WIPW - Don't They Look Good Together?

For the (probably) last Work In Progress Wednesday report of the year I can report on some progress on the Pile 'em On and the completion of the Chicken Scratch project.

Pile 'em On

Here I worked the Half Rhodes Stitch in various colours and the Norwich Stitch in light grey. Both were easy and fun, and had they been worked on real canvas they would have looked much neater.

Chicken Scratch

I completed the central band of stitches on the Chicken Scratch cushion. (Excuse the blurred photo).

Then I made it into a cushion. I added lace at the shorter ends so that it would look good next to the charming cushion my friend Jacquie Harvey once made for me. Don't they look good together!

Season's Greetings to you all.

WIPW - The Lazy Chicken

Work In Progress Wednesday. It is slow going here. The Chicken is lazy and does not want to Scratch much!

Chicken Scratch

I have not made much progress, and did not have anything to post last week. This is as far as I have been able to work:

I hope YOU have more time!

WIPW - Not Much To Write (Home) About

It has been another busy week with little time for embroidery. My Work In Progress Wednesday report is not much to write (home) about, but here goes:

Pile 'em On

 I added three columns of Canvas Fern Stitch.
They are framed on two sides by Four Sided Stitch in white that my Mum once started on this cloth. I think she intended to make a small table runner. When I first found this project amongst her belongings I thought of completing the table runner, but the tension of my stitches did not match that of hers so I turned this piece of cloth into my own free form embroidery project, Pile 'em On.

Chicken Scratch
On the 'chicken farm' the crosses are beginning to twinkle like stars...

Off to busy myself with other things than embroidery, I'm afraid.

WIPW - One week delayed

Last week I had no opportunity to post a Work In Progress Wednesday report. Sorry!

I was able to make a little bit of progress, though, on my projects.

Chicken Scratch

Three strands of embroidery floss frame the red squares on the Gingham check, and red floss outline a larger area.

I then started stitching a new area in the middle of the cloth.

Pile 'em On

 Three Canvas stitches were used to fill in the background; Plaited Stitch (blue and variegated blue) Crossed Goblin Stitch (gray) and I finished the light green Reversed Cross Stitch that I had left half finished in July.

 

I hope you have had a much more productive week.

WIPW - A Dancing Doll Needlecase

Today, Work In Progress Wednesday  is about

Conveyor Belt Needle Case

I completed it with a few stitches, a 'tongue' and a little metal mesh bead.

 When I showed the work last week, a professional designer told me she saw a dancing figure in this one. I hadn't noticed but think she is right!

This is the other side.

With this project out of the way, what shall I do, start a new one? No, wait, there are some UFOs. I'll get to work on them first.

Pile 'em On

I haven't worked on this for ages so it is high time I put some more Canvas stitches into it.

Chicken Scratch

This Chicken Scratch project is something I have only been working on while travelling. However, I will probably not go on a train journey for some time, so will complete this at home.

WIPW - The Swedish Cushion Completed!

If you click here and read the information on Pintangle you will learn all about Work In Progress Wednesday.

How quickly Wednesdays come around! It is time for another WIPW report.

Kafferepet
I have completed the Woven Crosses that anchor the lace. That means that the top of the quilt is finished. Yes!  A picture will be shown next week.

Here I have collected the material for the hanging sleeve and the label that I hope to start work on soon.

Pile 'em On
More orts and stray thread have been worked into the 'mess'. The latest addition were the purls I made.

TASTy Beads Galore
I was most impressed by some stunning flowers Chitra, of Jizee6687's Weblog, made on her sampler with TAST #139 Beaded Barb Stitch. I wanted to make something similar. Alas, my colours are dull and the spacing not so impressive; I'll have to try again.

TAST Reference Chart
I stitched down the labels for the latest ten stitches.

Then I prepared another sheet for future TAST stitches. There are 81 squares! Sharon, I hope you don't feel this as any pressure, but I'd love to have them all filled with TAST stitches eventually!!!

Chicken Scratch
Out of the blue I had to make another train trip. I let the Chicken loose and she Scratched hard and actually completed the design.

Before I turn this into a cushion I will work another pattern of thread in some areas to add a bit of pizzaz.

The Swedish Cushion
A cushion that is completed, however, is the Swedish one.
The full panel looks like this:

and contains 124 different TAST stitches (the 16 beaded TAST stitches are not included). 

In addition I have used Cross stitch for the initials and Anundsjö Stitch for the small blue and yellow emblems.

If you look closely you can see that in many areas I have used a mirror image and tried to use stitches that were as similar on either side. In the end that gave me a headache; I had added TAST #132 Kiko's Flower in one of the paisley designs:

and got no TAST stitch that would balance the act in the other paisley. It felt as if I had painted myself into a corner and could not get out... What to do? Well, I had seen Kiko's Flower in the Totsuka Embrodery Stitch Book #8 and the same author has a similar stitch in another of her books, Basic Stitch, that looked about the same. So I added that, the Triangular Bullion Stitch:

So there are in total 127 different stitches.

The made up cushion looks like this on one side,

and this, on the other side.

