LilyStitch

Tree of Hope: Finished!

2012-01-25T07:30:00.000-05:00

Mr. Tree of Hope was completed just in time to go off to an Exhibit. I took an entire weekend ToH, Uguisu Reflects on Ume, and LilyCompass I. Below is a photo of ToH all decked out in his frame. I thought this frame to be really appropriate with leaves.

So off they went:

Christa,Lilystitch
www.lilystitch.com

Tree of Hope: Oh NO!

2012-01-23T07:30:00.000-05:00

While working the GoldWork, I somehow dropped some beeswax onto the fabric. OOPS! EEEEKS!!

Last post, I mentioned how AWESOME my stitching buddies are. Not only did they put up with my constant inquiries about the birds but they also let me first cry and then torment them about what to do about this little stain. I've circled in red above.

So I learned an important lesson (that I had learned before but chose to not remember, selective memory!) to cover your fabric and work while working with beeswax with pre washed linen fabric or archival quality tissue paper to keep from marking up places that you really don't want to mark up.

I couldn't leave that mark exposed for a couple of reasons so I had to come up with a creative solution. Of course it was in an awkward spot that threw the balance of the tree off that I worked really hard to achieve during the design process. (Sorry, had to whine a bit)

My great friends came up with lots of creative solutions: a bird in flight, a bug, etc. In the end I decided the best way to keep the design in balance and not too heavy was to add three leaves. The first leaf to cover the spot, the other two leaves to balance out the design.

Below you is the piece completed with the leaf to the right, one added floating to the bottom right, the last to the bottom right. The design opportunity that came about is to off-set the tree, therefore making it more visually interesting. At least, that is my hope…

I also added metallic #1 in the leaves to help the give some more "pop".

Christa,Lilystitch
www.lilystitch.com

Tree of Hope: The Birds

2012-01-20T07:30:00.000-05:00

I really have the best stitching buddies, EVER! I know that they are beyond compare because they put up with my dogged consternation over simple problems at time. In this case, I was doing a lot of hand wringing over what colors the birds should be.

Blue Bird? Cardinal? If Cardinal, should it be the bright red male and/or the gorgeous green/yellow female? Perhaps a Wood Pecker? Robin? Titmouse?

I just love birds. Pretty much all birds. No surprise there, right?

Anyway, my really awesome stitching buddies were of different opinions and although I knew exactly how the shading of the tree or the trunk was worked, I just couldn't decide.

So in the end I came up with a mixed solution.

First up is the Wee Blue Bird:

Followed by the Mr. Cardinal:

Topped off with Mr. Finch:

I wish I could say that the exact position happened organically or because of a picture I took, rather, I pulled out the color wheel and said "Ok, blue to the right, red 1/3 of the way over, and yellow at the top".

During the stitching, I was updating to Facebook and began calling all the birdies "Wee" because they are actually quiet tiny. Each bird received a eye worked with a Japanese Knot in black.

One last note, I have discovered this really cool iPhone app called Instagram that you may enjoy. Its really easy to pull a picture in and give it a neat look or frame. It links with Twitter and Facebook. Really good stuff.

Next up: Final challenges

Christa, LilyStitch

www.lilystitch.com

Tree of Hope: Working the Trunk and Branches

2012-01-16T07:30:00.000-05:00

When I first began this project, I was thinking I really should do round and round couching. As I was working the leaves I realized I wanted something more realistic. So why not stretch the Pearl Purl and create a very bark like effect? That way the brown shows through and you get all the sizzle of the Gold.

At first, it took a ton of nerve to treat the Pearl Purl so harshly. With the first bit in, I was totally hooked and having a great time.

As more and more went in, it was fun to see the results…. almost like I was watching veins grow up the tree.

Bark completed:

Next up: The Wee Birdies

Christa, Lilystitch
www.lilystitch.com

Tree of Hope: Beginning on Trunk & Branches

2012-01-14T15:59:00.002-05:00

Work continues on Tree of Hope with the addition of adding brown felt for the base of the trunk and branches.

To cut out the felt, I simply took a piece of the thin paper with the outline printed on it and pinned it onto the felt. Then I carefully cut out the shape just a bit smaller than the outline. The felt is then tacked down to the ground fabric (I used more of the thin silk quilting thread - silk is SO nice to work with).

