Slow Stitching - No. 048 - Cloth Gathering

Next piece of  K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching Challenge 2024.

Week 48 - Cloth Gathering.

I chose this soft yellow cotton fabric. I cut a piece 3 times the length of my anticipated final piece (5.5 x 3 =16.5 inches). 

I used pieces of embroidery floss longer than the cloth by a few inches.  I chose them from my ORTS tin. I think I did 9 rows of running stitch.  Make sure your knot is secure - a back stitch would be helpful.

I then pulled the threads to scrunch up the fabric. It feels really nice.

I really liked the stem stitch along the top edge which was just stitched to the top of each fold in green thread. I put crosses in blue on the left.  I did not find adding stitches to this piece easy except the stem stitch.

Slow Stitching - No. 046 - Kantha Motifs

K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching Challenge 2024.

This week's prompt Nakshi Kantha Motifs which is part 2 of last week's Kantha Stitches.

I chose the fish as my motif.  I drew a circle which I stitched in black stem stitch. Then added my 2 fishes going around in it.  The central element is a lotus flower reflected.

I chose two different shades of green threads and alternated them on each fish.  

I used blue thread and seed stitches for inside the circle.

I used the Double Running Stitch in blues for the background quilting stitches. Alternating with single running stitches in darker blue. 

Slow Stitching - No. 045 - Kantha Stitches

K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching Challenge 2024.

Week 45 - Kantha Stitches

I made a sandwich of thin linen, gauze in the middle and cotton on the back. I did invisible basting around the edge and down the middle.

I chose heavier thread for all of these and it made it harder at times.

I liked the double running stitch in blue and pink thread. 

I was familiar with the stem stitch though I made my stitches too long. In deep pink thread.

The cable stitch = French Knot and a chain stitch. I several several and had a heck of a time taking them out with all those knots.  I just settled for the chain stitch in yellow thread.

The Mala Stitch I did not even attempt.  I have been packing boxes today and this one was just too challenging.

Patterned Darning was really cool. I did three rows so I could alternate the stitches in each row.  Done in blue thread.  Again, pretty physically and mentally tired so I skipped the wheel/swirl pattern.

Convent Stitch which is a fill in stitch. Here done in greens. Basically couching which is familiar. Lovely stitch.

Jali Stitch - Creating diamonds which was great. Done here in turquoise thread.

I am not likely to have time to practice my stitches with the packing that needs to be done.  We shall see.

Slow Stitching - No. 044 - Stitching Blind

K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching Challenge 2024

Week 44 - Stitching Blind

This was a challenge and uncomfortable. 

Prep - threaded 3 needles - green, yellow and navy. My base piece looks like wool but it is not. 

I put an applique pin to let me know what I thought was bottom.

I gathered green cotton, white lace, navy ribbon, and yellow yarn as layers on this piece.

I sewed the green cotton on first.  I see that I did not pull my thread taut which left me with loose thread on the front.  I thought this one had gone fairly well. 

Next, I did the lace which I thought was pretty straight but not really. I was using yellow thread but you can see I pulled the thread out of the needle and I just abandoned it halfway through.

The navy ribbon went pretty well.  I had lost one of my needles so I cut the navy thread, knotted it and used the rest of the navy to couch the yellow yarn which went very well. 

I will finish the few stitches so that I have a finished piece.

Slow Stitching - No. 041 - Scrapplique - Odd circles

 K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching Challenge.

Week 41 - Scrapplique

I did an odd number of circles which were cut by hand with no template.

I dug in the stash and found my background fabric and selected a foundation layer. 

Then I chose 5 cloths and made the circle to match the size of the scrap. Folded in quarters and just cut from edge to edge. I did a bit of extra trimming as needed.

I love the colors. 

Now, Kathryn had indiciated we should cut out the back of the image to reduced bulk but I just was on rote and had blind basted before I knew it. I was not prepared to undo that. It did make stitching a bit tough towards the end.

Just thinking about it just this morning I could have cut out the middle before I stitched the next circle. It is what it is.

Slow Stitching - No. 039 - Monochrome

Another piece for K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching Challenge 2024.

Week 39 - Monochrome - Pick a Color any Color - Green - House Top.

I decided to do my layout based on K3N's Wonky Wednesday last week of House Top.

I chose my bright piece in the center and then hand stitched my strips around till I had covered my foundation piece.  I trimmed all sides when I was done. 

I then top stitched in green thread along the inside edge of each strip. Going around the perimeter of the center green square. 

Slow Stitching - No. 038 - Nature's Textures

 K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching Challenge 2024

Week 38 - Nature's Textures - Free Form Embroidery - Textile Textures

I chose the polka dot fabric as my inspiration then chose colors from there. Pink bright and paler, grey light and dark and white.

There is cotton, yarn, felt, lace, cheesecloth, and gauzy material included in this piece.

Free form embroidery includes couching, French Knots, running stitch to fill in space in places, seed stitches for finer fabric, and top stitches on the felt heart.

