Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 198: Whipped Wheatear Stitch

Here is a lesson from one of the masters - Sharon Boggon of Pintangle. Whipped Wheatear Stitch.

See Sharon's excellent photo instructions here.

Working this stitch is straight forward - you make a line of Wheatear Stitch and then whip the 'wheat kernel', the Chain Stitch part of it. Like this:

Begin with a slanted Straight Stitch

and one more in the other direction.

Come out below the tip of the V.

Take the thread behind the V without

picking up any fabric.

Insert in the same hole to make a reversed

Chain Stitch.

Make another Wheatear Stitch in the same way.

Continue

and anchor the last Chain Stitch.

Take another thread in a contrasting colour,

out from just under the Chain Stitch.

Insert the needle from right to left of the

lowest Chain Stitch, just the right side.

Work your way up towards the top.

Anchor inside the top V.

Come out at the bottom again

and work your way up on the 

left side.

Anchor 

and you're done.

Homework:

Work Whipped Wheatear Stitch on these samplers: Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart and Aida Sampler. 

Do the same on the new scribble cloth. It's a lovely piece of mottled wool, which I don't have enough of to use for clothing, hence its new job as a recipient of Sunday Stitch School Stitches. Go to work Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth!

Friday Homework for Lesson 197: German Blanket Stitch

This is an easy stitch and  it is fast to work. Do try it.

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Aida Sampler

Teal Wool Tailoring Scribble Cloth

With these stitches the Scribble Cloth sampler is full. I will put a thin border on it.

A new wool sampler will be started from next stitch.

WIPW - The Back

 Work In Progress Wednesday.

Sunday Stitch School Stitch Sampler

I decorated the appliquéd ovals with the following stitches:

#24 X-ray Stitch, #25 Y Stitch, #85 Wrapped Cross Stitch and #170 Danish Knotted Cross Stitch

Velveteen Cushion

The quilting on the front is now completed. I will probably add some appliqué later so it is not really done yet.

The next step was to work on the back. Here it is only one piece of grey velveteen to work on.

I used a similar cross design for the centre, and then petals that peek out from underneath.

I used three types of metallic thread, gold, silver and copper. Also raspberry pink and mint green Cotton a Broder thread. So far I have used Feather, Chain, Stem and E Laced Edging Stitch.

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 197: German Blanket Stitch

Sorry for the disruption last week. All is well again, so let's start with a quiz!

What are the names of these stitches?

a) __________________

b) ___________________________

c) _______________________________

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Answers: a) Buttonhole Stitch, b) Up and Down Buttonhole Stitch, c) Knotted Buttonhole Stitch

a) and b) are TAST stitches, and c) is Sunday Stitch School Stitch #36

So what is today's stitch? Well, it is a version of the Buttonhole Stitch, closest to c),  and is called German Blanket Stitch, or German Buttonhole Stitch, if you prefer.

I found it at Anita's blog Artistic Fingers. 

This is how to make it:

Start with a pair of slanted Buttonhole Stitch.

Insert the needle, right to left,  

under the two 'legs'.

Pull the thread through until you have 

wrapped the 'legs' with a loop.

Continue in the same way. 

Easy peasy!

Homework:

Squeeze in some German Blanket Stitches on these samplers. 

It might be the last stitch for the Teal Wool Tailoring Scribble Cloth. It is time to start on a new scribble cloth.

WIPW - Insect Repellant Bags

I didn't think I would have the energy to make a Work In Progress Wednesday report for this week. I met with an accident late last week, and so was unable to prepare a new stitch for Sunday Stitch School. Luckily I am now well on the mend and can function as usual.

Fortunate was also that I had already made some progress on my other projects, and furthermore had just completed a set of 

Insect Repellant Bags

that I made for a friend out of scraps of kimono silk.

In Western countries we often fill small pouches with lavender or other fragrant herbs or flowers to place in the linen cabinet. To keep clothes safe from insects we may use smelly moth balls.

These pouches contain powdered incense which has a very distinct scent. To me it is a very pleasant Japanese smell, but I must admit the perfume goes well with kimonos, but not with bed linen. It certainly is nicer than the naphthalene of traditional moth balls!

