Day 16 – A Year of Stitches 2017

January 16, 2017

Today is a repeat….Same thing today as yesterday!

Day 16:

Stitch:  Woven Wagon Wheel/Spider Woven Wheel

Fiber:  Weeks  Dye Works in Hibiscus, using 2 ply

 

 

 

 

 

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Day 15 – A Year of Stitches 2017

January 15, 2017

Today starts week three.  This week I want to grow a garden to combat our Northern Virginia weather, so I will add flowers and plants!  I normally do not stitch flowers, but use cross stitch patterns to create blooms.

I was searching Pinterest and Google for embroidery ideas last week, and ran across ribbon embroidery and the beautiful flowers created in this technique.  I am not quite ready to purchase new supplies, but I did find comparable stitches for floss!

Day 15:

Stitch:  Woven Wagon Wheel/Spider Woven Wheel

Fiber:  Weeks  Dye Works in Hibiscus, using 2 ply

 

 

 

 

 

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Day 14, Week 2, YTD– A Year of Stitches 2017

January 14, 2017

This post includes the weekly wrap up and a YTD picture of progress!  So, two weeks down and 50 to go!  I am interested to see the size of a year of stitches….

I decided the sky section of my week one needed some clouds, so I added a couple of vintage glass pearls from my bead stash.  I love these beads and wish that I picked up all the local bead store had at the time!  I made a lovely necklace with a teal sea horse ceramic pendant from them…a nice reminder of the beach during this icy weather.

Day 14:

Stitch:  Simply added embellishments, Vintage glass pearls from local bead store

Fiber:  Leftover Christopher metallics, using single strand

 

Week 2:

This week was mainly a regrouping to try to plan a little better for this year long project.  I realized I wanted to still do what I normally do while stitching, adding the year and sign the project.  I also found out I need to plan a little better about timing, so hopefully sections or themes I will complete in 7 days.  So for week two, I added the year and my initials with some embellishments of stitches and beads.  (For stitches and fibers used during week two, see previous blog posts for those days.)  I am still using fibers from my  extensive stash, trying to resist temptation to purchase fibers I see other embroiderers using!  I did purchase “Boho Embroidery” this week and hope to incorporate some of her ideas and stitches in the future.

 

Year to Day Ending January 14, 2017

 

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Day 13 – A Year of Stitches 2017

January 13, 2017

Today I had problems deciding what to add.  I found some great tutorials online for lots of different techniques, (checking out Pinterest is a good/bad idea!) but I did not want to start a new theme or space before the end of the week.  Right now I would like to keep everything sectioned out….let’s see how long I can keep that up!  So, I rummaged through embellishments from my cross stitch and my jewelry making stashes.  I found some wonderful Czech glass beads I had to have just because they sparkled in the store…The colors matched the hues I worked with this week, so they won!

Day 13:

Stitch:  Simply added embellishments, Czech Glass 3 Cut 6/0 beads in Crystal Red Luster from local bead store

Fiber:  Leftover cotton floss, using 2 ply

note:  Photo taken in light box, not the normal shot in kitchen next to patio doors, but the shading hide the beads….

 

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Day 12 – A Year of Stitches 2017

January 12, 2017

Today I attempted the cable chain stitch to border the year and initials.  This was my first time doing this stitch, so I spent lots of time pulling out and restarting!  I still did not get a uniform chain going….but I do love the fact that you can see the variations in the colorsof the hand dyed floss!

Day 12:

Stitch:  Cable Chain

Fiber:  Weeks Dye Works in Sugar Plum, using 3 ply

 

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Day 11 – A Year of Stitches

January 11, 2017

I decided to add my initials next to the year.  I placed an order for “Boho Embroidery”, a book and am awaiting the fun new stitches I can learn.

Day 11:

Stitch:  Straight and Daisy

Fiber:  Crescent Colours Hand Dyed Floss in Vintage Violet, using 3 ply

 

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Day 10 – A Year in Stitches 2017

January 10, 2017

Not much to say, I just added a few stars today.

Day 10:

Stitch:  Star

Fiber:  Simply Shaker Sample Threads from The Gentle Art in Butternut squash, using 3 ply

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Day 9 – A Year in Stitches 2017

January 9, 2017

This morning, I dropped off the oldest at the airport for the Spring semester at the University of Arizona.  As I drove home, I realized that I needed to add the year to my work.  Now, when I do cross stitch or work on linen, I always place the date and my initials in the lower corners of my pieces when finished.

A couple of outside the box issues.  Working using a hoop, there is no corner to add the date!  Also, I needed to add the year now to make sure I finish in 2017.   Another problem was since I am not using an even weave linen, I was not sure I could make 2017 look like 2017.

Looking back at previous days, I decided to translate 2017 into Roman Numerals to go with the science idea of the Big Dipper in my nighttime sky and to show my love of math.  I am really happy with how the MMXVII turned out in the variegated dyed silk!  I also got to use one of my many sewing tools, the beaded tail catcher I purchased a long, long time ago!  (If anyone recognizes it in the picture below and remembers the name, please let me know!)

Day 9:

Stitch:  Straight and Cross

Fiber:  The Thread Gatherer Silk ‘N Colors in Fairy Quilt Cottage, using 3 ply

Day 8 – A Year of Stitches 2017

Quick Update

 

Since this blog is a work in progress, things may change.  Right now I will try to post daily updates with stitch and thread information and any additional comments.  Today was a nice quiet day after spending the morning at church, going out to lunch with the family before the oldest returned to Tucson, AZ for college and smelling the fresh baked brownies made for the plane flight.  (Hopefully less eventful then the 5 cancelled flights dealt with coming home for Christmas!)

I decided to outline the day and night scenes before I get carried away filling the fabric.  So I dug into my jewelry making supplies for the fairy silk and pulled out some colors from my stash.

 

Day 8:

Stitch:  Couching

Fiber:  Foundation or laid thread:  fairy silk in a dusty purple, Couching thread:  Weeks Dye Works hand dyed cotton floss in Marigold and Mulberry, using 2 ply

 

Week One for 1 Year of Stitches 2017

 

I am not sure why I did this, but this week I decided to join a FB group for embroidery.  When I asked the ladies at the local food pantry I volunteer at if I should join a group reading a book a week for 2017 or embroidering daily for the new year, they said “Sew!”

This is a great excuse to add to my hobby list….I currently have a sewing machine in my dining room, jewelry making components spread throughout the house, and also have a family to get through the day.  Call me crazy!

I have always enjoyed cross stitch and working on linen, but I have not seriously embroidered since college, and I have never done it without a pattern or chart.  This will be a chance for me to explore my own creativity and think outside the box.  I plan to take pictures and describe my materials throughout this process.  Hopefully having this blog will keep me accountable.

Jumping off point:

I started out by selecting fabric for this project.  I have plenty of material lying around, but I have some leftover linen I used for a long past elementary school costume.  After cutting off a piece, I ironed it and placed in a brand new hoop!  Most of my fibers and supplies will come from over 30 years of crafting.

Day 1:

Stitch:  Chain

Fiber:  The Thread Gatherer Hand Dyed Silk in Autumn Foliage, using 4 ply

 

Day 2:

Stitch:  Chain

Fiber:  Hand dyed cotton from mixed bag purchased from local needlework shop in Green, using 3 ply

 

Day 3:

Stitch:  Chain

Fiber:  Simply Shaker Sampler Thread from The Gentle Art in Green Apple, using 3 ply

 

Day 4:

Stitch:  Satin

Fiber:  Hand dyed cotton from mixed bag purchased from local needlework shop in light Blue, using 3 ply

 

Day 5:

Stitch:  Satin

Fiber:  Weeks Dye Works hand dyed cotton floss in Onyx, using 3 ply

 

Day 6:

Stitch:  Adding embellishments, no specific stitch

Fiber:  Balger Blending Filament in Cable, Gold and Christopher Metallic in a pearl white (over 20 years old, label unclear)

Additional accents:  CzechMates QuadraLentil in Matte Metallic Flax and Crystal AB (used for beading)

 

Day 7:

Stitch:  Fly, adding additional embellishments

Fiber:  Sampler Threads from The Gentle Art in Burnt Orange, using 2 ply, and Christopher Metallic in a pearl white (over 20 years old, label unclear)

Additional accents:  Toho 15/0 seed beads in Silver Lined Crystal (used for beading)

 

Week One Summary:

I decided to make a day and night scene after I had completed two rows of chain stitch.  The rows reminded me of earth and grass, so after that, day and night seemed to flow.  I tried to make birds and stars in the day and night sky after adding the sun and moon.  I realized after about four days, I will likely need a second hoop, since I now realize that 365 days of stitches will take up a lot of room unless I scale back.  Here is the completed week one.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions, I will try my best to respond.