01.26.12
Posted in General at 7:00 am by deRomilly
Stitch Dilettante. That would be me. 
One of my defining characteristics as a stitch dilettante is that whenever things get stressful I have a tendency to start a new project with string – often in a technique I’ve never tried before.
Things I’ve learned this way include: needle tatting, needlelace, reticella, pulled work, drawn work, lace knitting, and thread crochet. Add to this the fact that I’ll also start a new project just to try out something new, or because I like the “pretty picture,” and you can see how I might end up with unfinished rugs, ornaments, pillows, cafe curtains, and more tucked into nooks and crannies all over the house.
Last year was especially stressful, with my Dad passing, and my husband fially recovering from a fight with lyme disease or Starry, or whatever they’ve decide to call tick-borne diseases in Carolina, because we all know deer ticks won’t cross the Mason-Dixon line. (Sorry. That’s another rant.)
Rather than starting new techniques last year, though, I became a designing fiend. And I drew a lot – filled many sketchbooks with small doodles that really only belong in the trash can. 
I played in mixed media – how do you feel about mixed media cross stitch designs?
And I actually started finishing my UFOs from those nooks and crannies – especially the knitting. And I started slipping out into the world more – in January I found that two of my designs had made it onto the pages of the Nordic Needle catalog – the printed one!
This year I feel in a much better position to keep moving on into the world. It will be an adventure.
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01.13.12
Posted in TAST at 5:14 pm by deRomilly
I don’t believe I stitched this much. A stitch I used to hate with a passion because I could never get it to lie flat, I mastered it last year, and this challenge just gave me a chance to play with it — a lot. And there are still ideas that aren’t’ going to make it to this sampler! Click to see details!
The flowers and leaves are all buttonhole stitch. Stem stitch flows easily from buttonhole, and can be seen as a very shallow buttonhole stitch, if you really stretch it!
Stems are stem and chain stitch. I especially like the little yellow-green leaves with the open buttonhole, and the buttonhole flower tips are a traditional crewel technique. Stitched in silk and cotton.
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01.11.12
Posted in General at 7:00 am by deRomilly
I’m putting the Elmow program on hiatus for a little while until I can figure out what I want to do with it. I’ve got so many ideas, that I’m getting a little overwhelmed by them!
Remember that Elmow #16 was complimentary, if you’re looking for something to stitch right now, and the last 12 Elmows are still available for purchase.
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01.10.12
Posted in TAST at 4:20 pm by deRomilly
I’m going to shift my TAST posts to Fridays/Saturdays, I think, so I can get them up faster so people who are perusing them can. I think I can manage that.
Last week’s TAST was Fly stitch. I did a small sample, but I’m afraid this is a stitch that I’m just not very creative with. It’s not one of my favorites, and it really felt like an extension just to get this little bit done. I’m happy with the results, though, and have ideas for dandelions done in fly stitch now… so I did get quite a bit out of it!
And yes, all the lettering was done in fly stitch. THAT I may work out a whole alphabet in! With more care than I gave it, it could be really cool.
I think what I really liked here was the opportunity to work with Vikki Clayton’s silk threads again. The red is her 6 strand floss. The purple is from a skein I picked up at the needlepoint shop – it’s called “High Cotton,” and is a six strand matte floss that is thicker than normal strands. It doesn’t shine, but it didn’t knot up either. I can see quite a few things this thread would be really good for, and I look forward to trying it out on them. It’s a bit spendy, though.
This coming week is buttonhole stitch. Yay! options. LOTS of options for creativity with that one!
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01.03.12
Posted in TAST at 2:47 pm by deRomilly
So today is the first day of TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday on Sharon B’s Blog). Which actually means that the stitch choice was posted last night (she’s in Australia) and I won’t be posting my results until NEXT Tuesday. Kind of hard to post something that isn’t stitched yet!
But Watch this Space! I am determined to take this opportunity to experiment and expand my design abilities…
Join us! (This week is Fly stitch).
Sharon has also updated her Squidoo pages on Hand Embroidery and on Needlework Samplers. Some very interesting links there!
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