A Zillion Little Stitches

 

Stitching the Hexablooms is an easy job which does not require much concentration. You can easily work up a hexagon flower while listening to audiobooks or music, or chattering to someone. Or you can just let your mind wander and think of other things. I was engaged in the latter last night and started pondering over the word STITCH.

As you know it can mean several things,

a stitch = a loop of thread resulting from a single pass of the needle in sewing

to stitch = to join something with stitches

to be in stitches = to laugh uncontrollably

a stitch in time saves nine = fix a small problem now to avoid trouble later

not have a stitch on = be in the nude

stitch and bitch  = gather to stitch and chat/gossip with others

to have a stitch = to have a pain (usually at the side of the abdomen)

to require stitches = a wound or incision that requires suturing at a hospital

to stitch up a deal = to set up a deal to one's advantage

and so on...

Now we embroidery stitchers spend a lot of time on stitching, don't we? Have you ever wondered how many stitches you have taken in your life? I have.

So while I sat there and let my needle do all the work, my brain started counting, one, two, three...

I make 14 stitches when I baste the fabric over the cardboard hexagon.

I need 6 petals and 1 centre, so 7 hexagons in total. 

14 x 7 = 98 

I join each petal to the centre, which requires 17 stitches

To go around all the sides of the centre, I need 17 x 6 = 102 stitches.

After removing the cardboard in the middle, I start joining the petals to each other. This requires another 17 stitches for each seam.

3 large basting stitches are also needed to let the thread walk between the petals before I can stitch on the next petal.

Each petal thus needs 17+3 stitches, and there are 6 seams.

17 + 3 = 20

20 x 6 = 120

Each Hexabloom requieres 98 + 102 + 120 = 320 stitches.

How many Hexablooms have I got?

This is just a few!

Piles and piles and piles, I have reached 190. 

190 x 320 = ...

This means I have made 60.800 stitches so far.

I still have a long way to go before reaching the zillion mark! I'd better make another Hexabloom, i.e. 320 new stitches to get closer to my goal.

Friday Homework for Lesson 309: Chessboard Filling Stitch

It was nice to work with a Canvas stitch again. It was quicker to stitch than expected, and I even managed to fill in a square on my Canvas Sampler.

Aida Sampler

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth

Canvas Sampler

WIPW - Reaching the Halfway Mark

Work In Progress Wednesday: As I spent some time at a quilt show and then writing up a report on it, I have had little time to work on the

Sunday Stitch School Stitch Sampler

but I did make one circle of #8 Heavy Chain and filled it with #132 Dandelion Stitch.

Hexablooms

I did have time, however, to make another ten hexagon flowers. The total is now 190, which means I have reached the halfway mark. An estimated 377 blocks are needed.

My plan was to only use what I have in my stash, but I realised I would run out of metallic fabric before 377. I therefore bought a piece of reversible gold fabric. The right side can be seen in the middle of the dark grey flower and the wrong side is in the centre of the olive green blossom.

Unfortunately, metallic fabric does not photograph well - this quilt will have to be seen 'live' and not as a snapshop.

Quilt Show at Nihon Vouge

It was time for the annual quilt show hosted by Nihon Vouge and Quilts Japan at their building in Nakano, Tokyo.

On Saturday, I met up with a Japanese friend who is an excellent quilt teacher. Both her work and those of her students were on display.

Here is a selection of quilts that caught my eye:

Sketches with needle and thread! What do you think of Vermer's Girl with a Pearl Earring wearing a mask?

市川淑子＊Yoshiko Ichikawa

I like that this quilt is on point.

仲沢幸子＊Sachiko Nakasawa

Records by 楊楠＊Sorry I can not read this name, I think the maker is a Chinese, or Taiwanese, man. Or he might be based in Hong Kong or live in Singapore...

Look at the machine embroidery! Surely this must be made by computer software.

Feminine and romantic

稲谷美穂＊Miho Inatani

This Circle, Triangle and Rectangle quilt was made by my friend's student out of the smallest of scraps.