Velveteen Cushion

Here I had added four smaller stars in the lower border.

Sunday Stitch School Stitch Sampler

These stitches had also been added inside the ovals.

#20 Tete-de-boeuf 

#57 Figure-Eight Knot

#117 French Knotted Lazy Daisy

#118 Lazy Daisy Picot

#125 Carina's Knot

So all in all,  a good show, I think.

Sunday Stitch School - Time Out

Sorry, but I need to put my feet up. 

Therefore there is no new stitch for today's Sunday Stitch School. Hope to be back on track next week.

Friday Homework for Lesson 196: Square Knot Drizzle Stitch

 I don't know why, but the stitches I added to the three samplers are all uneven and look messy.

Well, while I ponder why, here they are:

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Teal Wool Tailoring Scribble Cloth

Aida Sampler

Looking at them again, I think the problem is that I did not tighten the macrame knot over the needle hard enough - there is too much slack in the thread... I guess. What do you think?  

Do I have an explanation? I WAS tired, it WAS late when I did them.... A feeble excuse for a failure...

CrazyQstitcher perfected her stitches! Have a look.

WIPW - A New Cushion

The second Work In Progress Wednesday report this year.

Sunday Stitch School Stitch Sampler

I needle turned down the pink oval that was at a basted stage last week. I added two more ovals, #52 Underside Couching Stitch and #111 E Laced Edging Stitch.

Knitting

The leg warmers I started knitting during the New Year holiday are now warming my ankles!

New Velveteen Cushion

Once upon a time, long ago, I made a quilt of fake patchwork fabric, i.e. the print is a pieced rhombus pattern, and velveteen in pink and grey. The quilting was done in metallic silver thread.

I kept the remnants to make a matching cushion. A new year's resolution for 2022 was to finally take action.

As I also want to use up other remnants from my stash, I pieced together odd bits of Japanese fabric for the backing.

Piecing, sandwiching and basting were done first, of course.

Then I started on the quilting. To mirror that of the quilt I used ordinary Running Stitch for quilting the rhombus pattern. 

For the border,  I made an oval cross pattern, which I quilted in Feather Stitch. 

Both silver and gold threads have been used.

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 196: Square Knot Drizzle Stitch

A warm welcome to a new year of tracking down, learning and using new embroidery stitches. New, means new to me, they might be known to you, or historically old, but they are ones that I have not seen or used before.

So here we go. The first stitch of the year is  called Square Knot Drizzle Stitch and is similar to #193 Double Drizzle Stitch, but it is made differently. 

I first found it on Annet's blog, Fat Quarter, where she has a really good tutorial. From there I went to Lakshmi Sadalas blog. She tells the story of how she started using macrame knots in hand embroidery. I find it so inspiring to read how others combine one craft with another.

Are you familiar with macrame? My mother made some hanging baskets for plants with macrame technique, and I was fascinated with the different knots. Square Knot Drizzle Stitch is made with one of the most basic knots. Actually it is basically a line of ordinary Reef Knots.

This stitch makes beautiful flowers, and when worked in two colours looks striking.

This is what you need:

Take the two strands of thread to the front, and remove the needle.

Thread the white and black thread on a blunt needle each, this will help you manoeuvring the threads.

Place the milliner needle as close to where the two threads came out, and anchor the tip of it a bit further away to keep it steady. You need the shank of the needle to tie the knots on.

Place the white thread OVER the needle.

Place the black thread OVER the white thread.

Then UNDER the needle,

Then into the loop, first UNDER the white thread, then OVER it.

Pull the two threads,

until you have this single knot.

Now do the same knot on the other side.

Place the white thread OVER the needle.

Place the black thread OVER the white thread.

Then UNDER the needle

Then into the loop, first UNDER the white thread, then OVER it.

Pull the two threads,

until you have this double knot.

Continue in the same way until you have as many knots as you like.

Re-thread the milliner needle.

Remove the tip from the steady keep.

Pull the thread through to the back

and there you have your Square Knot Drizzle Stitch!

On the back the colours are reversed.

Here you can compare the two stitches.

Homework:

Add to the samplers.