In the (new) beginning...

[Laurie in Maine]

It's hard to know which group to beg answers from!
I'm interested in the combination of Drawn Thread, Needle Weaving and Surface Embroidery, with Hardanger techniques thrown into the mix.

I took advantage of free Hardanger classes several years ago. It destroyed any illusion that I had "perfect eyesight!" I managed a couple small projects before naming it 'too hard to see' and moving on.

I bought myself a light a few weeks ago. Okay that helps! (blogged here)

A week or so ago I came across a picture at Maggie's Textiles - the 2nd one down - and felt compelled beyond all reason to count threads of fabric again!! (Am I right in guessing MargB & Maggie are one and the same - and a member here? ;)

Cutting was not so scary as I remember it - although I am going to need some sharper scissors. But what seemed a huge expanse of open cut threads before attempting to follow Mary Corbet's tutorial for Hem Stitching, turned out to be a scrawny little patch for Surface Embroidery! Will need to go bigger and braver with next attempt. (And learn to count...I would have sworn this would be square until yesterday when I realized it wasn't!! There are 20 "threads" one way and only 15 the other. Sigh.)

But I do want to finish this first. I will add knots and maybe some beads to the center and I want to "do something" with the drawn thread space. Referring back to Maggie's piece - are those "eyes" of needle weaving the threads a Hardanger technique?
My progress

picture - fingers crossed this works - or I can figure out how to edit. Laurie in Maine

[Vera]

Welcome Laurie

We love to answer your questions and I think it is a good begin.

I uploaded a file in the discussion about the fabric to use for Hardanger and there you can see my magnifying glasses.

I uploaded another file in the discussion about buttonhole edge there can you find also the eyelets.

Think it would be funny to sew pearls in the round buttonhole motives and stitch little eyelets between it.

Happy stitching
Vera

[Lorelei Halley]

Laurie
I like your piece so far, am eager to see what happens next. In regard to things not being square: I save myself from counting mistakes by running in basting lines before I start stitching. If my design is based on satin stitch blocks 4 threads tall, I make each basting stitch exactly 4 threads tall. Usually I run at least 2 lines, one horizontal, and one vertical, down the center of the piece. It slows me down a little initially, but saves lots of annoyance later.

[Laurie in Maine]

This Is what I've come up with.
I went with "randomly symmetric" needle weaving wraps to disguise the fact that I can't count ;)

I think I'm calling it finished :)

[Vera]

wow,
I love it.
Pearl and knotes are a good idea.
Vera

[Lorelei Halley]

Laurie
I like it. Do some more. The color variations are interesting, and a rectangular piece (as opposed to perfectly square) is quite reasonable.

[MargB]

Laurie
this is gorgeous - much nicer than mine. The beads are a lovely touch and I like your variable needleweaving. yes I am Maggie - the name I chose when I had grandchildren as Grandma was already taken by my mother! The 'eyes' are needleweaving straight from Effie Metrofanis' book on Drawn thread. I am no expert but mine was an exercise in d rawn thread and hardanger is just a specialised form of drawn thread work - I am a bit of an anarchist and am keen to combine types as the mood (or design) takes me - these are all exercises heading in that direction.

My secret to getting it square (I was aiming for a biscornu originally) is simple and is down to Lorelei's hint (thanks Lorelei) she suggested that I make some grid marks. Being an all or nothing person, I now spend the first days stitching marking my fabric with a 10 thread grid. I have just done a mass of it for another drawn thread square. I worried it would be difficult to remove th marking threads but have discovered that is not so and it is the most marvellous check all along the way - I certainly wouldn't attempt hardanger with my eyes without it = the number of times I had to unpick previously nearly made me give up altogether.

Cheers
Margb
.

[MargB]

Laurie
i found my book - anyone would think I owned a million - I don't!
Effie calls those buttonhole triangles and that is what you do - buttonhole across increasing numbers of vertical fabric threads. I found this easier than straight needle weaving, actually. She also has woven triangles where they start from the bottom next to the hemstitching and work upwards - and many other interesting ideas. Her book is a source of wonderful inspiration There are some wonderful variations on needleweaving in the DMC needlework book too.
margb

[Laurie in Maine]

MargB
I'm impatiently waiting for my copy of Effie's book. I ordered it last weekend based on your mention of it on your blog, along with a beginner's book on drawn thread. (I'm your newest blog stalker :)
I've also taken the basting suggestion (x 10) to heart - big time! May have way over done it - but it's square! I have a new piece started 10 x 10 - and this time the zig zag thing from Mary Corbet's tutorial is happening around the edge.

Sadly I snipped a wrong half pair on one outside corner and may have to wrap the corners to disguise it :)

But where my first effort went too small - this one may have gone a little big...
Empty canvas fright perhaps... although I suspect it might fill up fast once I finish the hems and start free form embroidery ;)

[MargB]

Laurie
You can fix the wrong snip - esp. if you are stitching on linen (and it looks like it). Pull a thread from the end of the fabric and weave it in place after you have removed the remainder of the cut one - if need be all the way across the fabric. If you have a mixup and 2 threads that need fixing as I did in my first hardanger you can go so far and then do a u-turn and go back to where you need to be and finish it off under some stitching (in my case under a kloster block) plus maybe a knot (don't tell anyone I have a knotunder there LOL). This is all down to Yvette Stanton's great book on Hardanger and how to fix cut threads - she has been such a help to me with that book. Go see my disaster on http://maggies-textiles.blogspot.com/2009/01/hardanger.html (wish I knew how to add hyperlinks - they won't work for me!) - actually I am quite proud of this fix as it is not at all obvious even under the lens!
I am sending you an email

Margb

[Vera]

So I did too, when I made a wrong snip. No one is perfect.
Therefore I never throw away threads from a fabric of a piece of work that is not finished.

Vera