TAST 39 & BEYOND TAST 39

 TAST 39 - Fancy Herringbone Stitch

This stitch is new to me.  It was fun to explore this stitch.  Initially, a foundation of herringbone stitches are worked followed by working upright cross stitches at the crossings of each herringbone stitch.  Then lacing of each of these cross stitches is done. The lacing of these stitches reminds the way we write down number 8.  :)-.

In the first row, the foundation herringbone was worked with 2 strands of light green anchor floss .  This does not show up much after doing the lacing.

In the  third row, the lacing is done with 6 strands of anchor embroidery floss.

BEYOND TAST 39 - Triangular Feather Stitch

This one too, is a new stitch for me.  This belongs to the feather stitch family.   This stitch reminds me of the Turkman Stitch which was done a few weeks back in TAST 2020.   

                                              

TAST 34 & BEYOND TAST 34

 TAST 34 - Crossed Feather Stitch & Plaited Feather Stitch

As the name suggests, both these are derived from Feather Stitch.  Crossed & Plaited Feather stitch are almost similar, just that in Plaited Feather Stitch we take the working thread under the cross bar created by the initial set of feather stitches.These stitches can be used for Crazy Quilting Seam Treatments.

                                                        

BEYOND TAST 34 - Spiked Knotted Cable Chain.

A new stitch to learn in this series of TAST challenges.  This creates a knotted stitch and is derived from Chain stitch family.  I tried practicing this stitch in a circle.

                                                            

TAST 22 & BEYOND TAST 22

 TAST 22 - Up and Down Buttonhole

 The stitch is very and simple.  Its similar to the buttonhole stitch

BEYOND TAST 22 - Interlaced Up and Down Buttonhole.

Initially, two rows of Up and down buttonhole stitches are worked back to back.  Then it is interlaced to get this beautiful stitch.  This could be used for edging and as seam treatment in crazy quilt.

TAST 17 & BEYOND TAST 17

 TAST 17 - Bullion Knot

This is one of my favorite stitches.  Though, the working of this stitch is a bit on the "Not so easy" side, once we get it  right, this stitch is such a beautiful one and we will be using this quite often.

This stitch creates a textured effect on the surface of the fabric.  This is a pretty  stitch for creating roses .  Varigated thread colors bring out much more beauty in these bullion roses.  I have tried creating bullion roses, bullion rose bud , a CQ seam treatment  combining bullion knots and feather stitch and some flowers.  

                                           

BEYOND TAST 17  - Buttonhole Picot

I skipped this stitch challenge , as the stitch was not that appealing to me.  I did not find any unique visual differentiation between this and Buttonhole stitch.

TAST 13 & BEYOND TAST 13

 TAST 13 -  Buttonhole Wheel

This is one of my favorite stitches.   A very simple and quick one, useful in creating flowers and leaves.  This stitch can be used to create circle, semi circle, quarter circles which can be used as a pretty crazy quilting seam treatment when combined with other stitches.

BEYOND TAST 13 - Buttonhole wheel cup.

This stitch is an extension of Buttonhole wheel.  A foundation is made with a buttonhole wheel, followed by working the button hole stitch in the outer edge.  These buttonhole stitches can be stitched , more than once to create beautiful textured stitch.

 

TAST 10 & BEYOND TAST 10

TAST 10 -CHEVRON STITCH

This stitch is a very simple and easy one.  The length of the stitch can be varied or the stitches can be stacked upon .  This stitch can be used as a border stitch and in CQ seam treatments.

 

BEYOND TAST 10 - Inverted Feather Stitch

This stitched is a new one to learn.   This can also be used to couch down thicker threads and ribbons.

TAST 8 & BEYOND TAST 8

 TAST 8 -  Running Stitch

This is one of the beginner level stitches in embroidery.   Its a great, simple,easy, fun and very useful stitch.  Running stitch plays a significant role in the needlework history of various countries,regions and cultures.

 Kanta embroidery which originated in the West Bengal state of India, is mainly based on this Running Stitch  .  My sampler of running stitch has some motifs from kanta embroidery and sashiko of Japan.

BEYOND TAST 8 -  TWISTED LATTICE BAND

This stitch was a new one for me , yet it was great fun to learn this stitch.   First a row of double herringbone stitches are worked followed by lacing of the stitches.  I tried to create a stack of these stitches and it created a beautiful band / border.

                                                        

Beginner CQ course - Kathy Shaw

Recently I took Beginner Crazy Quilt class offered by Kathy Shaw. I have very little experience with CQ.

 She had split the beginner course into 10 lessons.  Each of these lessons had one or two assignments to be completed.  The course text included lessons on  -  Hoops & Q-Snaps, How to achieve Balance, Flip and Sew block piecing, Making simple CQ templates, Various Seam treatments, Silk Ribbon embroidery Basic Stitch guide, SRE Iris,SRE Woven Rose, Small SRE seam flowers, Fly Stitch SRE Roses, Fly Stitch SRE Rose Vines, Lace motif attachments and Surface Beading techniques.

It was fun and joy  to see how just a  few scraps of cloth come alive depicting a beautiful garden with various elements - Seam Treatments, Silk ribbon embroidery, Lace Motifs and Beading.

The course was well written from a beginner's perspective, very thorough and detailed with step by step photos and other eye candy photos. 

Thank you Kathy for your generosity in offering this Free course.  I am awaiting for your announcement on the Intermediate course around January 2015.

Here is my completed Beginner CQ block.

Happy Day!!!