hardanger fabric question

In article , Dianne Lewandowski
writes:

Beth gave you some excellent tips. I loved the piece I did on 32-count
linen. It wasn't difficult at that finer count, and ends up with a very
lacy effect.

Thanks, Dianne, for the additional tips. I do have a piece of 28 count white
lying around (not sure I'm ready to try 32-count linen yet, as I am working on
18 count canvas, which I'm familiar with, right now and going blind) and I
think I'll replace the Monaco from the Wentzler kit with that.

I have a small Anchor/EGA kit that "teaches" Hardanger so I'll try that next,
and then I'll look for the book Beth mentioned. I was shying away from
Hardanger because it looked hard, but apart from the fringing, I was surprised
that it was actually relatively easy. Haven't tried the woven bars yet, they
look intimidating, but the Anchor kit comes with extra fabric to practice.

India

WIPS: Painted Bunting petit point needlepoint canvas
Leisure Arts American Sampler cross stitch
Margaret & Margaret Christmas Ornament

India . . . the woven bars are the easy part! And 32-count is not
difficult at all. Of course, that statement may be unfair if you have
vision difficulties and/or are far-sighted. But if you don't, it's just
a matter of learning to "see". Your eyes do adjust. But they never
will if you don't allow them to practise. grin Just do it in short
increments.

I look at embroidery in a different way: one gives it a royal shot and
if it's too hard at "this" count, I go lower until I'm comfortable.
Sometimes I'll do the reverse: try something at a ridiculously low
count, get the feel on a scrap, then shoot for the gold. That's why I
have tons of scrap around That piece of Monoco on which I experimented
last night has some drawn thread on it, pulled work, cross stitch,
surface stitches, and now a corner of Hardanger.

I've also learned through time that a technique I can't do today I often
can do a year from now. Each new experience builds on your skill level,
whether or not it's "drop dead gorgeous". First pieces in a genre often
are less than ideal. HOWEVER, they are precious learning experiences.

So, if a piece doesn't turn out well, or I'm having difficulty, I don't
pitch it (or try to go on no matter what), I hang on to it to experiment
another day. A fairly regular RCTNer emailed me the other day and asked
about a type of embroidery on polar fleece. Out came my scrap and quite
a few more stitches got played with. I had forgotten what was already
there, so it was fun to see the first experiments. I love my "scraps",
or doodle cloths as they are often referred.

Dianne

Mmeindia wrote:
In article , Dianne Lewandowski
writes:


Beth gave you some excellent tips. I loved the piece I did on 32-count
linen. It wasn't difficult at that finer count, and ends up with a very
lacy effect.


Thanks, Dianne, for the additional tips. I do have a piece of 28 count white
lying around (not sure I'm ready to try 32-count linen yet, as I am working on
18 count canvas, which I'm familiar with, right now and going blind) and I
think I'll replace the Monaco from the Wentzler kit with that.

I have a small Anchor/EGA kit that "teaches" Hardanger so I'll try that next,
and then I'll look for the book Beth mentioned. I was shying away from
Hardanger because it looked hard, but apart from the fringing, I was surprised
that it was actually relatively easy. Haven't tried the woven bars yet, they
look intimidating, but the Anchor kit comes with extra fabric to practice.

India

WIPS: Painted Bunting petit point needlepoint canvas
Leisure Arts American Sampler cross stitch
Margaret & Margaret Christmas Ornament

Woven bars look difficult (and impressive as all get-out to someone who
has never done them!) but are really easy to do. In fact I find them
soothing. Keep an accurate count of how many times you weave when you
do the first bar and make certain you use the same number on all the
other bars that are of the same length. Use uniform tension and push
each new woven stitch over against the previous with the tip of the
needle to get a smooth bar.

Mmeindia wrote:
I have a small Anchor/EGA kit that "teaches" Hardanger so I'll try that next,
and then I'll look for the book Beth mentioned. I was shying away from
Hardanger because it looked hard, but apart from the fringing, I was surprised
that it was actually relatively easy. Haven't tried the woven bars yet, they
look intimidating, but the Anchor kit comes with extra fabric to practice.

--
Brenda Lewis
WIP: "Big Bird", Janlynn -- *DONE!*

In article , Dianne Lewandowski
writes:

India . . . the woven bars are the easy part! And 32-count is not
difficult at all. Of course, that statement may be unfair if you have
vision difficulties and/or are far-sighted. But if you don't, it's just
a matter of learning to "see". Your eyes do adjust. But they never
will if you don't allow them to practise. grin Just do it in short
increments.

Okay, I have promised myself that as a reward for finishing this canvas I'm
working on I will let myself start the "learn Hardanger" kit (which does have
woven bars). I am actually not far-sighted, my main problem is eye fatigue and
poor lighting (I have two small children and only get to stitch late at night).
But somehow I was very incorrectly translating 32-count into being the same as
18-count canvas. I see my math is pathetic and it should be like 16 count
canvas, which I have dealt with successfully before. So If I find 32-count
linen before I start the kit, I'll give that a shot too. Does Hardanger
look nicer on finer-count fabric?