Then I was a REALLY good girl and made myself work the rest of the leaves. Any and all work done in silk needs to be completed before the Goldwork or one will be wrestling with the silk by getting it stuck in the gold constantly.

I only slightly broke this rule and saved the birds for last. Reason being that I just could not figure out what kind/colors of birds I wanted in the Tree of Hope…

Anyway, with the flat stitches on the leaves completed, I then put in veins. I tried to keep the veins a bit lighter than the color silk the rest of the leaves are worked in. I did twist in some number one gold into some of the veins to add some pop.

Then I began work on the trunk by couching down Fine Pearl Purl. Pictured below but if you click onto the picture above and enlarge it you will see the Pearl Purl for the whole tree.

Next up: The Gold Work on the Trunk

Christa, Lilystitch
www.lilystitch.com

Tree of Hope: Leaves

2012-01-09T10:41:00.000-05:00

To begin work on the Tree of Hope (ToH), is to begin work on the leaves. My choice for the leaves is to work them in mostly silk in horizontal layer. Horizontal layer is a technique commonly used in Japanese Embroidery where the silk thread is laid in a satin stitch diagonally.

My goal with the leaves is to create a shading effect for the light source to be in the top light of the design. Below is a picture of an inspiration tree where the light source is similar to the effect I'm going for.

My first leaves will be in my lightest shades of green in the top left corner and I'll work down, out, and to the right. I'm also going to had in a bit of #1 gold metallics in a rust to help give the leaves a bit more of a rustic fee. Here are the first leaves that I put in. You will see these leaves develop in future posts.

Next post, I'll explain my choice for the trunk and branches.

Christa, Lilystitch
www.lilystitch.com

The Tree of Hope: Design Inspiration

2012-01-05T06:30:00.000-05:00

Sometimes inspiration sneaks up on you, sometimes it hibernates, and then there are times when it keeps you up at night. The later is what happened to me soon after we sold our house this summer.

I'm a HUGE hiker - I love to take strolls in the woods accompanied by Cocoa. Often those pictures show up in this blog and it was certainly a part of the inspiration of Uguisu Reflects on Ume. There is this beautiful park right by where the new little LilyPad is located that we walk in every day. There are several glorious White Oaks that have a bridge that runs right by them.

One day, little Cocoa decided to make a snack of several acorns from these tree on the bridge just under them.

As I stood there waiting for the little feast to finnish, I began the theorize how I could stitch that tree. How I could replicate that wonderfully complicated bark, the waxy leaves, the wizened branches. As I stood there, breathing in life itself, I began to envision what my future could be, what I'd like for it to be, and a really incredible calm came over me.

So I went home. I fed the pups and husband. Spoke with my mom, my very pregnant SIL, my sister, Kermit. Nothing special about the night but that feeling just didn't leave me.

Then I woke up at 2 am. Am I the only one who has an hour in the middle of the night that occasionally turns my mind ON? I like to call it the Witching Hour. Not sure why but this is generally when I have the best ideas, the most incredible inspiration, and when whatever it is that has been nagging me becomes apparent. (Perhaps thats why I call it the Witching Hour).

This is what my mind saw - The Tree of Hope (ToH):

Well, this isn't exactly what I saw. This is just the outline of it. In the picture above, I had drawn it, transitioned it to my computer, printed on transfer paper, and then stitched it on. Click here if you would like to read about my transfer technique.

The ToH is intended to be a stylized design with rich bark, lush leaves, and even some Wee Birdies:

Christa,Lilystitch
www.lilystitch.com

Farewell to 2011, Hello 2012

2012-01-02T16:07:00.000-05:00

To say that 2011 was one crazy year for me/LilyStitch/CoCoa/etc would be a huge understatement. It was a year of lots of highs, lows, challenges, goodness, and so on. I think 2011 was all about positioning myself for the future… for preparing for it physically, financially, and mentally. Last year, I sluffed off lots of excess and feel rejuvenated in doing so. It was a wonderfully tough yet thoroughly healing type of year.

- Began 2011 by finishing "Teinte", a kaleidoscope of sorts.

