Melitastitches4fun's Blog


All That Shimmers by Sundance Beads, Ribbon 1

Kristen, from ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter, is leading All That Shimmers using the stitch guide by Sundance Beads. We got a discount ordering for a group through The West in Arizona. The kits came with the beads and ribbons, not the threads. Kristen stitched this in advance of the chapter.

It’s not a large piece at 7″ x 5″. Sundance shows it displayed as a 5×7, but I think the balance of stitches will be better displayed as 7×5. We’ll see.

I didn’t take a photo of all the stuff (threads, beads, metallic accents, raffia, and ribbons) that goes on the canvas prior to getting started, and I didn’t get a photo prior to stitching the borders! I was delayed because I switched to all Kreinik #12 Braid thanks to my stash and Linda’s!

You may notice that I’m working in the well, as Kristen suggested, because there’s only about an inch and a quarter around the design. That makes ending threads too difficult.

I’m only going to share photos of the fun beads and metallic accents as I use them, which is why we selected this project.

For Ribbon 1, we use Size 11 beads and MA005 Gold Coil.

I rediagrammed the pattern for the overdyed blue and ecru threads by shifting it slightly because I didn’t like where the metallic accents fell. It is now symmetrical, and that makes me happy!

Then, I also revised the suggested stitch surrounding the bead from a 3×4 rectangle to a hexagon that nicely nestles the metallic accent. Rather than using a Silk Lame Braid as called for, I’m using a Kreinik Braid #8 that matches the color Kreinik used in the border. 

To aid centering the accent in the hexagon, I went down into the adjacent hole from where I came up. I used a doubled length of Sulky Invisible thread that started out with 2,200 yards. I doubt I’m below 2,000 yards yet – a lifetime supply!

Appropriately, I finished Ribbon 1 at today’s ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter Stitch-in.


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