Hot off the hoop!

.... it's Starflake - finished at lunchtime today. I brought my camera with me to work as the light isn't so good by the time I get home.

Don't look too closely - you'll see all the 'deliberate' mistakes I've included to 'personalise' the design. LOL. For starters, the fabric isn't right. It's the right sort of colour but it's an evenweave rather than linen and it's too high a count. End result is that some of the stitches don't pull so well, particularly the four sided stitch, and the beads can be a bit crowded. You might also spot the fluffy bit where I accidentally cut one of the fabric threads as I was trying to unpick a particularly knotty eyelet.

However, I did enjoy stitching it, and I do love the colour combination. I am slightly disappointed that you don't really get the benefit of the Waterlilies thread used in the centre and elsewhere, but I'm already considering stitching it again 'properly' at some point, that is, on a better fabric, so that I can see properly how the four sided stitches are supposed to work!

I'm also thinking of finishing this one as a tuck pillow and have been eyeing up various possible finishing methods via Focus on Finishing. But I do need a bit of inspiration for some fabric. Maybe I'll get a chance to do a bit of browsing at the weekend.


And for a bit of fun, as I have my camera at work, here's a photo of my desk - it looks strangely tidy for me!

Drawn thread stash

During May, I had a couple of days off work with a cold during which I made a rare visit to a LNS. The shop I visited also frames completed work and had a few framed pieces in front of the counter. Among these was a beautiful white drawn thread sampler that set me on the hunt for some drawn thread pieces to stitch myself.

I had eyed this book up before, as I have tried drawn thread embroidery before, and I do like Patricia Bage's designs. This time I bought the book. Details of the book, including some page scans, can be seen through the publisher here or Amazon here.

The Drawn Thread techniques included in the book are Hemstitch over 2 and 4 threads, Ladder stitch, Zig zag hemstitch, Interlaced hemstitch, Interlaced hemstitch with beads, Diamond hemstitch, Herringbone stitch, Coral knots, Modified coral knot clusters, Woven wheels.

The embroidery stitches include backstitch, running stitch, double running stitch, cross stitch, three quarter cross stitch, Smyrna cross, double herringbone stitch, alternating Scotch stitch, four sided stitch, three sided stitch, Satin stitch, Satin stitch blocks.

There are four samplers in the book – Summer Garden, Roses and Lace, Flower Garland, Rosebud Trellis.

My only complaint is that sometimes the instructions seem rather over simplified. For example, this is the first book where I’ve noticed instructions for threading a needle! I do realise that the book is called a ‘Beginner’s Guide to Drawn Thread Embroidery’, but I would be surprised if a complete beginner started drawn thread embroidery before trying other forms such as cross stitch. I would therefore expect readers of this book already to have a familiarity with basic techniques.

However, having read through the book, I do like the clear, detailed diagrams accompanied by clear instructions, particularly for the specific drawn thread techniques.

It remains to be seen whether I’ll agree with these comments after stitching one of the designs!

But this is not the end of my purchases or of my stitching ambitions! Thanks to ABE, I now have the following to drool over.


I will definately be stitching the Wildflower Drawn Thread sampler, but I think I'll use one of the Patricia Bage designs to practice first! Now I only need to find some time actually stitch these ......

Silk threads and St Pete

So the frogs have been banished and I've finished part 3 of St Petersburg!

I really loved stitching this part, despite the frogs, it's such a contrast from the dense stitching of the first two parts. And I love the backstitched gates.

I find it interesting while I'm stitching to compare the silks and the DMCs and the varigated/solid colours. On only one of the four sides in part 3 have I used varigated colours in stitching the vegetation. And it happens that on that side I particularly like the way the vegetation looks with just that little bit more variation in colour.

The is probably the first design where I've used varigated threads to any significant extent and up to now, I was slightly sceptical of their value. Now I'm starting to change my mind a bit. I like those variagted threads where there is significant colour change across the length of the thread. I still can't entirely get the point of threads where the colour variation is so subtle, you can hardly see the difference.

I've also been thinking about silk threads - what is the point in using silk thread? What does it add to your stitching? I'm still a long way from being a convert on this one and at this point, I really prefer DMCs. I know the sheen of silk is supposed to be more than cotton. But, after a piece is finished and framed, I'm not convinced that anybody will be able to tell the difference. I'm fairly certain that, even when I've stitched a piece using silks and cottons, I won't be able to see any difference. I know that some stitchers prefer the feel of silk for stitching, and I know that for designers, using silks can create a much greater palette of colours. But I'm not convinced of the value in this.

Sometimes too, it seems to me like there's a kind of snobbery in stitching - silk is "better" than cotton and linen is "better" than evenweave as evenweave is "better" than aida. I'm not convinced I like linen - give me evenweave any day!

Anyway, the important thing is for all stitchers to enjoy their stitching, whatever the materials they're using. And don't be afraid to mix and match or substitute fabric and fibres to meet your preference.


Anyway, having finished St Pete, I didn't particularly want to pick up anything big, so I've gone back to my Starflake from Patricia Ann Designs. I started this around my birthday in February but didn't get any further than the beginnings of the central motif. I've made good progress since Sunday, but it's slow work. I'd hoped I would get it finished by the end of this week, but it looks like that isn't going to happen. It's all eyelets and smyrna crosses which, although I love them, stitch up soooo slowly! And then I came downstairs this morning and on a quick look, noticed that a group of eyelets I stitched last night aren't centred within the motif! Aarghhh! And then there's that other group of lumpy eyelets from yesterday and I'm also tempted to frog .......