TAST week 25 & CQJP WIP

TAST week 25 - Cable Chain Stitch

& my CQJP WIP

I have used this stitch in the past, but not too recently, so I used this week as a bit of a 'refresher' stitching time.

I was rather surprised how quickly I had forgotten how to do this stitch, lol. 

I started with two straight rows following a seam on the block. It looked so wrong though and it took me quite a while to work out what I did wrong - I must not have been concentrating when doing the 'chain' part of the stitch because some chains were twisted and some were not, it looked so uneven that I 'frogged' the lot - and I'm not a person who usually unpicks anything, so that just goes to show how very wrong it was.

So then I stitched these two wavy lines, making sure that I got the working thread coming from the same direction each time, so as not to get any chains twisted like before.

Cable Chain Stitch worked on my Crazy Quilt Journal Project June block.

This is another of my INVENTED seam treatments.

Stem stitch roses and Satin stitch in between them.

I quite like the effect of a band. It's a nice 'solid' seam treatment.

This one started with the turquoise ribbon Running stitch.

Laced to-&-fro with 6 strands of green floss, and a white bead added in each circle.

A motif in one of the patches.

French Knots, Silk Ribbon embroidery, silver metallic thread Straight stitch & V stitch, silver beads.

I have also done a couple of other stitching pieces on the CQ block but not got photos of it yet.

Should be able to finish this block during the coming week so will reveal ALL next weekend.

And I have been 'playing' with fabrics, paints and dyes for yet another project that I cannot reveal until September. (Watch this space with patience, hahaha).

As a follow-up from a previous post here called Life on the Farm - Applemunchers, here is a pic of some more Applemunchers that visit the orchard everyday.

Aren't they beautiful? 

They are very social and vocal birds, and live in small family flocks here in NZ. 

I also saw these in an almond tree today, and as there are no almonds at this time of year I am puzzling over what they were eating.

Happy Stitching

CQJP for March - Yes I'm late.....

CQJP for March - Yes I'm late..... & TAST Stitches Update

I have managed to get quite a bit of stitching time to myself this week.

Here are my latest TAST stitches that are on my CQJP block.

Stem Stitch

Nine rows of stem stitch in two colours stitched next to each other.

The black thread is two strands of cotton floss,

and the green thread is something silky that I found in my stash (oddment with no label)

French Knot

Five rows of French Knots in graduating colours from lilac to blue.

Detached Daisy's for edging.

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CQJP WIP

I am rather late getting my March CQJP block done but here is the progress on it so far.

The Naked Block

I made this block last Monday in my quilt colour scheme of black, white and anything in between.

Detail 1

French Knots & Detached Daisy's on left.

Braided Chain on right.

Buttonhole and Cross Stitch above.

Detail 2

Seam treatments being developed here. Lots more stitching needed, and then the beads.

Detail 3

I was having a bit of Whipping fun with this seam treatment.

You can just see on the left, in green, a detached buttonhole row.

Detail 4

The black semi-circles on the left are in Stem Stitch with Detached Chains and Ribbon Petal Stitch in them, and Seed Stitch done in DMC metallic silver thread.

On the bottom right is a new seam combination being nurtured.

This week I have been experimenting with new combinations for the seam treatments as I have been feeling a bit restricted with the TAST stitches and I'm longing for something a bit more challenging.

This coming week I shall add beads and hopefully finish this block as I need to start on my April block to catch up, but as I've managed to do all the above stitching in one week, I think I might be able to catch up soon. With both of my boys back at Uni again after the Easter break, and my older son gone back to his own house, I should have more daytime for myself.

It has been great having them around, but sometimes I would like to just sit and stitch without having to make (yet another) pot of tea or put the dinner on (why do they never stop eating and yet remain a healthy weight?).

I need to create another butterfly for that centre fabric patch, probably in stumpwork again as I like how the last one turned out. And I will crochet a piece for a specific area when I decide which area needs a bit of traditional lacework.