Autumn Napkins and A Tea Towel Calendar

One napkin done!  You may remember this project that I first posted about here.  
Since that post, I finished the embroidery - I used Fishbone Stitch for each of the leaves and Stem Stitch for the stems.  
To finish, I turned the raw edges of the napkins under and top stitched a 1/4" hem around the napkin edges.  

This was a really quick project to do and I plan to make a full set.  I think I will mix in some of these other motifs:

The autumn colors I used are:

I also wanted to share a quick look at the 2016 tea towel calendar I designed for the weekly Spoonflower contest.  
It was really fun to make!  

Here is a closer look at the top.  You may recognize a few of the vegetables from my Salad Fixings embroidery pattern:

Whipped Stem Stitch

This interesting stitch is the Whipped Stem Stitch.  It is the latest addition to my 100 Stitches Plus list.


As the name suggests, this stitch is made up of a single line of Stem Stitch that is whipped.  The whip is very effective when done with a contrasting color floss.  
The floss that I used for my stitching is perle cotton. The colors numbers are DMC 414 {gray} and DMC color variations 4180 {pink} 

Once the line of Stem Stitching is done, the next step is to whip it.  I used the gray for the Stem Stitching and now the pink to whip:

I worked the whip from left to right.  I came up through the fabric on the left side of and right below the Stem Stitching line:

I pulled all the way through:

Then I brought the needle around to the top of the stitching line and passed the needle under the stitching line.  I just slid it under the Stem Stitch and did not pick up any fabric: 

I pulled the floss all the way, creating the first whip:

Then I brought the needle back around and did the second whip in the same way, sliding under the next Stem Stitch:

Here is a good view of the needle sliding under the next Stem Stitch:

I just continued the same steps until the end of the stitching line:

To finish, I brought the needle around and went back into the fabric:

and secured my floss on the underside:

This is a really simple way to embellish Stem Stitching.  I think I will like using this on a lot of different projects.

This stitch is from the book Embroidery Stitches by Mary Webb.

Simply Sewing Magazine

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that I posted a picture of Simply Sewing magazine.  
I am so happy that the Sewing Room embroidery pattern set was included in their "Fab Finds" section!

Thank you Simply Sewing Magazine!  

Two New Works In Progress

I have two new works in progress to share.  The first one a set of napkins.  I will be embroidering an Autumn motif on each one.
For my first napkin, I am stitching this beautiful leaf garland.

This is the Fishbone Stitch that I am using for the leaves.  I love this stitch because it is easy to do and fills a leaf shape so nicely! 

I really like the cream colored fabric that I am using for the napkins.  This is a fabric I have had for a long time and I think it will be perfect sewn up into napkins.  I have already used some of this fabric for a table topper.  You can see that project {here}.  

My next project is a tea towel embroidered with tiki-statues and interesting border.  You may remember when I was planning this - you can read about it {here}.  Since that post, I have made some progress:

I have finished the border. I did the whole thing in Stem Stitch.  The floss is perle cotton {dmc color variations 4200}.  

Now I need to choose the floss colors for these three.  Should be fun!

Le Chat - Part Three

I have a couple of finishes to show. You may remember back when I started these.  Now that the stitching is done on both, I wanted to share the colors and stitches I used. 

First up is this cat in a bicycle basket.  I used both Stem Stitch and Back Stitch for all the outlining. French Knots for the flower centers, Straight Stitch on the basket and the flowers.  I used Satin Stitch on the kitty's eyes, nose and the bicycle hand grips. 

Here are the floss colors and numbers I used:

Now for the kitten.  He was done in Stem Stitch and his eyes and nose in Satin Stitch.  His pink bow was also Stem Stitch. For the settee and cushions, I used Back Stitch, Stem Stitch and Straight Stitches.

Here are the floss colors and numbers in this palette:

Both of these were very enjoyable to stitch!  I especially liked making the eyes of both cats. To emphasize their eyes and make them sparkly, I first used a base color {green for the cat and blue for the kitten} and added some metallic blending filament.  I used Kreinik Blending Filament.  I love using it because it is easy to work with, it blends beautifully with any color I have tried and really adds sparkle:

Ship's Ladder Stitch

The next stitch on my 100 Stitches Plus list is a very simple combination stitch.  Named the Ship's Ladder Stitch, it is made up of vertical and diagonal Straight Stitches.

I stitched this using perle cotton floss.  This is DMC Color Variations - number 3840.

The Ship's Ladder Stitch is worked from the bottom to the top.  First is the vertical stitching line.
To begin, I came up through the fabric at the base of the stitching line.  

I pulled all the way through and then went back into the fabric above where the thread first emerged and along the stitching line.

Next, I pulled all the way through to make the first vertical straight stitch:

I made the second vertical Straight Stitch in the same fashion:

then I just continued all along the stitching line:

Once the vertical stitching line was finished, I secured my floss on the back and then started with the diagonal Straight Stitches.  
Again, this is worked from bottom to top.  I came up through the fabric alongside the first Straight Stitch. You can see from the picture that I came up even with the middle of that first stitch:

After pulling all the way through, I went back into the fabric on the other side of the vertical stitching line. Notice this is at a diagonal slant:  

I pulled all the way through to make the first diagonal Straight Stitch.

For the second diagonal, the steps are the same as for the first.  I came back up through the fabric on the left side of the vertical stitching line:

And went back into the fabric on the right hand side:

I continued making these diagonals all along the vertical stitching line:

This is a look at the underside of my stitching:

And here is a look at the finished stitch.  
I like this stitch and I think it would be a useful one wherever a decorative straight line is needed. It is not such a good stitch for curved lines. 

This stitch is from Embroidery Stitches by Mary Webb.