Sunday, July 29, 2012

Take a Stitch Tuesday - Oyster Stitch - Week 30

This week for Take a Stitch Tuesday, the featured stitch is the oyster stitch. It is one of the least favorite stitches that I have done as part of TAST. It is included in my embroidery journal for the week along with a personal reflection, list of things for which I'm grateful, and a couple of images that represent the week.

The Canada goose reminds me of the huge family of geese that is near the library. There have to be at least 20 of them that we've watched grow up from tiny goslings to full-grown geese.

The flowers represent everything that is in bloom now, including a little garden of annual flowers that the girls and I planted earlier this summer. The moss roses, marigolds, and other flowers add so much color to a spot we see and pass by multiple times each day.

Two stitching samples are part of the 
two-page journal entry for the week.

Back to the oyster stitch. To me, it's a stitch that seems to try to do too much - a twist here, a stitch there, and a loop around. To me, it's a sloppy stitch compared to some of the more precise, counted stitches that I prefer.

The oyster stitch done with
cotton embroidery floss on wool felt.

Part of my lack of enthusiasm about this stitch also has to do with floss choice. I used embroidery floss this week since I'd been using perle cotton floss for the past couple of weeks. There isn't the fullness of the stitch that can be seen with people who have more success with the oyster stitch.

I am not planning on using this stitch again with embroidery...not even with different floss choices and more practice. There are so many other pretty stitches that I would much rather enjoy doing.

1 comment:

sharonb said...

Hi I am here with tips because you said you did not like your oyster stitch. If you make the first crossed chain stitch with the start of the cross a little closer together and use a thread with a firm twist ie perle cotton not cotton floss. Even crochet cotton would be better - cotton floss is too soft for lots of surface stitches.