By the way, Dianne, I just want to thank you personally for the constant
challenging to try new things. I am mostly a lurker here, and until recently
never did anything except painted-canvas needlepoint. I still have fun with
that (except for the current canvas, see other post), but after taking your
advice to heart, I am now doing cross stitch and loving it, doing blackwork and
loving it, and I really enjoyed the little bit of Hardanger I tried and can't
wait to try more. I am also avidly looking forward to trying Assisi and
Lagarterra (sp?), and who knows what after that.

And thanks to Beth, Liz and Ellice for the additional advice, which I am
keeping for future reference.

India

WIPS: Painted Bunting petit point needlepoint canvas
Leisure Arts American Sampler cross stitch
Margaret & Margaret Santa ornament

Mmeindia wrote:
I am actually not far-sighted, my main problem is eye fatigue and
poor lighting (I have two small children and only get to stitch late at night).

Oh, dear. Stitching around "two small children" can be exasperating.
And stitching under poor light equally so. I got some new material
yesterday for a sampler and late at night was the first time I could get
my fingers into it. A disaster. I struggled for 15 minutes and then
said nope. Tomorrow.

Actually, I only stitch difficult items on bright or sunny days. Less
difficult stitching on gloomy days under a bright kitchen light.

You are going to drive yourself nuts trying to stitch without good
lighting. Do your children nap? I suppose that is when you get your
"chores" accomplished.

Yes, Hardanger looks MUCH better on the 32-count. Of course, that is my
*opinion*. Like Schwalm, which shouldn't be worked on anything less
than 40-count - lots of beginners need to use coarser counts until they
feel more comfortable. I just dove right in, and have done some at
65-ct. It's not hard. You just have to be able to "see" it. These are
my "sunny day" projects. grin

I wish we could help you with the lighting dilemma.

What is Lagarterra?
Dianne - who thanks you for your very kind words.

In article , Dianne Lewandowski
writes:


What is Lagarterra?

I just learned about it from a featured "Masterclass" article in the most
recent (I think) Mary Hickmott's New Stitches magazine. It comes from a
Spanish village of the same name and is done on even weave linen with (fine)
pearl cotton. It is done entirely in a combination of satin and Holbein
stitches and seems to depict geometrics and/or stylized florals and scrolls.
The project accompanying the article is done all in one color but there's an
order form for a book and the cover of the book shows multicolored projects.

I love doing blackwork, and I'm of the school that believes blackwork should be
black, but this looks somewhat like blackwork in color. I love color too, and
since colorful pieces are apparently "authentic," it looks like it's right up
my alley.

Relevant to the rest of the discussion about the thread count, Mary Hickmott
shows the same motif stitched 5 different times, on five progressively finer
fabrics with progressively finer thread. She recommends that the novice
embroiderer start on the coarsest fabric, but I understand your "jump right in"
theory. It really did look nicer on the finer counts, so it's worth a try and
if you mess up you can always start over again on a lower count.

India

PS-- I think I spelled it wrong before; it should be Largartera.

I agree about starting out on coarser grounds. However, sometimes it is
so coarse for the genre you are trying to accomplish, that the results
are a turn off. So, for a "first project", keep it small, or use a
coarse cloth as a "doodle". Stitching takes such an inordinant amount
of time that (for me), I don't like wasting it. Besides which, you'll
never train your eyes if you don't go into training. grin

As an example: My first Hardanger piece came with a sampler on
*extremely* coarse cloth. Yes, that made it easy to "see", but the
result was awful. Half-way through, I quit and jumped to 32 based on
recommendations posted here that I had seen in the past. There's not
much difference between 28 and 32. AND, there are differences between
28 and 28 grin. Not all plain weave is woven equally.
Dianne


Mmeindia wrote:

In article , Dianne Lewandowski
writes:



What is Lagarterra?


I just learned about it from a featured "Masterclass" article in the most
recent (I think) Mary Hickmott's New Stitches magazine. It comes from a
Spanish village of the same name and is done on even weave linen with (fine)
pearl cotton. It is done entirely in a combination of satin and Holbein
stitches and seems to depict geometrics and/or stylized florals and scrolls.
The project accompanying the article is done all in one color but there's an
order form for a book and the cover of the book shows multicolored projects.

I love doing blackwork, and I'm of the school that believes blackwork should be
black, but this looks somewhat like blackwork in color. I love color too, and
since colorful pieces are apparently "authentic," it looks like it's right up
my alley.

Relevant to the rest of the discussion about the thread count, Mary Hickmott
shows the same motif stitched 5 different times, on five progressively finer
fabrics with progressively finer thread. She recommends that the novice
embroiderer start on the coarsest fabric, but I understand your "jump right in"
theory. It really did look nicer on the finer counts, so it's worth a try and
if you mess up you can always start over again on a lower count.

India

PS-- I think I spelled it wrong before; it should be Largartera.