Dawn to Dusk - Motif 1-2

Quick, short update. I completed the second eight pointed star on Dawn to Dusk. There was lots of laying of thread in this one. I wanted to make sure nothing was twisted. I keep looking at it and I must say it's not my favorite so far (and I'm still only at the beginning).

(click on the post to see the animation below)

Not much else to say on this except I've already started the third star. I was very close to a finish until I realized I made a mistake in the foundation of the center motif. I'll share more of that later.

I also did some Japanese embroidery this weekend. Despite my hard earned win last month on those cherry blossoms, I'm back where I started. I've made the decision not to try again until I have at least a 3 or 4 days stretch to work on completing them. We were discussing this during our stitching meeting that unless we can stitch for a few hours every day, our bodies need time to adapt back to stitching with the silk. So I figure with 3 or 4 days, the first day will probably be a waste and by the second and third I should be back into the swing of things and knock those flowers off my check list. I did at least make some progress, I stitched the left side of the green leaf.

Dawn to Dusk - Motif 1-1

I've been steadily working on Dawn to Dusk for the last two weeks. I've completed all the eight pointed stars and diamonds that go in between. Now to start filling them in.

I made my first Jessica stitch in this piece. It's a beautiful stitch, especially using the Rainbow Gallery knitted ribbon, that took some thinking to get used to. I made a few mistakes at the beginning but after the third or fourth I got the pattern down pat. One thing about the knitted ribbon, my needle kept shredding it as I pulled the needle out while putting in the surrounding stitches. I got around that by pressing the stitches down with my finger nail as I pulled the needle through the canvas. This kept the ribbon from shifting.

The first motif uses 10 different threads and beads. It's amazing how much is packed into such a little area.

Here's a little animation, I love making these when I remember to take pictures.

I don't stitch canvas pieces very often, it's been five years since the last one. So as I was stitching this piece, I found myself reaching for tools I haven't used in a very long time. 

The first is a really big needle. I normally use this one for finishing off wool threads when I crochet, but the blunt edge makes it an excellent tool for enlarging the canvas hole to help pull the threaded needle through. Hopefully, this time around I won't get a stitching injury.

The second is a needle trolley. I use it the same way I would an awl or tekobari, to lay threads nice and flat. The nice thing about the needle trolley is that it's attached to my finger and I don't have to reach out for it. I bought this tool when I stitched my very first canvas piece and didn't own an awl. I probably wouldn't buy one today, as I have my tekobari. If I didn't own one, any large needle or even knitting needle would do the job.

The first motif is completed except for the center. It's supposed to be filled in with French knots. The one time I did French knots on a canvas, I really didn't like the look of it. So I'm going to leave it alone for now while I decide what to do for the center. I received many suggestions to use beads instead. I probably will do that, just need to think of how I will fill in the space.

August TUSAL

Forgot to do my TUSAL report. Lots of pearl cotton from Dawn to Dusk overshadowing everything. I'm pretty sure I forgot to empty my jar last month so this also has threads from July. The cut fabric is from my attempts at finishing the Elizabeth trunk's lid. 

Here is a sneak peek at it, as it sits half completed. It was waiting for some green felt to come in to finish the insides. The green felt has come, but I haven't come around to doing the work. I've been avoiding it as I can sense it will be finicky attaching that lid. 

I've taken pictures as I went through the process to share on the blog. I will share them once I finally finish it.