18th Century Sampler - Block #3, 8, 10

I kept my ground and didn't get tempted by the easy road. Since I will be away most of next week (8 days till Creative Festival!), I figured I should get a head start.

These patterns are part of the mock lace section.

They use a lot of smyrnas and eyelets in combination with some needlepoint stitches.

Block #3

This next one was a pain to stitch. There were so many smyrnas I didn't know where I should start. I ended up going in a circular pattern till I reached the center. I then proceeded to do the same as I was filling the circles.

It took all day Saturday and despite all that moaning, I think this will be my favorite square. If you look at the square from really far it looks like a tile you would find in a mosque. Something I would love to do one day is to translate a geometric design into embroidery.

Block #8

The next block is one of the first ones that really uses pulled thread techniques. It's the four square stitch and is really simple to do...

Unless you're doing it on canvas. You have to pull really hard on the thread to make the holes nice and big. I use a modified version of the sewing motion to get them like that. Since the canvas is too rigid to pass the needle under and over, I would stab it with my needle and before pulling the thread completely down into the fabric,  I pull it back out where it should go next. This way, when I pull the thread completely out, it tightens very nicely around the canvas threads.

Block #10

I have one full row all done :) There is one more square in the mock lace section, you can see I've already started (second square from the left in the bottom row).