Friday Homework for Lesson 333: Damask Darning Stitch

 This stitch is a real teaser! It looks so simple and straightforward, but unless you have a good and even grid, you are snared in a trap!

It was easy and enjoyable to do the Aida Sampler, but the Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart and Mottle Wool Scribble Cloth almost drove me crazy. Although I used waste canvas and a gridded tracing paper to stitch through,  the work was confusing and the result disappointing. Finally, I managed to get some decent freehand results on the Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth.

I will not use this stitch again unless it is on canvas or Aida.

Aida Sampler

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth

WIPW - Getting On

As you can see from this Work In Progress Wednesday report, I have been getting on with the usual work. Additionally, I promised to share the work I completed on World Embroidery Day last week, which you can see below.

Hexablooms

I added more flower blocks and the flimsy now holds 86 flowers.

Mandala

I dug into my box of braids and ribbons and fished out this line of flat flowers. I will use them on the Mandala, somehow...

Baby Quilt

The machine quilting is now underway. Here is a picture of the reverse side.

Sunday Stitch School Indigo Sampler  on  World Embroidery Day

These are the three stitches I added last week:

#307 Rhodes Diamond (light coral),  #308 Crossed Cretan (red) and #309 Chessboard Filling Stitch (light blue and teal)

Birthday Card

I had this stumpwork portrait in a box and decided to mount it onto a piece of card and insert it into a window card.

Here is a picture of a detail. I will show the clear portrait once the birthday 'gal' has celebrated her day.

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 333: Damask Darning Stitch

Here is another stitch based on Straight Stitch. It is a canvas stitch and goes under the name of Damask Darning Stitch.

It is included in Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches, i.e. there is an illustration of the finished result, but not the stitch order. To see how it is stitched, I suggest you check out this video from fireandirisneedlepoint:

Or follow my photo tutorial.

Homework: Add here

 

Friday Homework for Lesson 332: Irregular Algerian Eylet Star Stitch

 This is such a sunny stitch; it makes me happy to look at it.

Aida Sampler

One warm and one cold!

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth

It is too hard to mark this fabric - I eyeballed the stitches.

World Embroidery Day - The Stitches I Took

I had planned to stitch on several WIPs (work in progress), but 'life got in the way', so my list had to be cut a bit.

However, I enjoyed working on two things related to Sunday Stitch School: this week's homework and the indigo stitch sampler. 

Here is the reverse side of the latter:

I'll show the front next Wednesday, when hopefully a few more stitches will have been added.

WIPW - Another Productive Week

I've had a rather productive week - I've stayed at home as much as possible to avoid the heat, and thus have had time to stitch.

Here is my Work In Progress Wednesday report.

Mandala

All four areas have been filled with Colonial Knots. 

I started looking for a braid or something suitable to add... more on that next week.

Sunday Stitch School Indigo Stitch Sampler

Here are #304 Single Knotted Cable Chain (red),  #305 Kalem Stitch (green) and #306 Whipped Back Stitch (light blue with orange and purple).

Hexablooms

I picked out 40+ blocks in grey, black, blue, wine red, purple and green. These were then arranged the way I wanted.

I also stitched a piece of paper on each one with the coded placement.

Baby Quilt

I appliquéed on a few blue circles, by machine, and then quilted the pieced blocks.

Next, I will quilt the outer borders.

Binding

I made a long roll of binding by stitching together 6 cm x 11 cm pieces. Part of this roll will be used for the baby quilt.

World Embroidery Day 2025

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow, July 30, is World Embroidery Day. 

Don't forget to take a stitch!

 

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 332: Irregular Algerian Eyelet Star Stitch

According to Arts & Design, where I found today's stitch,  it is one used for Hardanger.  Be that as it may, I will use it for free form embroidery and on any fabric with a good grid. 

The stitch is called Irregular Algerian Eyelet Star Stitch. The graph with stitch order can be seen at Art & Designs website. Search under the initial I.

Below you can see my own graph and some work-in-progress photos:

Odd numbers are along the outside, and 

even numbers are all inserted in the middle hole.

If you select a fabric with obvious holes, like Aida,

the counting is easy.

Use a stiletto to open the hole in the middle to accommodate 

all the thread that needs to pass through that hole..

Work your way clockwise around the design.

Come out at the edges and go in in the middle.

It's easy peasy and you will reach

half way in no time.

See! It was done in a jiffy! 

Homework:

Let the Irregular Algerian Eyelet Star Stitch light up these samplers.

Friday Homework for Lesson 331: Astrakhan Velvet Stitch

 This stitch is much easier than it first appears.

Aida Sampler

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth

I used tapestry wool and got a nice pile. The loops on the right have been cut, the ones on the left are intact.

WIPW - A Sandwich

 Another Wednesday has popped up. Why so soon and from where? I will never understand time!

Hexablooms

Totally, there are now 84 hexagon blocks joined together.

Mandala

One more void was filled with Colonial Knots.

Baby Quilt

The simple piecework on the baby quilt is complete. I have added the borders, pressed, sandwiched and basted the three layers together. Quilting will start soon.

Sunday Stitch School Indigo Stitch Sampler

No work has been done in the past week. 

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 331: Astrakhan Velvet Stitch

 Let's start the set of five new stitches with a loopy one - Astrakhan Velvet Stitch, or just Velvet Stitch for short.

It belongs to the Loopy Family together with #93 Rya Stitch and #248 Surrey Stitch.

I recommend two internet sites for instructions: Royal School of Needlework or Deanna Hall West's article in Piecework Magazine, where she shows no fewer than seven different ways to do the stitch!

Or you could follow my photo instructions, which I based on The Embroidery Stitch Bible.

Place a pin below the actual stitch line to wrap the loops around.

Go under the pin while not going through the fabric.

Pull the thread to the left.

The first stitch is complete.

New stitches are placed above the previous stitches.

You need another pin to wrap the new loops around.

These stitches are spaced so there is a lot of fabric between each row.

Here they are right above the previous row filling the fabric.

Keep the loops like this, or cut them open to make a tufted look.

Homework:

Add here.