Thursday, October 9, 2014

Octagons E & F Completed

So last week I had started Octagon E and was able to finish it on the weekend. I took pictures and since it was the weekend (I don't usually post on weekends) I just kept going and started on Octagon F. Things went so fast that by Sunday it was almost done and I figured I'll just wait till F was done to post both together.

So the first one is Octagon E. It started off fun (I love those "hearts" in the corners), but then I had to pull out the Rayon thread. The eyelets look OK, but I just couldn't get the thread tight enough. I still feel like it's too loose in some areas (the thread kept slipping).

Eyelets in Rayon thread, that green is so bright
 After stitching the eyelets things just fell into place. The next part was long diagonal stitches. I love the effect, it looks so soft.


This was followed by more diagonal stitches in ThreadworX. I'm really glad how this turned out, I was worried the colors wouldn't match in each quadrant.


More diagonal stitching with tent stitches in between them and the eyelets. I think the lower right tent stitches look out of place. These are in the blue shades from the ThreadworX, while the others are all green.

Octagon E completed
Octagon E was finished early in the evening Saturday and I didn't feel like stopping. I almost did when I saw that F starts off with Rayon thread, but I convinced myself to get it out of the way so that I can do the fun stuff the next day ;)

This is the second time I stitch with this particular thread (it was used in Octagon D as the first layer), I guess I learned how to stitch with it because the stitching went much faster this time around. In the center it's the Scottish Reverse Stitch surrounded by more tent stitches and a layer of backstitch.


This was followed by more long stitches to form a helix(?). This is stitched first in #5 Perle Cotton and then in #8 Perle Cotton of the same color. The tent stitch at the tip of each wing was also supposed to be in the same color, but I decided to change it to the other #5 Perle Cotton which is a darker shade. I decided to do that after looking at the Octagon in another colorway (something I wish I had done while stitching Octagon D).



The next step was to form a grid and then anchor them with little X's


The end result gives you a nice grid with little stars. It's very nice in person, the pictures don't do it justice. I'll have to ask my sister to take nicer pictures with her camera at the end.

Octagon F Completed
Here it is, only 3 Octagons to go :)


4 comments:

  1. This continues to look amazing! I'm really enjoying all the close ups and details about how the stitches go. Usually I can't tell how these are stitched so it's nice getting the "insider look".

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  2. As always Dima - Amazing updates!!! How does one frame a canvas project? All I've ever dealt with is even-weave fabric.

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    1. Thank you :) Before this project I also only dealt with even weave. I mounted the canvas on the frame by following the instructions here http://www.needlepointteacher.com/mounting-on-stretcher-bars/ It's a really great website for learning canvas work.

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