08.11.08
Posted in Stitching Genres, Lace at 3:37 pm by deRomilly
I just discovered this form recently — there was a post asking about the book by Elena Dickson on the h-needlework list. I was so intrigued that I bought it sight unseen and without any real reviews.
All I can say is wow - it’s beautiful! And faster than a lot of needlelace, unless you mess up. Errors have to be fixed by carefully cutin gout the offending area and beginning the knotting again.
I’ve been playing with larger threads than she recommends - both becuase I thought they’d be easier to learn on (they were, for me) and because I saw a potential to use this as an alternative to crochet for hip scarves and other bellydance embellishment (I’ve also been playing with macrame for this purpose, more on that later!)
I like the effect, and may make myself a hipscarf using this technique. One of the advantages I can see immediately is that if a thread breaks I wouldn’t lose an entire row of beads and coins, the way I do on the purchased, crocheted scarves.
And since I try to go through all the stitching on the purchased scarves myself because of that ravelling tendency, starting from scratch with this technique doesn’t sound quite so bad right now, although time is always an issue!
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08.04.08
Posted in Samplers, Historical at 3:02 pm by deRomilly
Now I am not a sampler historian. Until I discovered 17th and 18th century samplers I didnt’ care for them much at all, actually. I hate stitching words in cross stitch or backstitch, and just can’t wrap my head around the little pastoral houses with oversized dogs and cats in the yard. I dislike the “primitive” style intensely on a personal level. I loved Thea Dueck and Just Nan’s samplers, but couldn’t see myself hanging them on the wall once I’d finished stitching them. What to do, what to do?
Then I discovered the historic band sampler and the spot motif sampler, and all the ones in between that combine the best of both worlds and kajillions of different stitches. I was hooked. Basically what this, combined with osme of my other tendencies underscores, is that if it happened before 1800 I’m much more likely to be interested in it. <grin>
Samplers and the motifs you find on them have a bit ofa torrid affair with historians. Just about everyone who gets involved with studying them wants to know the history and meaning of each individual motif.
I fear this has become a bit of a game. You find cats defined as quick-witted, but also as lazy. When I put a cat into my work, I’m much more likely to be thinking of my furry baby at home than about some deep symbolic meaning of the motif. (English majors do the symbology thing too… even though Poe has written countless letters stating that “The Bells” was nothing more than an excercise in rhythm and rhyme, the English departments all insist we dig out whatever meaning we can from it.) As my heart-sister says, “Sometimes a cat in a flowerpot is just a cat in a flowerpot.”
That said, there ARE some overarching archetypes. However, these are often nationality, or even region-specific. We see crowns in the samplers of monarchists families under Cromwell. Some German samplers have coats of arms or crests related to their region of origin that crop up. Dutch samplers often have stylized tulips.
I think rather than symbolic, most sampler motifs are either regional or just something the stitcher liked. The historical pattern books like Scholyker’s Scholehouse for the Needle don’t assign meanings to each little design. Many of the symbols developed out of older symbology, especially in Eastern Europe.
But although people have loved including secret messages in their lives (language of flowers, language of fans, symbols in samplers), even if a meaning was intended we would need to be using the same dictionary as the maker to interpret it correctly. There are as many Victorian dictionaries of flower meanings as there are flowers, all different. And, as different meanings for motifs crop up almost daily — finding the one true dictionary seems to me to be so close to impossible that it becomes irrelevant.
So I’ll continue to stitch historic samplers, but I’ll also continue to design my own. Find what symbology in them as you will: I’m not putting it there intentionally!
Other links of interest:
And that should probably keep you busy for a while!
I’d love to hear your views on samplers and sampler motifs…
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07.28.08
Posted in Counted work, General at 12:57 pm by deRomilly
I apparently disappeared for much longer than expected! It’s been a busy month, but I haven’t been idle on the art front, either.
As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been taking Sharon Boggon’s class on Studio Journals — something I signed up for at the last minute, after months of waffling about it. Knowing it was something I could use, but not really thinking through the time commitment. The result - with typical summer busy-ness, a deadline at the day job (that slipped at the last moment, durn them), and prep work for a dance class (that ended up cancelled after all for lack of students, grrr, apparently I’m not the only busy one this summer!), I haven’t done as many of the excercises provided for class as I’d hoped, and I haven’t blogged, either.
