5 Stitch Challenge

The following challenge was posted on the Embroiderers' Guild of America Facebook Page recently. It came from Philly chapter.

Nametag Challenge: 5 + 5 = 2010 Use 5 fibers and 5 stitches to make a new nametag in 2010.

Isn't this a great challenge? I'm going to have to do this just for fun.

Deciding on 5 stitches was relatively easy. I have 5 letters in my name so I'll use one stitch for each letter.

E = Eylet Stitch

R = Rice Stitch

I = Interlaced Running Stitch

C = Chain Stitch

A = Arrowhead Stitch

Some of the stitches were easy to come up with (eyelet, rice and chain). I had to search to find stitches which start with "I" and "A". Algerian Eye would work but it was too similar to an eyelet for me. The Arrowhead stitch looked like something fun to try. I'll admit using the Interlaced Running Stitch for the "I" is pushing it, but it was the only "I" stitch I found. And, I think it will look great.

Finding 5 different fibers that work together was more difficult, but I think I've finally got them nailed down. I found 2 silks, 2 cottons and one wool and a scrap of dark blue fabric.

Now I know my stitches and my fibers. Beyond that I'm not sure what I'll do. I'll be planning it in my head in my spare time. I have a deadline coming up so I can't jump right in and start stitching immediately.

Comments

The last 2 blocks and the tops are done!

I needed 2 more blocks to finish the gray version of the quilt. I ended up making simple 9 patch/half square triangle blocks. One is the yellow block in the lower left. Here it is closer up. When I made the half square triangles I had the red fabric going the wrong way so you are seeing the backside of the fabric. So the red in the triangles is a little lighter than the red in the center. It wasn't worth redoing. The other corner has a blue block and I managed to get the front of all the fabrics showing. So, here's what it looks like almost complete. And here's the blue version of the quilt. I've got the backing and the batting for the gray quilt (the backing is in the washer now) and I'm working on the thread to use for quilting and how to quilt it. They are too big for me to free-motion quilt. I don't have the space. As it is, quilting with the walking foot will be a challenge. These ...

It's about time - the big reveal

My bright quilt was finished in June but I wanted to wait until both were done before sharing the pictures. Quilting the blue quilt didn't take long but finishing the binding sure did. I did procrastinate a bit as it was too warm to have a huge quilt on my lap for most of the summer. After this, I'll probably do all the binding on my sewing machine (and stick to smaller quilts). Notice the cut-out corners? That was a challenge. I found instructions here and it looked easy enough but I wished I had practiced some. After a lot of finessing I finally got good miters but I could have done much better. The cut-out corners allow the quilt to hang nicely over the edges of the mattress and it's a perfect match for a full sized mattress. But, the top edge isn't even close to the pillows. I wonder how the quilt fit on the bed it was made for. Here, at last, is the original quilt that I was copying. I just...

Butterfly

It seems like I haven't had time to do much stitching and I haven't finished anything recently. Well, here's something small. I got to go through a yarn box from a friend of a friends mother. The yarn wasn't very exciting but I found a kit to make a suede scissors case. It was old enough that the instructions were done with a typewriter. There was no date and the only name was Sandesigns. Someone had started the butterfly but I ripped it out and started over since the stitches were not done with an even tension. Looks like a quick project, doesn't it? It took me over 3 weeks. But that's working a little bit every few days (or once a week). Luckily the finishing was quick and easy: Just some glue. Now, lets see if I can get something else done!

Erica's Stitches

Search This Blog