TAST - week 45

Open Base Needlewoven Picot

The Open Base Needlewoven Picot was the chosen stitch of the week.  I had (mistakenly) stitched a few of them in week 44, Closed Base Needlewoven Picot - now I do know the difference and I was able to stitch them much better.  I used 4 strands of floss for the first three, #5 for the next two and #12 for the last two.  I even tried to do a long one at the end - some of you must have used really long needles to wrap around or your sample was really small.

Sharon B at says it is a great stitch for lichen type textures on motifs of trees and bark; stacked in semi circles for great pinecones or worked in circles to form petals for flower like motifs - the leaves stand free from fabric in a 3D manner.  You can see many more samples of this stitch and some really great creations - corn, bananas, water creations, etc at TAST.

TAST - Week 44

Closed Base Needlework Picot

The Closed Base Needlewoven Picot or Needlewoven Picot Leaf stitch is known as leaf like to be used in floral motifs.  Another very nice raised & detailed stitch.

I think I made a few that were just Woven Picots (re Mary Thomas's Dictionary) - base was spread further apart and therefore much easier to find the outer and middle thread to weave through.  It is also easier to complete with Pearl cotton #5 thread than the #12 or 2-strands of floss!  But I could not get the final product to look as detailed (and as cob on the corn appearance...) as Sharon B at TAST (check here for instruction) or The Embroidery Handbook - practice, practice, practice.  

TAST - Week 43

Week 43 - Buttonhole Wheel Cup Stitch

Buttonhole Wheel Cup was the stitch of the week.  This makes a great textured embroidery and is based on the buttonhole wheel stitch and then combined with detached buttonhole.  One row of detached buttonhole produces a ridge, two rows a small cup and three a deeper cup, etc. according to Sharon B at TAST.  I again used a variety of floss and pearl cotton 5 & 12.  Definitely a sweet stitch!

TAST - Week 42

Week 42 - Italian Border Stitch

The Italian Border stitch is great for borders and edges.  It can also be worked in a line, arranged in a line or worked in a circle.

I used a combination of threads - 2 and 3-ply floss, pearl cotton 5 & 12.  I found the stitch easy - more stitches by other wonderful artists can be seen here.

TAST Week 41

Week 41 - Knotted Loop Stitch

This week Sharon gave instructions for the Knotted Loop stitch.  It is described as being ideal for borders and ideal for crazy quilting.  The arms can be spaced differently and extended or contracted easily to form many shapes.  You can view the work of many others at TAST. 

I used 2 strands of floss, pearl cotton 5 and 12.   Each gave a much different texture to the shapes.  My fish definitely needs work (more practice....).

TAST - Week 40

Week 40 - Beaded Hedebo Edge

This is the Beaded Hedebo Edge stitch for Week 40.  It is described as decorative and is to be used as an edging stitch.  I used 2 strands of floss for the one on the left and pearl cotton 12 for the one on the right.  You can see more at TAST.

TAST - Weeks 38 & 39

Week 38 - Drizzle Stitch
Week 39- Knotted Buttonhole Stitch

Drizzle Stitch was the chosen stitch of Week 38 at TAST.  A funny stitch that is said to be used in Brazilian embroidery.  It involves retreading the thread while the needle is still in the fabric holding onto MANY cast on loops - the retreading part was frustrating, tricky and tedious, so I don't see myself doing a lot of them.  But they do make really interesting textures, so when I get better and want to do more of them, I will have to invest in a really good needle threader.  The three drizzles on the left were completed with 2 strands of floss, middle was with pearl cotton size 12 and the right arrangement was with cotton pearl size 5 - size 5 was much better.  One day I have to invest in some ribbon and try it.

Knotted Buttonhole was introduced as the stitch for Week 39 of TAST.  This stitch I liked.  I only used two strands of floss for this sample.  I am able to see many uses for this stitch as it handles nicely on curves, straight lines, and circles.