A Sampler Nearly Finished

I have been working on my sampler again. Yes, this is the same one that has been going on for nearly 10 years! It it that long? Well, considering it started way back in 2006, the maths does add up!

Beginning as a Counted Thread Round Robin that travelled the world, this sampler has had a little hic-up along the way. The main one was the broken threads, but that can be read about here.

The broken threads have been fixed for a few years now, and every now and then I pull the sampler out and add another band to it. At the beginning of this year, I made a resolution to myself that it would be finished this year. Mmmmmm............ maybe not finished, but it will be close.

Over the last few months I have added a few new bands, some narrow, some wide, trying to add some interest as well as light and shade. I have kept with the original pink and green colour scheme as I think it looks fabulous.

So far I have added in a Wessex band to cover up the fixed broken threads, a fine back stitched border with contrasting four sided stitches, a counted zig-zag band with back stitched border, another row of  back stitch with contrasting intermittent cross stitches and half cross stitches, a row of coloured needle weaving, and finally another row of back stitch spaced with back stitch diamonds that have been filled with a contrasting four sided stitch.

I started yet another band on Saturday, only to find yet another broken thread! I wonder how many more I will find? This broken thread was nowhere near the last group, and so far seems to be the only one. It's been fixed now, an easier fix than the last group, so I can continue on with my stitching. This row will be the final one on the right, then I have a space of about 8cm to fill at the other end before it is finished. I have even found some fabric to line it with and turn it into the bag that it was always intended to be. So watch this space, this sampler will soon be finished!

A Wessex Band

Lately I have been moving on in my counted thread band sampler. This is the same one that has travelled more than me.

For this band I have chosen a Wessex band from the book "Wessex Stitchery" by Gay Eaton. I chose this band because it looked like little flowers, and was not quite as heavy as some of the others in the book. Using the pink as also helped to make it appear lighter, and it fits well with the other colours already in the sampler. Another reason I chose a Wessex band is to help cover up the "fix" I had to do. With lots of reweaving of broken threads. the tension of the weave has changed slightly. All these little flowers will help to hide them.

I have yet to finish the band, but is well on the way. I have one more row of flowers to finish, then I can outline them all and add in the green "trellis".

I love counted work, but this one had me stumped for a while. I found the counting a little difficult and hard to follow as a pattern, but I have now worked out my own  system of working so there are less mistakes. Hopefully this band will be finished soon and i can move on to the next one.

The Fix

Some of you might remember the counted thread band sampler round robin that I entered into way back in late 2006. Well, this was mine as it was returned to me. You can read my thoughts about this in this post.

 I have a motto that "everthing is fixable" (well almost everthing) and I have been deliberating on this one for a while. Now has come the time to share how I fixed my sampler.

Step 1. Identify the problem. In this case it was 4 broken threads in the fabric.

Step 2. Mark with thread where the broken threads are so they would be easilly found when required.

Step 3. Carefully remove the stitching. Appologies to the lady that did the stitching but it had to come out so I could get to those broken threads.I had to use my magnifier and  good light so I didn't do any more damage. The unpicking left a few holes from the stitching, but these will come out later either just with handling or by easing the threads back in place with a needle.

Step 4. Carefully un-weave (is there such a word?) the broken thread back to an anchor point. In this case the anchor point is the buttonhole stitch of the hardanger band. Care muxt be taken not to break the thread as it is removed as we need as much length  as possible. In this case I had only a few mm.

Step 5. Turn the work to the wrong side .

Step 6. Finish the end under some anchoring stitches. In this case the end was far too short to thread into a needle so I pulled it under with  a fine crochet hook. Ideally I would have liked to have done some double stitching in under that buttonhole stitching but the end was far to short for that. I'll settle with it just tucked underneath.

Step 7. The other end of the broken thread also has to be removed back to an anchor point. This was my initial delema as to where to take it back to. There was a  band of blackwork which wasn't really the best anchor point. I could have used it if I was desperate, but Mandy had kindly left me some space to work with so I worked a row of satin stitch to give me an anchor point. The row of satin stitch will be decorated at a later date.

