TAST: couching stitch

Saturday, March 10, 2018

You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here.

So as I mentioned, I stuck with basic couching stitches – I did not couch using anything fancier than a straight stitch or two. Front and back:

In this top portion, I used couching for different variations of fill stitches. The left (dark teal blue and chartreuse) is called a New England Laid Work according to Tenar. The next block is Jacobian (using tiny cross-stitches) but rather than doing a traditional grid, I was curious what happened if I added perspective. It’s neat! The middle block came from Mary and is called Battlement Couching. I find it to be pretty trippy on the eyes. The next is a grid with single long slashes that I reversed with each row just to see what that affect would be. The wider slash is also something I learned from my Scandinavian Stitch Craft book. The chunk of purple is courtesy of Mary, too, and is called Bokhara stitch. It is hard to see in my poor photographic work, but it has two diagonal lines running up it. Above that, in red, is the Roumanian stitch (also courtesy of Mary!)

This section includes basic lines. The top is really simple, just an experiment with different couching lengths. The next one is Puffy Couching, courtesy of Margie Bauer’s The Embroiderer’s Handbook that I often use for this project. Then, simple tacking down of some chunky ricrac. (The red flower belongs to the motif, described below.)

I am not in love with this motif, but it illustrates the whimsy one can do with a couching stitch alone. I used a string of plastic pearls to make a snail shell, then had to add a coil of yarn to make it more shell-like than a blob of baubles. I couched lighter yarn to make the snail body, then cheated with some straight stitches and colonial knots. The flower is a piece from a fancy trim, tacked down on a stalk made with ribbon. And the grass is some petite ricrac I inherited.

And of course the title. Only after drafting this post did I realize that the little bit of green from the stem needed to be cut off still. How’s that for laziness? Just imagine it – you’ll see these pennants in all their full glory when I stitch them up at the end of the year to make the bunting:)

Next week is a break for TAST, but Sharon also mentioned a special project for those of us ready. I haven’t decided what I might do – I’d like to get back to that ribbon embroidery I began, or the super cool foundation piecing project at some point. Or try any of my other ideas roaming around in my head. So many options and too little time!

 

See more posts related to:

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Looking for more cases of the Crafties?
Update

Update

Just a summary of random things that’s been keeping me from posting.

read more
Stitch Club: Kaur

Stitch Club: Kaur

Saima Kaur led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club designed to make us smile by stitching brightly bold and whimsical figures, and I was inspired by ancient South African rock art.

read more
Stitch Club: Edwards

Stitch Club: Edwards

Priscilla Edwards led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club where we learned to make a wire frame and use batik wax to form a sculpture. For whatever reason, I decided I’d make a sailboat!

read more
A new era

A new era

My craft room has two new additions, Toby and Ollie.

read more
Hexie Dreams + Template

Hexie Dreams + Template

My Hexie Dreams quilt, which was carefully fussy cut and hand pieced by me, then hand quilted by my gramma, is finally finished after three+ years of work (and avoidance). The proof is in the stitching – persistence pays off!

read more
Stitch Club: Dias

Stitch Club: Dias

Cassandra Dias lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club workshop on embroidered landscapes, and I was inspired to recreate a honeymoon photo of France’s Pont Du Gard.

read more
Hello 2024!

Hello 2024!

For the start of 2024, I’ve been playing with drawing, paint, and watercolor pencils to get a feel for the media.

read more
Ida Andersen Lang’s Tutorial

Ida Andersen Lang’s Tutorial

I followed a water color pencil tutorial by Ida Andersen Lang to work through some techniques to set me up for a successful Mixed Media 2024 journey.

read more
Stitch Club: Boschert

Stitch Club: Boschert

Deborah Boschert lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club on creating a mixed media art quilt. I based mine upon a visit to a new town and restaurant.

read more
Finds and Things

Finds and Things

A random post about some art supplies, vintage finds, and an AI-generated experiment for future crafts.

read more
Stitch Club: Stone 3

Stitch Club: Stone 3

Sue Stone’s third workshop with TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club prompted us to use text in our piece, so I recorded a trip to Shawnee National Forest.

read more
Stitch Club: Stone 2

Stitch Club: Stone 2

Sue Stone led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club in her well-known portrait style, and I was inspired to capture a man in a hat in four variations.

read more
Hexie Dreams 19

Hexie Dreams 19

My hand sewn fussy-cut EPP Hexie Dreams quilt is all ready to go to my gramma for hand quilting. Check out a few of my embellished hexies, and come back in the future for the finished product!

read more