TAST 2010 - Fancy Hemstitch

This week's TAST stitch is fancy hemstitch. It is quite easy to do and I can see lots of possibilities, although having been struck down by a vicious virus, both me and my computer (McAfee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), I haven't tried them all out. I put it on last weeks sampler:


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Not a great photograph - but I'm sure I will do more to it and take another in the not too distant future..........

To find out all about TAST 2010 click
here.

TAST 2010 - 2 in 1

I almost missed the buttonhole wheel bullion flower - I wasn't keen on the stitch, probably because I didn't have a use for it. But when I saw the work done by other Tasters, I thought I really ought to have at least one sample. I put one in with the latest challenge, rope stitch.


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The fabric is a piece of muslin that I used as a slop cloth beneath a nappy (diaper) liner marbled with oil paints. First I stitched a circle in knotted buttonhole, just because I liked that stitch so much. Then I did two smaller circles in buttonhole stitch, and I finished one in trellis and one in bullion knots. I decided that although I wanted a raised effect, I didn't like them 'sticking up', so I tied them both down with fly stitches.

Then I did another circle in rope stitch in perle cotton and some lines in 3 strands of embroidery floss.

In an attempt to be both economical and co-ordinated, you can just see that I've done another circle in rope stitch, ready for the next few weeks.

Then I got bored sitting in front of the TV, and filled up some of the spaces with bullion and french knots, fly stitch and back stitch, just to keep my hands busy.

TAST 2010 - knotted buttonhole stitch - UPDATED

I found this week's knotted buttonhole stitch under a different heading in one of my books - "German knotted buttonhole stitch" - and a different stitch under "knotted buttonhole stitch" in several places I looked. I find this often happens, stitches being known by different names in different countries or by different authors. I decided that the best way out of my confusion was to do them both - so I did!


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The version of the stitch with two "ears" had a nice rhthym and was quite easy to do. The other version was much more difficult. It was hard to keep the tension even and get all the knots the right size and I found it very difficult to work the stitch in one smooth step. In the end, I gave up and worked it in two parts and that was much easier.

I found the "other" version of knotted buttonhole stitch
here.

UPDATE******

I did a bit more to my sampler:


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UPDATED again ******

thanks to Lakshmi and Walden, I looked again at my sampler and Sharon's instructions and realised that the two stitches, German Knotted and Knotted are different. I did a bit of the correct stitch on my sampler:


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The knotted row is the dark row near the top. You can see that it makes a much more definite line.

TAST 2010 - Portuguese Border Stitch

I'm a bit late with this week's Portuguese Border Stitch:


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Still with the same piece of fabric and threads - I've filled it up now!



To find out all about TAST 2010 click
here.