TAST week 19 ~ half chevron stitch

i had a nice mother's day and hope that all the mommies out there had the same.
it's been a hectic last couple of weeks for me. lots to do and the head cold put me way behind on everything. in addition the sunny weather lured me outside when i should have been doing other things . . .
and the frosting on the cake was a randomly uncooperative internet connection. ggggrrrrrrrrr.
i'm 'running' as fast as i can and counting on your understanding.
i've done another combined post in an effort to catch some things back up.
it may be that i need to do this more often during the busy months of summer.

at pintangle the stitch for week 19 with TAST was the half chevron stitch. this is yet another new stitch for me. i found it simple to work and full of possibility. unfortunately i just didn't have the time to explore as far into those possibilities as i would have liked.

i did enjoy working it in it's simplest form over the bit of lace that i applied to the wonderful daughter's stocking. i adjusted it's angles to match up nicely with the angles within the lace and added some red glass diamond shaped beads over part of the stitch which also mimics those angles but does sort of hide part of the stitch.
i definitely am looking forward to coming back to this area and adding future TAST stitches to it as the half chevron stitch has created a lovely base for further embellishment.

for a very nice sampler of what the stitch looks like in it's basic form as well as used in many variations visit here and for a variety of interpretations you should definitely see this.
a purple thistle was beautifully created using this stitch here.
and it was even used quite successfully within a lettering format.

********************************

**************************

****************

*********

***

recently i received a package in the mail all the way from France~!
it came from Isabella and Pauline of  Pierres, papiers, ciseaux. 
i enjoy visiting their blog each week to see what this mother and daughter team are doing creatively with the TAST stitches. 
Isabella is extremely knowledgeable  in regards to embroidery and is in the process of recreating an historical tapestry that she periodically shares. in addition she presents (weekly) a gorgeous gem of a sample using the TAST stitch of the week. a very creative mind that i love to watch at work.
Pauline is her daughter. she is a young beginner just learning to do these stitches. i enjoy seeing her samples too and admire how hard she works at each one every week. embroidery is a skill and an art. the needle can feel quite foreign in a small hand newly starting out. Pauline tackles each stitch and always has lovely results that remind me of when i was beginning to learn embroidery except that she is learning a large group of stitches with a disciplined and creative approach. i, on the other hand, learned only the basic stitches and was not nearly as disciplined about it. she is going to be a master embroiderer (just like her mother) with time and practice. i feel blessed to get to see a part of that process.

in addition to getting the pleasure of observing their skills i have received this envelope stuffed full of wonderful surprises. a beautiful needlework piece made by Isabella as well as a big assortment of fun ribbons, sequins, silver charms, beads, shells and even a large piece of lovely sand colored linen. all topped off with the cutest little seaside themed tag made by Pauline. i feel lucky to have such talented and generous blogging friends.

thank you Isabella and Pauline. i will treasure your sweet and creative art. they now have a place of honor in my art studio. every time i see the stitched heart ornament and the tag i think of how lucky i am to know both of you~!!~

_  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _ 

my brief 15 minute challenge report includes work done on the christmas stockings/TAST as well as quite a bit of applique work on a project that i can't really talk about yet.

i did enjoy my daily 15 minutes of sewing time, as well as some extra time on a couple of days. 

mission accomplished.

 

 _  _  _  _  _ _  _  _  _  _  _  _   _  _  _  _

 

recent gifts include:

• generous (surprise) packages from distant countries ~!!~
• knowing so many other talented bloggers as well as enjoying the daily inspiration that they have to offer
• time spent playing board games with my wonderful daughter
• gorgeous spring tulips, daffodils and grape hyacinths growing in my garden