Friday Homework for Lesson 92: Parma Stitch

Oh, here I got double pleasure, both Chain Stitch and Buttonhole Stitch are among my favorites.

 Aida Sampler

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Working Parma Stitch on a curve is supposed to be a challenge. I didn't find it so, but spaced the links in the Chain so the stitches in the inner curve are slightly shorter than those on the outside edge of the curve.

Teal Wool Tailoring Scribble Cloth

WIPW - Like a Hot Knife Through Butter

Work In Progress Wednesday reports on three projects:

Crazy for Crazy
I was reading VirtuoSew Adventures, the blog of Rachel, where she writes about a beautiful Jacobean Coat she is embellishing with felt and stitches. She had added Crested Chain Stitch to one area. It is a stitch I have not used for a LONG time, almost six years!  I just had to add it to a seam on my crazy quilt block.
Thank you Rachel, for the inspiration.
I also added a lattice on top of the velvet pattern of a piece in the centre.

BES
I have made some progress on the Brazilian Embroidery Study.
There is a new stem,  some leaves and flowers.
Stem in Whipped Chain Stitch,
two leaves in Closed Cretan Stitch,
a number of leaves in Buttonhole Bar Stitch,
flowers in Half Buttonhole Wheel Stitch

Vaxholmskudden

I made a rough sketch for the design on this cushion, made some cardboard templates, and started stitching.

First I appliquéd a circle of polkadot cotton on the wool base fabric. The pink felt heart is appliquéd, too, with short Straight Stitch. Two 'wings' were Stem Stitched, inside are lines of Whipped Running Stitch and circles in Stem Stitch.

Stitching this wool is like pushing a hot knife through butter! 

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 92: Parma Stitch

This is a stitch I could call 'The Lost and Found Stitch'. I learned it, forgot both how it is worked and its name, then with the help of a friend, found it again. This time I'd better be safe than sorry and feature it here on Sunday Stitch School, right away.

Parma Stitch
is a made up of three parallel rows of Chain Stitch, that are then buttonholed together into a textured 'braid'.
You can see and read more about this Italian stitch here, at Italian Needlework. Also check out Stitches Stories.

Work it like this:
Stitch three parallel columns of Chain Stitch.

Next, turn the work to get three horisontal rows of Chain Stitch. 

Use Buttonhole Stitch to join the chains.

I have used a different colour to clarify how to stitch, but you can use the same colour (green).

I have also used only one stitch to make the instructions clear.

For the proper stitch, add more Buttonhole Stitches, (see the blue Buttonhole stitches below).

Continue to join the middle and lower Chain Stitches together, work from down to up.

Here I have joined the Chains with groups of three blue Buttonhole Stitches.

When worked in the same coloured thread, you get a nice textured braid.

Don't you think it looks like crochet?

Homework:

Add Parma Stitch to these three samplers.

Friday Homework for Lesson 91: Double Fly Stitch

Staggering stitches is a good way to add variation. These two Fly stitches make a nice new stitch.

Aida Sampler

I varied the depth of the V and length of the leg for the base stitches.

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Teal Wool Tailoring Scribble Cloth

WIPW - BES, Beads and Sequins and A New Project

Wednesday means a report of Work In Progress Wednesday.

BES,
short for Brazilian Embroidery Study.
I have studied the booklet,

and got started on the practical preparations.

First I basted a thin sheet of woven interfacing to the back of the green silk to stabilize the silk and have somewhere to anchor the stitches.

Then I basted protective edges to the silk. This will make it easier to stretch the fabric in a hoop without damaging the silk.

I made a sketch for the design with white charcoal pen. The ink disappears when it is touched by a hot iron.

I then started on the stitching.

 Outline Stitch for one stem and Coral Stitch for the other. Nice and chunky.

Crazy for Crazy
I wrapped yellow shiny thread around a wooden bead and fixed it to the centre of the purple tatted flower.

I added sequins, glas beads and couched down a braid.



New:
Vaxholmskudden
This is the working title for a cushion I am going to make in Swedish wool embroidery á la Karin Derland.

So far I have picked out some fabric.

