Stitch Tree - WIP

It has been a while...
                                      ..... again.

The STITCH TREE workshop is now in its third week and it has been an amazing start! The trees that are growing are even more imaginative, fabulous and exciting than I had hoped for. In fact I have been so absorbed by everyone's ideas that I completely have forgotten to take any photos! .... ups! Promise I will try and get some snaps of what everyone are stitching this coming Wednesday.


I have come home from class each week, itching to join the fun and stitch a tree. I am using the line drawing above for the 'skeleton' of my tree. I have (surprisingly) such a big stash of fabrics and threads, so even though I really, really, really wanted to stitch on navy blue linen (something I equally surprisingly didn't have) I chose this ivory linen/cotton blend that I know will hold stitches well. 


I have stitched the lines forming the trunk and branches in stem stitch in linen threads. I have a small stash of Swedish linen threads (Klippans Lingarn, I am sorry I didn't have much luck in finding links other than in Swedish where to buy them) that I have had for a long time, and I have been wanting to do something with them for some time. 
What I love about these threads, is that they are quite firm so your stitches sit very proud on the surface of the fabric - but more importantly, the linen has a beautiful light lustre that I just adore. The downside is they are a little bit tricky to work with, mostly because they are so stiff and coarse.


Like perle cotton, linen threads come in different thicknesses that cannot be divided. I used a heavier weight (16/2) in dark olive green and a silver grey for the trunk and and main branches before using a finer weight (40/2) in chocolate brown for accents along the main lines and onto some of the curly branches.
If you can't find linen (or don't like stitching with it), you will get a very similar look using perle cotton no. 5 for the heavy lines and 12 for the finer.

 

I have finished the main tree and now the fun of adding foliage can begin...


Instead of stitching leaves, I have decided to use this pieces as a 'circle sampler' - I like circles and I am looking forward to having a bit of fun, seeing just how many different ways I can find to embroider them.
I hope you too, are enjoying what you are stitching.

Best stitches,
Anna X

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts