Friday Homework for Lesson 330: Pueblo Stitch (with some updates)

My friend Janie left a comment about the Pueblo Indians and the origin of the name of the stitch.

I searched the web and found:

Pueblo Indians are a group of Native Americans who live in the Southwestern United States, known for their distinctive, multi-story adobe villages commonly referred to as pueblos. They are descendants of the ancient Ancestral Puebloans (also known as Anasazi) and have a long history of settled agricultural life. Today, they reside primarily in northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico. 

Here is a link to Pueblo Indians' clothing.

In 'Ceremonial Costumes of the Pueblo Indians', which I have only had time to skim through, I found that 'heavy embroidery raises the surface and stiffens the garment...' on page 90. 

I didn't, however, note any information about a particular embroidery stitch. As Sunday Stitch School's  #330 Pueblo Stitch has a rich braided look, its 3D texture 'raises the surface...'.

Updated:  On pages 106 and 107 I found the following about Pueblo embroidery:

the embroidery was done by men, the cloth was stretched in a frame and the stitch was a simple Back Stitch, most of the thread was on the right side, picking up only a few on the underside.

If you are interested and have the time, please read this thorough description of the garments of the Pueblo Indians.

Janie also commented that she had heard Pueblo Stitch can also be called Split Ply Stitch. After some research, I found that there is a weaving technique with that name.

For an embroidery stitch, it also makes sense. 

Look what my dictionary says about PLY:

[usually in combination] a strand of yarn or rope: [as modifier] :  four-ply yarn. 

• the number of multiple layers or strands of which something is made: the yarn can be any ply from two to eight.

As the needle is loaded with two strands of thread and we are splitting those two strands for the Pueblo Stitch it makes sense to call Pueblo Stitch Split Ply Stitch. 
In my opinion, however, it would also apply to the ordinary Split Stitch as we are then splitting the two-ply twisted strand of a single strand of thread.
Isn't embroidery a most interesting subject?
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My homework:

Aida Sampler

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth

Isn't Pueblo Stitch a most beautiful embroidery stitch?

WIPW - Zipped Up and Stuffed

 Work In Progress Wednesday. 

Hexablooms

More flowers, 65 to be exact, have opened up on the ever-growing quilt flimsy.

 

Sunday Stitch School Stitch Sampler

It's COMPLETED!

The cushion is now assembled. The fastener is stitched in place and zipped up. The cushion is stuffed with a large pillow AND a woollen blanket that was hibernating in the closet. 

Finally, the cushion, which features the first 300 stitches from Sunday Stitch School, is now chilling out on the daybed. 

Flip it over to see the reverse side.

This is definitely a 'look, but don't touch' cushion and nothing to lean back against. All those blue sequins will prick your back for sure. 

No, you had much better study the various stitches and celebrate the loveliness of embroidery.

Birthday Card

The birthday card I showed a blown-up version of last week looks like this.

I used three pieces of machine-made lace. One, the hat, I coloured with fabric crayons. The collar and the blue bow tie are simply stitched on. 

The hair was made from a silky synthetic fibre I once bought in the UK. I wound it round a bamboo skewer and ironed it till it became a long cork screw curl. 

It was then cut into several sections and stitched on before I placed the hat on top.

The face was drawn with felt-tip pens, and the cheeks were blushed with ink from a red pencil.

It was fun and easy to make this card with materials I had in my stash.

New!

The New Sunday Stitch School Sampler

There are 330 stitches in the Sunday Stitch School collection. 300 are in the cushion as seen above.

The remaining 30, and all the future stitches I have yet to learn, need a place to live. That is why I will start a new stitch sampler on a piece of coarse cotton dyed with indigo.

Here is the blank page!

Mandala

Do you remember the Mandala project? 

It has been taking a long rest in its project box. Now, with the cushion ticked off the list, it is time to progress on this wallhanging. 

The first thing I did was to take a good look and a long think!

First on the list will be to fill in the three remaining voids with knots, and I have to check what type of knot stitches they are, as I have forgotten.

All in all, it has been a very productive week for a change.

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 330: Pueblo Stitch

 Do you remember #119 Alternating Magic Split Stitch and #120 Magic Split Stitch?

