TAST Week 34 is Portuguese Stem Stitch…I used Portuguese stem stitch on several of the seams joining the blocks of mum’s memory quilt and I really liked the rhythm of this stitch.
 To try something different I used a thick metalic thread, all it gave was a thick line with no sign of the lovely shell shapes it forms with some threads.
I did another row with a thick cotton thread and you can see the Pattern in the stitch…I realized that when I stitched this second stitch I was taking a much longer stem stitch so that the wraps only cover part of it which creates a line that varies in width, I think it also accentuates the shell shape that I see in the pattern.
I then tried the metalic thread with a longer stitch…It is a little better but the pattern in the stitch doesn’t seem to show with the metalic thread…Portuguese stem stitch is a thread dependant stitch and if you don’t like it in one thread it is still worth trying other threads.
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TAST Week 33 is Scroll Stitch…I started with a seam of the basic stitch.
Then I did 2 rows of scroll stitch intertwining them as I worked the 2nd row.
In the seam allowance of a block I experimented with how it would flip from side to side, twisting the needle another 180 degrees to put more wraps into the knot and with making the stitch in the scroll longer…the later ideas didn’t work as the scrolls tended to unwind but…
I did quite like this seam using the scroll stitch flipped from side to side.
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 I thought that this seam needed something softer/curvy and rushed ribbon always makes a soft line down a seam.
I didn’t actually ruch the ribbon (to rush ribbon run one or 2 lines of running stitch along the ribbon and gather to required length), I wanted it to be a little more random than a gathered ruch and achieved what I wanted by scrunching the ribbon, and holding it in place under my left finger while I stitched it in place with tiny stitches…I then went back and scattered beads along its length.
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 For this seam I wanted a stitch that would push the red over into the gold and that would balance the heavy beading on Detail 379 in the upper right corner…Looking at the seams on ‘Under the Mango Tree’ I thought that the Up and down buttonhole stitch, Detail 252, would do that for me.
Unfortunatly I only looked at how the 2 rows overlapped and didn’t check the stitch length and spacing of the stitch and I used a thicker thread all of which combined to give me a narrower, denser effect than I wanted…Adding beads down both sides gave the seam back some definition but this area will still need some bigger beads to balance those in the upper right corner.
I have taken a photo of the upper part of the stocking to show you how these seams are interacting.
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A lot of the stitching that I do on a crazy quilt block is there to stand out and be seen but sometimes the seams can get congested and the overall composition of the block is better if some muted seams treatments, that will blend into the background, are used…
As well as 2 seams it intersects with, this seam is near the edge of the block and a fancy seam would not only have made the existeing seams look congested but would have looked cramped on the side of the block…by doing the Twisted Chain Stitches in a neutral coloured thread the seam is down played so that it complements instead of competing with those existing seams.
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This is a Half Chevron Stitch that I have dressed up with beads…I alternated the Bugle beads with the smaller star beads because the groups of 3 bugle beads are quite heavy and to put them in every space along the seam would have been to much, alternating with a smaller bead lightens their look it also creates a more shaply edge to the seam.
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 I started this seam treatment with a row of Cretan Stitch, which I then covered with Silk Ribbon which I kept flat while I worked it in a Herringbone motion over the Cretan Stitch…I finished by covering the ends of the Cretan Stitch with individual Oyster Stitches .
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Tonight I have gone back to basics with this seam of Buttonhole Stitch Trimmed with Beads.
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I have spent most of today catching up on housework and starting to tidy my studio…while putting some things away I found a christmas stocking that I pieced as part of a batch in 2002…I thought that it would make a nice little project to keep me stitching while I finish cleaning and getting myself a little organized.
Herringbone Stitch, Detached Chain Stitch and beads…simple stitches that combine well to make this elegant seam.
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On one of the orphaned blocks that I have been working on there was an unfinished silk ribbon basket (circa 1989) which I have now finished with a little more greenery and a few beads.
 
I also made a big decision today…I am going to abandon the 3rd crazy quilt that I started…my first crazy Quilt is ‘Hearts and Flowers’, a pastel pink, blue and cream crazy quilt…my second Butterflies is darker pinks and blues with cream and has a lot more contrast…the third one, started in 1994, was to be Jewel colours but I only ever got 3 blocks made for it and after blending my older work with what I do know on Mum’s memory quilt, I have realized that I have moved on from what I have started and as I have far more work to do to finish it than what I have done, I would be better off abandoning it and starting something fresh and more suited to my current skills and interests…and the blocks I have made won’t be wasted as each will stand alone to make bags, bookcovers, one of them may well make a lovely new cushion for the lounge….
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