Step 8. This time it was easy to to put that fabric thread into a needle & anchor it under the satin stitching.

Step 9.To replace that broken thread that I had removed, I took a thread from the side of the fabric. I'ts the same as what I just took out, only in one length, not broken.

Step 10. After threading that side thread into a needle, I anchored the end in underneath the buttonhole stitching.

Step 11. Then I very carefully wove it into the space that was vacated by the broken thread. Care had to be taken to go under and over in the right places to keep the weave correct.

Step 12. There was more anchoring to do at the other end once I had woven that thread back in.

This is that one broken thread all fixed. The weave is correct but my tension isn't the same as the original, it shows as a pulled thread. Hopefully over time with some handling, the fabric threads will work themselves around and it will be less noticeable. Having some stitching over the top will certainly help, but that is for another day. It is certainly better than no holes. In the process of fixing this one, I found another two, that makes six broken threads in all. Now to fix the other five (and any more that I find) and to think about what will go in the space.

At this point I would like to add that this fix is not suitable fo all mistakes. Each error has to be assessed in it's own surroundings to work out which is the best and least noticable way to.

Three cheers to my motto -  "Anything is Fixable" . Hip, hip hurrah.

A Sampler Re-Visited

I've been working slowly on my band sampler & have added another band. This is the sampler that was part of a round robin over the last 5 years, & came home with a problem.

The band I added is another blackwork one, one that I designed myself to go on another project. This time I only used part of the design, & played with alternating colours. The motifs have been placed in a row to form the band.

I think it has helped to bring the sampler together a little more & I am loving the overall look that is happening. You may have noticed that I have also removed some stitching ready to fix the delema I was left with when the sampler come home from it's world travels. The delema I was left with can be read about here. Now all that remains is to fix the broken threads & work out what I will place beside Mandy's fish. I do have a plan of how to fix it so watch this space & I will teach you how.

Round Robins - The Good & the Bad

Way back in late 2006 I signed up for a Counted thread round robin. In case no-one has noticed, counted thread work in it's many forms is one of my most favourite needlework types to do. At the time I was still doing a course which was taking all my time, so the group waited until the new year. That was the beginning of 2007, and there were 9 of us participating from all over the globe.

Today in the mail my sampler has finally arrived home, with only 5 people stitching on it including myself. The stitching is exquisite, and the introduction of the red colours are just amazing. They have made the sampler pop.

The stunning band on the left has been stitched by Norma, the gorgeous blackwork fish are by Mandy, and the fabulous seahorse & shells are by Margaret. Thank you so much girls for such beautiful & inspiring stitching. The hardanger panel is mine.

I have participated in RR's & swaps before & have learnt that you never know what you will end up with, so I decided right at the beginning that this was going to be made into a carry bag, that's why all the bands are going vertical. I would mount it to a backing, add some other fabric top & bottom, some handles & some lining, & I would have a usable article. Well, that was the plan, and hopefully it will still be the plan.

However, did anyone notice the two fine rows of blue & green? The lady who did these had so much trouble that she gave up , but it has left me with a problem.


With all the unpicking that went on, there are now three broken threads that I have to deal with. I have known about them for some time & said I would deal with it when the sampler came home. All the while I thought I would cut the fabric & add some faggotting, the type that joins two pieces of fabric together together. But I am faily certain I need to add a hem to do that, & the broken threads are way too close to my hardanger band.

I have thought about removing the offending broken threads & re-weaving others back in, but I need a place to start & finish. I think I can just cut them back to the hardanger buttonhole, then start a new one from under the buttonhole stitches, weave it in, & finish where? I can't take it all the way to the other end as there is such beautiful stitching in the path.

Anther idea I had is to scatter eyelets everywhere, but in reality I don't think they suit what I have.

A fourth thought was to cut each band apart and applique it seperately onto a backing fabric. Personally I don't think this would work either as there is very little room between my hardanger band & the damaged threads.