The thread alternated from pink to grey depending on the fabric I was working on.

Slow Stitching - No. 035 - Thread Sampler - ORTS - Satin Stitch

Week 35 of the K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching Challenge 2024 - Hanging by a Thread - Thread Sampler and Satin Stitch. 

Somewhere in the video Kathryn said "think of your thread as paint" or words to that effect.  

For me a paint palette came to mind. So I found a line drawing of a palette online and traced it onto my orange fabric and cut it out. It was appliqued with the blanket stitch. 

Then I pulled out the ORTS tin and started satin stitching bits of paint onto the palette.  My paint brush was next.  This was all done on the fly so all in all I am happy with the final result.

Slow Stitching - No. 030 - Cloth Folding

This week's prompt for K3N Cloth Tale's slow stitching challenge is cloth folding.

I took a much different approach.  I found a rayon garment at the thrift store for a very good price.  It was soft and draped very nicely.  Now to the ReUse center for a piece of cotton.  I found a peachy piece of cotton.  Yes!

All washed up, I kept the hem on the piece of fabric and just cut it down to create a lovely draped piece. Think a curtain, a shirt, a skirt and much more.

I hemmed the piece of cotton first. I then placed my draped fabric and stitched it down.  I used a piece of black felt as a finish for the top raw edge of the drape. I stitched all the way around with black thread, now for decoration I added some daisy stitches in the deep burgundy and seed stitches in the aqua. 

It is a very different piece for me.  I am caught up and look forward to Monday's video.

Slow Stitching - No. 028 - Zokin - Japanese Cleaning Cloth

Week 28 in K3N 's Slow Stitching Challenge on her Youtube channel, K3NClothTales. 

This week we learn about Zokin - Japanese Cleaning Cloths.  A method of making worn cloth useful again by stitching 2 or more layers together.

I easily found several options in my rag bin.  For this piece I combined a piece of plaid flannel that was part of Dad's pajamas and a piece of navy terrycloth.

The stitching is all over the place but with my hectic renovation schedule I was not as relaxed as I should have been.

I am loving this idea and forsee a few more of these in my future.  I have a hard time throwing away cloths - dish cloths, face cloths, tea towels etc. Now I can layer them and make them useful.

Slow Stitching - No. 026 - Quilt as you Go (QAYG) Hexagons and Applique Dots

 Another week with Kathryn at K3N Cloth Tales and her slow stitch challenge.

Week 26 - half way point in the challenge and the year.  The prompt this week is inspired by the QAYG Hexagon at Marion's World and the Applique Dots by Jeri Bellini.

I made my hexagon almost 5 inches across at the widest because I am putting them on quilt squares.

I found the pink fabrics in my stash pretty fast but I had to dig for the dark grey cotton fabric to match the leaves in the printed fabric.

I chose the Fly Stitch with white embroidery floss to go around my circle.  I added a layer of natural batting.  I then placed this onto my dark grey hexagon and folded over the edge over once then onto the front of the printed one.  I pinned each side and but a blind stitch to attach the backer to the front.  I let it sit over night and this morning I decided to add French Knots on the polka dot circle in dark grey floss.   This came together very easily.    If I make another I may applique a flower in the center.

Slow Stitching - No. 025 - Bundle Book UnWrap and Stitching

 I unearthed my bundle book this week and added some stitching to the pieces.

The bottom right hand corner is the stitching I did before putting it in the ground.  I seperated the pages so I could make a square.  I added some golden fabric in the top right hand corner and a strip on the left.

The top left hand corner is a piece of the jute string I wrapped the bundle with. I added the word free in the circled created with the string.  

I chose to put a circle and heart in the right hand corner with stitching.

On the bottom left hand corner I chose to just leave the beautiful pattern created during its under earth experience with just a few French Knots on the corners.

See the unwrapping process below.

1) The first picture is the bundle just after it came out of the dirt. 

2) The jute string and the pine cone, wire and pine needles removed.

3) The bundle has been soaked in baking soda for 30 minutes then washed with soap made by my Mom.

4) The book which has now dried overnight.  Ready for stitching.

This was a very interesting process.  I ensured my bundle was watered regularly as it was not far from home.

The jute string was quite affected but there were no holes in the fabric.  Wonderful colors though.

Slow Stitching - No. 024 - Crazy Patch Work - Stitching

I worked on the stitching all week because I knew it was going to take some time.

Week 24 - This is part 2 of the Crazy Patch Work challenge from last week.

I worked all week because I knew it was going to be a lot of work to get all the stitching done.  I added 3 accents pieces - a bead, a button, and yellow double holed thingy.  Then there is lace, rick rack, and gold cording.

I used French Knots, Seed Stitches, Couching Stitch, Cretan Stitch, Sheaf Stitch, Chain Stitch, Running Stitch, and Stem Stitch. This project increased my comfort zone with using different stitches.  The Elegant Stitches book was very helpful. 

The color scheme was totally based on the center piece of fabric.

Slow Stitching - No. 023 - Crazy Patch Work

Week 23 of the Slow Stitching  Challenge on K3N Cloth Tales Channel. @k3n.clothtales

This week's prompt is Crazy Patch Work.  This will be a 2 week challenge where we will create out patchwork piece in week one and then embellish it in week two.

I started with the grapes fabric in the center and chose solid fabric contained in the print. Pink, tan, orange, yellow, purple and gold.

I chose to enclose all my raw edges. Wonky angles is good.  The 3 top pieces were my last and it took a while to work out now to get the fabrics to the edge. I stitched all the way around as well but I see that I stitched it from the back so my long stitches are on the front.  That's okay they will be hidden with I applique it to my squares.

I was very happy to find I own one of the books Kathryn recommended for Crazy Patch Work stitches. 

Earlier this year I was on the hunt for embroidery stitch books because digital does not work as well for me. The seniors rummage sale this spring I found 3 books.  

Elegant Stitches by Judith Baker Montano was one of them.  Kathryn pointed out that there is a crazy patch work section.  I will have to study the stitch and practice to be ready to embellish this piece next week.

I will curate embellishments too! Lace? Buttons? Seqins? Yarn?  Who knows what will fit into the color scheme I have chosen.

I hope I have good floss colors as well.

Slow Stitching - No. 022 - Comfort Blanket

Slow stitching with K3N Cloth Tales Challenge.

Week 22 - Comfort Cloth and Blanket Stitch.

I created a small blanket.

I chose the flannel which defined the colors for the project.

I found my top layer and then cut some rectangles in red and black.  Some stitched with white or red.

I then used the blanket stitch again to assemble my small blanket to the flannel plaid backer.

It could have used a layer of batting as well but I only came to that conclusion once I was done the outside edge.

It is what it is.

I really like this one.

Slow Stitching - No. 21 - Boro and Sashiko Stitching

This piece is for the K3N Cloth Tales slow stitching challenge.  

This is Week 21 and the prompt is Mending is healing. Japanese Boro and Sashiko stitching. The stitching was to keep garments in wearable order for peasants. They made use of every usable scrap.

I chose the light blue fabric in the center which had holes in it. I stitched around to stabilize those. I then continued to stitch pieces around. I used white, red, and blue thread.  

I added several patches in the form of the white square, navy ribbon and the red heart.  In some places I stitched in both directions. 

Slow Stitching - No. 020 - Desert Island Stitching

Here is my piece for Week 20 of the slow stitching challenge hosted by Kathryn at K3N Cloth Tales.
This week we took a trip to a special place on a magic carpet.  We could only take 8 things with us so we had to choose wisely.

I did choose my pieces before I watched the rest of the video so it was interesting how things went.

Check the picture below for my items.

I did iron my fabric before I boarded the carpet. 

I was able to tear several pieces to create layers.

I chose 4 different stitches on the solid green fabric, a set for each corner.

I chose 

• 1) foundation cotton layer
• 2) scissors
• 3) a lipstick pin cushion with 3 applique pins and one needle to fit the baggage limits.
• 4) a skein of purple thread
• 5) yellow printed fabric
• 6) solid purple fabric
• 70 solid green fabric
• 8) patterned purple fabric

You can see my eight pieces on the right.

On hindsight I would have appreciated a bit of darker thread for contrast.

I am glad I bought my scissors.

Slow Stitching - No. 017 - Back Story

It`s week 17 with K3N.  This week`s challenge is Back Story.

We slow stitch a piece of fabric then look at the back.

I chose a floral piece in yellow, black, grey and a bit of mint green.

It is very interesting how you can see the leaves and the flower outlines. The mint green was small berries.

I put white seed stitches in the open spaces of the pattern.

Another great evening of stitching.

Slow Stitching - No. 016 - Planet Earth

This piece of slow stitching for the challenge Kathryn is hosting on K3NClothTales.  The prompt for week 16 was Planet Earth.  Our home in the cosmos and the Blue Dot in the vastness of space.

I learned that the earth is approximately 1/3 land and 2/3 water hence the proportions of my colors patches this week.  

For the land I chose earth colors in brown, oranges, yellows and the fabric scraps are aligned vertically.  

For the bottom I chose blue for water and the pieces run horizontally.

I placed a line of green thread where these meet because generally on earth there is green near the water line.

I chose a simple running stitch going horizontally. This pieces was a little rushed with life happening here.

Slow Stitching - No. 015 - Eclipse and Stacking Running Stitch

This is my piece for week 15 of Kathryn's Slow Stitch challenge on K3N Cloth Tales. 

With the solar eclipse that took place on April 8th this was a great idea.  The technique was stacked running stitches which was used to create the rays of the sun. 

I chose a dark blue fabric which I had to patch to make big enough. I added a yellow layer between the blue and the white. I made my moon black.

I invisible stitched around the edges of the circles to start with.

I covered the moon with seed stitching. 

I had the same problem with my yellow layer so I added some stitches on it to have it lay flatter.

I added a running stitch in black to tack down the edges of the dark blue layer to the white.