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Mostly Knitting Blog

Want to find the new stuff on Knitting-and.com, or read about my latest projects and discoveries? This is the place.

Christmas Spirit

I know I promised a post about my new sewing machine but I’ll have to keep you in suspense just one day longer because the NBN installation guy is due here any minute (fast intarwebs, YAY!) and I had to put all the sewing away.

**GASP**

I mean really, who does that? Usually not me, that’s for sure.

But I sure have been using the machine a lot. Aside from the three cushions I’ve already shown you (plushy and Christmassy), I’ve also made a pencil case and two Christmas stockings.

I don’t have a photo of the pencil case but here are the Christmas stockings.

Two retro look Christmas stockings.

I found the fabric panel for sewing the stockings at the local op shop (thrift store/charity shop) and thought they were hilarious so I knew I had to make them up. Poor Santa is being sent off for a liver function test this afternoon. I think it’s packed it in, poor fella.

For my thrifty friends who are interested in such things: everything was from the op shop except the thread. Fabric panel, lining, batting, bias binding used for the hanging loops, sewing machine, the sewing machine table, that Christmas card covering up the sticker mark on the sewing machine table…

Now I’m off to find the goo gone to remove the sticker residue before I get started on some Craftsy classes that I bought before old Mr Stitchy blew a circuit board and took a jolly trip to the tip. At least I will be after the NBN installation guy does his thing as all my sewing gear is currently hiding in the bedroom.

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Charlie’s Teacher’s Gifts for 2015

Every year our son Charlie likes to make presents for his teacher and their assistant. Last year they were woven, this year printed and sewn.

Charlie printed the fabric using acrylic paint mixed with textile medium and I sewed the finished fabric into a couple of cushions (with zippers thanks to my new old sewing machine. More about that tomorrow)!

Hand printed Christmas cushion

Hand printed Christmas cushion

He’s got a great printmaking technique for a kid who hasn’t even turned seven yet 🙂

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TAST Samplers for Weeks 19 and 20

After having so much fun with my plushwork embroidery over the past few weeks I have a little catching up to do with the Take a Stitch Tuesday challenge. Here are my samplers for weeks 19 and 20, bullion knots and butterfly chain.

Bullion Knot Embroidery Sampler

Whilst I’m quite fond of working bullion knots and I think most of mine came out great (thanks to using a milliner’s needle and smooth threads), I think the bullion knot is best suited to flowers. The couching is a lot of fun but I’m not sure where I would ever use it.

Confession time: I tried to work a bullion rose but it just looked like rubbish so I made the 6 pointed star to cover up where I ripped it out so many times 😛

I ripped out the threads I didn’t like,  and the ones that are left are:

  • Centre caramel and navy circle: size 5 perle cotton.
  • Aqua flower and purple oval: tapestry wool
  • Star trail: silk ribbon
  • Everything else: 6 strands of stranded embroidery cotton.

I worked:

  • Regular bullion knots
  • Looped bullion knots (the brown ones in the centre of the variegated orange flower).
  • Looped bullion knots couched down (in the green and purple flower).
  • Lots of bullion knots couching down other threads.

Next is my butterfly chain sampler

Butterfly Chain Embroidery Sampler

Obviously this would make great borders on lots of things. I like the thicker threads the best.

From the top row:

  • Size 5 mercerised cotton for both stitches and tying strand.
  • Size 5 mercerised cotton for the straight stitches and 3 different cottons for the tying.
  • Fingering weight knitting wool for the straight stitches and glitter knitting yarn for the tying.
  • The same glitter yarn for the straight stitches and cotton/acrylic for tying. I shouldn’t have used the cotton/acrylic as I’m allergic to acrylic and paid for it with a rash up my arm for two days!
  • All cotton/acrylic. For the tying threads, I slipped the second one under the knot made by the first instead of making another knot. I tried both ways and this looked much nicer.
  • Next row: Size 3 mercerised cotton for both. This is my favourite thread for this stitch.
  • Pink size 3 mercerised cotton with a finer cotton and beads for tying.
  • For the square the lavender is size 3 mercerised cotton and the orange is finer (I’m not sure what number as I never had the skein band).
  • And finally the small purple section is again size 3 mercerised cotton.

I suspect liking purple glitter yarn this much when you’re older than 5 is illegal.

Now onto the knotted cretan stitch. I thought I had already done some on my cretan stitch samplers, then I remembered that I purposely didn’t because I knew it was coming up a stitch for it’s own week.

Some useful links:
TAST on Facebook
Sharron’s TAST FAQ on her website, Pintangle.
Free vintage stitch book downloads.
My TAST Pinterest Boards

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Half Chevron Stitch Sampler

Half Chevron Stitch Sampler for TAST Week 18

(Click on the photo for  a larger view)

My half chevron stitch sampler for week 18 of the Take a Stitch Tuesday embroidery challenge.

I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do for this sampler so I grabbed my bag of scrap threads and just started stitching.

At the bottom I started with randomly overlapped stitches in greens which I made into flowers with orange French knots.

Above that I used different types of brown thread and different sized stitches in very straight sections to create an unplanted area of soil. Above this are another couple of random “grass” rows.

For the sky I worked rows of half chevron back to back in a flowing filling stitch. I really like the way you can emphasise the curves by working some sections along the row quite openly and others very close together.

Finally, I tried using the half chevron stitch as an outline. For the cloud the spikes point inwards, and on the sun they point outwards. Considering I had no idea what I was going to stitch when I started, I’m really pleased with the outcome!

Some useful links:
TAST on Facebook
Sharron’s TAST FAQ on her website, Pintangle.
Free vintage stitch book downloads.
My TAST Pinterest Boards

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