"Teinte" by Christa Evans of LilyStitch

- Launched right into Programs Chair of The Cahaba Lily Chapter of ANG which also meant that I began several projects that are still in my WIP basket:

Count of Needlemania by Janet Zeiglar Casey

BOO! ANG Workshop by Mail

- Began the journey with "Nessie"

"Nessie"

- Took an incredible class from Michelle Roberts at Share A Stitch 2011 on the Goldwork Fleur.

MR's Fleur as of 12/31/11

- Then WHAMMY!!! Our house sold after 12 months of being on the market. At 11 months, we had decided to take it off the market so I had given up on it selling for a l-o-n-g while. I had mentally shifted into planning the future of LilyStitch. Then KABOOM! A really nice couple put a contract in and we sold.

The sale of the house threw our little family into a series of life changing decisions VERY quickly. It did mean that we were achieving our goal - the freedom to make choices. So that is what we did. My sweet husband resigned from his position of 16 years, we packed everything up including the puppies, and moved back to my home city. Did I mention we made these decisions on Wednesday, went to closing on Friday, and were out of the house by Sunday evening?

[Husband just walked in and read this last bullet. He volunteered that we should set this blog post to The Beverly Hillbilly's theme song…. you know the one goes like this:
"Kingolk said Jed moved away from there
Said Californy is the place you ought to be
so they loaded up the truck and moved to…."

- Took a healing vacation to a little cabin outside of Asheville. I did manage to put in two Chrysanthemums Sake Boxes but we mostly hiked, laughed, petted, and tried regain our "land legs".

During this week it became very evident that I would need to scale back many of my NeedleArt activities and devote as much time as needed to establish ourselves in our new home city. So I made the really tough decision to let LilyStitch coast until I could devote more time to her.

I also resigned from the ANG Master Teacher program, my work with the Cahaba Lilies as program chair and web mistress, plus another handful of other activities. Looking back on it now, I realize that in making that decision I was given a precious gift - it made me realize how fortunate I am to be able to be part of these organizations, get to know all the special people that tough my life, and it gave me a sense of freedom from some pressures I wasn't aware of.

- Began an exploration on Goldwork threads on the LilyStitch Blog. What fun this is - a girl just can't have enough bling! This is a topic I will pick up asap.

- Spent a few days with my Sansei and JE friends working on a new phase - Fuzzy Effect. I'm working on Autumn Leaves which is wonderful. I'm really enjoying playing with the weight of twists, tie down method, and color in this gorgeous JEC design.

- Spent a day being terribly inspired at the John C Campbell Folkschool yearly festival where their master craftsmen/women exhibit and sell their art. Mom and I both bought a huge cake of beeswax - enough to surely last a LONG while.

- The move meant that my husband would be teaching tennis as an independent for the first time in… well, let's say a w-h-i-l-e. Its going to afford him a great deal of freedom in schedule as well as in pupils. To help him ramp up, I spent lots of time building out his website and helping with social media campaigns, etc. Actually, this is the second site - the first one had to be dumped when we realized that MobileMe was going away - that's ok, I know that the end result is MUCH better because this is a site that can be used by Windows as well as Mac machines. (A huge thank you to Kelly Rae for recommending the Freeway software)

- Began to build out on the new LilyStitch website. Aren't I fortunate that I was in the process of building this site out when I needed to build my husbands? There is MUCH to come from LilyStitch. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am so grateful that you have been sharing my journey - there is so much to come.

- Taught several young people, including my nieces, how to Needlepoint with Hooty Owl. Believe it or not, they have all finished him!

- Welcomed Baby Jackson into the world! My handsome, healthy little nephew:

- Spent some incredible times with my family over the holidays including this new guest to our Thanksgiving feast.

- During these times... the times spent with family and friends, the time building lots of "new", the time in the presence of others that have supported me has lead to some new inspiration. I've FaceBooked some about a new project that means quiet a bit to me - I'm calling it the "Tree of Hope". Hope because the future promises to be so bright. That is what I am looking forward to 2012 being. The next step in the evolution of LilyStitch. The next part of our married life. The next chapter in LilyStitch's book with all of you who have been so supportive.

I will be sharing the journey of the Tree of Hope (ToH) with you over the next few weeks so please follow along on the blog. As of right now, I do plan on putting ToH and Uguisu Reflects on Ume in the Callaway School of NeedlaArts. So for those of you attending, please look out for them in the Exhibit.

