Still playing with the Chevron variations

These are some more of the Chevron variations I keep playing with. It’s a great stitch. In most of them there is a nice channel for carrying a ribbon, bulky thread or lacey edging.

…in case you haven’t guessed…

my photographs won’t load. They just lost over three fourths of what I wrote in my post when I published. I’ll try posting again tomorrow about noon (west coast, usa).

  

The Chevron stitch variations

I’m struggling with this new service provided for postings. Finally my tools are coming up and are not blank. I’m sorry to say I still haven’t located spell checker. In the meantime, I’ve been having a lot of fun stitching and working with leaves.

I’ve also been learning more about the woven picot leaves from Anne. She is a good teacher. And perhaps soon I will be able to show you some more of what she has taught me.

Today, however, I wanted to swing back to the work I was doing with the Chevron stitch variations. They is so close to the sorbello that I keep looking to see if I should perhaps call them sorbello variations.  

This last sample is an example of why these variations seem so close to the sorbello stitch to me.

Working experiments with the Chevron stitch

I’ve been working on experiments with the Chevron stitch. My stitching with it is based on applying some concepts from my experiments with the sorbello stitch.

In attempting to identify these variations, I see that there is a version of the feathered chain stitch that is similar to one of the variations I’ve done. If you know these variations that I’ve been working on by a particular name. Please do let me know. Thank you!

The Chevron stitch is a variation of the herringbone stitch. I’m speculating that perhaps it arose due to what I saw in an old needlework book called a double herringbone stitch.

Note: This is not what is commonly called a double herringbone stitch in our stitch dictionaries today. I’m searching to find what book it is so I can give you a reference. It was one in an on-line collection of copyright free material. I’ll post back here as soon as I locate it.

Many thanks to SharonB and Classic Stitches for their stitch dictionaries!

There are three variations to the basic work.

This one is closest to the regular Chevron stitch. Instead of allowing the horizontal stitch to ride over the legs of the stitch, it is caught under them.

Once the horizontal stitch is tied down the flexibility increases. 

Of course, this is the variation that I mention which is similar to the feathered chain stitch.  

Due to seeing Annie’s post the other day while I was in the midst of all these experiments, I tried a two color version as well. 

I think I’ve got some more practicing to do.

I’m so thankful for so many on-line friends just like Annie and Neki (from yesterday’s post) who add sparkle to my thinking and make me try something different. 

Double back stitch trials and errors

I had such a nice surprise in my mail from Paula at The Beauty of Life–beautiful silk threads from Australia. Sparkles and shine are hard to capture in a photograph but this is my best efforts with the photograph. Totally unexpected and totally delightful. Many thanks, Paula. If by any chance you aren’t acquainted with her blog, please do pop over there and see her needlework and read through her lively posts on a number of subjects surrounding needlework.

Last week I began working on some pulled work that was based on the double back stitch. I was trying to do a staggered double back stitch. And it turned out to be a pulled chevron stitch. I still can’t find what I did wrong, but I know somehow I missed a step. I looked at the back side of the work and liked it so I stitched the pulled chevron stitch on the back of the fabric so it could be seen. I’ve been working with two other stitches that remind me of the chevron stitch and the sorbello stitch. While looking through another book this morning I found another similar stitch connected with the herringbone stitch.

Here is a double back stitch with little to no pull and then below the same pattern with a firm pull.

Blogs and the half-way point

Blogs

This is a spot to say a word of welcome to new visitors to my blog.

I’ve found Sharon b’s Take a Stitch Tuesdays challenge for 2007 is a fun way to add to my knowledge and hand embroidery skills. Many stitchers are involved across a wide area of interests–crazy quilts, smalls and other fiber art projects. It is always a perfect time to jump in and see what it is like. Sharon has made it so flexible that the challenge stitching can easily fit your schedule or be done in the course of your normal stitching.

I wanted to highlight a few blogs that would give you a flavor of what happens. Here are four stitchers involved with crazy quilting who participate in the TaST challenge.

Ati of Ati on the crazy road did two wonderful octagons with this week’s stitch, the half chevron, on a crazy quilt block. She also used it in her seam treatment.

Annie of Annies Crazy World took the herringbone stitch (week 1) and used it with the reverse Palestrina stitch (Palestrina week 16) . She has a nice step by step on this, too. Then she also combined the herringbone stitch with the up and down buttonhole stitch (week 11). Both these new combinations made great seam treatments.

Maureen of CrazyQstitcher did a sampler using the half chevron. I loved her square, layers and borders. And I should have known I wouldn’t be the only one thinking about how to alternate these half chevron stitches.

And Susan of Crazyquiltsusan did sampler, too. I especially loved the square on the lower left and the experiments with multicolored layers.

