Stitch-along starts November 1! Yes, I found my canvas & the SAL will start in two weeks, that’s November 1, and will run on Sundays. Look for more background ideas between SALs.
In Sharon G’s book SENSE, she categorizes stitches as having a direction or as being non-directional. I was amazed that Alternating Elongated Cashmeres were non-directional. Because of that, I decided to try an experiment. I used it as a background for the Art Nouveau iris from Art needlepoint pictured below.
It surprised me because t does not have much of a direction. That’s why it’s a great background. You can use it in so many places. If you pick a thread with directional light, it has a lovely subtle color change that makes it even nicer.
I used it for the purple Palm Heart you see at the top of the article. Because it can be hard to compensate around letters, I stitched the background except around the letters completely first. That made it easier to stitch the letters as well as easier to do the compensation smoothly.
Alternating Elongated Cahmer takes basic Cashmere Stitch and makes the rectangles longer by adding stitches in the middle of each block, below. The direction of the stitches in each block alternates.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
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