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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12.28.11
Posted in ELMOWS at 7:00 am by deRomilly
Happy Solstice!
There will be no Elmow this week as I’m celebrating the holidays with my family, and trying to get ready for the new year.
I’m still thinking through the Elmows — there hasn’t been much call for them. I’ve been told that the micro-payment makes it hard for people to actually “get out the card.” So I’ve got a question for you…
Would you prefer me to gather several together every month and offer them as a compilation, rather than one at a time in dribs and drabs? Would you prefer different types of designs? Would you rather I just go away and leave you alone? (and yes, that last one is a valid thought – you might want me to just offer my designs on the main website and Etsy and leave this blog to discussions of actual stitching. If that’s the case, I want to know!) 
Discuss, please. I want my designs and the blog to be useful to you.
ETA – OK, so I rearranged the posts, and this ended up being later than Solstice! HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!
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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.