Followers

30 September 2013

Over 2? Over 1?

Today, I had a friend asked me to explain the difference between over 2 and over 1 stitching. On top of that, to complicate matters, there's also 2 over 2, 2 over 1, 1 over 2 and 1 over 1. Whoa... What?
To new stitchers, all that might sound pretty daunting. Still, let me try to shed some light on the subject.
Over 2 and over 1 stitching mainly refers to stitching on evenweave or linen. The stitches are made over 2 fabric threads or over 1 fabric thread. The first number on the other hand indicates the number of strand of floss used. Have I confused you enough yet?
I have to admit I was having trouble explaining partly due to the lack of quality illustrations online... at least none that I could find. Then again, it could be because I'm just a really bad teacher :P
When all else fails... Improvise. Thus, I hope this piccie would benefit all budding evenweave/linen stitchers out there and those who would like to give stitching over 1 a go.
Gotta love my L baby (macro lens) ^.^
*Click to biggify*
As you can see, stitches using two strands of floss are made with two colours to clarify matters. 2 over 1 stitches are usually half stitches as 2 over 1 cross stitches would be too bulky.
I understand this question has also surfaced numerous times in regards to over one skin stitching. Basically, every over 2 cross stitch would be converted to four tiny over 1 stitches. It is however personal preference on which you choice you make.
Here are a couple of photos for your reference. Human skin usually has very fine appearance and the texture of the different size stitches portrays that.
I prefer 1 over 1 cross stitches though that could be a problem if a design consists of tweeding (blended floss). To overcome this, a cross stitch could be made with the bottom leg stitched with the darker floss while the top leg stitched with the lighter floss.
The rest are self explanatory, I hope? Feel free to comment or email me if you have any more questions.
Happy Stitching!

27 September 2013

Pumpkins for Cathey

Today is Pumpkin Day. Happy Blogoversary, Cathey!
As some of you may know, Cathey has been battling cancer for some time now. Her strength and sense of humour during this difficult time has been a constant inspiration to me.
So this is for you, Cathey. Keeping you always in my thoughts, heart and prayers.
Special thanks to Sharon for organizing this event. More information here.

01 September 2013

Another New Start

This is my last WiP pic. I promise. Next one should be a finish. Now if only those beads I ordered would arrive...
Deprived from beading Lady Alexandra, I delved into my stash and pulled out Mermaids of the Deep Blue. Yeah, not like I have dozens of WiPs waiting eh?
This design is very special to me as it's the first Mirabilia I fell in love with. Still, I wonder why I've yet to stitch it. Perhaps it has something to do with the number of fabrics I've bought for it that just doesn't seem quite right.
Clockwise from top left:

Oh, don't get me wrong, each and every one of them is certainly pretty enough in their own right but somehow, just not the one for Mermaids of the Deep Blue, know what I mean? Sigh! OCD much?
Finally, I decided to go a different route. I ordered Crafty Kitten's opalescent cashel Aurora, requesting that it has minimum green than normal. It arrived on Wednesday.
Holy moly, my hunt for the perfect fabric is finally over. I'll be starting Mermaids of the Deep Blue the moment this post goes up ^.^ I have to admit though that I didn't come up with this idea solely on my own. I've seen plenty of mermaids, including Mermaids of the Deep Blue stitched on this particular hand-dyed fabric and they're all stunning!
Till next time, Happy Stitching!