Here's to an amazing 2012!

Christa,
Lilystitch www.lilystitch.com

Wishing Everyone a Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T10:45:00.001-05:00

Happy Hooty to You

2011-11-25T07:51:00.001-05:00

All finished

When Will I Ever Learn? (Hooty Owl Project)

2011-11-24T19:15:00.001-05:00

This Thanksgiving my neices requested that they stitch a Hooty Owl. This is a BIG honor for me because this is the first request from them I've had. So I asked them what they wanted to stitch. "A Hooty Owl" was the response. Awesome! Love the Hooty Owl idea.

Here is the line drawing of my version of the little guy. He's on 13 count so it can be done fairly quickly and designed to work in three colors of Pearl Cotton. Easy enough!

So there I was the other night, putting in my first stitches and hating the results ONCE AGAIN! Why? Because I didn't color in the canvas and there is TONS of white showing through. Not a new lesson to me but perhaps I can save you a bit of the same frustration. On 13 count, using size 5 Pearl Cotton, please! please! either paint or use color fast markers avoid the background showing through if you are stitching in medium to dark thread.

In my case, I used Pigmapens. Quick and easy. See the difference below.

Below is the Hooty Owl we will be stitching tomorrow.

Christa,Lilystitch
www.lilystitch.com

"Mastering the Art of Kimono" - a must see

2011-11-22T09:47:00.001-05:00

source: BBC News

Check out this BBC story on Kimono's. The pictures are absolutely gorgeous and they highlight why Kimono are not popular anymore as well as highlight Kimono Painter Craftsmen.

For those of us exploring Japanese Embroidery - doesn't the Obi in the picture above look like Fuzzy Effect?

Christa,
Lilystitch www.lilystitch.com

Cocoa Rants about new 'Site:

2011-10-30T22:30:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone!

I'm very sorry Momma has been ignoring all of you… actually, she's been ignoring everyone lately and just staring and clicking away on Mac-y-B (her 'puter). This weekend started out well enough, we did go for a hike with those really nice Trail Dames who were really sweet with their great petting and sharing of the trail treats. Are chocolate oat bars considered real trail food?

No sooner had we finished than she returned to that silly grey device with a monitor on it. She's been working on the new site and forgetting that I need constant belly rubs and ball throwing. NOT to mention that she also needs to be doing some blog posts on that glittery gold thread and doing some needlework. Momma keeps mumbling stuff about HTML and SEO… It's all gobbly-gook and doesn't sound a thing like sit, shake, or "boom" (play dead)… all the important stuff that leads to treats.

Anyway, she is very sorry and promises to be done with this site soon, full of lots of really cool stuff for you to enjoy.

Hope you had a great weekend! As you can see - the leaves are changing colors and falling around here. Keep stitching.

xo,
Cocoa

Christa, Lilystitch
www.lilystitch.com

Caution: My Website Induces Labor!

2011-10-25T22:46:00.002-04:00

Really! See the evidence above!?! There I was last weekend, innocently working away on the new site (which is why I've been a little quiet on the blog) and asked my sweet sister-in-law to take a preliminary look. Just as she took a good peek, she felt the first labor pain! A few hours later little Jax arrived… and he's perfect - 10 fingers, 10 toes, and he's eating a TON.

So be warned - mysterious and wonderful things happen when looking at www.lilystitch.com.

I'm sorry that the blog has been a little quiet the last week or so. I'll be back by the end of the week with regular posts followed by some exciting announcements. The website has been quiet the journey with plenty of trials and triumphs (note to Apple: I drink the cool aide but doing away with iWeb was one sour cherry!!). The landing page is up as of tonight and additional pages are to follow (as well as a redesigned blog page). Please leave me a comment and let me know you think.

I hope that your blessed with lots of new beginnings!

Christa,Lilystitch
www.lilystitch.com

Tree of Promise Project

2011-10-15T06:36:00.000-04:00

LilyStitch, Inc was started because I wanted to find a way to share, contribute, nurture, and grow the art that has enriched my life is so many ways. Since inception, there have been many turns and twists… some planned for, others unexpected. Over the last year, I have really contemplated what LilyStitch should do, how much time I can realistically devote to it, and the difference it can make.

