Take a Stitch Tuesday weeks 51 and 52
Tuesday, December 18, 2007 at 8:59AM | Sharon B | 33 Comments | in Challenges, Hand Embroidery, Needlework, Take a Stitch Tuesday, Take it Further challenge An update on the Take it Further challenge
I have just updated the Take it Further challenge page and at the time of writing we now have 253 participants signed on. I am closing the sign up in 24 hours from the time I press the publish button on this post. So if you have been hesitating leave a comment with your blog or flickr address to sign on.
The Last Two weeks of TAST
OK now that I have that little bit of self promotion and news out of the way on with TAST. With Christmas day falling on Tuesday it means the regular TAST announcement clashes with a very important day. So I have decided to post both weeks today which means of course it is the last TAST post I will write. I must admit it has crept up on me somewhat as I have been looking ahead to next years Take it Further challenge.
Firstly I really must take my hat off to all those who have managed to stitch along. There must have been times when you wondered if it was worth it. There are also cluster of people trying to catch up which I admire as well as its not easy to so once you have slipped.
I must admit that this challenge was a little too demanding for most people and I will admit too that it bit considerably into my time this year. I would not admit to myself just how much until now. I find if I start thinking negatively half way through something it leads to tossing it in so I never let myself actually look at what it took to write a weekly post about TAST.
That said it has been immensely satisfying to watch and it has had some really exciting times as I watched people discover things about various stitches. It's been a great thrill and a privilege to run it so I want to say thank you to all those who participated in the challenge.
I usually end my weekly TAST post with a link to the Take a Stitch Tuesday flickr group . It now houses over 1,600 images and if ever I was in any doubt about this challenge browsing through the group re-energised me. Even if you have not been stitching along it is worth taking a look and it is a great review of the year!
Also check the TAST page as I am currently updating the list to display those that are up to date or attempting to complete
OK before I get too wordy on with the two stitches that are for the final weeks.
Week 51 Chained Bar
The first stitch is chained bar which forms a solid line.
Create the foundation of this stitch by first laying down some long straight stitches.
Between two to six straight stitches in DMC pearl 3 thread work well
You are going to work a zig zag chain stitch across the bar. You might like to refresh your memory of zig zag chain.
Work from left to right. Bring the needle from the back of the fabric and hold the thread with the left thumb. Insert the needle back into where it first came out. Take the needle through the fabric bringing the point of the needle out on a diagonal angle, below the straight stitches. With the thread wrapped under the needle point pull the needle through the fabric.
In the second stitch turn the angle of the chain stitch to take the chain over the bar.
Continue along the bar until the straight stitches are couched down by the zig zag chain stitches
If your stitches do not lie flat as you enter the fabric with each loop pierce the end of the previous loop.
This stitch produces a very heavy solid line. You can also use it to couch down ribbon or fine braid. This is a stitch where contrasting threads work well. For instance a metallic thread over a bar of silk is stunning. Highly textured threads can be used as the bar. If they are very hairy the chain will create interesting indentations on the line.
Week 52 Spanish Feather stitch
Spanish feather stitch is also listed in stitch dictionaries as Spanish knotted feather stitch and known as twisted zigzag chain stitch. It's an interesting, and for some a challenging stitch creating a wide, ornamental line.
Work Spanish feather stitch downwards, along three imaginary parallel lines. If you want to keep the line straight, it is sometimes useful to mark them on the fabric with a pen that will dissolve with water.
For beginners this stitch can be rather difficult to keep even, so some practice is needed but it is worth learning as it is very versatile. Before you try this stitch do try twisted chain as this stitch is a variety of twisted chain stitch.
Bring your thread through from the back of the fabric and put the needle back in the fabric just above but to the left of where your thread comes out. Bring the needle out at point to the left and slightly down from where your thread comes out as seen in the illustration.
Wrap your thread up and under the needle as illustrated.
Pull the needle through the fabric and you will see that the stitch formed looks like a twisted chain stitch worked at an angle.
Place your needle just above the twist of the stitch near where your thread emerged from the fabric at the beginning.
Bring your needle out on the right line but below where your thread first emerged from the fabric as illustrated.
Wrap the thread over and under the needle to form the second twisted stitch.
Pull your thread through and you will have a pair of twisted chain stitches worked in a zig-zag fashion.
Continue down the line back and forth until you have reached the bottom.
Each time you work a stitch make sure you put your needle in the top of the cross form by the thread.
As you can see the loops create a knotted look at the edges of the row.
This stitch is easier to work with a twisted thread, such as pearl cotton but do experiment with other threads as well as Spanish feather stitch is extremely versatile and full of personality!
As usual swing back and leave a comment here when you have worked a sample and there is a flickr group you can browse too.
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Reader Comments (33)
Thanks so much for putting your time and effort into this challenge, Sharon. It must have had you whirling at times! I have done quite a few of the stitches and need to get them posted to the appropriate week. I will continue to use these stitches in my current CQ and will update as I go along.
Thanks again and I am SO looking forward to 2008!!!
Hi Sharon --as I have often said I have enjoyed this challenge immensely not only for the stitching side of it but also for getting me started on a blog.
I have made some wonderful friendships because of this and hopefully this will continue as we work together on TIF next year.
I would also like to say that never once did I consider dropping out of TAST even though I did get behind on several occasions and now I have an excellent reference library of stitches- many of which I had never heard of before.
Thank you so much Sharon and lastly I would like to wish yourself and Gerry a wonderful Christmas filled with love and happiness.
Doreen
http://doreeng.blogspot.com/
I, too, want to say how much I enjoyed seeing the new stitches every week and keeping them for a wonderful reference.
I have used a number of them in projects, and I intend to work them into the TIF challenge next year.
Thx so much, Sharon, for leading us. I'm not blogging myself, but I'm reading hundreds of them thru Bloglines. I appreciate that lead almost as much as the stitches....Happy Holidays!
Sharon, I've never questioned whether it was worth continuing and I've always looked forward to the next stitch. I think there is only one I did not practise. And I'm very glad I've made it to the end. It has been fun all year long and I thank you for all the work you have done.
Apart from stitching, this brought me to the blog community, where I met wonderful persons and learnt a lot too.
Now I have to find a way to keep all those samples plus the one I made in your courses...
Have a nice holidays!
Hi Sharon, thank you so much for this year of learning, I managed to more or less keep up and I have posted my TAST 51 in my blog as we leave for 10 days on Kangaroo Island on Thursday and I wouldnt be able to scan it while we are away. I had an hour or so this afternoon to do it before a big family gathering tonight. I NEEDED to sit and relax.
All the best for Christmas and the New year to you and your husband. I look forward to next years challenge.
on my blog http://backvalleyseasons.blogspot.com
Hi Sharon, thank you for TAST, I think that everyone has got a huge amount from it...
I have hesitated about the take it further challenge but with your deadline it is time to decide and you can put me down as a participant I know that I will get a lot from it...annie
Hi Sharon,
I also will thank you so much for all the hours you have put is this challenge the past year.
I have done all the stitches and it was a joy to learn so many new ones.
I didn't embroidery much before I started your Encrusted class last January.
Now I see I have many more different stitches to use, and that is so nice.
I wish you and your family a lovely Christmas week.
Ati.
Hi Sharon,
for me this has been a real learning experience because i had a very limited embroidery knowledge. it has been enriching, frustrating at times, exhilarating and the chance of getting in contact with like minds has been priceless.
Thank you so much for this opportunity, your time and your generosity.
Merry Christmas
peace
neki desu
Testing us to the end, a lovely twisted stitch to finish with. Thank you Sharon for all the work you have put into this. I wish you and yours all the best for Chistmas and look forward to joining you for Take it Further.
Sharon, although I fell by the wayside a bit during TAST I thoroughly enjoyed the stitches I DID manage to try, and also The Personal Library of Stitches class I took earlier in the year. My terrestial stitching friends are amazed to hear we all learn and practise our stitching on line, LOL. I've been clicking on the TIF links and offering encouragement to the newbies, and I've noticed a few novice bloggers using other systems than Blogger can't receive my comments. Just thought I'd mention it, as I use Blogger I can't seem to comment on Wordpress blogs unless the setup is a certain way. Works for yours, so your setup must be OK. See you at TIF Challenge in the New Year,
Hooroo and a very Happy Christmas to you and yours,
Christine
http://missmuffettwo.blogspot.com/
Thanks from me, too, Sharon. As you know, you got me started blogging, which is a great pleasure. With my computer problems the past few weeks, I've not done TAST samplers, though I have made a few stitches to try them out. I found it a struggle to keep up, but even when I didn't do much stitching, I so much enjoyed seeing what everyone else was doing. And I'm so glad to have all these stitches for future reference and experimentation.
May the new year bring you rich blessings.
There's a new pic on my blog of pistil stitch and the double detatched chain. I'm working the last two, chain bar and spanish feather as I browse right now. I endorse what others have said, this has been a great challenge and I've enjoyed it immensely. Now i'm on the last ones it feels like a real achievement! Sharon, thank you so much.
http://www.embroideryoverlaps.com
Sharon good days, good hill and I do not know if your new challenge 2008, but will be 12 is just easier for me, besides this in my area of work .. And also I would like to take the kind of surfaces on January 24 ... kisses
Nela
Hi Sharon, thanks so much for this challenge, even though I have so far only managed half the stitches but it has led me on to so many other things. I still plan to do them and will be posting the results on my webpage as they are done.
Having looked at your new challenge, I can see its exactly the next level I need, so I would love to participate,if that is ok. 12 projects seems like a much more managable number for me.
Will the Sumptuous Surfaces class also explain some of the stitches? I read the course description and it sounds great -but I am not very facile with embroidery stitches - which is why I wish I had caught on to TAST when it began !!
Congrats to all who stitched all year - I think I only made it to the end of January!
Thank you so much Sharon for all of your hard work. I'm really looking forward to your new challenge (and there's only 12 this time!)
Marie I have drpped you an email but you asked if the "Sumptuous Surfaces class also explain some of the stitches"
There are full step by step directions for the stitches in the lessons. If the stitch I refer to is in my online stitch dictionary I point students there but otherwise they are illustrated.
The web address for the stitch dictionary is http://inaminuteago.com/stitchindex.html
Dear Sharon and all other challengers,
I have done them all and have enjoyed all of it. I have been busy but this has been not so time consuming and I have been able to keep with the rythm. I have used the stitches on my cq blocks, RR blocks and other embroidery work.
I wish you the Joy of Christmas and I want to share your TIF in 2008!
Love,
Helina in Finland
http://www.flickr.com/photos/helinacq/
Hi Sharon, we are on Kangaroo Island on holiday but i did complete my Spanish feather stitch and it is on my blog. I had a few problems with this stitch but once I worked it out it is a lovely and useful stich to know.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and i am looking foreward to next years challenge, ok so I have said this before but then I was home, now I am on Kangaroo island.
http://backvalleyseasons.blogspot.com
I'm one who has fallen behind, but I wanted you to know that I have fully appreciated what you have done for us by way of that challenge. Each iota of time and effort on your part was more worthwhile than you could every imagine. I will be continuing the challenge, if only as a personal one. Of course just as I thought I had a manageable approach to 2008 challenges and classes, you offer the irrisistible temptation of Sumptuous Surfaces!
I've finished 51 & 52. You can see the most recent at: vivian-institches.blogspost.com/. The whole challenge is on my flicker site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64179668@N00/
Thanks again to Sharon for the time and effort spent on this challenge. We have all learned much and I am sad that it is over, I'll miss my weekly challenge. However, I look forward to the new challenge.
I never gave up on TAST but I have fallen way behind, only managing French Knots and Bullions in the second half of the year (FK's took me 4 weeks and bullions took 6!) I think I may be better suited to TIF, to which I am really looking forward.
Congratulations to every one who took part, especially those who saw it through to the end. I have enjoyed seeing your efforts immensely and the whole experience has been enriched by your taking time to post each week. Thank you all and not least, thank you Sharon for the incredible amount of work you put into this challenge.
CA
Well Sharon I have done my week 51 and 52 challenges and they have arrived in my 200th posting on the blog so I have achieved 2 milestones at the same time.
Thank you for getting me started on this great journey.
Merry Christmas
Doreen
http://doreeng.blogspot.com/
Strange feeling, it is the end of TAST!
Thank you Sharon for this pleasure all round the year!
My last sampler can be seen at
http://aufildujardin.blogspot.com/2007/12/tast-last-weeks.html
or
http://www.flickr.com/photos/verobirdie/2134567369/
All good things must come to an end or so some say. Thank you Sharon for all your hard work making it possible for us to enlarge our stitching library with the TAST Challenge! My Chained Bar may be seen here:
http://normasneedlez.blogspot.com
Oops! should have mentioned the Spanish Feather Stitch is also posted on my blog. All done! Now to have fun with them!
http://normasneedlez.blogspot.com
I have made the last stitches, they are here:
http://www.isetegija.net/index.php?ind=blog&op=home&idu=2796&singlepost=24742
I can't thank You enough for this wonderful year! I have enlargered my view on embroidery, I discovered that it can be used almost everywhere in handcrafting. I already miss it, and I'm thinking about how to continue stitching regularly in future.
So thank You and Happy New Year!
Freddy.
I have completed and posted my TAST for the year. This weekly challenge has been a pleasure to me. I couldn't wait for the next Tuesday to arrive. A few stitches were -dare I say- quite nasty and I vowed never to do one again. I 've decided to redo these harder ones and with patience I hope to make them look good. LOL
Like everyone else who has done the TAST, I appreciate the time and effort you have given to us Sharon. I am sure you cloned yourself several times to accomplish this feat.
I have joined the TIF, which I feel is way outside my square and so I will be looking at everyone's blog to give me some clues. The eye candy is ever a delight to me.
My thanks to all who commented on my blog.
I wish you a very healthy and happy New Year.
cheers Maureen
http://crazyqstitcher.wordpress.com/
I did it! I just finished Spanish Feather Stitch and posted my sampler to my blog:
http://blog.orangerugyarn.com///index.php/musings/2007/12/31/tast_i_did_it
I'm just careening in under the wire with my weeks 51 and 52 (at least here in Canada!). I know you're already celebrating where you are. Thank you soooo much Sharon for all you've done for us over the past year. I have enjoyed every second of the challenge and now have a wonderful library of stitches I can continue to play with in the future. You are absolutely a wonderful inspiration!
All good wishes to you and yours for the year to come!
Cheers
Mary Anne
http://magpiesmumblings.blogspot.com
I have finished my last few stitches and posted them at Flickr and on my Blog. This challenge has been a joy to do - Thank you so much Sharon.
I'm so looking forward to the new challenge...
http://luciscreativeadventures.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/luci_f/
Here's my Chained Bar sample: http://faffingabout.blogspot.com/2008/01/tast-chained-bar-stitch.html. Only one more to go. Happy New Year, Sharon!
Here's my final sample for Spanish feather stitch: http://faffingabout.blogspot.com/2008/01/tast-spanish-feather-stitch.html. I've finally finished the challenge so thanks very much, Sharon, for all your hard work in putting it together.