When you visit, please do look around on their blogs. Each one has many other interesting works that I’ve enjoyed. There are so many great stitchers blogging. I’m only able to give you a tiny sample once a week. There is a good blog roll on Sharon b’s blog to introduce you to the wider on-line stitch world. You may wish to take time to visit and explore other areas of her work at her website. From the stitch dictionary to her own stitching projects, there is a lot to see and read.

Half-way point

While these samples with 100/3 silk seem rather mundane to be marking off the half-way point for Sharon b’s TSTC; nevertheless the point did arrive! And I’m happy about that. When I stop and think about it, it is those mundane daily stitch practices that have become the most important of TSTC for me. Thank you, Sharon, for being an expert guide and leader in going through these stitches. And thank you for being a good example to me in so many things.

Oops, I guess this was a wasted effort!

The half-way point!

And looking forward to the start of the second half!

More on the half chevron stitch

A few experiments here with lines and diamonds and then a mini tutorial on the second grid in yesterday’s post.

Lines and diamonds

I had lots of fun with lines.
The first one kept changed as I went along.

These diamonds would be great for grids. I just didn’t have time to develop any ideas with them yet.

Oops, something else sneaked in here. Definitely not a diamond!

Mini tutorial

This came about due to a comment asking how to do the second grid from yesterday. Thanks for asking Mady! I hope this is helpful to anyone wondering about that. I have tried to make things “see”-able. But, if anything seems unclear or I messed up along the line and didn’t catch it, please don’t hesitate to ask any follow up question by way of comments.

I appreciate all the comments so many of you leave as you visit the blog. Thank you! Please forgive me for not commenting as much as my general habit. I’m missing doing that; although I’m feeling better, I’m just not up to full strength yet. I’m seeing wonderful TaST work both in flickr and on so many blogs (see Sharon B’s listing here).
Here we go on the grid!

bringing the needle up at the center and out from there at a forty five degree angle

Now pull the thread through until everything is snug but not distorting the ground at all. Then put the needle on a ninety degree angle from the center point across from where the needle just came up through the fabric. Don’t pull this resulting stitch snug, but catch the thread with your needle as your needle come back up from the ground as shown below. This makes the start of the second leg of the half chevron. Now the stitch pull snug around your needle.

This is the hardest part to capture on camera because the thread is hidden below the needle since it is continuing on the same forty-five degree angle as the first stitch. The next two photos may make it a little clearer what was being accomplished here.

Now you are basically at step two on this second angle and ready to pick up on step three. Repeat these steps for the third and forth angles. It may seem like a long process when I’ve stopped it at so many spots along the way. But it really went fast for me by the time the process was fixed in my mind by doing the first one.

Odds and ends on the half chevron stitch

I seem to have lost focus in stitching last night. Everything is a bit here and there. I’m  still thinking so much about this stitch and how it is worked and where it can be effectively changed that I seem to be going in a million directions at once.

Grids:

Lines

The half chevron on trial

Sometimes that’s how I feel. I want see how each stitch will stand up under examination. The half chevron stitch is no exception. It’s been a very relaxing stitch for me. I like the rhythm in it.

As you will see several of my samples today come out of things I saw in Sharon B’s introductory post–specifically the fourth photo for the two lines I’m doing here…

…and the last photo in her post for this grid.

This is another grid that needs embellishment. If this grid won’t work, I still love the individual unit and think it will work on its own. There is still plenty of play left in the grid arrangement.

Here are a few other things I enjoyed stitching yesterday afternoon.

detached chain stitches added

The center is a rice stitch with back stitching.

Embellished, the changing line and other things

I think I rescued the grid from yesterday to my satisfaction. At least I’ve not chucked it out the window yet.

The changing line

Another line of sorts

Here are some more things I call my T stitches

a tiny snippet of the chevron.

I think they could be great fun.

Here are a couple of trials

TSTC Week 26: The half chevron stitch

Perhaps by this time next week I’ll join Sharon B in a happy dance over being half way through the TSTC year. Until then I’m going to be happily stitching away on the half chevron stitch that Sharon introduced us to for this week’s challenge. Sharon’s provided so many interesting examples that I’m ahead by leaps and bounds in experimenting already. I also love her sample in the dictionary (link for stitch above).

Here are a few of the ideas that popped into my mind from this simple line.

Now this grid below is pretty ugly. But I saved it thinking that perhaps all it needs is some embellishment. I shall have to see what can be done, otherwise it’s going out the window. I’m already playing to adjust the concept.
Oops, now I see a mistake that needs to be fixed, before I go rushing off to embellish it. Sometimes the camera is better than my eyes!