Lily's Tree of Promise is all about what it can enrich others and where it can make a difference. As the leaves turn colors and begin to drop off the trees, I've written tiny promises that I'm tucking away in my business task lists, project folders, and on MACyB (nickname for computer).

Thank you, thank all of the generous readers of this blog, supporters, and friends of LilyStitch. Because of you, there will soon be so much to LilyStitch and I look forward to blossoming together.

Coming soon: Virtual Classes, Online Store (baby steps here), TONS of inspiration within the blog, and launch of the new web site.

So will there be a "Tree" project? MANY! But the first one, The Wishing Tree, will make her appearance very soon. Also, I will continue the Gold Work series, finish MR's Fleur, and Nessie comes back just in time to haunt at Halloween!

Christa,Lilystitch
www.lilystitch.com

Gold Work Sites to Know About

2011-10-13T10:00:00.000-04:00

There have been many questions about where I am doing my research. For a listing of good books that I am finding most useful, please check out the Books: Gold Work page of my website (under "Resources").

Another really great source of information are Store Websites. Here is a quick listing of those that I am finding useful (listed alphabetically, no affiliation other than as a customer and admirer!):

Berlin Embroidery

Hedgehog

Kreinik

Please leave me a comment or shoot me an email if you have additional sites that are most helpful!

Christa,Lilystitch
www.lilystitch.com

Goldwork Thread: Check

2011-10-12T11:21:00.001-04:00

Description:

Check thread is basically a flat wire that is wrapped around a cotton core in a manner that creates small ridges or bumps. A “bumpy” core is created from a tightly twisted strand that is twisted into a second loosely twisted cotton strand of cotton (like katayori in Japanese Embroidery, but perhaps, not as tight). Then the metal thread is wrapped around the now crinkly, cotton center.

Check thread is one of the more economical gold threads so it can be used often. It does come in several sizes with the smaller the number the finer the thread and the higher the number the heavier the thread. Pictured above and on MR’s Fleur, we used a #5.

Check thread is sometimes called “Crinkle”, “Rococo”, and “Frizzle”.

Techniques:

Couching -- Due to the “bumpy” nature of this thread, it is couched either as one or two threads together. The ends are plunged to the backside of the ground fabric.

I found Check to be a really springy, almost difficult to handle thread. On MR’s Fleur, we couched the “stamens” in a double couched formation.

When couching a double thickness of Crinkle, the goal is to couch the ridges together every few (2, 3, or 4 depending on the Crinkle’s thickness) “bumps”. This is pretty tough to do so it is not necessarily done often. It’s one of those techniques that having a live demonstration from a really good teacher to show you how is well worth the money. I did find that using a Koma to stabilize the Crinkle helped immensely.

Please visit a new page on my website (notice -- currently a WIP) to find a useful as resource for good books worth your time. On the main blog page I've added a link to these "Thread FAQs" that you can easily reference going forward. There will be a page on the new www.lilystitch.com website when launched incorporating them as well.

Christa,Lilystitch
www.lilystitch.com

Gold Threads & MR Fleur: Wire Check vs. Bright Check

2011-10-03T08:30:00.000-04:00

My sweet SIL came by the other day and asked about Fleur. I've kept him hidden so that I can focus on other projects with deadlines looming but… Fleur has a way of making an ENTRANCE and staying the center of attention. So! So I just had to do a little bit of stitching on him.

Above is the most current picture. I pulled out that gorgeous Wire Check Purl and worked the right side of the central petal. Have begun to work the right petal, too. That is what the thread work on the right is showing.

Thought you would enjoy seeing the difference between Bright Check Purl and Wire Check Purl:

Michele talked a bunch in class about the how to use the combination of these two beautiful gold threads to make a nice contrast between them:

The sparkle gold thread produces just can't be duplicated:

Christa,Lilystitch www.lilystitch.com

Cocoa Helping with Inspiration...

2011-10-02T21:30:00.000-04:00

Cocoa from N Ga 10.3.11

Hi Everyone!

I'm in North Georgia with Momma getting inspiration this weekend. Thought she needed a break from all that shiny Goldwork. As you can see, the colors have just barely begun to change. Give it a few more weeks and it will be splendid.

We spent the day a the coolest Festival - The John C. Campbell Folk School Festival. There was lots of demonstrations from the instructors and tons of the gorgeous artwork and supplies.