So I am appealing to all the stitchers out there as to how I can fix my problem. At this point in time it looks like it will be a case of removing the two lines of stitching, & designing a new band to allow for somewhere to end the old damaged threads & start a new one.

Any one got any other ideas? Feel free to add comments.

SS Band Sampler

I have finished stitching the last sampler of the Stitching Sister Counted Thread Band Sampler Round Robin.

This sampler is for Margaret, who has stitched the up/down tulip design at the top. For my band at the bottom, I tried to keep the flow of pink & green that seemed to be happening. I played with designs on graph paper first then decided the colour. The stitching started with two rows of 4 sided stitch, with 6 threads removed between the rows. I then needleweaved the remaining threads to keep them strong. Above the 4 sided stitch I worked groups of radiating straight stitches, while below is a row of large eyelets which have been outlined in back stitch. The top row was then mirrored below the eyelets.

I feel a little sad now that this is all over. I love stitching counted thread work of all types and this RR has been an excuse to venture out with colour & stitch combinations.

The Last RR Sampler

Look what arrived in the mail!. It is the last of the counted thread RR samplers for the Stitching Sisters Group that I have to work on. This one belongs to Margaret and I have ideas already for what I want to do. I have picked out colours of threads & sort of narrowed down a technique & a design, all I have to do now is graph it out & start stitching. So watch this space to see what eventuates.

Mandy's Band Sampler

I have finished stitching on another sampler. This one is for Mandy and is part of the Counted thread Round Robin that I am participating in for the Stitching Sisters on-line group that I belong to.

Here is the sampler when it first arrived back in January. Before it arrived, I had thought that I would do some blackwork on it. But when it actually arrived in the flesh, I felt that a blackwork pattern would not quite work at the stage that the sampler was in. So I had to put my thinking cap on & let the sampler talk to me for a little while. The first thing it said to me was colour. There were lots of colours happening already and I needed to work something that would bring all the colours together. So I went through my stash of threads and picked out those that I thought would work in some way, shape or form. I then let my needle go where it felt like going.

In the end I worked eleven smaller rows of stitching, which in the end formed into two bands, one wide & one narrow. The rows were worked as follows:-

1. A row of four sided stitch in yellow ( a colour I only occasionally work in )

2. A row of four sided stitch in green, leaving four threads between the previous row & this one.

3. Removing the four threads left between the rows of four sided stitch & wrapping the remaining threads in an orange hand dyed Perle 12.

4. A row of alternating half eyelets in another green, with the gaps filled in with a third green.

5. A row of alternating half eyelets in the same green as before, with no gaps filled in.

6. A mirror immage of row 5.

7. A mirror immage of row 4.

8. A repeat of row 2.

9. A repeat of row 1.

10. A repeat of row 3.

11. A simple row of a blackwork pattern which I alternately flipped vertically. This row was worked in a deep pink to match work previously done in the sampler.

I think the colours that I have chosen have worked and I hope that Mandy loves what I have done. I know I certainly enjoyed working this sampler & could have continued working on it to the end. Unfortunately this is not how a RR works, but I am now enthused to start a sampler of my own, to work on how I want & how my mood takes me.

Below is a close-up of part of my band. It is amazing what close-up pics show, and no, it is not a mistake, just a loose thread that needs snipping (whew!). For some reason Blogger is playing nasty games & turning things sideways.

Counted Thread Experimentation

I have been slowly working on a band for the Counted Thread Band Sampler Round Robin that I am in. This is Mandy's sampler & before this sampler first arrived, I had ideas as to what I was going to do, then when it arrived I felt that what I had planned would not fit in well. It took me a while to get started & I am just letting the sampler tell me what it needs. The first thing was colour, somehow I needed to bring all the colours together. So I searched my threads and pulled out all the colours that were already in the sampler, then made a decision as to which ones I would use. I settled on a yellow, a hand dyed orange, and some greens. I felt these colours whould not only work together in a band, but help to reflect the colours already present elsewhere in the sampler. I haven't finished yet, I still need to work more eyelets, and then I think the band will tell me it still needs something else. Time will tell. I'll post a pic of the whole thing when my section is finished.