Part of the reason I haven’t gotten as much done in class as I’d like is a good result - the class has spurred me to actually WORK! My studio journal is bulging, both wiht the few class excercises I’ve managed to churn out - usually one or two a week - and ideas for “real” work.
I’ve finished the design work on two small spot samplers (8 X 10 inches ea), and a huge one, inspired by this post (she had a followup here) at Inside number twenty - I’ve started one of the small ones, and have the full yard of linen on order now for the big one and the humongous thing will fall to my needle as soon as it arrives. Maybe I ought to stock up on block DMC. 
The little one, “Esther”:
The biiiiig one! As yet unnamed, and unstarted. Ideas?
And that leads me to a question. I’m still notiating my way around the business license process in my “new” state. How many people do you think would purchase cross stitch patterns via Etsy? Some other site? Or should I wait until the license has gone through and go ahead without a middle man from day one? Which would you rather I did?
I have to admit, it’s very nice to be back in the design game. The past 8 years have given me some real challenges with my health and family to overcome, and I’ve felt that I’ve ben neglecting an important part ofme. Between actually dancing (and teaching) again and designing/art-making, I really am beginning to feel whole again.
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06.14.08
Posted in Free Patterns, Counted work at 4:30 pm by deRomilly
Of mice and Romis.
It took me longer than expected to get to the computer to convert patterns for you. But I’ve got one! OK, so I’ve got two. These are from a very large sampler I’m designing. Wish me luck, ’cause when it’s finished I’ve got to actually STITCH the thing!
Have fun with them. If you use them, let me know how!
Standard copyright notice applies. Feel free to use for personal use only, please don’t sell the design or mass-produce stuff from it. If you want to use them commercially, please ask and we’ll talk. If you link to it, please link to the entire post, not just to the chart.
Click to enbiggen. Note: the first one prints better than it displays, at least on my monitor.
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04.14.08
Posted in Free Patterns, Knitting at 9:24 am by deRomilly
These quick lace mitts were designed and made for my friend Rebecca. She hasn’t seen them yet, so if I see a “squee” on her blog I’ll know she reads this one. J
I learned the lace pattern in some sweater that I knit a while ago that didn’t work on me at all. I had the swatch left over, though and applied it to mitts.
Pattern below the picture. As usual, copyright belongs to G. Romilly Mueller, all rights reserved, feel free to use for personal use only, no commercial use, and if you’d like to post to your site, please post a link here rather than reprinting.
Patons classic merino in Royal Purple
Size 4 (3.5mm) and 2 (2.75mm) needles
Gauge: 12 stitches over 2 inches on smaller needles
Cast on 48 stitches on larger needles.
Work k2p2 ribbing for 2 inches.
Switch to smaller needles and begin lace pattern as follows:
Row 1: P1, K1, SSK, YO, SSK, YO, K1, YO, K2tog, YO, K2tog, K1 Repeat 3 more times.
Row 2: P11, K1, repeat 3 more times.
Row 3: P1, SSK, YO, SSK, YO, K3, YO, K2tog, YO, K2tog. Repeat 3 more times.
Row 4: P11, K1, repeat 3 more times.
Repeat lace pattern until work measures 6 inches, ending with a wrong side row.
Knit a row.
Purl a row.
Switch to larger needles and work K2P2 ribbing for 1 ½ inches.
Bind off.
Seam the 1 ½ inch long ribbing, leave 2 ½ inches open for the thumbhole, and seam the rest of the mitt.
Pick up and knit 24 stitches around the thumbhole on the smaller needles. I did this in the round, but you could pick up the ribbing straight before you stitch the lower part of the glove together, and then just run the seam up the thumb ribbing as well.
Work 2 rounds of K1P1 ribbing. Cast off.
Weave in ends.
Make the second one.
