Project a Month - Completed Linladan Circle Kit

Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to report my Linladan Circle Kit is finished!

I really enjoyed this kit, let me take you through some moments of my stitching...

When I last checked in with you, I was less than halfway done. I looked at my linen skeins dubiously, wondering if I would have enough to finish such a large project... Do you know that feeling? I bet you do!

But I kept plugging away, doing my best to keep my color selections random, and limited to the skeins I had, as as not to make it too busy. I used just about every stitch in my repertoire, so it was fun to just do something different each time if I wanted to...

Stem Stitch Inspiration

I became very inspired by a Stem stitch class by Gimena Romero on Domestika last week, which gave me that extra boost to finish! The class is Spanish language, but it is subtitled in English, if you'd like to check it out.

I'm not sure how I learned to stem stitch originally, but I recently learned I was doing it "wrong." The Domestika class really helped me grasp how to really refine what I was doing, and I used the rest of this kit to practice!

Which meant much neater stem stitch than I'd ever done before!

Here was a check-in I did on Instagram, a bit more than halfway done...

And here was a bit more progress...

Getting close to done...

And here was my finish!

Threads Used

Remember when I was stressing about having enough linen thread to complete my kit? Tanja from Linladan did a perfect estimate - with the skeins she included, I had more than enough!

I used up 2 linen skeins (medium teal and silvery beige), used most of 2 more (yellow, and dark teal), and a small amount of DMC 504, which was the only floss I added to my kit.

Stitches Used

In terms of stitches used, it was the kitchen sink - a little bit of everything!

Stem stitch, couching, split stitch, chain stitch, French knots, back stitch, satin stitch, blanket stitch, and whatever you want to call this wavy, woven stitch I pulled out of my hat:

The colors, the textures, the linen, it all just sings to me...

I love the look of all the different textures coming together, and how perfectly random it is.

Stitching with Linen threads

A few considerations when stitching with line threads: these threads are quite distinct to cotton floss, as I mentioned in my previous post. You will need a needle with a large eye, to keep this comparatively bulky thread from wearing down as it passes through your fabric.

Linen threads have a thick and thin, organic look to them - they don't lay completely flat, and you will notice they kind of do their own thing. But that's part of the charm of stitching with them - you can forget about perfectionism, and just embrace its random, organic feel instead...

I hope you enjoyed following along with this project as much as I enjoyed stitching it!

About Linladan

Once again, I highly recommend Tanja's shop Linladan - as you see from my stitching, Tanja's kits are beautiful and vibrant, colors, vintage threads and fabrics are excellently put together, with a natural feel for color and texture. Stop by Tanja's shop if you'd like to stitch a bit of Swedish history for yourself!

Ready for August Project a Month? Coming soon!

Wonderful Wednesday #77 - SeptemberHouse

In case you're not on Corinne's mailing list - there's a new 2020 Calendar Kit available now from SeptemberHouse! You'll want to jump on this purchase, as Corinne's kits tend to sell out!

I really love her use of purple in this one, and the way she's spelled out 2020 - it looks so grand and formal.

Stunning Stitches winner!

We have our winner in the giveaway for Stunning Stitches for Crazy Quilts by Kathy Seaman Shaw!

If you didn't win this time, the book link above is an Amazon Affiliate link - clicking through the link and buying costs no more for you and is one way to support our volunteer reviews.

This lucky person will receive a free digital copy!

 

Shasta Matova • a day ago

I have done some embroidery and quilting. I have tried to make a crazy quilt but I didn't get very far. I took one of Kathy's online classes and it is very inspirational.

Shasta, please email me at unafloresita@gmail.com so we can get you your book!

Thank you to Kathy for making this blog hop and giveaway possible, and for writing such a wonderful stitching resource!

Don't forget Kathy is giving away one more digital download on her blog today, so you have one more chance to win: https://www.shawkl.com/

Stunning Stitches for Crazy Quilts Blog Hop!

Hello all, I am pleased to have Feeling Stitchy to be one of the last spots on the blog hop for Stunning Stitches for Crazy Quilts by Kathy Seaman Shaw! Kathy sent me a free copy of this book, as well as a digital download, so I can assure you they are both equally stunning.

Just so you know, the book link above is an Amazon Affiliate link - clicking through the link and buying costs no more for you and is one way to support our volunteer reviews.

Kathy is also doing a giveaway on this post - so stick around to win a digital copy of this truly stunning book!

Kathy Shaw teaches Crazy Quilt and Embroidery techniques on her site - you'll want to visit her for one more chance to win a copy of this book on her blog tomorrow: https://shawkl.com.

Now, some of you may be thinking - quilting? Crazy quilting? What does that have to do with embroidery? Crazy quilting remains a technique I have yet to try. But whether you are new to crazy quilting, seasoned, or have no intention of ever crazy quilting - this book is a wonderful title for you to explore!

Let's have a look inside!

One of the strengths of this book, and what I know will interest all embroiderers, are the wonderful stitch templates!

These stitch templates are easy to photocopy or print (I'll show you how I used mine later on) and they provide a very helpful framework for where your needle should go in and out of the fabric to achieve a perfect stitch.