Here is her BIG purchase - a 2.5 lb brick o Beeswax. She also bought a small cake but was SO impressed by it, she just had to buy it for the waxing of thread.

Momma had such a good time seeing Graham (her wood worker who makes those great Koma's) and lots of other experts. She was so excited that she forgot about the camera and didn't snap any pictures.

Onto the inspiration part - Momma always likes to take me on a walk when visiting Grandma in the woods. The first picture is of me on the south road, just above this really great creek that I often swim in. Momma likes to oogle over trees and leaves but lately it's been really bad… I'm starting to worry that we need to scale back on the walks, hikes, and jogging but then when would I get to chase squirrels? The lady keeps muttering about needing inspiration for her latest creation (I've seen the line drawing and it does look neat). All the time she is stopping and pointing that camera at trunks, trees, and stuff. She spent about 20 minutes taking the same picture of these Maple leaves today. The other day, I found her in the middle of her green and brown Silk Threads. Something BIG is coming…

Anyway, later this week she has two postings on gold thread and promises to get back to MR's Fleur.

Hope you had the best of weeks!
xo and many licks! Cocoa

Christa,Lilystitch www.lilystitch.com

Some more inspiration

2011-09-28T08:30:00.000-04:00

Seems like I was surfing around on some of my favorite Needle Art guild websites yesterday… the next place I went is the newly updated EGA site (bravo EGA!). If you haven't been there in a while its a MUST.

Discovered they have a blog! Where have I been? Wow. The banner is great. Check out the pictures - Muriel Baker's tree is to die for.

I just love the Fiber Forum's pictures. Check out Carrol Lyn Stratton's piece - it is SO rich in color and depth.

Hope today is the most colorful and rich one yet!

Christa,Lilystitch www.lilystitch.com

Tuesday morning Inspiration

2011-09-27T09:32:00.000-04:00

I've been doing a ton of goldwork and embroidery lately so I've really missed working on canvas. Nessie has been calling my name, especially since Halloween is right around the corner, but threads are on order so she's holding… oh, I digress!

This morning I woke up with a few minutes to surf while munching on my blueberries/granola/yogurt healthy concoction and surfed right over to the 2012 ANG National Seminar classes on the ANG Yahoo group. There's lots of inspiration at this link. One must be a member of ANG and then a member of the ANG Discussion group on Yahoo . I highly recommend joining if you are into Canvas work.

May you find the inspiration to have the most beautiful day, today!

Christa,Lilystitch
www.lilystitch.com

Gold Thread: Wire Check Purl

2011-09-26T10:41:00.000-04:00

Wire Check
Description:

Part of the Pearl Purl "family".

Wire Check is version of Bright Check Purl (please link through to read about that wonderful thread) only it is less shinny and more subdued. The Wire Check is just as fragile and fine a thread as the Bright Check. It is not used as often as it's sister thread but it is very useful in creating contrast or sense of depth in the work. Note: I will update this post with a picture of the Bright Check and Wire Check worked on MR's Fleur as soon as I return to that piece.

Today, we have lots of color choices beyond the traditional Gold and Silver. Below is a picture of four different some of the colors within my stash.

Techniques:

Please refer to Bright Check Purl.

Christa,Lilystitch
www.lilystitch.com

Gold Threads: Pearl Purl

2011-09-10T08:16:00.000-04:00

Today, we explore the wonderful world of Pearl Purl.

Description:

Part of the Purl "family".

Also known as Jaceron, Pearl Purl (PP) is composed of a hard, smooth wire that is first flattened then formed into a certain width, passed through a forming tool to create a sort of horseshoe shape, then tightly coiled around a needle to create a firm, bumpy spring. The spring resembles a row of beads when couched down and can be used in long lengths to form borders, outlines, create lines, etc. It is generally a pretty rigid spring that is easy to handle and great for using around curves because it does bend pretty easily. ;

The picture above is of #3 PP. There are different sizes depending on the thickness of the wire that is coiled rather the needle that it is spun on. As with any of the Purls, the higher the number, the finer the thread.

PP comes in gold, silver, and copper (I'm searching for other metals as welBasutoland have not found any as of yet).

Techniques:

Couching or Laying -- Pearl Purl is ideal for couching. The basic technique is to begin by slightly stretching the Pearl Purl then over-sew between the pearls using a heavily waxed sewing thread.

