Sign

A sweet little angel in Wayne, PA will soon have this sign hanging above her bed.  I bet you can guess who she is!

Frog Stitch

Everyone makes a mistake now and then, even the most experienced stitcher.  That's when the "Frog Stitch" is invoked to "rip it, rip it."

The most important thing to keep in mind is to avoid cutting the canvas when you're ripping out a mistake.  If you can't remove the mistake by "unstitching" with a needle in the reverse sequence they were stitched, you'll have to cut the stitches.

Using a bent tip scissors lifts the stitches up and away from the canvas, thereby reducing the chance you'll cut the canvas.

Once the stitches are cut,  pull them out with a pair of tweezers.  The kind  you use to tweeze your eyebrows works pretty well.  A tool called "Uncle Bill's" tweezers, available at your LNS and outdoor sporting shops, is also very good.  The points are sharp and you can lift stitches with them without cutting the canvas.

In any case, relax, take your time, and look forward to getting it right the next time.

Patterns of the Orient Goes on Vacation

Just finished the tiedowns on the lower right quadrant that has gold and blue trellising on top of red silk.  Not as hard as I had expected.  However, there were many anxious moments when I wasn't sure there would be enough blue Soie Perlee for the tiedowns.  It all worked out, though, as there is about a yard left and there are no more areas in the piece that call for it.  Whew! Dodged a bullet there.



But, Patterns has to go on hold for a while as I want to work on this stocking for our grand-daughter.  Isn't it the cutest thing???  Santa will be very busy making those dolls, their house, the cradle
and tea set.  I wonder what's in the unopened boxes.

Patterns of the Orient - Still a WIP

Another area done but more to go.  Some day this project will be finished and I'll be able to work on the umpteen other things in my stash. 

Currently working in the lower right hand quadrant on the area with red topped with blue and gold trellis.  Tony said the tie downs were trickier than they look.  He was right!  But, I found a way to do them that makes it work.

Patterns of the Orient

This piece gets more and more beautiful with each completed area.

I finished all but the goldwork touches on the upper lefthand border.  It's a very pretty pattern based on a vase pattern used on Chinese sleeve bands.

Now working on the lower righthand border, a pattern from a Korean blouse.  I'm on step 10 of the 12 step process!!!

Diagonal Brick/Byzantine Variation/Condensed Byzantine

This versatile stitch works well for almost everything!

It's a diagonal stitch, but the overall effect is non-directional.  It can be done over two or more diagonal intersections in one, two or more colors.

I've used it for bells, toys, clothing, furniture, architectural features, animals, plants, and even fur on Santa's coat.