WIPW - Double Amount, No Not Really

 As I was unable to post a WIPW report last week one would think I have the double amount of progress to report on today. Alas, I have worked hard on some projects and less so on others.

Tvistsöm Cushion

I am now stitching row 62. Normal progress.

Freeform Embroidery

Crossed Feather, Straight Sided Feather and Triangular Buttonhole Stitch in the lower left corner.

Half progress compared to normal.

Crazy for Crazy

Reversed Buttonhole Bar along one seam and a sprinkling of Buttonhole Bars in metallic thread on the gray silk fabric.

Normal progress? I could have made more.

Log Cabin Challenge

I only managed 11 new blocks. Half progress. Total block count now stands at: 255.

However, I embellished 29 seams, marked in yellow, and now have only six left, marked in white.

Triple progress.

I have worked hard to avoid using the same stitch twice, so in total there ought to be 239 different ones. Good to have all those TAST and Sunday Stitch School stitches to chose from, wouldn't you say?

The back proves there is heavy, and messy, stitching.

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 147: Woven Circle Stitch

There are many sources of embroidery stitches, the Stitch Dictionary at Pintangle is one of the best, of course, and soon Sharon Boggon will have her new book published. It is all about stitches and how to use them in a new way. 'Creative Stitches for Contemporary Embroidery' will be out in November and can be preordered now. Check out the link above and read all about it.

Another place I often go stitch hunting at is Sarah's Hand Embroidery Tutorials. Today's stitch comes from  this treasure cove of stitches. 

The stitch is Woven Circle, and you can see Sarah's clear instructions here.

My pictures are below:

Use Straight Stitch x 4 to make a cross.

Change the thread and come out from the centre. Wind the thread round,

and round, and round, and round....

until you have as many circles as you like.

Anchor the thread underneath the circle.

Quite frankly the name is misleading as there is no weaving involved.

That is why it is a good way to use 'difficult' thread, metallic, knobbly, fluffy... as the thread does not need to go through the fabric more than at the beginning and end.

This stitch is a relative of Rosette Stitch Rose (#65)

and Laced Wheel Stitch (#124)

Friday Homework for Lesson 146: Knotted Stitch

 I have been overwhelmed with work and that is why I had no time to write up a WIPW report for Wednesday, nor had I as much progress as I would have liked to blog about.

Anyway, today is not Wednesday but Friday and time to show the homework for Knotted Stitch.

A great stitch! Easy and quick, and look how different it can seem depending on the size, spacing or thread.

Aida sampler

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Canvas Sampler

Teal Wool Tailoring Scribble Cloth

WIPW - No Report

 Sorry, due to circumstances beyond my control there will be no Work In Progress Wednesday report this week.

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 146: Knotted Stitch

 Here is another stitch suitable for canvas work.  Although it is called Knotted Stitch there is no knot. For us who often have to unpick stitches, this is good news!

I came across Knotted Stitch on Kimberly Ouimet's blog. She has some very clear pictures. You can see them here.

For the best result, use Aida or any other fabric with a good grid. The stitch is easy and very straight forward, just look at these photographs.

Here you can see how the look changes with the spacing.

Homework:

Try out the stitch on the usual sampler, reference chart and scribble cloth, as well as the canvas sampler.

Friday Revision Homework - Stitches: 141 - 145

 Sunbonnet Sue has lost her bonnet - it blew out to sea when she was on-board a cruise ship. 

Sue's Chopstick Stitch dress took a long time to stitch. I marked the even weave fabric with erasable pen as there were no holes or grid in the weave to guide me. I like how the unevenness in the pattern make the dress flutter in the wind.

As for the life buoy, well the Raised Daisy Stitch is a real glutton, gobbling up both thread and time.

Personally I love Sue's stylish hair, the Feathered Zig-zag Stitch is upside down, but looks great as windswept hair. Thank you, Rachel for this stitch.

A linear stitch was needed for the railing and I was happy to have  the Ainu Running Stitch, Ieshininninu Chieshirokochu for that. 

Roll Chain Stitch became a belt.

Outlines for Sue's body and dress, and the shoes, were made with Stem Stitch.

WIPW - The Same Old Story

The same old story is what my Work In Progress Wednesday report is like - no new project, and the progress on the old projects is just - the same old story...

Freeform Embroidery

Fern, Straight and Lock Stitch were chosen this week.

Log Cabin Challenge

Ten new blocks. Total is 244.

Ten seams were decorated with Renaissance, Gate, Braid, Moss and Y Stitch among others.

Getting closer to finish!

Crazy for Crazy

Only one addition - the Raised Daisy Ring. Metallic thread is surely tricky to use!

Tvistsöm Cushion

A few new lines...

Sunday Stitch School - Revision: Stitches 141 - 145

Time to have another look at the last five stitches, and make a summery Sunbonnet Sue sampler.

Click on the titles to see my instructions and homework for each stitch.

141 Feathered Zig-zag Chain Stitch

This is a good example of how we can invent new stitches. Rachel of Virtuosewadventures made this useful and funny one - linked paper clips or plants, maybe.

142 Ieshininninu Chieshirokochu Stitch 

This is a good example of how we can learn from other cultures. The indigenous people of Hokkaido, northern Japan, the Ainu, use this stitch for their costumes, as I learned from this book, by Sanae Ogawa.

143 Chopstick Stitch

This is a good example of how we can benefit from reading stitching blogs. Shannon of Badasscrossstitch posted good instructions for this beautiful canvas stitch.

144 Raised Daisy Stitch

This is a good example of how to play with stitches. Mary Corbet of Needle 'n Thread's section of Stitch Fun is full of inspiration for how to play with and transform basic stitches.

145 Roll Chain Stitch

This is a good example of how good photos and videos can bridge language barriers. The Japanese text on Miharu's　'えっ？こんな刺繍ができちゃうの！？' blog or the Indian narration on several YouTube videos cause no barrier when the images are clear.

Homework:

Make another scene from one of Sunbonnet Sue's adventures using these five stitches.

Friday Homework for Lesson 145: Roll Chain Stitch

 Let's face it, Roll Chain Stitch is tricky, but with a bit a patience and practice it becomes easier and the result neater. Do give it a try as it is such a beautiful stitch.

Aida Sampler

Teal Wool Tailoring Scribble Cloth

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

WIPW - Rolling On

Stitching is just rolling on as per usual.

My Work In Progress Wednesday report:

Tvistsöm Cushion
Working on row 59 1/2.

Freeform Embroidery
I made a long line of Whipped Chain version 2, a spray of Fancy Bobbin Edging,

and Barb Stitch.

Crazy for Crazy
Over one seam I added Triple Chain.
Then I made the foundation stitch circle for a Raised Daisy Stitch. More work on that for next week.

Log Cabin Challenge
I have run out of gold for the centre 'hearth' piece, and started using copper instead. It will add a slightly warmer glow to the cabins. A cozy autumnal fire! And it is still HOT here!

10 more blocks = 234 blocks in total.

The cushion flimsy got another eleven seams embellished with some 'torturous' stitches  e.g. Rope, Chained Bar, Double Lock, Spiked Knot Chain - but also, Kiko's Flower.

New stitches are marked in yellow.