三木純子＊Junko Miki

For the love of the Swedish Dalahäst (Dalecarlean Horse)

桑田厚子＊Atsuko Kuwata

I liked the way the quilts had been displayed, often with two totally different quilts near each other. It helps the eye to compare and see differences.

The quirky cat quilt by 

和田まゆみ＊Mayumi Wada

The overflowing Treasure box by

苫谷秀子＊Hideko Tomatani

This sheer quilt was made with Korean Pojaki fabric, which is always so elegant.

山根秀子＊Hideko Yamane

Another of my friend's students,

若松操＊Misao Wakamatsu, wanted to use up her stash of polka dot fabric.

I love the movement and the way the size of the curved pieces change.

Quilt sculptor 

鈴木キルト＊KILUTO or Quilt Suzuki made this fantastic 3D creation.

Here is a busy but beautiful quilt, with colourful flowers and birds on a milk tea-coloured background.

平沢あけみ＊Akemi Hirasawa

These two contrasting quilts were also hung well.

The Fountain of Neptune in Piazza Navona, Rome by

長瀬順子＊Junko or Sumiko Nagase

Tropical birds by

市村静子＊Shizuko Ichimura

Soap bubbles by

近藤容子＊Yoko Kondo

As it is nearing Christmas, what better way to celebrate than with a charming quilt like this:

関谷みよ子＊Miyoko Sekitani

Here is a selection of the bags:

This is a nifty cycle bag with a plastic pocket for your online map on your smartphone, made by

鎌田朋子＊Tomoko Kamata

Meticulously made, beautiful and creative in all ways... alas the unique handle made me think of a pair of knickers, upside-down!

山口信子＊Nobuko Yamaguchi

This green bag was made by my friend's student,

梅野京子＊Kyoko Umeno

Her teacher, my friend, made this bag:

She made good use of the grey fabric using both the right and the wrong side. The latter is slightly lighter in colour as can be seen on the left side.

She extended a too-short zipper with a bit of fabric and two unique buttons.

上野知佳子＊Chikako Ueno

Finally, because of my love of Hexagons and Hand Embroidery, I have to include this blue bag. There is so much one can do with this combination!

市川祐子＊Yuko Ichikawa
...............................

I have tried my best to spell the quilters' names correctly, both in kanji (Japanese characters) and Roman script. Please excuse any mistakes.

My friend and I ended the visit by listening to a short talk on how to store fabric and notions. The recommendation was to make three piles of fabric,  ironed flat and sorted in size - large, medium and small pieces. Then a container to put the very smallest of pieces as they are useful for accents or appliqué.

Like the speaker I also have a bag for tiny scraps, but all sizes of fabric larger than 5x5 cm I keep in boxes sorted not by size but by colour. When I first start a new project, I decide what colour to use, and then look for the size I need.

The speaker also gave suggestions on what to do with fabric we have got fed up with. Why not use it for an iron board cover, as it won't matter if it gets soiled or burned? Or make a pillow case, after all, we won't see the print when we are asleep.

What do you think of these ideas? How do you store your fabric, what do you do with fabric that no longer gives you joy?

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 309: Chessboard Filling Stitch

 Let's do a canvas stitch today!

This one is from Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches. It's called Chessboard Filling Stitch.

You can also see it in Royal School of Needlework's Stitch Bank.

Here is my photo tutorial:

Make four straight stitches.

Leave a gap and make another set of four stitches.

Continue until you have filled in your area.

Change to a different colour thread.

Make a Cross Stitch on top of the previous stitches.

Anchor the Cross Stitch with a small vertical stitch in the middle.

Below is the same spacing as seen in Mary Thomas's book.

Here I have placed the groups of stitches closer together.

Homework:

Fill in some space here.

Friday Homework for Lesson 308: Crossed Cretan Stitch

 This stitch is much easier than I first thought. Unfortunately, I don't think it is particularly attractive.

Aida Sampler

 Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth

I wonder where I will use this stitch... and how on earth am I going to use it for the Sunbonnet Sue sampler... Some stitches give you a headache!