Pulled Thread - more Buttonhole also.

I mentioned yesterday  that I am doing a series of runners.  The first one, a Christmas gift  for myself, was, strictly speaking, not a runner but a table centre.  The only stitch used was foursided .  This piece was really a test to decide whether or not I would like to make something bigger using the 4 sided stitch hem.   Probably not!

The centre is approximately 20 inches square.  The first 3 rows of the hem are through double thickness  - this took me forever and, at times tried my patience.  Nonetheless I am pleased that I persevered as I love the result.  The design evolved as it went along - not very complicated but I do like the minimalist look for my table linen.  The single fabric thickness stitches were wonderful to stitch after the hem.  I like to do the hem first, if at all possible.  This can cause problems but usually ensures the speedy completion of a piece of stitching - especially where there are mitred corners to be negotiated. 

 The table is of Queensland maple and was made by my father more than 50 years ago and has been recently refinished .

Yesterday I tried two new  pulled thread stitches - Diagonal Buttonhole, from Mary Thomas' book as well as Up and Down Buttonhole, as suggested by Edith John. 

The Diagonal Buttonhole was very successful however I reached the point of diminishing returns with the Up and Down Buttonhole after struggling some time  Perhaps a smaller count (I used my doodle cloth - 26 count Permin linen) might have helped..  There are so many wonderful pulled thread stitches so I am not sure I need the ones I find too difficult. 

The great thing about TAST is  trying versions of stitches that  might otherwise be ignored.   Knowing what I don't want to stitch again is .as important as recognising the ones that will be useful.

A Treat as well as a Great Grub and Maggots!

The Treat!

Jane and I are having a private biscornu swap and this gorgeous little piece of crossstitching arrived for me the other day. It is so tiny and perfect. Scary really, as I know mine won't be perfect. The other thing that disturbs me is that Jane has managed to get this to me from Britain and I am still only on the first side of hers. I am enjoying the stitching but it is, as ever, a slow process - hopefully I will manage to get it done soon. I am not adding any photos until it reaches her, nor photos of the crossstitch one for my swap with Gina. She also finished before me but mine is ready to go in the post tomorrow.

My Grub and Maggots!

I really wanted to do the Stitch Explorer for this month - Casalguidi stitch. The small sampler piece is not finished either but well on the way. This was an opportunity to do another drawn thread square. I have done this assisted by Effie Mitrofanis' Casalguidi Style Linen Embroidery. It is a wonderful book absolutely brimful of inspiring ideas.

My first attempt was shown to the resident critic for approval - the comment was "What fun! A great grub and maggots!" Definitely not my intention! I guess the colours chosen helped with the impression. I have since added some bullion knots and hopefully I have altered it.

This was so much fun - I thought I might have real problems with the Casalaguidi stitch but I used #5 perle cotton for the padding and # 8 perle cotton for the satin and stem stitch. Perle thread is used throughout. I have used Casalguidi stitch, overcast stem, buttonhole stitch, buttonhole bars, single and double, bullion stitch, whipped threads in the drawn thread area to give a zigzag effect and, of course, the mandatory foursided stitch. I have still some way to go but I am delighted that I have got this far before the 15th May. Does it come through that I am still in love with drawn and pulled thread work?

Four sided Stitch

I have not done any stitching for the last fortnight except for this small sampler section. I had used four sided stitch a few times so had no intention to put it in my pulled thread sampler just yet - I really need to investigate stitches I have not used previously! One of the disadvantages of pulled thread stitches is that it is often difficult for me to envisage exactly how it will turn out on my fabric (also an advantage - as I love the surprise I sometimes get when I try a stitch for the first time).

However, after borrowing Tracy Franklin's Contemporary Whitework and seeing some of the interesting things she does with pulled thread work, it was of utmost importance to see if I could possibly manage the doubled version. You use two pieces of fabric of the same count and stitch through both layers at once. I thought this might be quite difficult to achieve but I tacked them together carefully and there didn't seem to be too many problems.

I love the stitch used singly as a background and haven't quite worked out how I can incorporate doubled foursided stitch into my embroideries. No doubt I will happen upon an idea one day.

Can you imagine the possibilities for other stitches? Three sided Stitch - in fact, many of the pulled thread stitches would provide interesting ideas, I am sure.