Dates for Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2014

The dates for Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2014 next January in Tokyo Dome have now been announced.

Click here to read all about the schedule.

There will be a lot of Scandinavian flavour this time. Should you visit, don't forget to see the Swedish Antique Wool Embroidery from Kulturen in Lund.

The numbers of the Partnership Charity quilts have not been announced yet but as soon as I know into which quilt my Olive Branch has been added I will let you know.

WIPW - One ticked off the list

Work In Progress Wednesday - a great challenge to tick off your UFOs (UnFinished(Needlework)Objects) inspired by Pintangle.

Christmas Mobile
This is no longer a WIP but a WC, no, not a loo, but Work Completed and ticked off my list.

1) The wreaths were cut out.

2) They were folded over a ruler.

3) They were then glued together and fixed with pegs, and left to dry.

4) The smallest wreath has four parts, the others six.

5) The spheres were strung up with the beads and ribbon provided.

6) Finally to create a tassel, the beads were strung up and attached to the bottom of the green ribbon.

7) The WIP has turned into a WC.

Although this project was fun to do, I found it a bit fiddly to cut out and assemble. Nevertheless, this will be a nice addition to my Christmas decorations.

This is a kit from The Nutmeg Company. Visit their website to see all their charming kits.

Kafferepet

The flowers are embellished in the same way as previous flowers, for details look at older blog posts. The stems are made with TAST stitches.

Upper (right) stem: Bonnet stitch #25
Lower stem: Inverted Feather #50

Upper stem: Sheaf #33
Lower: Buttonholed Herringbone #55

Upper stem: Raised Chain version 2, #81
Lower stem: Top Knotted Buttonhole #64

Swedish Cushion
I have not had a lot of time to devote to the cushion but added an outline of yellow Buttonhole Picots version 1 (with Bullion stitches) #87

Wow, check out how differently the red, purple and yellow take to the camera!!!

TAST #88 - Buttonhole Picot, version 2 (with Chain stitches)

Here is the second version of Buttonhole Picot, TAST stitch #88, which is worked with Chain stitches made in the air. Needle crochetting?

To see how the picots are made and learn more about TAST, go to Pintangle.

Compared with the blue picots (version 1 made with Bullion Knots) that you can see at the top, the yellow and red picots are spheric.
They were easier to make and I find them more even in size and shape.
However, I think the Bullion version has an interesting form and are a bit more 'unique'. These yellow and red bundles of Chain stitches could be taken for French Knots, couldn't they? My private musings...

TAST #87 - Buttonhole Picot version 1 (with Bullion Knot)

TAST (Take A Stitch Tuesday), an idea created by Sharon B of Pintangle, is a great way to learn embroidery stitches, document them on your own blog and then share with others by linking back to Pintangle. Click here to learn this week's stitch and leave a comment.

I had some trouble with tension, but apart from that it was not too hard to make the Buttonhole Picots with Bullion Knots. A trick for those who find it hard to pull the needle through the wraps on the needle is to use a Sharp or Milliners needle, the type seen on the left:

 Anyway, here are my two rows on the sampler.