Going Around in Circles

Last week, Kara share a tutorial for appliquéing tiny circles. It seems that we appliqué artists never run out of circles to stitch in our designs, so I (Teri) thought we might look at a few other methods, and focus on one of my favorites.

Circles, like the soul, are neverending and turn round and round without a stop. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

As Kara noted last week, when we taught this first class a few years ago, this block (an Elly Sienkiewicz design) needed some small berries. In my version of the block, I made the berries in three different ways, so that I could vary the texture—and of course, demonstrate three techniques for making small circles. 

A circle is a round straight line with a hole in the middle. ~Mark Twain 

There was panic on a couple of faces when seeing how small those berries are. Why do we fear the circle? We need not—there are so many ways to approach a circle, and with all the choices, you are sure to find one that you love. And some ways are just so easy! So let's add to our circular toolbox. 

Three ways to make these tiny berries.

By far, the easiest method is to use ultra suede. You don't need to turn under the edge, and it is easy to cut to any size. I've even used it for a tiny bird's beak. A thin, sharp needle sews through it with no problem. Easy as pie; nothing to fear. 

The very bottom berry in the photo above is made of a group of Colonial knots, or you could use French knots. It gives a raspberry effect. Also simple, and it gives an interested added texture to your piece. Variegated thread, like the Valdani I used here, also adds a spark.

A circle is the longest distance to same point. ~Tom Stoppard 

Let me tell you about my favorite circle. 

The Spiral Trellis 

A Tutorial 

1. Draw your circles onto your background. Backstitch around the circle, directly on the drawn line, in a counterclockwise direction. Here, I've used #12 Valdani pearl cotton, but you can try it with many different kinds of threads for various effects. 

2. When the circle is closed, put your needle under the next stitch to the left, about halfway. At this point, you may want to switch to a tapestry needle or use the eye, so you do not have a sharp tip piercing the thread. All of your work will now be on top of the ground fabric. 

3. Wrap the thread around the needle from the front around to the back in a clockwise direction. Pull the wrap taut. 

4. Holding the thread in place, pull the needle through, forming a knot. Repeat in each stitch, moving counterclockwise around the circle. 

5. When you have gone around the circle in all the backstitches, you will continue by putting your needle in between the stitches, wrapping and knotting as before. This is the only tricky part; at first you almost have to “feel it,” but with each round it gets easier to see where your needle should go. Don’t give up! It’s worth it! 

6. When your berry is close to being filled, skip to every other stitch.

7. For your last stitch, pull the needle into the stitch, through to the back and knot off.

Aren't those spirals pretty? 

Over the years, I have grown to love this special stitch. It just adds such fun texture and even a bit of dimension to my work. Here are a few ways I have used this gem of a stitch. 

On my redwork fairy tale quilt—a near-future post—my crown needed jewels, and the spiral trellis was perfect for a butterfly head. Here, I used two strands of The Gentle Art floss. 

Family Tree House pattern from Baltimore Elegance, by Elly Sienkiewicz. 

  

Here, I used Wonderfil #5 pearl cotton thread, from Sue Spargo's Eleganza collection. It was great fun to see how each pattern was different due to the variegation of colors. 

One our new designs has swags of asters, and the spiral trellis was perfect for the flower centers. These are also made with #5 pearl cotton, by Weeks Dye Works. 

  

After finishing the asters, I began working on the border of my fraktur quilt, which had berries. I was working with wool, so it would have be SOOOO easy to cut them out of wool and stitch them down. But I thought the dimension of the spiral trellis was just what it needed. So I made 36 of these little berries. And I loved them. But I might be ready for a short break from my favorite stitch. 

Have you tried the spiral trellis stitch? I hope you might give it a go, and see what you think. It is a fun way to add some pizzazz to your circles! 

Like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel

Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel

As the images unwind, like the circles that you find

In the windmills of your mind! 

~Alan and Marilyn Bergman

Stitching a Tea Cozy Garden

A few months ago, I (Teri) joined the local chapter of the Embroiderers' Guild of America. Each month at the meetings, an embroidery project is offered; at my first meeting it was a cute little tea cozy, made with buttons. I love tea, and I have a vast collections of buttons, so I gathered some fun buttons and threads and set off on my new adventure. 

I love to challenge myself to learn new stitches or to make them with different threads or applications. For this project, I chose to focus on using Painters Threads and floss by Weeks Dye Works. I had a wonderful time experimenting and just playing, without a real plan. The tea cozy went together pretty quickly, and I think it looks pretty happy sitting on my counter. I had intended to make it as a gift, so it will be a bit difficult to part with it! 

We were given a lovely kit that included the cut pieces of linen, the liner, and the insulating fabric. The butterfly buttons were available for us as well. This is how I created my button-embroidered tea cozy garden.

Choosing the buttons and arranging them was my biggest challenge.
Once I was pleased, I took a picture to follow as a guide.

Stems were lightly drawn with pencil and stitched with a stem stitch or chain stitch.
I used Painters Threads pearl #8, Turner. I then sewed all the buttons on with Weeks Dye Works floss, two strands of Saffron.

