Friday Homework for Lesson 334: Pachis Work Filling

 With the help of a good grid, this filling stitch is fun and easy. Freehand is another thing; you can't avoid getting stitches that are a bit wonky.

Aida Sampler

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Mottled Wool Scribble Cloth

WIPW - The Euphoria of Taking the Last Stitch

There is some general progress and a finish to report for this week's Work In Progress Wednesday.

Hexablooms

I attached more flowers to the flimsy. In total, there are 98 flowers. 

Mandala

I decided to use the small flat flowers as a garland along the inner edge. One 'slice' out of eight is done.

Birthday Card

Here is the stumpwork portrait I showed part of last week. Hopefully, it arrived in time for my friend's birthday.

The Baby Quilt

The quilt is now finished. I enjoyed making it; there is love in every stitch, although almost every stitch was made by machine. The binding, however, I put on by hand. 

Oh, the euphoria of taking the last stitch!

The quilt top has three columns of pieced rectangles made of remnants and odd pieces from my stash.

The four borders are panels of a cherry blossom print on a pink background. There are some machine-applied aqua circles scattered along the border.

I quilted the rectangles freehand, but wanted to use a quilting template I have had for a long time for the borders.

This template is obviously meant for hand quilting and has double lines. I decided to use only one line but vary the size of the oval-shaped twists in the line, thus creating small butterfly motifs.

By using the walking pressure foot and a slow speed, I managed to quilt the entire quilt without too much trouble. Not all butterflies were as neat as the one above, but overall, I am pleased with the result.

I also had two reels of rice-rac, in green and turquoise. Why not use them to add interest and match the colour of the appliquéd circles?

The binding was made from the same prints you can see in the pieced rectangles.

I folded it in half and stitched on along the edges. It is a wide binding with mitred corners. When folded over, the binding is narrow on the front and wide on the back, thus making the plain back a bit more interesting.

Sunday Stitch School Indigo Stitch Sampler

#310 Circular Buttonhole Dome Stitch (red and aqua), #311 Seed Stitch (purple variegated), #312 Closed Buttonhole Stitch (light blue and blue metallic) and #313 Darning Stitch (off-white).

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 334: Pachis Work Filling

NOTE!

Is it age? 

After publishing today's stitch and setting about adding it to my handwritten files, what do I find? I have already introduced this stitch!!! 

It is Sunday Stitch School stitch #253. It was on 4th June, 2023 and you can see that blogpost here.

After looking closely, the Pachis Work of 2023 is an individual stitch. Today's version is a filling (or linear) stitch and actually looks quite different, see below.

I will therefore keep today's stitch but add Filling to its name -  Pachis Work Filling.

Oh, I am sure this is a sign of old age! Is it time to quit?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

On the blog of Deepa, I found Pachis Work. Like last week's stitch, it is a stitch that requires a grid. Deepa drew hers on plain weave. You could also use waste canvas and, of course,  a gridded fabric, like Aida.

It looks similar to #208 Star Filling Stitch, but it isn't. To start with, the latter is mostly seen as an individual stitch, scattered over a large area or used as flowers in a bouquet. Today's Pachis Work is somewhat of a linear stitch or it is used as a filling stitch to cover a void. 

The second difference is the length and width of the arms of the stitch. #208 Star Filling Stitch forms a square-like star, because it uses the four corners of a square, whereas #334 is rounder in shape. Thirdly, the cross in the middle is larger for the Star Filling Stitch than Pachis Work.

In Deepa's excellent tutorial, she creates a neat cross with five 'stars' in a row. The arms of the first star and that above (or below) 'hold hands', thereby creating a diamond. Pachis is the kind of stitch that has a touch of magic in it!

So on to my photo tutorial:

Basically, you make a tall and skinny vertical cross or an X.

and then add a horizontal one.

Now let's get stitching:

Move upwards

Then go downwards to make the crosses or Xs.

Add the horizontal crosses.

Tie down the threads with a stitch in the middle.

If you like, add the crosses on the sides to make a large plus.

Hey Presto! Can you see the four diamonds?

Homework: Add to the three usual samplers

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