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 91: Double Fly Stitch

If you can stitch a Fly Stitch, you can stitch two, and then you have a Double Fly Stitch!
Easy as pie! The 'cookbook'? Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches!

 Make the first Fly Stitch wide and with a short leg.

For impact, change to a thread with a different colour or weight.

Make the second Fly Stitch narrower and with a long leg.

Homework:
Add the Double Fly Stitch to the Aida Sampler, The Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart and the Teal Wool Tailoring Scribble Cloth.

Friday Revision Homework - Stitches 86 - 90

Finally, here is my homework for Sunday Stitch School's stitches 86 - 90. 

Once again I have made a portrait of Sunbonnet Sue. This time she is taking a stand against pollution and Global Warming. 

When Sue was a little girl in the early 60's she was taught not to drop litter - lollipop sticks and candy wrappers had to be taken home if no litter bin was in sight. In school she had lessons about the Håll Sverige Rent campaign, founded in 1963.

Then came the global trend to buy bottled water, soft drinks, take-out coffees, lunch boxes and fast food. As a result Sue sees plastic waste everywhere, also in the ocean, see the report from United Nations.

One day last summer, Sunbonnet Sue was walking past the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm and saw Greta Thunberg sitting with a placard 'School Strike for Climate'. Maybe there has been a strike in your country, too, (check the list).

Sue thought she needed to take some kind of action, too. She is no longer a school girl so instead of going on a strike, she donned goggles, a mask, wellingtons and protective gloves and started collecting litter.

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

Methodist Stitch was a good linear stitch and I used it to outline most areas. I also used it as a filling stitch for the gloves.

'Knitting' the sweater with Chequered Chain Band took time, but now that the stitch is 'in my head' it was easy.

I licensed myself to tweak the Zig-zag Cable Chain to shape it into the banana skin.

The Open Wave Stitch was perfect for the net to collect litter in.

The Anklet Stitch ended up on the boots, as close to the ankle as possible!

WIPW - Back On Track

THANK YOU for all well wishes and kind comments while I was poorly. I took time out from most things, slept a lot, and apologize for not having visited your blogs or left comments.

I am now well again and back on track.

Work In Progress Wednesday report

Greeting Card
or should I say Stumpwork Portrait.
Do you remember this out of focus picture, a teaser?

It is a Stumpwork portrait I made before I got ill, but could not write about it as it had not reached its destination. 

Now it has, so I can show you:

The hair was made this way:

Wind six strands of embroidery floss tightly around a bamboo skewer.

 Spritz with water and

 press with a hot iron.

 Unravel the curls and

stitch them around the head.

Twisted Perle forms the hair ornament, metallic thread the eyeshadow, a scrap of light blue accordion ribbon makes up the blouse, a ragged (cut roughly with pinking shares) piece of salmon pink nylon folds into a jacket and is held together with an odd necklace clasp.

For this portrait I also added ears and I will show how that is done on another blog post.

Crazy for Crazy
I filled in the leaves with Cretan Stitch and added a beautiful tatted flower I had been given from the owner of the portrait above.

Brazilian Embroidery

I managed to read through the booklet, made notes of some interesting points, but have not started stitching anything yet.

WIPW - Illness

Although I am getting better, I am still unwell and have nothing to report for Work In Progress Wednesday.

Nor will I be able to hand in my Friday Revision Homework on Friday.

Also I will not post a new stitch on Sunday for Sunday Stitch School.

I am sorry.

Friday Revision Homework - Illness

Telephone rings.

Clerk: Sunday Stitch School, can I help you?
Student: Yes, this is Queenie Patch. I am sorry I can not hand in my Friday Revision Homework today.
Clerk: Oh, and what is your excuse?
Student: Well, Miss, I have a headache and sore throat.
Clerk: I see. Well, you are in luck. Your teacher is in bed with a bad bout of hay fever. There will be no new stitch on Sunday at Sunday Stitch School.
Student: Oh, but I am sure I will be well by Sunday!
Clerk: But the TEACHER will NOT.
Student: OK. I'll be back with my homework next week Friday. Tell the teacher I wish her a speedy recovery.
Clerk: You, too, get better soon.

Picture source: https://web-japan.org/nipponia/nipponia21/en/trend/index.html