From left to right, these are the stitches and threads I used for each flower.

Picot stitch with Weeks Dye Works floss, Grenadine

Pistil stitches with Painters Threads pearl #5, Van Gogh

Colonial knots with Painters Threads pearl #8, Grandma Moses
and lazy daisy stitches with Weeks floss, Grenadine

Lazy daisy petals with Painters Threads metallic braid #4, Grandma Moses;
 ribbon stitch leaves with Painters Threads 7mm ribbon, Turner

 

The bee is made with DMC pearl #12, a bullion knot made with one strand each of black and yellow, with wings of loops made with Painters Threads metallic braid #4, Longan. To see a tutorial on making the bee, read our Garden Gate post by clicking here.

Drizzle stitches with Weeks floss, Autumn Leaves

Colonial knots and fly stitches with Weeks floss, Grenadine

This button is ringed with cast-on stitches that overlap to create the petals,
made with Painters Threads metallic braid #4, Van Gogh.

Left leaf—fishbone stitch, right—stacked fly stitches
Painters Threads pearl #8, Turner

Leaves, left to right: lazy daisy stitch with 7mm ribbon, stacked fly stitches with pearl #8, stacked lazy daisy stitches with Weeks floss, ribbon stitches with 7mm ribbon. Straight stitches with metallic braid #4 makes the flower. (All but floss is Painters Threads.) 

Pekinese stitch with Painters Threads pearl #8, Grandma Moses

Bullion stitches with Painters Threads pearl #5, Van Gogh

I changed the position of the butterfly button from my original plan; it seemed to be more balanced amidst the flowers. And the bees just completed my garden. As I write this, the weather is dreary and damp. I think I will go make some tea! Won't you join me?

Butterfly Wings and Trilliums

Yesterday, on our social media pages (Instagram and Facebook), I (Teri) posted this flower center with the caption "Guess the flower!" We didn't get a lot of guesses, but that wasn't too surprising to me. When we decided to add this particular flower to our new Woodland Reverie quilt designs, I confess that I had to do some research, as it is a flower I don't know very well. But Google is a wonderful resource, and I was able to find some excellent photos to use as models for my flower. 

But first, let's look at some butterfly wings. 

One of my favorite parts of the entire process is choosing colors and materials. We love to try new fibers or learn a new technique to create a flower, or whatever design element we are stitching. One of the new blocks in our new design includes a butterfly. I thought it might be fun to create one with dimensional wings, but with fabric rather than using stumpwork to make the wings. Thus, my quest for a fun fabric to fussy-cut for wing designs.

This Jinny Beyer border print was my first try. I created window templates cut out of paper to audition fabrics. The hard part was to find prints with symmetry, so that the wings could be flipped to make mirror images.

I really liked this design, but it was a bit too dark for my overall block design.

 

This Jo Morton fabric was the one that I finally settled on using. Once I had the wings traced, my next task was to determine how to embroider them to enhance the print. I had a vision, but I wasn't loving the wings I was stitching. And I learned that some threads unstitch easier than others. So I started playing with similar areas on my fabric to experiment, as I hate reverse stitching!

 

My initial idea was to use a #4 metallic braid by Painters Threads to fill in the negative space with a feather stitch. After several attempts, I wasn't pleased with the look and decided to attempt to outline the paisley. I practiced with the backstitch and switched to an outline stitch, neither of which was giving me that "Ah-ha" moment I was seeking. Finally, I remembered that I had recently purchased some tiny beads that matched my fabric perfectly, so I used the seed beads—rather than a seed stitch—to fill in the negative space. 

 

I used a matching piece of fabric for the back of the wing and then used that metallic braid around the edge to give it the hint of shimmer that I wanted. 

For days, I just stared at these wings trying to figure out how to embellish them. Sometimes, it just takes time to let those creative ideas bubble around in my head before the right solution comes to me. 

        

My butterfly now has wings (shown above from the back and the front), but his body is still bouncing around in my head. Some possible threads for his body are being auditioned here, but I'm not sure how he will be stitched yet. Time will tell!  

As its name would suggest, a trillium has three petals, with three leaves behind those petals. Often, they are white, but I found this stunning red one, which I knew would be perfect for my color palette. This photo, found on the American Meadows garden website, served as my model. I knew I wanted to use wired ombré ribbon, but I had to play with the ribbon to get the right measurements and colors. 

My first attempt was close, but I had to overlap the petals in the center to size it correctly, which would have precluded embroidery in the center. And I wanted a warmer color for the petals.

I adjusted the size a bit and manipulated the ribbons and was more pleased with the results. I pondered the center for days before determining how to do the center. 

And here is my trillium. I may have to order some (real ones, not ribbon) and plant them in my garden—I think they are rather lovely!

Sometimes, I find that creativity comes easily, and then there are those times when I just have to puzzle and ponder awhile, until the right stitch or fiber jumps into my mind. But that is the fun of it, isn't it? The sense of satisfaction when you are happy with your butterfly wings and trillium—or whatever it is you are stitching!