TASTy Tuesday - Second Helpings 15 - 21

Tuesday = a report on my progress of repeating the 140 TAST (Take A Stitch Tuesday) stitches. Read more about TAST at Pintangle.

I'm on schedule and have worked seven stitches this last week.

From the top:
15) French Knot
16) Wheateat Stitch
17) Crossed Buttonhole Stitch
18) Half Chevron Stitch
19) Bullion Knot
20) Butterfly Chain Stitch
21) Knotted Cretan Stitch

WIPW - Not such a good week

It has not been such a good week for WIPW (Work In Progress Wednesday).

As I spent a lot of time doing Whipped Wheels for the TASTy Tuesday Second Helpings, I had less time for my other projects.

So what did I manage?

Trinity Green
I filled 10 paper strips, which means 270 new triangles, so the total count is now 1377.

I got a happy surprise when the postman brought me a thick wadded envelope filled with lovely pieces of green fabric, sent from Sweden by my friend Åsa Wettre. She is an artist, a famous collector of antique quilts and an authority on quilting. 
Many of the prints are of her own design!

Thank you, Åsa!


H C
I have traced all the drawing from the sketch onto the fabric. I have coloured some areas with grey crayon and then set it with a hot iron.

Next I will work with the green, pink and blue crayons.

TASTy Tuesday - Second Helpings 8-14

I worked TAST stitches #8-14 in turquoise.

From top:
8) Chain Stitch
9) Couching Stitch
10) Running Stitch
11) Whipped Wheel (it took a long time to make all the 42 wheels)
12) Barred and Alternating Barred Chain Stitch
13) Satin Stitch (how on earth do you work the Satin Stitch on Aida?)
14) Stem Stitch

So far I have not needed to look up the names nor the instructions for any of these stitches. That means I know at least 14 embroidery stitches by heart, ha, ha!

For more information about TAST (Take A Stitch Tuesday) go to Pintangle.

Thank you for stopping by, please note that I might not answer any comments as I post these revised stitches only for my own record.

WIPW - A good week

It has been a good week on the needle and thread front. Here is my Work In Progress Report.

Trinity Green
I've stitched 366 of triangles on the paper strips. Total count of triangles is now 1107.

HC

 I ironed freezer paper to the back of the white fabric I am going to use for the HC quilt. This will keep it stable while I transfer the design.
I pinned the fabric to the sketch and placed it on the light box. After I had turned on the light I was ready to trace the design onto the fabric. You can see a tiny bit of the drawing there.

TASTy Tuesday, second helpings
This new project will be reported on on Tuesdays, but I am adding it here, today, just to show one more piece of progress. 7 stitches out of 140, that means 133 to go!

Now why did I choose green???
The Lazy Daisy Stitches in the last row are in turquoise so I'll continue in that shade, then turn to blue, I think...

TASTy Tuesday - Second Helpings 1-7

Do you remember TAST? Take A Stitch Tuesday, a course of embroidery stitches taught by Sharon Boggon of Pintangle. I took part in her course and worked 140 stitches. (You can see them all under the label TAST at the top of this page).
 I have used many of the stitches in various projects, but as time pass I feel I have lost both the names and instructions for too many of them. It is time to revise, take Second Helpings on a TASTY Tuesday.

Here are the first seven stitches, worked one per day, on a large piece of 16 count Aida.

From the top TAST #
1) Fly Stitch
2) Buttonhole Stitch
3) Feather Stitch
4) Cretan Stitch
5) Herringbone Stitch
6) Chevron Stitch
7) Detached Lazy Daisy Stitch

If I work one stitch per day, I'll have the 140 stitches completed by end of September...
Of course I already know that some stitches are more complex and time consuming, and that 'life will get in the way' so the chances are that I will have completed the revision much later in the year. Anyway, this blog post is only for my own record and there is no need for you to comment.

Paper Foundation Piecing

I was asked about Paper Foundation Piecing, the technique used for my new quilt project, Trinity Green.

Here are some pictures to show MY process:

First I draw and cut out triangles.

I use either rotary cutter or scissors.

I then draw and xerox copy paper slips of triangles.

 Next I place the triangles on the blank side of the paper. Two triangles, right sides facing, secured with a pin.

I turn the paper slip over and stitch by machine along the line.

With plenty of seam allowance, exact accuracy is not needed. At this stage, many quilters trim off excess fabric, but I leave it as it is; the bulk will make the quilt strong, I hope!

I flip open to check.

Next, I finger press, pin the next triangle in place, and carry on sewing until the row is completed.

 Later when the rows are stitched to other rows, or strips of fabric, the triangles will appear neat and accurate.

I try to place darker shades of green on one side and lighter on the other.

WIPW - 8 at a time

Work In Progress Wednesday, here we are again in the middle of the week. These Wednesdays come along so quickly!

Trinity Green
I started making 8 strips of paper at the same time to speed up the process.
Since last week I made 337 triangles and the total now stands at 741.

H C

Unfortunately I had to shelve this project for a week to be able to do the bonsai block for the Partnership quilt project.

However, I can give you another teaser, a small detail of the sketch.

NHK's Partnership Quilt Project, for 2017

My blogging friends Jenni in Australia, and Tanya here in Japan, already completed their contributions for NHK's Partnership Quilt Project at Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2017, to be held in Tokyo Dome in January next year. My other blogging friend Julie, also in Japan, has made plans for her block. So I felt I had to get a move on and whip up my block.

As I reported in January, the theme is GARDENING and several of the rules have changed. Smaller size block, earlier date for contributing the blocks. More information can be found on the official website.

Now what can you do on this theme, gardening, eh? I racked my brains last week and after a visit to a botanical garden where I saw this

my choice fell on bonsai. This form of 'gardening' used to be a favourite of older men in Japan, now it has become a fad overseas and there are many foreign tourists who travel all the way to Japan to see these miniature trees.

Here is my bonsai:

Raw edged appliqué with Buttonhole stitches, and of course the Swedish flag found its way into the block!

For anyone who wants to send in and donate a block to this charity quilt project, here are the rules:

• one block per person
• 15 cm x 15 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 July, 2016
• 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

Read my page on NHK for more information.
..............
Please note, this information was added after I first posted.
NHK will broadcast an episode of Sutekini Handmade with information about the show, the gardening theme and the partnership quilts.

The team leader is Eiko Okano (岡野栄子先生), famous for her funky food quilts.

Thursday May 25, 9.30-9.55 PM on NHK channel 3
Repeats on:
Tuesday May 31, 10.15-10.40 AM on NHK channel 1
Thursday June 2, 11.30-11.55 AM on NHK channel 3
If you're in Japan and have a chance, don't miss it!

Have fun!

WIPW - 405

Work In Progress Wednesday is green, and a bit white.


Trinity Green

I fed my ELNA (sewing machine) with paper and 'greens', and I now have 405 green triangles.

H C

Before I turn green in the face I decided to start another project, and it will be mainly white. Here's a bit of the sketch.

As you can see it is still in the paper stage, hope to get the white fabric out of the drawer soon...

A birthday card

I made another embroidered birthday card.

It was nice to work with other colours than green!