by Kat | Dec 19, 2017 | General, In This Moment
I have been contemplating books for the Read Harder challenge. The categories are most interesting… some are easy for me to fill in a book or two or three, while others will require more research! I have been enjoying doing this research tremendously until I got derailed yesterday…
The mail person brought the most amazing package all the way from Salt Lake City! I wish you all could have seen the look on my face when I opened the package to discover these treasures! And, yes, there might have even been a tear or two shed as such an amazing gift! Dear Margene, you are truly one in a million! I cannot tell you how much these books mean to me and I have been pouring over them this ever since! They are truly wonders that are filled with such incredible inspiration! Why they even have practical application that is MOST APPRECIATED!
Now I can barely wait to begin my new stitching project on Thursday!! It will almost feel like Margene is sitting with me as I begin this new project – for truly, Margene, you are such an inspiration, and I am thrilled to take this journey with you and do so with profound thanks and so much love!
by Kat | Dec 11, 2017 | General, In This Moment
On Friday, I shared an idea I had for this year’s stitching and over the weekend I swatched a bit with less than stellar results.
So, I spun a bit more to see if I could improve the “thready-ness” of the yarn.
I stitched with more tightly plied yarn. I stitched with less tightly plied yarn. I stitched with singles. And, even though my results were not wonderful, I am sharing what I learned here.
- Dressmaker Linen is not suitable for yarn stitching. It is abrasive to the fibers and I had problems with breakage in the yarns. I also needed a needle that could pierce the fabric, but the needles I have on hand might not have had a big enough eye, which also caused more abrasion to the yarn.
- Plied wool yarn is very difficult to stitch with in linen fabric. I had issues with the plies wanted to be untwisted. I had issues with one of the plies breaking. I had issues with stitches laying how I wanted them to lay.
- Singles wool yarn is too fragile to withstand the stitching process in dressmaker linen with a needle.
- I did like some of the results I got with Pygora singles I tried, but it did not want to be stitched in satin stitch at all.
I admit that I am surprised by my results, but I am unbelievably happy that I am finding out these problems through swatching and not as I am beginning my new project. And, I am really happy that I have a bag filled with Pearle Cotton staring at me while I spend the next few days pondering how this changes my idea, if at all. But then, I texted with my friend Beth, and she gave me lots of advice but this made my head spin: “I would go to the internet and see if people use wool for the same stitches as cotton. By the end I would have tried 400 million fabrics and 200 million wools…”
Okay, so seriously? I don’t have that much testing drive in me! But, I did go to the internet and found some fun things on Pinterest, like this and this! Which led me to Judy’s Journal…I could be heading down the couching rabbit hole but, for today I am not going to think about this anymore. I have a bit of wrapping to finish up for things that need to be shipped out before Christmas and a quick trip to Costco.
Have a good Monday!
by Kat | Dec 5, 2017 | General
Bare-armed sentinels
Rain and winds that blow and swirl
Even the first snow
by Kat | Nov 7, 2017 | General
I should be writing today’s blog post, but I got completely sidetracked reading this Twitter Moment. The comments are seriously awesome…but, back to the post:
I was rudely reminded over the weekend that grey, rainy days are the bane of photographers everywhere. So, trying to get photos for today’s post have caused this serious case of procrastination. Late yesterday afternoon, just moments before the sunset…
(at what seemed like 4:30 in the afternoon)
The clouds gave way and I managed to get a photo to share October’s Stitching.
While this stitching may not look like much, it holds incredible (and some painfully sad) memories; flocks of birds, vibrant colored leaves, winds, rains, Lake Michigan, and Las Vegas. This month certainly achieves an award for being a memory stitching!
I also love the “new-to-me” techniques I learned tried this month. The satin stitching with multiple colors, the center of my spiral where I tried to capture the look of blue skies breaking through a cloudy morning, and waves that have French knot “white caps”. All in all, October was a very good month!
Also… today is a VERY IMPORTANT DAY!!
Don’t forget to go vote!
Happy Tuesday everyone!
by Kat | Oct 3, 2017 | General, Making
I am not sure I am liking the grey linen for this quarter. It is a little darker than I thought it would be, but I am forging ahead with it.
However, in September, I learned some new-to-me techniques of applique. Wool felt is truly a thing of beauty. I had no idea at all, but wow – I really loved working with it!
I also loved using darker color threads as my world changed dramatically this month. The trees are changing, plants are dying, and things are settling in for a new season.
One thing is certain, each day’s stitching was a high point of my day. And, learning new things is always good!
