TAST Week 12

Week 12: Chevron Stitch
Week 11 was a break week, so the 11th stitch of this round of TAST is the Chevron Stitch. It was introduced on March 20th in this post and the directions for this stitch may be found here.

I followed this edge on one of Sharon B.'s templates to keep my stitches relatively even.*

I used size 8 pink perle cotton for the Chevron Stitches. I used this stitch to couch down a black velvet ribbon on the messenger bag I am working on. After the seam was stitched, I created flowers along the ribbon with clusters of pink and blue seed beads. (I like to individually secure each bead by passing the thread through it 3 times and then knotting the thread 3 times on the back. This holds each bead securely in place, and if one bead falls off in the use of the bag, the others will not all fall off.)

TAST stands for Take a Stitch Tuesday. This is a personal stitching challenge offered by Sharon B. of Pintangle.com. You may learn more about TAST here.

This week, stitch 25 was announced, so I will be playing catch up!

* I am not affiliated with Pintangle or with Sharon B.'s crazy quilt templates. However, I did receive my templates free of charge, in exchange for an honest review. I truly love using mine!

January CQJP 2018 - 2 Basic Seams

CQJP 2018 January Block Seam 1

The first seam was embellished with black size 8 perle cotton and a Chevron Stitch.

This seam will be built up with more embellishment later.

To keep my stitches even, I placed one of Sharon B.'s Crazy Quilting Templates (from Set 1) along the seamline and used a pencil to lightly mark the upper-most and lowest points.

CQJP 2018 January Block Seam 2

Using the same perle cotton, the second seam was embellished with a feather stitch. More embellishement will be added to this seam after I cover the applique edges of the heart with stitching.

Thank you for visiting!

Renee

Notes:

CQJP 2018 = Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2018. It is a challenge to embellish one crazy quilt block a month. Find the CQJP blog here.

Disclaimer: 

I recieved my CQ Stencils from Sharon B. in return for an honest review. I really enjoy using these stencils and look forward to creating more with them this year!

TAST Weeks 6 & 7: Chevron Stitch & Detached Chain Stitch

TAST WEEK 6: Chevron Stitch

Using size 8 green perle cotton and the chevron stitch, I couched a red ribbon over a seam on a crazy quilted Christmas stocking I am making for Mutt. (Mutt is the nickname my youngest son and I agreed on when he was little, because he loves dogs.) 

I planned to add beads between the chevron stitches, however, when I finished couching the ribbon down, I envisioned Christmas trees. So, I used size 8 variegated perle cotton to make zigzagging straight stitches to fill in the trees. Next, small yellow beads were added to the top of the trees for stars. Brown bugle beads became the tree trunks. This was such a fun combination to create and my son loves it.

I have not used this stitch a lot, but I do have a few favorites to share. The seam above was created on the camera block I embellished for a dear friend of mine. I used white perle cotton to create the chevron stitch. Then, I created heart flowers. The stems are straight stitches. The leaves are detached chain stitches. The hearts were created by making two stitches that I suppose would really be two open detached chain stitches that meet in the center. I love this combination! (Of course, I love hearts...)

The seam above was added to Barbara's block for the Heart Round Robin I participated in last year. I used size 12 ecru perle cotton to make the chevron stitches. Size 8 green perle cotton straight stitches and detached chain stitches created stems and leaves. Next, size 8 dark red perle cotton was used to create sets of 3 detached chain stitches for the flower petals.

TAST Week 7: Detached Chain Stitch

Detached chain stitches are SO versatile. I use them all the time. For TAST, I opted to create an angel seam on the Christmas stocking I am making for Mutt. Using 2 strands of metallic gold DMC floss, I began with a closed buttonhole stitch to create triangles for the bodies. Two detached chain stitches topped each triangle to create wings. A French knot "head" was centered above each set of wings.  (I discovered and fell in love with this seam combination in 2013 when I went to the library and checked out the book An Encyclopedia of Crazy Quilt Stitches and Motifs by Linda Causee. Disclaimer: This link takes you to see the book at Amazon.com. I am not affiliated with the book, but do earn a small credit for purchases made at Amazon through my blog.)

In the past, I have frequently used combinations of detached chain stitches and straight stitches to create tiny fish in under-the-sea themed blocks, like this block I embellished for Nicki Lee.

Detached chain stitch is just perfect to create leaves, as seen in this "snowball" I created for Donna.

This flower was created using 4 mm silk ribbons and detached chain stitches with a bead in the center. (I have not shared this project yet. My seam ripper and I need to schedule a date first...)

This block that I embellished for Kathy in the Heart Round Robin we participated in together shows detached chain stitches creating leaves, flower petals, and butterfly wings.

TAST stands for Take a Stitch Tuesday. It is a personal stitching challenge offered by Sharon B. on Facebook and on her blog, pintangle.com. You may read more about it here. This week, the detached chain stitch was introduced. If you follow the TAST Facebook group, you know there are some incredibly inspiring examples of these stitches being shared. Thank you, Sharon, for offering TAST!

Thank you for stopping by!

Renee