TAST, Class and Misc.

My first week's assignment for the encrusted class is complete. Last week I posted my naked block and this week I have embroidered all the seams. Some of the seams have less on them than others as I've planned to add beads in various places. The other naked block has yet to have any stitching as this one is really a practice piece to learn how to expand and develop seams and all the other goodies needed for a fully embellished square. For the threads I've used #8 and #5 perle cottons, overdyed floss, silk ribbon and silk cord. The white flowers are silk ribbon and the pink flowers are the silk cord. Both flowers were formed using colonial knots. This week I am to add motifs.

In order to get the hang of the Chain Braid Stitch for TAST week 46 I took a hint from Sharon's encrusted class about a sampler and pulled out a piece of Salem cloth that I was trying a little bit of designing on. I pulled two threads and began working the stitch. It was really a very tricky stitch and my results are quite uneven but I do believe I have the jist of what the stitch is supposed to look like. The Salem cloth is a 28ct. linen and I used #5 DMC perle to work the stitch. I'm not sure I'll use this stitch.

Oh, boy! TAST week 47 - the Thorn Stitch was a humdinger of a fun stitch. In fact I had to make two samples. The first one is worked on 14ct. Aida and two shades of green #5 DMC perle cotton and I "decorated" the left hand tree with a gold star and red balls to resemble a Christmas tree. I should have made the star a little larger but I used #8 yellow DMC perle and the ornaments were French Knots stitched with #3 DMC perle. The lower sample was stitched on 24ct. linen with #16 perle to give the look of fern leaves. This is a definite "to do" stitch!

The other week I went on a day trip with some of the seniors to a little Mennonite community. There were three stores we visited; a cheese shop (lots more than cheeses), a bread shop and an antique shop. I didn't purchase any cheese but did purchase some dried sunflower seeds and some dried pineapple pieces. In the bread shop ... which smelled heavenly .... I purchased a loaf of whole wheat bread and in the antique shop I spotted a bobbin lace doily for $1.75 that will be a wonderful motif addition to my cq vest now that I'm getting ready to embroider the seams.

Seeing the pleasure I receive from my stitching, my eldest son has decided he wanted to try his hand again .... the boys all learned basic embroidery skills on a sampler begun by their father at his mother's knee. So #1 son is stitching some Christmas presents and I wanted to show off some of his work.
This is his description:
The intent was to make a "vine" without any leaves or flowers, yet have the appearance of a fall "flower". The hardest part was that the shirt material is a fairly loose cotton. I started with a dark hunter green linen thread for the center and used a stem stitch. This was followed by a double strand medium brown cotton embroidery thread, satin-stitched to outline the green. I continued with a single strand cotton pink running stitch and finished with a medium gold double strand cotton in a satin stitch.

Didn't he do a nice job? Somewhere in my cedar chest is the stamped sampler my hubby and sons stitched as children. I don't think the sampler was ever finished but next year I may try to locate it and frame it "as is"!