I have been taking my time on the project. In fact, I worked at a couple other projects in between stitching on this one. It gave me some variety and the time I needed to make decisions. To see the beginnings of this project, go here. I had done part of the beading on this leaf (seen in the last post) and here is the beading complete. At least for now. Click on an image for a larger view.
Next I added a line of backstitch above the beads (difficult to see that here), and then a line of Colonial Knots. I know I’ve gone on about how much I like the Colonial Knot versus the French Knot: the stitch sits perfectly upright, never falling to one side. If you try the Colonial, believe me, you won’t go back!
The Colonial Knots filled in the top of the vein structure so I decided to move on. Beads were calling me again. While I was completing the beaded leaf I decided that I needed a fun new stitch for the background. I looked in several of my embroidery books and landed on the Pekinese Stitch. It’s actually two stitches. You begin by completing a line of backstitch, then you come back using a looping backstitch.
Here is the illustration from Elegant Stitches by Judith Baker Montano.
I enjoyed stitching this design and am very happy with the look.
I did not use a hoop while stitching this 6″ square. I didn’t want to risk stretching the wool. And, frankly, not using a hoop meant it was easier to handle the fabric and forced me to slow down my stitching to prevent warping the fabric. When I completed the stitching there was a slight warping so I blocked it just as I would a quilt. All that lovely steam straightened the slight warp and removed the marking as well.
Be strong. Be patient. Be kind.
Love it! and I will be trying out the colonial stitch to see what you mean. Thanks for the tip.
My pleasure, Katherine. I can see the Colonial Knot in your work being perfect.
So pretty, Franki. It was fun to see it in person and now completed.