PP is made out of courser metal than many of the other purls and will wear through the thread it is sewn down with. Most of my reading recommends using a single ply; however, some teachers recommend the use of double thread so that if the one of the strands breaks, the work does not have to be completely redone - simply secure the single ply, thread up again with a new needle of double stranded waxed thread, go over a portion to make sure the PP is secure and carry on. Every third or fourth pearl or groove is sewn down.

The holding thread is meant to sink entirely into the center of the PP. A wonderfully, satisfying "pop" is often heard when doing this technique.

One should be careful of the ends. The PP should be cut in a manner that when it is couched down a whole bead/pearl is visible.

Corners are great fun when working with PP (ok, I might be a bit strange because I enjoy them - not everyone does). PP can easily be bent at an angle that makes it ideal for turning around the corner.

Care needs to be given to PP as once the thread has become damaged then it either is difficult or impossible to repair.

Rows -- PP can be couched down side by side to create a an area of significant texture. I've really enjoy seeing pictures of pieces that incorporate PP along with other Purls in the bark of trees.

Couched with a second thread -- PP can be stretched and another fiber, like silk filament or twist, run through the center. This allows the fiber running through the center to be exposed and creates a really interesting look and changes the appearance.

M.R.'s Fluer - Gold Threads: Bright Check Purl

2011-09-07T08:27:00.000-04:00

There have been several questions about the goldwork threads that I thought it might be interesting to do some research about them and share. Today's post I'll cover the Bright Check:

Bright Check #5 with Pearl Beads

Description:

Part of the Pearl Purl "family".

Bright Check is a type of purl that is composed of a really thin, textured wire that is coiled around a three cornered needle to create a really shiny (polished), faceted spring. Did I say springy? It's definitely THAT. The spring is composed of a continuous wire spring that can be cut into shorter lengths.

The picture above is of Bright Check #5. There are different sizes depending on the size needle that the wire is spun on. As with any of the Purl Pearls, the higher the number, the finer the thread.

Techniques:

Laid Stitching -- Bright Check is generally cut into short lengths (shorter than the length of your needle) then the needle and thread are run through the center to secure the stitch - similar to threading a bugle bead. The length is often determined by the area that the thread needs to occupy and can be measured then cut to fit. May be stitched over padding felt or string.

Looped purls -- Bright Check may be used to create a loop by simply by coming up through ground fabric with needle, taking a length shorter then the length of the needle, running thread & needle through the core, then going down right next to where the thread first came through the ground fabric.

Couching -- A word of caution on couching Bright Check: Bright Check is made with a pretty delicate wire so it does not lend itself to couching down with a cotton or silk thread. In my readings I did come across a technique that describes using Bright Check as a couching stitch which may work. This would be a very decorative technique.

Please visit a new page on my website (notice -- currently a WIP) to find a useful as resource for good books worth your time.

Also, I will have these thread FAQs on my site as soon it is launched. September 15 is the Goal. Yippie!!!

By the way, on MR's Fluer, the threads that are used include:

Gold Bright Check
Gold Wire Check
Gold Pearl Purl
Gold Whipped Plate
Kreinik Gold Japan Cord
Gold Japan #1

Let me know - do you find this useful? Comment box below.

Christa,Lilystitch
www.lilystitch.com

LilyStitch Update

2011-09-06T10:50:00.000-04:00

Changes are coming to LilyStitch!

I'm so excited to finally be able to begin moving LilyStitch in the direction I envision: for LilyStitch to be a source of Needle Art inspiration and community. That vision is forcing a redesign of the the LS website and blog so that they will become a cohesive, highly functioning space for all. Above is the new banner and logo. What do you think?

Some housekeeping:

Comments - somehow I turned them off but they have been turned back on. I'd love to hear from you so please chat me up if you have time.
LilyStitch website - under complete redesign but you can see a pre-cursor of what is to come by clicking here.
M.R.'s Fleur - has been put on the "hold" easel while I do a quick project of a new Lily-nephew. I'll be sharing that project in the next few weeks. Fleur will be right back out following the completion of project b - it's almost finished.
Up next on blog - look for several posts on types of gold-work threads.

Christa,Lilystitch
www.lilystitch.com