For the piece with all the colors, I selected V1125 Emerald for the buttonhole border because it had only been used to outline the yellow Scotch stitches in two areas.
Once stitched, I carefully cut it up to the outer edge of the buttonhole stitches. It’s crucial to not cut your stitching thread. Only cut canvas threads. One trick to get as close as possible is to nudge the edge backwards towards the center.
Another suggestion is to slowly use sharp curved small scissors to cut the canvas as close to the stitching as possible. Then, smooth the buttonhole row back to being flat.
I did the same thing with the secondary colorway using the same green for the buttonhole border because I knew they would be displayed together. Does it even look like the same design to you?
I used a glue stick to attach a piece of magazine board on the back smaller than the outer edge of the buttonhole stitch and on top of that is a piece of beige ultrasuede that was cut up to the outer edge with a little glue sticknto hold it in place. Then, I used invisible thread doubled in the needle to attach the two sides. A few strips of Peel n Stick are attached to the ultrasuede and then to the sides of a tissue box.
I got it done Friday night and in time for Show and Tell at yesterday’s ANG Central Jersey Chapter meeting. I timed my lunch break to listen to Sue Reed’s tips and tricks talk. Even though I have heard it before, I learn something new. Another CJC member joined me to listen.
I’ve said before how different chapters are and how they are run. These ladies did Zoom during Covid but then returned to in person only which is nice. They meet monthly from 10 am – 3 pm for stitching, a meeting, Show and Tell, lunch, and more stitching. Definitely worth the hour and 20-30 minute drive. I try to make it at least quarterly.
Fortunately, I was able to show them my Spring Sampler purple pillow before it goes to Orlando for the EGA exhibit. I also showed off my skinny fall purse and Linda’s blue-green colorway. They really enjoyed seeing the samples in person and will do this as a Stitch of the Month project in 2027.
Drawing from the same colors of ThreadworX threads, I selected a secondary colorway of orange, purple, and green with a blue for some accent.
As I mentioned, I ran out of orange, purple, and green. What happens more times than not? There is a difference in dye lots. Can you see it?
But, I am not worried because I expected it and didn’t start in an area that I couldn’t finish with the first threads. If anything, it adds just enough variation to be interesting. Can you see differences now?
In the upper right and lower left, the orange areas are lighter and have more variation than in than the center, upper left, and lower right. And the purple is much lighter in the upper right and lower left areas and probably shows up better next to the dark blue. I really like that this happened.
There are multiple ways to overcome dye lot differences depending on the threads used. If it’s floss and you’re using multiple strands, use thread blending to incorporate the new dye lot and phase out the old one. You just don’t switch from one lot to the other. That’ll be obvious. Best way to avoid the issue is buy extra threads! But, I think that in a geometric, it becomes a happy accident or interesting variation.
The green is only needed for the finishing step. So, all is good and now to the finishing step.
ROY G BIV with Kathy Rees is very colorful featuring the primary and secondary colors. It drew some attention at the Central Jersey Chapter. Everyone also enjoyed hearing about Magical Colors by Jennifer Riefenberg, my Show & Tell piece.
After taking the half-done photo and before the Stitch-in, I got started on the second half. A couple of patterns require some more concentration that are best done at home such as Byzantine.
CJC has a 5-hour meeting/Stitch-in with a break for lunch. So, it’s worth the drive (1 hour and 15 minutes each way) to spend time stitching and chatting with a good group of people. The rest of ROY G BIV was finished during our usual Svengoolie Saturday night movie and Sunday golf.
Kathy provided an extra line-drawn canvas for a second colorway. But more on that another time and how I will finish this has yet to be determined.
Halfway done with Kathy Rees, ROY G BIV’s piece. Besides the 7 primary and secondary colors, we were given 2 extra blues and an extra green for accents. Fun, easy to stitch, and a nice break from Razzle Dazzle. It’s also small enough to go on the road to ANG’s Central Jersey Chapter Stitch-in tomorrow.
I took a 1-day class with Kathy Rees, ROY G BIV to get her take on color theory. The threads are all ThreadworX Vineyard Silk. So, no need to lay threads! Nice since this is a 1-day class.
We got 2 canvases so we can stitch only in the primary colors (if desired) or any colorway. All the colors are getting used in the one we worked on today. I cleaned all the spaghetti threads before leaving class.
Along with other tidbits, we learned color gets the glory but value does the work! Can’t get too much information and stitch in 1 day but we have enough to go home and experiment.
