Friday Homework for Lesson 289: Armenian Edge Stitch

Once you have got into the knack of making that 8-shaped loop so important for this stitch, stitching is easy, quick and enjoyable.

Aida Sampler

I worked on the raw edge to make a real edge stitch!

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

To work on an edge, I appliquéd down the middle of a piece of ribbon and worked my way around the whole piece.

Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth

Here as well, I used a ribbon to add the stitches to. Variegated thread looks nice, don't you think?

WIPW - A Book Cover

 Here is this week's Work In Progress Wednesday report. I am happy to say I managed a lot of work.

Rescuing the Sweater

I completed the restoration work on both sleeves and can now pack away the sweater together with some mothballs. In autumn it will be lovely to once more put it on. I hope to wear the sweater for many more years to come.

Book Cover

I made a simple birthday present - a notebook cover. This pattern is for a reversible cover - the lining can become the outside cover if you turn the cover inside out. 

I had a piece of blue and white gingham check (used for the lining), a remnant of kimono cotton (Yukata) for the pockets and a fat quarter with a charming print designed by Mutsuko Yawatagaki. 

Ms Yawatagaki is a famous quilter who usually works with kimono silks. She operates a charming quilt art museum in the countryside and I bought the fabric from the museum shop some years ago. I was happy to use the fabric for this book cover.

By the way, my friend Pamela of Hokkaido Kudasai, made a beautiful wall hanging with fabric from Ms Yawagataki's collection.

Sunday Stitch School Stitch Sampler

I added one more stitch, #288 Fairy Lights Stitch to my sampler of Sunday Stitch School stitches. 

Rachel of Virtuosew Adventures pointed out that metallic thread would be good for the Fairy Lights Stitch. She is so right! The lights glint and glow!

I threaded the needle with three colours and started with red metallic. After three 'lightbulbs', I switched to the blue thread, and so on. The non-visible threads are wrapped over the Running Stitch on the back of the fabric.

The Green Man - Final Work

Do you remember What's In A Quilt - The Green Man?

Click on the link to see the start of the embellishment of the bias tape.  

Life got in the way and I never completed the Herringbone stitches. Until now that is. I started on the embellishments again, finished the HB stitches and began adding French Knots.

A New Start - Hexablooms

So many bloggers work on Hexagon quilts. Whenever I see these English Paper Pieced quilts I feel an itch in my fingers - I want to make such a quilt, too! The problem is finding time for quilting...

Then I threw caution to the wind and decided to indulge in a SLOW project. 

I will collect any piece of scrap cardboard, e.g. food containers, that otherwise would end up in the recycle bin, and cut out hexagon shapes. 

I will then make use of the many small scraps of fabric I have in my stash to make flowers for my Hexablooms quilt.

It will be a SLOW project, without any time limit, I might be working on this new quilt, a large one, for 10 years or more! No pressure allowed!

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 289: Armenian Edging Stitch

As I was browsing through A to Z of Embroidery Stitches 2, I found an edging stitch I have not yet used - Armenian Edging Stitch. It is included in Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches, too.

There are also several videos online should you want to watch an 'action instruction'. Or have a look at my photo instructions:

Add the edging to a stitched hem, or fold the fabric like this, or stitch over a raw edge.

Take the needle out from behind the fold.

Come out again from behind, next to the previous stitch.

Leave a loop,

Twist the loop into a figure eight. Make sure the thread that exits the fabric is on top of the other part of the loop.

Insert the needle in the lower part of the '8'.

Pull tight until you have a little knot.

Make another stitch in the same way.

You can also leave a bit of slack, and aim at perfectionism, but leave it be if it is hard to get the stitches even.

Another thing you can do is create a 'real' lacy look - stitch in the empty loops.

At the end of the line, turn the work and stitch in the other direction and so on.

Wouldn't it be nice on the edge of a handkerchief?

Homework: Add to these samplers.

Well, swap the Aida Sampler with binding, as it is now complete, for the other piece of Aida. Why not remove the whipped hem and work the Armenian Edging Stitch along the raw edge?

Friday Homework for Lesson 288: Fairy Lights Stitch

There are so many things you can do with a line or two of Running Stitch! These laced stitches do indeed look like fairy lights, they are so charming.

Aida Sampler

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth

WIPW - Binding the Aida Sampler

 Work In Progress Wednesday. 

Rescuing the Sweater

I have continued re-stitching/knit-stitching(?) the white yarn on the sweater. The front and back are now OK, but I found that the sleeves needed extensive work, too. As you can see the original white yarn wasn't placed inside the blue stitches. 

I sometimes wear a shirt underneath the sweater and the buttons on the cuffs have been tangled up with the yarn.

That is why the entire restoration work is done over the blue areas to avoid future snags.

Sunday Stitch School Stitch Sampler

#286 Reversed Chain (variegated green and red) and #287 Reversed  Chain Stitch with Buttonhole Edging (grey, turquoise and purple)

Sunday Stitch School Aida Sampler

This piece of Aida has now been filled so I added binding to the edges and have prepared a new piece of Aida for the next sampler.

Sunday Stitch School Aida Sampler

This is the sampler I use to test the various Sunday Stitch School's new stitches on Aida. The square is now filled so I stitched on a binding around the edges.

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 288: Fairy Lights Stitch

Let's learn a stitch from Sarah's Hand Embroidery Stitches - Fairy Lights Stitch.

You need two lines of parallel Running Stitch for your foundation. Then the lacing can begin.

Look at my photo tutorial or check out the link above.

Homework: Fill here.

Friday Homework for Lesson 287: Reversed Chain Stitch with Buttonhole Edging

Reversed Chain has proven to be easy and adding Buttonhole stitches to the edges was not difficult either.

Personally, I like the Reversed Chain Stitch better than the standard Chain Stitch. It is important to remember that the former requires the fabric to be stretched in a hoop whereas the latter can be worked in the hand. Also that if you want to work quickly standard Chain Stitch is faster.

Now for adding Buttonhole Edging... you can of course do that to both stitches. 

Actually, I have already done a version of 'Chain Stitch with Buttonhole Edging' - #78 Interlaced Chain Stitch, see the tutorial here. In that version, you first complete the lacing, 

then anchor the loops with small stitches:

As you will see below, there is no difference in looks to the 'un-anchored' part so only the stitcher will know which type of Chain Stitch the Buttonhole lacing has been added to.

Anyway, here is today's homework:

Reversed Chain Stitch with Buttonhole Edging

Aida Sampler

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth