Howdy Howdy!

Today is the first Work In Progress (WIP) Wednesday where I will share weekly with you what I’ve got going on behind the scenes, so to speak. I will also discuss my Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST) adventure with you, so stick around for a fantastic, WIP-TAST-ic exploration! (Aren’t I clever?;) I may not always have new progress for a WIP to share, but if I play my cards right, there will always be a TAST in progress (with a separate TAST post when each challenge is completed).

First up, my beautiful WIP from Celeste Chalasani’s craftsy Stumpwork: Raised Embroidery Essentials course. I’ve been plugging away at it for a while now, obsessively almost, until I hit a snag with my “aging” eyes. (Sewing with the petite thread for the bee’s wings was too much!) I’ve since purchased a magnifying glass but just had other things on my plate. I do have a goal to finish it soon, though – I am almost done, after all! I am just not one to have a million projects going on at once because that is how I know I would never finish any! I am a one-book, one-video-game, one-(or-three)-sewing-project at a time kind of gal. So, that’s all I got for a WIP today! (Disclaimer: I do have other projects on hiatus, of course! They are just not currently “in progress”, tee hee.)

I am using gaffer’s tape to prevent my threads from getting caught on my wires. It is a really strong but lightly sticky fabric-y masking tape and thus far, it seems to work great for this purpose, though sometimes the wire is stronger than the tape and it needs a gentle reminder to stay put.

The looped threads is a Turkey Work stitch (it does go by other names but I don’t have them handy in my head) – they will get cut and fluffed. I bought an eyebrow brush to do the fluffing and it worked great on my test run.

I am really proud how my satin stitches came out. Less proud that my fabric gave some in the hoop before I realized it, but that is the price you pay when you don’t pay the price for fancy hoops. Woe is me. They are on my list!

Next up, TAST Running Stitch. One of my awesome readers recently linked a fantastic idea for a sampler – thank you, Brenda!!:D The post is at one of my favorite places, here, but I went down the rabbit hole to find the original post and gal: Sheila Iskin at Making a Fairy Tale. I do love bunting, so that’s my plan! Each weekly challenge will get its own pennant, labeled in simple black by title, with a small basic example, and the number of the week. This first one will have TAST 2018 somewhere on there.

You’ll notice I have a lot of extra fabric that is totally not required. Well, I had inherited so much white fabric that I want to use it up quickly, and this one is already cut to a long strip that is almost the right size for my hoop. Serendipitously, I am using the excess as doodle cloth to either actually doodle ideas, or practice before I go. Whoo! My only concern is that I am using my crafting threads rather than my good ones, and I might regret that if this turns out to be something I absolutely adore. Time will tell, eh? For now, it is all about learning and getting better at creativity!

Of course, Sharon Boggon’s own Pintangle as well as Mary Corbet’s NeedlenThread are constant references. I am also using three books: Sharon’s Visual Guide to Crazy Quilting, Margie Bauer’s The Embroiderer’s Handbook (hmm, can’t find a link for her – anyone else can?), and Sue Spargo‘s Creative Stitching. Past (and present!) TAST challengers are also in my inspiration bucket, as well as ye olde google image search. When I post the finale, I will try to link to everything that specifically encouraged me to try something.