Copyright G. Romilly Mueller, 2008
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02.19.08
Posted in Threads, Classes, Free Patterns, Counted work at 8:15 pm by deRomilly
2001-2008 by G. Romilly Mueller (Goodfellow) all rights reserved
Please do not reprint or post on your own site or newsletters without permission. Feel free to link to this blog.
Geometric Stitching (Hardanger, etc.) Techniques
Some of the same principles apply to stitching geometric-type designs, for example, any type of satin stitch.
For the example in Figure 12 (the chart is figure 13), I used one strand of Caron Wildflowers in the Nefertiti color, with the graph to the right (each grid line represents one thread of the fabric. This design works better on a linen fabric or other evenweave than on aida.)
Play around with this one. Don’t be afraid to cut colors out of your threads. In the example in Figure 11 (last post), I did just this in several places around the outside “petals”. I wanted them green, and durn it, they were going to be green! (or entirely pink, for that matter…) On the other hand, I’m generally lazy when it comes to starting and ending threads, so they aren’t entirely green!
You can get completely different looks from the same color of thread by stitching the color in a different location on the chart.
Using a different color or type of thread to stitch the design will give you a completely different effect. It’s always amazing to me the difference that stitching the same design with Tropics instead of Nefertiti creates.
Conclusion
This article is just an introduction to some of the effects you can achieve with this type of thread. Each different type of multicolored thread, whether the evenly spaced variegated floss, or the random overdyed types has its own peculiarities. In a stranded thread, each strand will have the same color changes, so if you need a mirror effect, keep this in mind if you are using a randomly dyed thread.
The more colors there are in the thread, the more bizarre the “blended thread” techniques can look. But this might be just the effect you need. Remember to keep experimenting. Even the most expensive threads are relatively inexpensive when considered individually. The amount of pleasure gained from learning their tendencies becomes worth the cost when you create a project that is truly your own.
I hope this small discussion has made you more aware of the possibilities multi-colored threads have for your stitching. Remember, when you’re stitching, you always have the last word as to how your piece looks. If you like it, it’s right!
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02.17.08
Posted in Threads, Classes, Stitching Genres, Free Patterns, Counted work at 6:07 pm by deRomilly
2001-2008 by G. Romilly Mueller (Goodfellow) all rights reserved
Please do not reprint or post on your own site or newsletters without permission. Feel free to link to this blog.
English Method
In the English method, which I teach below, you complete each stitch individually. The only difference from the Danish method in looks is on the back of the piece. The English method uses more thread, but creates a more durable backing to the fabric. In addition, there is some evidence that it may preserve your fabric by placing a more even tension on the threads than the Danish method. This method of stitching a cross stitch uses more floss than the Danish method.
Each cross is stitched in its entirety before you move on to the next stitch. Using this method makes the colors stand out very strongly. However, this can result in the colored piece looking “stripey”. But you might want stripey. See Figures 5 and 6. Figure 5 was stitched horizontally, in the usual manner, and Figure 6 was stitched in the basic direction of the petals, making the stripes follow the petal lines.
Directions
Work from the top of the petals downward in the English method as described below. You’ll notice that the wider the petals become, the thinner the stripes become. You could also work in the English method vertically on the center petal, and horizontally on the outer petals to accentuate the stripes and make them part of your design. Remember to experiment.
Working on Evenweave:
When working on an evenweave fabric like Jobelen or linen, cross stitch is generally worked over two threads of the fabric. Look closely at your fabric, and you will see that threads alternate going over and under another (Figure 7).
This is a trait of an evenweave. When stitching cross stitch on an evenweave fabric, begin at a juncture where a vertical thread will be to the right of your needle. In other words, bring your needle from the back of the fabric to the front at point A, as shown in Figure 7. The stitch comes up at A, down at B, up at C, down at D. The next stitch would begin by coming up at C, which becomes your next “A”.
On the second row, work right to left, still making crosses from the bottom left to upper right, and then from the bottom right to upper left. This will ensure that all of your stitches cross the same way. See Figure 8.
Continue to work row by row, one color at a time.
Filling the Design
If you want the defined color changes of the English method, but don’t want the striped effect, you can achieve that, too. This takes a bit more planning than either of the other options. In addition, it requires breaking the habit of stitching straight across or up and down a design.
