TAST - linked double chain

The weather is totally awful here today.   A big snow storm affecting the whole country, we're only a small country but still.  Not a lot of snow in our area, but its on the hills and we've definitely got the wind and rain and its terribly cold.  And lucky for me I didn't HAVE to go into work so I didn't which means I've cracked off this weeks TAST stitch today - linked double chain.  The Pintangle tutorial is here , with a picture from the tutorial below.

When I first saw this I thought how the heck am I going to chicken-ify that?!?  But luckily it wasn't so hard.  I might sound like I'm being a bit of a tease saying I've done the stitch this week and not showing my version of it.  But its still drying and its so dark here today I don't think I stand a chance of photographing it.  So you'll just have to wait 😴

Progress on the Encrusted Calico

I have made some progress over the last few days on the encrusted piece.  The spiral trellis that I was going to practice a bit more before adding, well I added it, even though I didn't practice it.  I'm sure any good embroiderer will look at it and go 'yep you should've practiced it a bit more'.  But I'm quite pleased with it considering it's only the third time I've tried it.

Oh! I have another confession to make I did actually pick my two layers apart for a bit of modification.  I had a small curtain ring with a bead inside it and as I've worked on the stitching the bead had kind of gotten lopsided.  So I unpicked the two layers around that to remove the bead.  It meant that I had to unpick another bit to get to it, so while I was there I removed button that I had underneath a plastic 'thing' (I'm really not sure what it is, hubby bought it up from the garage for me).

I did notice the other day on the one piece of info I did find about encrusted calico that they suggested you add the bits between the layers as you go, where as another site had said to make the sandwich first.  That may've been more helpful to read at the start rather than over half way through.  Oh well, next time.  😆

So that must be a new learning right?

Learning Number 7:
I think there could be some merit in not sewing all your bits between the layers right at the start.  Because if like me something doesn't work, or shifts in the middle of stitching it can be a bit of a pain to undo.

Learning Number 8:
This one is totally obvious to most but actually in practice not always easy to do.  When working on your piece don't hold onto the fabric where you have already stitched.  Thats goes for any embroidery really.  But I've noticed that the bone button stitching looks a bit rubbed.  The thing caused me no amount of angst to start with trying to figure out how to cover it over and now the threads look a bit worn.  I'm not sure if I've been holding on to it while stitching or its just fluffed up a bit as my hand has gone back and forth around it.  I guess the other option would be to do the 'filling in' first and then the actual 'accent' bits at the end.  But then the filling would drive the accent bits rather than the other way around so thats not a great idea either.  Just be careful with handling your stitching alright?

Um what else?  Oh the curtain ring.  So once I had removed the bead I decided to fairly loosely button hole around the curtain ring and fill it in with just a single coloured group of French knots.

Its actually quite cool to look at the 'before' shot and where I'm at now.