Book Review: Creative Stitches for Contemporary Embroidery

I received Sharon Boggon's book, Creative Stitches for Contemporary Embroidery, for Christmas. This book is a visual guide of 120 embroidery stitches. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced embroiderer, this book encourages you to create new patterns by playing with the stitches. For example, to manipulate the height and width of a stitch, to overlap and stack stitches, to combine laced and threaded stitches . . . Page 27 has a list of 21 questions to consider when using a particular stitch, such as

• How does this stitch behave on a curve?
• Can this stitch be laced with another thread?
• What happens if I add beads?

Lots of stitch combinations to consider!

You won't be disappointed with the coloured photos throughout the book.

You are probably familiar with Sharon's website, Pintangle. If not, and you are interested in hand embroidery (beginner or experienced), please check it out. 

Another TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday) challenge started today. So it's time to get your threads and doodle cloth ready for stitching!

More links about hand embroidery:

• Nordic Needle   (free patterns)
• Freebie Gallery  
• Needle 'n Thread Network (Mary Corbet)
• Jo Butcher, artist  
• Emma Mattson, artist  
• Needle Work,  Needle Painting
• DMC free patterns   
• Tanja Berlin, Canadian designer 
• EAC, Embroiderers' Association of Canada   
• 10 Contemporary Embroidery Artists   

Enjoy!

TAST

Well, Sharon Boggon's,  Pintangle, Take A Stitch Tuesday (TAST), is back! For those of us who have followed Pintangle, this is indeed exciting. Even if you didn't do the weekly stitching, it was there as an excellent reference. You could also do the stitching at your leisure without any pressure. That was the part I liked best.

What is TAST? Check it out HERE.  This link has a list of all the stitches that were done over the last few years - AND is an excellent resource. Worth book marking for quick access.

So, everyone, check out the re-run of TAST!

For the beginner, it is a great way to learn to stitch and for others, it is a way to explore and use a variety of different threads and yarns.

So, get started and enjoy!

Stitching Stuff

Here lately I have been looking at a lot of stitching sites. My search is for free-style embroidery that can be both functional and decorative, and can be stitched on just about any surface. I've been using the Pintangle site (I'm a member) as a jumping off place to find 'stuff'. Since TAST has started up for another year, most members signed in giving their blog or web site address. Find them HERE (scroll down). In case a blog is not written in English, use Google Translate to help you out. Just follow the directions - it's easy to use. These sites also have favorite places to visit that may be different from anything you have seen so far.

Here's some places to visit:
Antique Pattern Library
Freebies from Kissy Cross (mostly cross stitch)
Free charts at Tantes Zolder
The Work Basket
Gazette 94 - more freebies
Tom Pudding Designs
Britain's # 1 Cross Stitcher
One Day a Grid Cross Stitch
Pattern Maker Charts
Albums D'Anyan
Craft Ideas
Tams Creations (Black work & cross stitch)
Elsa Mora (two free embroideries)

This applique is an original design based on an Elizabethan Embroidery that I had previously designed. It was done a few years ago as part of an embroidery course. My intention was to make it into a cushion but so far it just sits in my cupboard.

TAST

TAST - Take a Stitch Tuesday, from Pintangle started on Tuesday. I had forgotten all about it. Now I have to scramble to do up some fabric to use for a stitch sampler. For a list of participants in the 2012 TAST with links to their blogs, go here. There's lots to see. Also, check out TAST on Facebook.
The first stitch for 2012 is the fly stitch. Go here for Sharon B's dictionary of stitches. The Art of Threads has a video of making this stitch (scroll down).

Fly Stitch from Stitch Magazine

If you are interested in doing some embroidery, Needlecrafter has a lot of free designs as well as a stitch dictionary, to get you started.
Enjoy!

TAST - Take A Stitch Tuesday Challenge

Sharon B of Pintangle is offering her Take a Stitch Tuesday challenge again in the new year. If you are interested in learning some new embroidery stitches or brushing up on some old ones, this is a great opportunity to do so. The best thing - it's free! Read more about it here. I just signed up. Not that I need another project, but you never know what new ideas might come from it. Not only that, but it will give me something to focus on in our Thursday night stitching group called FETE - friends every Thursday night.