Week Thirty-Seven: Thinking ahead

It was around this time last year that I started thinking ahead to what this year's 365 project was going to be. I knew I didn't want to do the same thing I did last year, so I decided on a stitch journal. Stitch journals take a lot of shapes and forms; some people do a daily image or set of stitches. Others focus on specific stitch or style for a certain period of time. Still others are more like me and do something more free form. Originally, I thought I'd do more identifiable objects or quotes or words, but I found out relatively quickly that simply stitching a line of back stitches or a block of French knots with no real plan was way more satisfying. As much as I love embroidering actual things you can identify, I love abstract embroidery more. I'm glad this year's project is more abstract than last year's. It's helping me more comfortable with certain embroidery stitches and techniques and giving me space to just do whatever. 

Which leads me to this week's journal entries. I've been playing around with the idea of next year's stitch journal focusing on one stitch and the variations of that stitch. The four foundational stitches (back, chain, stem, and split) all have variations. I think there are 90 variations on the chain stitch; I have no idea how many exist for the others. The variations are often geographic in nature. There are stitches more commonly used in South American embroidery than Western European embroidery. I decided to revisit a few variations this week to see if any of the foundational stitches were calling to me for next year. I think it's between the back stitch and the chain stitch should I decide to only focus on one stitch family for next year's stitch journal. Knots, while varied and fun to make, will ultimately drive me a little insane. If you've ever done a larger piece with only knots, you know what I mean. 

Here's this week's recap:

September 11: I haven't done any colonial knots since I learned the stitch earlier this year. Added a little section to the upper portion of the journal. As much as I love them, I can't see myself using only knots for a full year. I would go insane.

September 12: Why is the whipped back stitch the best stitch? I think it neatens up the look of a regular back stitch and creates a solid shape that's so different from what an actual back stitch looks like.

September 13: A solid line of longer back stitches. I have loved using the back stitch this year for so much of this journal. The unintentional shapes, the way stitch length creates something brand new - so good.

September 14: Pink back stitches

September 15: I've been practicing my curved stem stitch and this is probably the best I've done. The curves aren't dramatic, but I didn't lose the stitch shape which is what normally happens.

September 16: I used the only piece of usable metallic thread for a combination of back stitches and French knots. The metallic thread wasn't as bad as it usually is. Maybe it's the fabric. Maybe I've finally figured out how to make it work for me. Who really knows?

September 17: My attempt to use both the chain stitch and the Hungarian Braided chain stitch in one line. The transition to the braided stitch worked, but the transition back to the regular chain stitch was not as smooth. It would be fun to work with only this stitch family, but I can also see myself getting mad at the stitches very quickly. 

I was originally planning to wait until the end of October to move the fabric, but I think I may do it sooner. I decided for November and December I would work on small sections of the larger journal since there's not a lot of large surface area to cover on the fabric. This will make it easier to round out the journal. I'm traveling in October, so I think I may start this idea sooner since it's really hard to travel with a large hoop like this.