This Morning's Post

Look what arrived in this morning's post. I have been participating in a counted thread band round robin and Mandy's sampler has found it's way to Australia. It's been over 6 months since I had a sampler to work on, but that is OK as I had plenty of other stitching to keep me busy.

When I first saw this sampler here, I thought I might do some balckwork, but now I am not sure, that might be a bit heavy. I am also not sure on colour either, as there is such a mix already. The sampler will just have to live on my design wall for a while until something talks to me . All the samplers can be viewed here.

Sarah's Band Sampler

Another band for the Stitching Sister Counted Thread Band RR finished. This one is for Sarah in Texas. This one was a little more difficult for me to design for than the previous ones that I have done. Initially I thought that I would work some cherry blossoms, or maybe some Chinese scrolls, but when the sampler arrived, I didn't think these were suitable at this point in the sampler. Sarah had already worked scrolls in the previous band, so they were out, & the cherry blossoms were curvey & I felt this needed something geometric. So I looked to the card that came in the package for inspiration.




My eye instantly went to the key design in the border on the Emperor's robe, so I took one section, mirrored it, then flipped this to form my basic motif, which when repeated, reminded me of Chinese lattice work. Design decided on, I now needed to think of stitches. The fabric lent it'self to pulled work, something I have not done very much of, so I found a stitch called "Single Cross Eyelet" which I thought would work. So I graphed the key pattern over three squares on a graph, supposedly working the eyelets in a checkaboard pattern, only to find that this made the whole design much wider than what I intended. So then I marked the key pattern in just a single row of eyelets & it worked fine.

I worked the eyelets in two strands of DMC Stranded thread, & when they were finished I felt they were a little bland. I tried to outline them in back stitch but the eyelets are worked over five threads & this did not work out mathematically, so I tried over one thread (yuk!) and also over all five threads ( also yuk!). In the end I woked tiny cross stitches in blue over the single cross formed in the center of each eyelet.

So now this sampler is ready to continue on it's journey. Sarah, I hope you like what I did.

Band Sampler Round Robin

Way back in January of 2007, a group of ladies from around the globe started a Counted Thread Round Robin. My first band can be seen here & my second is here. Then there was a very long wait until the next one arrived for me to work on. This sampler is for Norma in the USA & I have worked the Wessex band at the bottom.

Christine's Band

Band Round Robin

This is the band I have done for Miss Muffet's band sampler. MM has done the Wessex Stitchery at the top & I have done the Drawn Thread in purple.

My instant reaction when this arrived was that it needed orange. However, orange is not my favourite colour to work in & there was not quite the right shade in my stash. I did however have the same shade of purple, even if it was a thicker thread than I normally use.

I deliberated for some time whether to use this thicker thread and in the end decided to just go for it. I usually like to work in much finer threads that this. However I feel that this thicker thread has added some texture & contrast to the piece and also blends with what MM has done.

It will be interesting to see what other people add to it.

Band RR book Cover

Since I came back home I have been working on a book cover for the band RR. It has been digitized and stitched out on my sewing machine onto hand dyed calico.

I started working on this last year and I was trying to achieve a blackwork look by machine. It sort of worked but the positions of the stitches leave a little to be desired and to change that I would have to change the whole outline of the letters. That would mean basically starting from scratch and I did not want to do that.

It was done on my Artista program & I have a lot of learning to do on that one!

Stitching Sisters Band Sampler

Even though I have been away on holidays it doesn't mean I neglected my stitching. This is for a Counted Band Sampler Round Robin I have joined in with an on-line stitching group for the next 18 months. There are 9 of us in it with two months given to stitch our bands.

I have decided that each band will be of my own design and hopefully stretch me in some way.

This one is my own designs and it is the first time I have done one of the filling stitches. It also gave me a chance to practice my doves eyes that I learnt last year and realize that I need to practice my picots.

The threads are also some of my own hand dyed ones.