I love working on this stitch journal. It's one of the funnest things I've created in years. It's abstract, but also has some realistic moments sprinkled throughout. It's whimsical. It's sometimes serious and organized. It's basically my brain and my artistic vibe. (I've been watching a lot of old school
Project Runway recently - words like vibe have lost their actual meaning.) I had to make the decision this week about moving the piece in the hoop. I waited until Wednesday, but I had to do it. I had to move the fabric over just a little bit.
I didn't really give this aspect of creating a stitch journal any thought when I started in January. I wanted to be able to just go with wherever this piece takes me, so I used the largest hoop I own (I believe it's 24 inches) and started as close to the center of the fabric I cut as I could. I've moved the hoop twice now, and for some reason, this last move was hard to decide on. Do I move left or right? Up or down? How far left or right do I go? I decided to go with the simplest approach: my favorite section of the piece. So I moved more to the left (and yes, it's funny because my politics are also very liberal and to the left).
Here's an image from Wednesday:
The left side of the piece is my favorite. From the blanket stitch section to Sky Neighborhood to the lines of pink thread that will most likely be my next tattoo, there's some special about this section. I spent time this week expanding it from left to right with purples and blues and adding more to the blanket stitch section (it really needs a name) and adding more to Sky Neighborhood. I even learned a new stitch this week, the herringbone stitch, because I think it will add even more delightful moments to this side of the piece. I'm a little obsessed. I also decided the next move will be to the right so that the piece is balance across. I'll probably end of moving to the right sometime in May.
Enjoy this week's expansion leftward (is that a word?).
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| April 10: Purple stem stitch to connect Sky Neighborhood and the French knots and water themed sections from March. |
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| April 11: Doesn't the feather stitch look great next to the blanket stitch section? I also added some French knots because why not? |
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| April 12: More blanket stitch - I added more to the top and bottom and started more layering. |
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| April 13: Moved to the left and added more blanket stitch and some layers included straight and back stitches and French knots. |
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| April 14: Expanding the Sky Neighborhood with some more blue and adding greens and purples to the mix. I didn't notice until I added these lines that there's a human shape in the center of the original section of SN. |
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April 16: Added more back stitch and French knots - layered over the herringbone and the blanket stitches. I used Etoile thread today so it's extra sparkly.
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| I love it so much! It's only going to get more complex and weird as the year goes on. |
WIP - From the Back (new series)
I'm excited to share I've started on my next series, tentatively called
From the Back (this will change before I finish). During last year's project, I did a few pieces in reverse so what traditionally would have been the
back of the hoop was on the front. Stitches don't look the same when you view them from the back, so I love the idea of doing a full piece in reverse. I wasn't able to do one last year, so my goal with this series is to work my way up to a piece designed exclusively using the reverse of various stitches. I picked 20 stitches and am currently working on the first part of the series: samplers.
Samplers are how people learn embroidery stitches. They can be utilitarian or designed to created something beautiful as a person learns. I'm using the concept of a sampler for the first five pieces in this series. Last weekend, I designed and transferred patterns and I finished the first panel yesterday. I started with the foundational stitches: back, chain, split, stem, and straight. I also decided to use variegated thread for one stitch, then use colors in the same family for the other stitches featured on the panel. I'm primarily using three and six strands of thread. I use three strands the most, but like six strands for certain types of stitches.
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| Sampler patterns - I grouped stitches together based on type. Some of them won't have super exciting reverse patterns, but they may still be fun to use in reverse. |
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| What would traditionally be the front of a piece |
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| What would traditionally be the back of a piece |
I'll take better photos after I finish all the panels and iron them again. I'm also planning to label them like a traditional sampler.
The second part of the series will be feature a series of abstract embroidery pieces using the stitches in reverse. After that, the final part of the series will feature a few different pieces, including a piece done in reverse but not designed that way and at least two pieces designed using the reverse of the stitches. I need to work up to that part of the series. The samplers will help me figure out how to use the reverse stitches to design this last part of the series. More to come as I get further into the series.
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