Today, we will learn Pueblo Stitch, which is quite similar.

Instructions for Pueblo Stitch can be found in many places, on YouTube and at Sarah's Hand Embroidery Tutorials as well as at Arts&Design under Pueblo Stitch.

Q: So what differs between Alternating Magic Split Stitch and Pueblo Stitch? 

A: The placement of the needle!

Compare the picture of Alternating Magic Split Stitch with the photo of Pueblo Stitch.

In Alternating Magic Split Stitch, the tip of the needle 
comes out inside the previous 'Chain Stitch'.

In Pueblo Stitch, the tip of the needle comes out in the
hole just outside the 'Chain Stitch'. 

Here is my photo tutorial.

You need two threads of different colours on the needle.

Take a Back Stitch by splitting the threads, red on the left and blue on the right. 

Pull the threads through.

Change the threads over, blue on the left and red on the right. 

Take a Back Stitch and exit in the hole at the bottom of the 'Chain Stitch'.

Alternate by changing the coloured threads over.

Continue. Anchor the last stitch.

Homework:

Try to squeeze in a line of Pueblo Stitch on your samplers. The Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth is getting fuller and fuller. Is there any space left?

Friday Homework for Lesson 329: Radiation Stitch

 Aida Sampler

The Radiation Stitch gets a different life when worked in a variegated thread!

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Imagine these clusters made with orange thread, wouldn't they look like campfires? 

So are there two stitches that can be used for flaming fires, the Fire Stitch, that we learned two weeks ago and this week's Radiation Stitch?

Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth

Program the needle to do 100% free-form stitching, and you get sprawly, weedy bushes!

I LOVE embroidery!

WIPW - Basting the Zipper

How can time fly so fast? It's already Wednesday,  so here is my Work In Progress Wednesday report.

Hexablooms

I have now added ten blooms to the previous yellow, orange and dark blue. The new ones are mostly dark blue, too, although many of them have prints.

Sunday Stitch School Stitch Sampler

I am still preparing the transformation of the sampler into a cushion. The zipper was bought and has been basted in place. Next step is the lining...

Birthday Card

I have made another birthday card, which I will show in full later in July. Here is a blown-up detail.

 

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 329: Radiation Stitch

For this Sunday, I'd like to introduce you to the Radiation Stitch. 

I hope it radiates positive energy like happiness, charm, warmth and optimism, and not nuclear leaks or harmful levels of UV rays. 

It's a pleasingly easy stitch based on Straight Stitch, radiating from the same source. You can let the rays fan out in a variety of ways. See examples below.

You can see where I found Radiation Stitch at Sarah's Hand Embroidery Tutorials.

Queenie's photo tutorial:

Here are some different styles:

Homework:

Expose these three samplers to radiation!

Friday Homework for Lesson 328: Old Florentine Stitch

As I guessed, this stitch can be done in autopilot, especially when you stitch on a gridded piece of fabric like Aida or canvas. For freeform embroidery on plain weave, denim or mottled wool, you need to pay attention to angle, spacing and stitch length.

Aida Sampler

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth

Canvas Sampler

WIPW - Two Projects off my Shoulders

 I had less time to progress on my Work In Progress Wednesday project than I had thought. 

Anyway, I can report on two finishes.

Sunday Stitch School Stitch Sampler

The entire piece is now covered with shiny blue sequins. 

I started this sampler in November 2021, with #1 Anundsjö Stitch and added the last stitch in September last year with stitch #300, Ring Picot. Since then, I have been adding stitches and sequins wherever I spotted a void.

I will now look for a lining/backing fabric and a zipper, and turn this into a cushion cover.

Bookmark

The bookmark is now filled with Cross-Stitch. What remains is the stretching, pressing and fringemaking.

Here is the reverse side. I will show you the front in September. Until then, the bookmark will slumber in a box.

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 328: Old Florentine Stitch

It's about time we had a canvas stitch. In The Embroidery Stitch Bible, I found Old Florentine Stitch. It seems to be a great filling stitch. It also appears to be the kind of stitch that can be done in autopilot mode.

Have a look at the photo tutorial:

Homework: Add to the samplers, and if time allows, also to the Canvas Sampler.