So, this is my kind of garden! A stitched one. No realism intended, no dirt, no bees, no sweaty tshirt or sunscreen needed!
I am a casual gardener. I grow some herbs, and sometimes grow vegetables. Flowers are nice… but I am not what you’d call “A Gardener” if you know what I mean! Saturday mornings won’t find me with a straw hat, a trowel, and a knee pad over a bed of dirt! The only bed I want to deal with on Saturday morning is mine, preferably staying in it for as long as possible :) and hopefully conning my son into making me one of his excellent lattes. Delivered.
For my TAST (Take A Stitch on Tuesday) samples recently, I created a variety garden I couldn’t wait to show you! These are all different versions of Chain Stitch, one of the most basic of doodle embroidery stitches that I am even more in love with now than before. I had NO IDEA one could do so much with the basic stitch; I might be chain stitching everything! I’m psyched about this!
It’s OK if you’re not :(
The basic chain stitch runs across the center of the garden in a rust color in the picture just above. Just loop after loop chained together. And YES, chain stitch, just like those annoying seams or hems in cheap clothes — catch just the right thread and >zip!< the seam is unsewn!
Represented are the following stitches in “plants” from right to left, top to bottom:
Detached chain Stitch “lettuce rows”
Rosette Stitch “spinach”
Alternate Barred Chain and Barred Chain for the “beans” and “corn”
Chain (very long skinny ones) and Detached Chain for the … let’s call ’em “cucumber vines”
Feathered Chain for the “chard”
Open Chain for the trellises
Zig Zag Chain for the … some other kind of climby vine vegetable!
Woven Detached Chain for the “peppers”
The garden beds are defined by whipped chain (tan/brown), chain and reverse chain (vertical lower left), Heavy Chain (horizontal lower left), Sailor Stitch (bottom, tan), Sailor’s Knot (vertical right), **my own combo variation needing a name** (top) Shown here:
Continuing through the middle: **my own variation of double-whipped chain** (brown, vertical center), Ye Olde Basick Chaine (rust, center horizontal) and Twisted chain (tan, inner left)
My usual stitch samples for my TAST weekly stitches are pretty boring. Just my “doodle cloth” as stitchers call their little practice area. But I’m not doing the work twice, so everyone gets to see it all on one cloth. Easy for me, too bad for you! This is the first one I’ve put some extra work in, and I knocked out 5 weeks worth of stitches plus all their variations; Go, ME!
In this case, though, I was inspired! Must be that touch of spring in the air :)
… and the fact I got to use lots of green threads!
Gail
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