I have only worked on the canvas stitches:

 This is an overview picture of the eight stitches I've added since last report (starting with the fourth from the top right).

 Renaissance Stitch (gray and pink), Milanese Stitch (variegated)

 Linen Stitch (blue), Plait Stitch (pink)

 Long-Armed Stitch (gray), Greek Stitch (wine pink)

Knotted Stitch (pink) which is spaced wrongly and not worked in individual rows!, Double Stitch (gray) still in progress.

Extra! A Birthday Card
I made a birthday card with a stumpwork portrait.

With this portrait I took a bit of care, but only used items from my stash. The turtle neck jumper is made from nylon 'mesh craft' material, i.e. the same as tights (panty hose) are made from. The silvery treads add a bit of sparkle.

My time at the computer is very limited, so please excuse me if I won't be able to answer any comments.

NHK Partnership Quilt for 2016

The information for next year's NHK Partnership Quilt project (to be displayed in Tokyo Dome in January, 2016,) has now been announced.

The theme is  M U S I C

Should you wish to participate, then these are the rules:

• one block per person
• 20 cm x 20 cm for the motif, add a seam allowance of 1-2 cm on all sides
• flimsy block, i.e. no wadding, no quilting
• your name should be written with pen in the seam allowance of the lower right hand corner
• your block should have reached NHK by 31st August, 2015
• enclose a note with your name, address, tel no, email address
• send to:

Partnership Quilt
NHK Sutekini Handmade
2-2-1 Jinnan
Shibuya-ku
Tokyo 150-8001
Japan

Your block will be joined with other blocks into large bed size quilts and quilted by volunteers. These quilts will be displayed at Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival in January next year, where they will be raffled off. A raffle ticket is 500 yen.

A link (in Japanese) to NHK's website for this event is here.

Now IF you plan to send in a block, AND live in Japan don't forget to enclose a self addressed and stamped (52 yen) postcard. Leave the back plain and NHK will then print the information about which quilt your block has been added to, and return the post card to you.

WIPW - What is terry cloth thread?

Work In Progress Wednesday.


Last week a small piece of terry cloth thread was featured in the circle of Pile 'em On. Some readers asked about it, so here is a picture.

 

It is too thick to force though the fabric so it is mainly suited for couching or weaving.

Pile 'em On
For the circle I tried my hand at weaving with the terry cloth thread.

 A slip of paper underneath prevents the needle snagging other threads.

The result is not impressive; the weaving feature is not noticable, but it adds a soft 'bump'.

I worked the last flame of pulled work with Four Sided Stitch.

Some more canvas work:

Left: Gobelin stitch
Middle: Wide Gobelin stitch
Right: Straight Gobelin stitch


Fruity Cushion
It was time to start using other stitches, like Surface Satin stitch and French Knots.

I'm rather pleased with the progress... but there will probably be very little to show next week. I might not even have time to read blogs or answer comments. Sorry!

WIPW - More Couching

I've had little time for stitching this past week. My Work In Progress Wednesday report is short:

Pile 'em On
A short string of 'terry cloth yarn' was added to the circle (along the border, it's light blue).
A tiny section of a flame was decorated with pulled work in free style stem stitch.

 For the canvas work I made two new blocks
Mosaic stitch (far right)
Fancy Brick stitch (second from right)

Fruity Cushion
The couching is almost completed. I will soon start adding other stitches.