Kara Shallenberg

I love the #KnitCompanion app; it’s not just for #knitting! I’ve set up my #100Circles #Blackwork sampler (kit from https://thesteadythread.com/).

I scanned all the charts into my iPad with the JotNot scanner app. Exported to dropbox. Imported to KnitCompanion. Set up new project. Pasted all scans together into one big chart. Included color key.

Now I can highlight and zoom in on my current circle, and gray out the completed ones with the scribble feature! @fiberarts

Modern blackwork embroidery charts and blackwork embroidery kits

Modern blackwork embroidery charts and blackwork embroidery kits. You'll find some free blackwork charts, blackwork embroidery instructions and details of our free blackwork stitch-a-long. Plus lots of photographs of beautifully stitched up pieces in our galleries!

The Steady Thread
Jan 1, 2023 at 8:59pmWeb
Show threadKatMJan 1, 2023
@Kayray oh wow I was always wondering if there was an app that could do these things, but never looked into it. Very cool. Also I still don't fully understand how to work through a black work pattern 😁
Show threadKara ShallenbergJan 1, 2023

@KatEmm well, I’ve never done #blackwork before, but it’s quite intuitive for me. My mind loves geometric patterns! I stare at each circle until I see it in component shapes — a little V, a swirl, a line of six segments, a pinwheel — and then I follow the chart with those shapes in mind. It is SUPER fun. I don’t enjoy cross stitch or needlepoint. Too samey. Just, xxx or /// .

But #crewel #embroidery and blackwork have so much variety going on! Keeps my mind busy and entertained 😁

Show threadKatMJan 2, 2023
@Kayray yeah I think I would like it if I sat with it for a second. I think I try to think of it like cross-stitch, like which way do I go: up and down, right to left, diagonal? But it's very intriguing
Show threadKara ShallenbergJan 2, 2023
@KatEmm ah! The easy thing is just pick a line in the design and backstitch it as it meanders along!
Show threadKatMJan 2, 2023
@Kayray that makes sense and sounds nice and satisfying. I think I was overthinking it...feeling uneasy with possibilities
Show threadAi 아이Jan 2, 2023
@Kayray Beautiful start! 😍
I have read some comments that some folks thought their isolated stitching bits (like circles or hexagons filled with patterns) look better/neater doing the stitched bits first and the outline afterwards, which is opposite the notes Clare writes. I am going to try this and see if I find it better than outline first (which I am inclined to do).
Show threadKara ShallenbergJan 2, 2023
@Siniful I did outline first for my first two circles, and outline second for the next two. I’d say it’s definitely more tidy to do outline last — but easier to do outline-first 😁
Show threadKara ShallenbergJan 2, 2023
@Siniful week 1 of the botanical SAL is up!!!
Show threadAi 아이Jan 2, 2023
@Kayray I saw! My fabric doesn't arrive until later this week at the earliest, and then, I need to pick out the greens to go with it. 😅 I am also still bouncing the palette around for the floral elements. I told my partner I would do "a rainbow gradient across the field" and he remarked "so you will have some green flowers with green leaves?" and that made me pause. 😅 I will start on the first week hopefully by the middle of January. Late starts is the story of my stitching life. 😅
Show threadKara ShallenbergJan 2, 2023
@Siniful yup I’m still waiting for my supplies, too
Show threadKara ShallenbergJan 2, 2023
@Siniful hmm yeah. But you could snip off the green sections of your thread, maybe?
Show threadAi 아이Jan 2, 2023

@Kayray Honestly, green flowers exist, so I am not too worried about it. But I am already doing the 103 Diamonds in the recommended rainbow palette, so I am considering other colorways for the garden. Especially on dark grey. I feel like I need put the project on pause until the right fabric is here.

Thankfully, I have a bunch of other projects I need to catch up with. 😂

Show threadLaviniaJan 3, 2023
@Kayray @fiberarts Arrgghh… I keep finding new patterns I want to do! @Siniful mentioned the diamonds, and now I see the circles, but I’m already doing Steady Thread’s hexagons (plus, *ahem*, THREE other SALs), and I just have to draw the line somewhere! But I don’t want to… 😭😭