If you are a crazy quilter - these designs can be stitched on the borders of your fabric pieces to embellish them, and Kathy gives excellent instructions on placement.

There are 36 stitch templates in all - with her directions they are all easy to achieve. I found myself drawn to stitches I had tried in the past, but wasn't happy with - like herringbone and feather stitch...

Kathy provides full instructions for using each of these stitch templates, so there is no guessing at all!

Now, here is the stunning part - using those base stitch templates, Kathy has created 480 different designs!

Each design is very carefully illustrated, and is a wonderful springboard to creativity!

For each design, Kathy includes a detailed color-coded line drawing, stitches, and suggested materials used.

There are also stitched examples so you can know exactly what your finished stitching could look like!

My stitching

I decided to explore a stitch I've never been comfortable with - feather stitch - and see if I could improve my stitching with the stitch templates...

I printed my templates on regular copy paper, then cut and taped them into place on my fabric. I used a large, thick needle to punch holes in every dot...

Then I used a chalk pencil to color in each dot on my fabric - you could also use a water soluble pen or heat erasable marker...

A few hours later, I was stunned to see the neatest feather stitches I'd ever attempted!

Then, using Kathy's seam designs as inspiration, I began adding embellishments...

Here are my three experiments with the templates - as you see I used templates 2, 3, and 4, stitching one unembellished row, and one embellished one.

I had SO MUCH FUN with this project! Now you see why I would recommend this book to any stitcher, beginning or advanced - quilter or non-quilter - there are so many different ideas contained in this book to inspire your embroidery and embellishments.

Kathy has done an incredible job with this book, and I highly recommend it - if you're looking to improve your stitching, your crazy quilting, or just looking for some creative exercises, this book will do the job!

The Giveaway!

Kathy is giving away 1 free digital download of this book to 1 lucky winner on this blog!

To enter - leave a comment on this post and tell us: are you a crazy quilter, embroiderer, neither, or both? We will draw 1 winner and announce them soon!

Project a Month - Linladan Circle Kit

This month I will be stitching a beautiful Circle Kit from Linladan. If you would like to stitch along with me, there are more lovely kits in her store, including alternate color ways of this Circle kit!

Here is an image from Linladan, tantalizing small, of what my finished embroidery might look like:

Isn't it gorgeous? First off, I'd like to give you a tour of the kit, so you can see everything that comes inside...

A Look at the Kit

My kit came with a photo of the original Swedish kit from the 1960's that this is based on. On the left you see the stitched version, on the right, the drawing.

Tanja includes some history on the Circle Kit, with a list of some of the stitches used, as well as their Swedish names!

There's another list of stitches included, the screenprinted linen, and vintage linen floss.

About the Linen Threads

Linen floss has a very different texture than the cotton floss I am used to using. They are stiffer, sort of the texture of unwaxed tooth floss, if anybody here remembers that! :)

Linen floss has a gorgeous sheen that lends itself really well to couching and satin stitch.

I was so excited to get stitching with these new threads! I began with the darker teal - the name on this label says "Marks Linda Garn." It's about the weight of a size 12 pearl cotton, for comparison.

After finding where the threads were tied together under the label, I clipped that, and was able to use this as a pull skein.

Some skeins worked better than others as pull skeins. That could just be user error - pulling the wrong thread, I ended up with a tangled mess on 2 skeins! :)

All the threads in this kit had the same weight, except for the bright yellow skein:

This label says 40/2, the others say 16/2, which I'm sure has something to do with the thread weight? It felt to me like between 1-2 strands of cotton floss. It felt softer, and produced a much smoother satin stitch.

I cleaned up my tangled thread mess on the teal and yellow skeins by winding them on wooden spools...

But I left some of the threads in the labels, because I think they're so nice looking. :)

Here is my photo to compare thread weights on the thinner (yellow) and thicker (teal) thread... but they look the same don't they? Trust me, the skein marked 40/2 is much thinner!

Here's another skein that functioned just fine as a pull skein. I'm fascinated by the different Swedish names, but have no clue what they mean.

This is the full palette I am stitching with so far - I am using 1 DMC floss shade - that lightest teal - DMC 504, to add some contrast. Those 2 beige-ish skeins are so close in color that I will use them interchangeably, and I doubt anyone could tell them apart against the brown background.

I'm doing a lot of couching with these threads - it shows up their sheen so well! Knots work just fine. Stem stitch has a very organic quality to it because of the thick and thin qualities of the threads. Everything done in this thread looks nubbly, but I'm enjoying that look immensely!

On this yellow spoke, I used concentric lines of stem / outline stitch, with 1 strand of thread. I like the look of the brown fabric peeking through!

Here's my progress so far - I moved my stitching into a large 14 inch hoop I found on Ebay:

I am LOVING this project! It feels so distinct to anything I've embroidered yet - it's geometric, but vintage - I love the sharp lines and the organic quality of the materials.

Again, if you'd like to stitch along, I highly recommend a purchase from Linladan. If you'd just like to experiment with linen threads, she sells boxes of those, too!

Follow my progress on Instagram @nyfloresita!