Flowers for a Fall Evening Beaded Finish

I've written before about this lovely wool evening wrap that was a class I took from the EGA two years ago. I finally finished the crewel embroidery a couple of weeks ago. But I decided it needs something more...beaded fringe.

I went to my local bead store and purchased size 11 black seed beads, black gold burnished 3mm czech fire polish, a few strands of a 4mm czech fire polish that look like amber and 2 spools of black nylon beading thread. The black/gold beads match the color of the beads sewn in the Poppy center. The "amber" ones look like the semi-precious Hessonite beads sewn onto the Lily stamens.  And they compliment the vine colors and Burnished Gold silk chenille thread in the leaves.

I decided on a bead fringe design that wouldn't be too long after a few tries, and also would not overwhelm the overall design of the wrap. Or catch on things...don't need beads flying everywhere. The fringe is basically a "Y" shape with 8 seed beads, then one black czech, 12 more seed beads, one amber bead and a seed bead stopper. Every "Y" is individually knotted just in case. 

Then eight more seed beads finish the "Y". 

I used Tiger Tape for spacing that's very helpful and comes in different widths. You just peel it off and stick it where needed. I put it on the lining side of the wrap next to the edge. Every other line (every 1/4 inch) has a line of beads sewn near it as you can see below.

Below is a close up of the fringe.

The Poppy side of the wrap.

And the Lily side of it.

The single leaf in the middle goes at my neck...I can't wait for next fall and winter to be able to wear this!

Finished UFO!

It's that time of the year, the winter months, to work on those Unfinished Objects. I worked on this wonderful shawl again while at Stitchin at the Beach 2020 in early January. It's a class I took from the EGA (Embroiderer's Guild of America) entitled "Flowers for a Fall Evening" by Kris Andrews that I've written about before. After getting back home I decided it was time to finish and get one more project out of that UFO box! Here are the final steps in this lovely, crewelwork shawl.

The last leaf which sits at the center back of the project in Appleton wools is worked in 402, 403 and 404. Long and short stitch is becoming easier for me to do, especially in wool.

The vein, in 407, covers up the void and completes the shading.

Chenille thread adds highlights and it's by The Thread Gatherer "Silken Chenille", SC060 Burnished Gold. It's variegated. (Check out their website for some gorgeous threads!) You have to work with short (12") lengths because it's fragile, using a chenille needle.

Here is the finished leaf Don't you think it's beautiful?

After pressing both the silk lining and the completed shawl it's time to pin the two right sides together. It's so long that I had to do it on the dining room table to support the fabric so it wouldn't stretch or distort. And I almost used every pin in the cup pincushion!

Next it was time to let it hang over the banister for a few days to rest.

After pressing the opening on the end to turn it through, I pinned and hand stitched it closed with a Ladder Stitch. You can't even see where it is...love that stitch!

The last step was to topstitch all around the edge so that the lining doesn't peak out. Not an easy job because the two fabrics slide against each other. So I pressed and steamed it again around the edges with a press cloth. Starting at one end, I pinned in sequence from one end up to the other...lots of pins! 

The easiest way to get a consistent, even top stitch was to use my Narrow Edge Stitch Foot: the fabric rides against the black blade (it doesn't cut) and moving the machine needle over to the left the correct distance. It was much easier to stitch and it came out perfect!

So this UFO is completed.....

except I want to add a small hand-beaded black fringe on the short ends.  

That's for another day and blog post!

Hurricane Stitching

As most folks in the U.S. know, the eastern coast is expecting a dangerous hurricane to smack North and/or South Carolina starting late Thursday night. My area, commonly known as Hampton Roads, Virginia (specifically Smithfield, Virginia, for me), is enforcing mandatory evacuations for low lying areas, which is not our house thankfully. But, it doesn't mean it's going to be a vacation, either. I've been out gathering the usual supplies: batteries, water, pet food, kitty litter, and foods that won't need refrigeration since we will most likely lose power. I've finished all of my kits for the Smocking Arts Guild of America National Convention which starts next week in Winston Salem, which will make for an interesting drive for me on Monday.

So after I get all the preparations done, what about stitching? I'm going to NEED to stitch to stay calm. I've been back working on the beautiful wool shawl "Flowers for a Fall Evening" (designed by Kris Andrews) as you can see here.

I've completed the other Lily end and made progress since this posting a few months ago: "Carrot Time".

After I finish the red Poppy side I have one little leaf to do at the center back of the shawl. It will be lined, and then I plan to bead the ends. The lining will have to wait until I have power.... But I do have Ott lights that run on batteries, so I'll be able to see to stitch.

Then I can pull out a UFO or two from the Unfinished Object box if I want to do more stitching while the winds and rain blow.

And to all fellow stitchers and sewers in the impact area: stay safe, stay dry and God watch over you and yours during this dangerous storm!