Work on the cushion was started in the middle of August last year, and it has taken a year and a half to complete it.
The fabric is cotton and easy to work on, but hard to photograph. The threads are mainly perle 8, stranded floss and coton a broder. In each corner there is a tassel of red ribbon, and by opening the zipper on one side you can remove the inner cushion.
It will be a delight to have this cushion on display and I am sure it will give me a lot of inspiration for future projects.

Thank you for all the support and encouragement you have given me.

WIPW - Sorry its Blurred

Work In Progress Wednesday helps you work towards completing needlework projects. Check it out at Pintangle.

 I have taken most of the photos with my mobile phone, so the pictures are blurred. Sorry!

Kafferepet
I have almost come full circle on the embroidery quilting of the inner part of the lace.

Next step is to embroider the other edge of the lace.

Pile 'em On
More rough embroidery has been piled on, and you can see a circle beginning to emerge...

TASTy Beads Galore
I tried to use TAST #116 Beaded Vandyke Stitch for the yellow flower. Not easy, not well made, not looking good... I can not put the blame on the blurred photo!

Chicken Scratch
I had the opportunity to make another train journey and continued working on this piece. Although I have not much left, I begin to feel the pattern is rather boring and will see if I should add some more designs, maybe in a heavier thread...

Swedish Cushion

Yesterday we got a new TAST stitch, #140 Threaded Cable Chain, and this will be added to the cushion and shown next week.

There are still a few blank areas on my fabric which could benefit from a cluster of stitches, but with #140 I will have added all the non-beaded TAST stitches we have learned. I don't want to repeat the same stitches again, so what should I do? I am calling this the Swedish Cushion so why not add a true Swedish stitch, although it is not, and might never become a TAST stitch? 

May I introduce you to the Anundsjö stitch:

It starts like a split stitch, either splitting one thread or dividing two threads.

The anchoring stitch goes into the fabric outside the split stitch.

Then you add another stitch, either as a detached one or following a line.

I think the charm of the stitch is its irregularity and scratchy look. 

The story has it that it was 'invented' by Brita-Kajsa Karlsdotter who took up embroidery when she was elderly and her vision had become slightly impaired, explaining the uneven look. 

I used it on the cushion to make small emblems like these:

The centre is worked in Chain Stitch and Laid Filling Stitch often found in Halland Embroidery, another traditional Swedish style from the west coast county of Halland.

WIPW - The Chicken Scratches Again

Read about Work In Progress Wednesday, check the links, and why not join in. Click here.

Kafferepet

I have turned a corner with the embroidery on this quilt.

Swedish Cushion

To even out a blank area I added a cluster of TAST #30 Cast On stitches, although I already had inserted four Cast On stitches in another spot on the cushion in June.

 

TASTy Beads Galore

I worked three leaves in TAST #139 Beaded Bard Stitch. Sorry for the blurred picture.

The stem of the #135 Beaded Fern Stitch plant was extended and there is now a flower made with the same stitch as well.

Pile 'em On

More stray ends of orts ended up on this 'rough' free form embroidery.

TAST Reference Chart

TAST #138 Barb Stitch and #139 Beaded Barb Stitch found their way to the right boxes on the reference chart.

EXTRA! WIPW Chicken Scratch goes travelling again

On my Chicken Scratch cushion,  that I started two years ago, and haven't work on since last November,  I worked as far as I could on a recent train journey. Will I not progress on this again until next year November? Then I wonder how many years it will take to complete?!

WIPW and WIP While Travelling

Work In Progress Wednesday is a 'push' to finish your needlework projects. Go to Pintangle to read more.

Kafferepet

I have almost completed embellishing the border.  There are a few details to attend to for next week.

The rose petals are edged with TAST stitch #87 Buttonhole Picot version 1 (Bullion Knot)
In the centre is a Buttonhole Wheel Cup #40 in yellow and green

Upper stem: Half Chevron Stitch #18
Lower stem: Arrowhead Stitch #45

Upper stem: Oyster Stitch #28
Lower stem: Bullion Buttonhole Stitch #71

Upper stem: Knotted Feather Stitch #49
Lower stem: Linked Double Chain Stitch #32

Swedish Cushion

I have only filled in this part with Top Knotted Buttonhole Stitch #64 (and a few Back Stitches)

Work In Progress While Travelling or 'Scratching a Chicken on the Train'

I started this Chicken Scratch embroidery last year and have worked on it exclusively while going on shorts trips in Japan. I wrote about it last year in November.

I believe I have not touch this piece of cloth since last year! It was time to do something about this and I did indeed work hard and now 75% of the work is completed.

While on the trip to northern Japan we saw something else that was red and white;

we encountered the first snow of the season. The snow added a nice touch to the red maple leaves on the trees. 

Work In Progress Wednesday - Chicken Scratch on the train

Work in Progress Wednesday is a great way to keep on adding stitching to any project. The UFOs are thinning out!

I have been on a trip where I had to travel by train for a long distance. That is the perfect time to stitch but not anything that requires lots of packing (beads, ribbons, scissors, pins, bobbins of thread, needles....).

With only a hoop, a needle and pre-cut strands of thread, I worked on a Chicken Scratch embroidery I started earlier in the year. I manage to do about half of this during this trip (heavy rain made it impossible to enjoy the view from the train window so work was easy):

Excuse the awful colours; I took the photographs under electric light.

I have also added a small wheel to the crazy quilt block:

To see much more impressive Work In Progress go to Sharon's page!