Friday Homework for Lesson 81: Revered Fly Stitch

Fun, easy and fast.

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Aida Sampler

Teal Wool Tailoring Scribble Cloth

I especially enjoyed working them free form with a variety of threads and sizes.
On Aida or counted linen they can take on a very geometric look, which is also good.
So it is a very flexible stitch.

WIPW - Busy, busy

I have been busy and can report on the following for Work In Progress Wednesday.

Greeting Cards
I have made two cards,
a Condolence card

Stitches used: Loopy Flower, Crown Stitch with  Lazy Daisy, God's Eye with French Knots and Corded Bar.

The other is a Thank You card and is the stumpwork portrait I showed a glimpse of before

Her hair is made of Chain Stitch, and the fringe of Straight Stitch.

I used Twisted Fly Stitch as a filling stitch for her blouse, and edged it with Twisted Shell Chain Stitch.

Experiments With Beads

The Queen of Beading, Angela, of Princess Bubbles Creates made some Funky Beaded French Knots, and I just had to try adding beads to some knot stitches.

First I placed the knot beside the bead

Then I placed the knot on top

I added a bead to the start of a Bullion Knot

It was fun to play with beads! Maybe I should add some beaded version to the Sunday Stitch School stitches...

Thank you Angela för the inspiration!

Crazy for Crazy

The Sweet Potato and Roast Chestnut block was put in a box and left to slumber while I think about what to do next.

No progress whatsoever.

Cathedral Window

I spent a lot of attention on this project. It was quick work, though, as I stitched by machine. 

 I cut 34 squares.

 I folded them in half.

 I stitched both short sides.

 I opened up, and paired up the sewn seams.

 I pinned, and stitched.

I left an opening, and turned each piece right side out.

 I turned in the raw edges of the opening.

I pressed.

 I folded each corner to the centre and pressed.

I fixed the four tips to the centre with a few stitches.

In total I prepared 34 blocks. It was so much quicker by machine, than when I made the first twenty blocks by hand.

Now I am ready to add 'glass' inserts to the sides of the bag, and I will do that by hand.

Then I will add glass to the back of the bag using another method, and take help of the sewing machine.

I hope to have more progress next week.

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 81: Reversed Fly Stitch

Good afternoon, class.

It is time for a stitch found in Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches, in the Isolated Stitches section.

Let's learn and play with Reversed Fly Stitch.
Updated: Mattia tells me there are two French names - Point de Blume Inversé or Point de Mouche Inversé.

It's easy to learn - just make a Fly Stitch, and on top of that a mirrored Fly Stitch.

You can play around with the length and width of the stitches, make a smaller stitch op top of a larger one, and so on.

Homework: Play! 

On the Teal Wool Tailoring Scribble Cloth, 

Aida Sampler and 

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Friday Revision Homework - Stitches 76 - 80

Winter in Sweden is cold and sometimes very gloomy, but most of all it is dark with few hours of daylight and little sunshine. Therefore December 13th is an important day in Sweden, when St Lucia comes with light. Read about Lucia here.

A couple of years ago I enjoyed creating a stumpwork portrait of the Queen of Light.

It was equally fun to dress Sunbonnet Sue up as Saint Lucia by using the five Sunday Stitch School stitches for this homework.

WIPW - The Front Completed

Work In Progress Wednesday, or should I call one part of this blog post, Wednesday Wind Up, as today contains a finish. That is one out of three areas that need to be finished before the end of January.

I am of course talking about
Cathedral Windows
and the 31 inserts for the front of the bag I am making:

Next step will be the sides and here I will use the sewing machine to construct the basic 'origami'.

I wanted to make a bag that can be turned into a cushion, by stuffing a cushion filling inside. Just as I did the Mola bag. As you can see many of the batik scraps I used for the Mola bag have been used on the Cathedral Window, too. Don't they look friendly with Trinity Green, the green quilt made up of small triangles?

Crazy for Crazy
I made a set of Buttonhole Stitch, then added Bugle Beads and Straight Stitch.

I also couched down a strand of thick curly wool, in something that could be a single row of Cloud Filling.

It was not difficult to find thread for this week's homework - I had a whole bagful to chose from! You see,  I have this generous friend who shared some of her beautiful thread collection with me. In the bag there were also Shisha mirrors, tatting and small lace ornaments, as well as lace and braid, and the most beautiful silk fabric.

Aren't I lucky!?

Sunday Stitch School - Revision: Stitches 76 - 80

It is time to review these stitches:

76 Loopy Flower Stitch
Once you get the hang of it, it is easy. The loops say 'Touch Me', but you shouldn't - they are easily snagged on anything!

77 Tied Herringbone Stitch
This stitch is worth playing around with as you have two threads. I recommend using a thinner thread on top.

78 Interlaced Chain Stitch
This should be nicknamed Worm Stitch!

79 Crown Stitch
This was an easy stitch with instant style and elegance.

80 Corded Bar
Another easy stitch that adds a lot of height and structure to your embroidery.

Homework:
Let Sunbonnet Sue showcase these five stitches.

A peep at the sketch. Now what is that?

Friday Homework for Lesson 80: Corded Bar

I stand by my opinion that this is an easy stitch!

Having said that, I must admit that there are easier and less easy ways to stitch.
For the Corded Bar I found that if I stitched away from me, the working thread was easer to hold on to for the wrapping.

The result on the Teal Wool Tailoring Scribble Cloth.

Aida Sampler

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

WIPW - Sidetracked

Oh, how quickly Wednesday turns up again!
Since last week I have been busy and my projects were sidetracked by other things. Then before I had time to publish this blog post, someone got ill, and now it is already Thursday.
Not so much to show for Work In Progress (Wednesday) Thursday.

Crazy for Crazy
I just added a few beads.

Cathedral Windows

I inserted six more pieces and now have a total of 18 completed.

Stumpwork Portrait

I have been working on a new stumpwork portrait. Here is a peek view.

While I made the labels, with numbers and names, for the Sunday Stitch Schools Reference Chart last week, I also made a set of new labels to iron onto my projects. This is now on the back of my stumpwork portrait.

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 80: Corded Bar

Welcome to stitch number 80 at Sunday Stitch School. Today we turn to Mary Thomas and her trusty Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches where I found Corded Bar.

There are two kinds, one used for Cut Work and Drawn Work. Then the stitch is usually known as Overcast Bar or Twisted Bar.
Mattia gave me the French names: Bride Surjetée or Bride Double
la semaine dernière c'était le "point de couronne".

We, however, are going to use it free form as an isolated stitch on Aida, linen, plain weave, felt, velvet or any other fabric of your choice.

First you make a bar of Straight Stitch (Satin Stitch) in a set of six, close together.

Then you whip the six strands together without biting the fabric.

Easy, wouldn't you say?
In free form you can of course make the stitches longer or shorter, thicker or thinner. Just change the number of stitches in the foundation bar, it doesn't have to be six.

Homework:
Aida Sampler
SSS Reference Chart
Teal Tailoring Wool Scribble Cloth