You want to achieve the same effect as in pointellism paintings. Rather than stripes of color, you want to create spots of color, which are more easily combined by the viewer’s eye. Alternatively, you can arrange the colors so that they create a more even gradation of color. In the example in Figure 9, I grouped the colored stitches so that the pinks were all in the middle of the petals, surrounded by the more subtle colors in the floss.
Grouped colors
The effect in Figure 9 was relatively easy. I threaded my needle with a strand that had little, if any, pink in it. Then I stitched in the English method, around the outline of the petals. In some places I stitched only one stitch at the outside, in others I stitched a bit into the petal itself, for a staggered effect.
Then I threaded the needle with the leftover, pink parts of the floss and filled in the petal centers.
Mottled colors
In Figure 10, I worked for a more mottled effect.
To fill the design in this way, you must constantly be aware of where the edges of the motif are located. Because you are not stitching in a traditional methodical manner, it is sometimes easy to get lost.
Start stitching near the top of the design. Work in the English method, but jump around a bit as the thread changes colors instead of stitching rows. For example, you might work 4 or 5 stitches in the area marked with the letter A in Figure 11, then jump over to the area marked with the letter B, work 4 or 5 stitches there, and then move to another area.
Doing this for the entire motif will give you the more mottled, but not striped, image shown in Figure 10.
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02.11.08
Posted in Free Patterns, Counted work at 2:52 pm by deRomilly
To bring you a free valentine bookmark pattern!
More multi-colored threads soon. I promise. But I wanted to share this quick to stitch design that I did for my dear husband early enough that you could stitch it for your valentine if you wanted. Click the pictures for a larger version of the chart and photo.
I stitched it with 3 strands of DMC 321 red on 28 count Monaco and then with 2 strands, ran a line of nun’s stitch around the edge, 8 threads out from the design. and cut it so that it had a fringed edge (6 threads on the long sides and 20 on the short). Final result:
Happy Valentine’s Day a bit early!
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02.05.08
Posted in Threads, Stitching Genres, Free Patterns, Counted work at 10:52 am by deRomilly
In my last post, we had an introduction to the fun that is the apparent randomness of color in multi-colored threads. Today we’re going to move on to specific techniques you can use to get the effect you want from your stitching.
Stitching with Multi-Colored Threads - Cross Stitch Techniques (Danish) copyright 2001-2008 by G. Romilly Mueller (Goodfellow) all rights reserved
Please do not reprint or post on your own site or newletters without permission. Feel free to link to this blog.
Cross Stitch Techniques
That said, here are some ways to start out and an idea of the effect you will get if you use the described methods. All of my examples use the small fleur-de-lis chart I use in teaching. Only one color is used for the entire pattern, although I have taken the liberty of using a contrasting color for the band across the middle. In my examples, I used black for the band.
Click on the chart thumbnail below to enlarge it. You can then print it and it should print at a size that is easy to work.
For this chart of a fleur de lis, pick a multi-colored, stranded floss from your stash. This can be variegated, or one of the overdyes. For my examples, I used Needle Necessities in color number 107, Dreamscape. With this small a design, you may want to use one of the overdyed colors, because color changes tend to be closer together than in the variegated. Stitch with 2 strands on 14 count Aida (or 28 count evenweave, or whatever).
Danish Method
This is the method of working the cross stitch that is generally taught in the United States. It is extremely frugal in its use of thread. You will often be told that you shouldn’t use this method for multicolored threads, because you lose the definition of the various colors. However, this may be exactly the effect you are looking for in your work!
Directions
Work from the top of the petals downward in the Danish method as described below. You’ll notice that the wider the petals become, the subtler the color change becomes. The effect should be similar to the tweeding effect you get with a blended needle, and will vary with the colors of the thread you use. You can see this effect a little in Figure 1, although because there were so many different colors, the result was less blended than it might have been had I used the DMC variegated, or something similar. You can see the tweeding effect best at the top of the side petals, and at the four-stitch area of the center petal.
Stitching with the Danish Method
The Danish method is the style of cross stitching most Americans learn first. In this method, you will stitch one row of crosses at a time. It is sometimes faster than the English method described in the next section, and uses a shade less thread.
