Take a Stitch Tuesday week 42: Cloud Filling Stitch
This was a new stitch for me. Week 42 worked out perfectly as I had been hunting for a filling stitch on some Holiday Gnome pillow covers that were sewed last year. The gnome designs are from paper pieced patterns purchased on Craftsy and sold by Quilt Art Designs by Janeen van Niekerk. I want to add some crazy quilt type stitching and beading to the seams for texture and interest.
With two elementary school children in the house Halloween is a big deal for the Chases. Below is a preview of the Halloween Crazy Quilt pillow cover I am currently making. I had unintentionally ended up taking a big, long break from embroidery and from the Take a Stitch Tuesday challenge over the summer. Halloween (coinciding with the Seattle drizzle) seemed like the perfect opportunity to get back on track.
Take a Stitch Tuesday week 40: Woven Detached Chain Stitch
Week 40 was a lot of fun. I rewatched the Breakfast Club and practiced weaving a long row of detached chain stitches.
Feather stitch is one of my favorites, worked below in DMC Cotton Perle #5 variegated 4068. Detached chain stitches in green and mustard yellow, and pistol stitch using DMC Cotton Perle #8. Woven detached chain stitch using Cotton Perle #5 color 921.
Take a Stitch Tuesday week 39: Oyster Stitch
This was my first use of Oyster Stitch so still figuring things out. It was fun to create sunflower petals using something other than the detached chain stitch. I will probably practice with this more and even include some lines of oyster stitch later on in the project.
Stitched using Cotton Perle #8 for oyster stitch flower petals and french knots in the sunflower centers.
Take a Stitch Tuesday week 36: Plaited Feather Stitch
Not my best work, but plaited feather stitch using DMC Cotton Perle #5. One strand DMC 921, the other variegated DMC 4122.
Take a Stitch Tuesday week 35: Long Tail Chain Stitch
It has been a long break from Take a Stitch Tuesday, but I’m back! I will work through as many stitches as I can between now and the end of year to see how far I can progress through the full list. I have definitely missed stitching. Hand embroidery has become a fascination as well as a stress reliever, and being back feels almost therapeutic. If you keep up on the blog you have probably read how I accidentally discovered (fell into!) hand embroidery several years ago making gimmicky felt dog ornaments as Christmas presents. But needle and thread spoke and I have been hooked ever since.
Originally my TAST project started with a holiday season table runner. That lasted through TAST 13…. And then it was sort of hard to keep inspired with red and green as spring was happening outside and the amazing Pacific Northwest was waking up. Now it is November and we are back to short days and constant gray drizzle which almost encourages a hot cup of tea and a cheerful embroidery project.
I actually started back on TAST last month on a pillow meant for Halloween. I found a collection of black print pieces at JoAnn a couple of years ago that had been in my stash since. They made for a perfect background of pieced coordinates. This was my first crazy quilt project using a dark fabric background and I loved it! The bright colors of floss just pop on the dark background and it was so much fun to stitch. I will definitely be doing a bit more like this, even outside of Halloween.
So back to TAST. Below are a couple of samples of long tail chain stitch.
Still working on the house embroidery. It has been a busy couple of months so stitching progress has been slow. However, the landscape has been the most enjoyable part of the project. There are 4 rows of of plants in the front and a few on the side. I tried to keep the embroidery as close to the reality of our front garden as possible. Sadly, I am not sure what the two layers of bushes are called in the back, but the front two layers are ornamental grass and Day Lilies. On the side of the driveway is a largish Pacific Rhododendron and 3 Lavender plants.
As you might have guessed, I have built a Concorde. Not to be mistaken with the German version (that was quite self destructive) of this magnificent plane. I have tried to make one in the past when I was new to Minecraft, but it was so horrifying that I can’t post it on this blog.
I know this hotel isn’t exactly like the other one, but it was as much as I could manage. You can find my inspiration for this build sitting right in Moab, Utah in fact.
Chase Handcraft 