Working on Evenweave:
When working on an evenweave fabric like Jobelen or linen, cross stitch is generally worked over two threads of the fabric. Look closely at your fabric, and you will see that threads alternate going over and under another (Figure 2). This is a trait of an evenweave. When stitching cross stitch on an evenweave fabric, begin at a juncture where a vertical thread will be to the right of your needle. In other words, bring your needle from the back of the fabric to the front at point A, as shown in Figure 2. The individual stitch comes up at A, down at B, up at C, and down at D.
When stitching multiple stitches in the Danish style, stitch all the first half of the stitches in one row at once (see Figure 3) and then come back along the row, crossing the stitches (Figure 4).
Working on Aida:
In many ways, working on aida fabric is much easier. It is specially woven so that there are blocks of fabric separated by holes. You work one stitch over each block. Partial stitches become more difficult in that you have to pierce the center of the fabric blocks to stop in the middle of the cross. Other¬wise, stitch the same way you would on evenweave.
TIP: For an even subtler look, take one strand and turn it backwards to the other… this will blend the colors within each pass of the stitching. If you choose to do this, use shorter strands of floss than usual, because as the grain is backwards on one strand, it will rub more quickly on the fabric and become fuzzy faster.
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02.01.08
Posted in Stitching Genres, Free Patterns, Counted work at 9:30 am by deRomilly
This is part one of the article I promised in my last post. It was originally written back in 2001, so my writing style has changed (interesting to see in and of itself!) . It’s been updated a small bit, but not much.
Stitching with Multi-Colored Threads - Introduction copyright 2001-2008 by G. Romilly Mueller (Goodfellow) all rights reserved
Please do not reprint or post on your own site or newletters without permission. Feel free to link to this blog.
Multicolored thread comes in many different brands, colors, types of thread, and prices. DMC makes a variegated thread, which is evenly dyed, usually in shades of the same color, and now also a thread (Color Variations) that mimics the hand-dyed threads on the market. Caron makes Watercolors, Wildflowers, and Waterlilies, which are overdyed threads in beautiful colors. Needle Necessities makes a lovely line of overdyed flosses and pearl cottons that come in longer skeins than the others. Other brands include Weeks Dye works and Gentle Arts Sampler Threads. I have probably left out your favorite. Don’t worry. The techniques below work with all of them.
You can use multicolored thread with any embroidery stitch. Each stitch works a little differently and will give you a different result. Don’t be afraid to experiment!! If the cost of some of the more extravagant specialty threads is a little high for your budget, experiment with a variegated floss like the DMC. (Although be aware that the color changes in DMC variegated take longer to take effect than in some of the overdyed flosses.)
In this article I’ll go over several techniques for use with the cross stitch, and one for a geometric satin-stitched piece.
Multicolored threads, whether they are overdyed, space dyed, or variegated are a wonderful addition to your stash. They are extremely versatile, allowing you to change the look of a project with one change of thread:
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You can substitute a multicolored thread for any largish area of stitching. (You can substitute it in a smaller area, as well, but the nuances of the colors will show much less.)
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You can also use it to replace a shaded area… if a chart has several colors, for example, in a shaded pumpkin, you might consider replacing the three shades of orange with a multicolored thread that includes similar shades. (Or wildly different, if you like. I once replaced the orange in a pumpkin with a green overdye, changing it from pumpkin to acorn squash in one fell swoop!) This works as well in general free embroidery as it does in cross stitch.
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You can use it to stitch the kloster blocks and satin stitches in hardanger for an entirely new look.
There are as many ways to stitch with multicolored threads as there are stitchers. In general, the rule is, if you get the effect you want, you’ve stitched it correctly. In general, the keys to getting the effect you want are:
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Don’t be afraid to cut out areas of color you don’t like in the thread. You can always use them for another project later.
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Plan what colors you want, and where you want them.
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Be willing to experiment.
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I like the effect, and may make myself a hipscarf using this technique. One of the advantages I can see immediately is that if a thread breaks I wouldn’t lose an entire row of beads and coins, the way I do on the purchased, crocheted scarves.
