Tomorrow is the start of #The100DayProject.
For the next 100 days, I will do a little bit of #blackwork #embroidery each day. Like last year, the pattern I'm using is by Clare of The Steady Thread. The pattern is called "103 Diamonds". I ordered 16ct black Aida as a base. I decided to buy the floss from Clare again.
I'm ready to go!
Last night's adventures in #blackwork #embroidery were frustrating.
I've been stitching on 32ct linen over two recently, so I figured a 16/18ct Aida would make #The100DayProject piece work faster and easier: the stiffness of the fabric would require less care. I hooped my fabric and started with a single strand, but I didn't like the appearance of the stitches: they got lost in the black Aida. So, I frogged it and switched to double strand and I *still* disliked it. WTF?
I went back to swatching the #blackwork #embroidery pattern on a single strand, taking extra care. It turns out that the single strand actually looks fine, it's the pattern I don't really like. I don't like how the pattern's lines and angles converge.
This was not an auspicious start to #The100DayProject. 🥺
A mental reset was in order. I picked an adjacent diamond and decided to work it in a single strand.
Beautiful! Day 1 in the books!
Day 1.5 will be frogging. 😅
I spent about 15 minutes removing the unfinished diamond fragments on my #The100DayProject #blackwork #embroidery before tackling Day 2's diamond.
I'm thinking about ditching the pattern entirely of that center diamond and stitching "2023" or "T100DP"inside it instead. 🤔
Day 2 went smoothly and quickly. It was easy to craft a smooth path through this pattern. I'm stitching the patterns first, then finishing it with the outline. I like the results so far!
Day 3 of #The100DayProject!
I *love* how this colour pops against the black background. I've not done a pattern like this in blackwork and I found it rhythmic and satisfying (and quick!) to stitch.
When I first started #blackwork #embroidery, using black floss against white Aida, I waxed the floss to get it smooth. I stopped regularly using sometime last year, as I didn't think it was needed. I noticed floss fuzziness against the black, so I have returned to waxing.
Day 4 of #The100DayProject!
I am getting back into the daily rhythm of this #blackwork #embroidery project. Because I have a lot of new relationship energy with this pattern, I need to resist working on it constantly: I have to remind myself this is a walking marathon project.
I love the medium cornflower blue against the black Aida. It feels low-vibe INTENSE. The pattern is fun, but a diagonal stitching path may have been more efficient over the vertical one I used.
Day 5 of #The100DayProject!
It is no surprise that blue is my favourite colour, but I prefer my blues to be either true blue or blue leaning red: the purple blues. I am not a fan of blue leaning green or the teals. However, this teal against the black? AMAZING! I love how it pops, a vibrant cyberpunk-y Miami glow.
I kept thinking of The Matrix as I stitched this #blackwork #embroidery. The pattern feels very modern, computational. I would like to do more of this.
Day 6 of #The100DayProject!
The patterns in this #blackwork #embroidery project feel really modern. I like it! This reminded me of an oscilloscope. I messed up doing one side, so I had to do some significant undoing and restitching, but no evidence of that mistake appears to show up. 😅
The designer of this project released a freebie pattern, "100 Days of Tiny" featuring 126 little blocks. I'm tempted to start it, on black Aida with just Threadworx Bradley's Balloons. 🤔
Day 7 of #The100DayProject!
Today's #blackwork #embroidery pattern reminds me of arabesque tiles. Islamic geometric art is something I've been increasingly interested in the past few years. I am attracted to the tesselations and the overlapping/interlacing of lines and forms. So pretty! I would like to do a piece heavily influenced by this.
This colour is Dark Delft Blue. I think this is my shade. It doesn't pop or feel intense against the black, but it feels calming.
I've been keeping up with my daily #blackwork #embroidery for #The100DaysProject, but I keep neglecting to upload my progress. I have a bunch of stitching and adventures to share. This upcoming (hopefully) quiet weekend will allow me to re-engage with social media.
So, to Day 8!
I wasn't sure a colour this dark would show up against the black well, but it looks really pretty, even with a single strand! The pattern reminds me of soap bubbles, very quick and easy. 😍
Day 9 of #The100DayProject!
After Day 8's craziness of acquiring tickets for Yoongi's tour (D2 NYC!), it was nice to settle into the contrast of Day 8's #blackwork #embroidery diamond with Day 9's.
Where Day 8 was this open, super fast and quick pattern, Day 9 is tighter and denser with a four-pack of the tiniest squares woven with thin connections. An intense chain-linked fence. Stitching this allowed me to release the tensions of the previous day into my work.
Day 10 of #The100DayProject!
I have been debating what "path" I should take through the pattern. I will finish the tilted diamond row and their tops, then start working up to the top. This path gives me maximum time to consider how to handle that pesky middle diamond that I don't like. 😕 Should I give it another go? Should I replace it with "100D2023"? 🤷
Today's #blackwork #embroidery pattern stitched up quickly and easily. Enjoyable but not memorable.
Day 11 of #The100DayProject.
Red.
On black.
I did not expect to like this, as I am not a fan of red (I am Team Blue), and it seemed very low contrast even against the black.
But, I think I like this. It is the subtlest diamond I have worked so far, in regards to its colour against the black Aida. The #blackwork #embroidery pattern worked up quickly and it was easy but not necessarily simple. I enjoy how my brain switches figure/ground as I examine it. Fun!
Day 12 of #The100DayProject!
This medium garnet red colour #blackwork #embroidery is *so beautiful* against the black! The pattern also really appeals to me: it wasn't the fastest stitch because some areas are dense in stitches, but it feels open and open patterns take on a meditative rhythm when I work them.
I have a tendency to become obsessed with a project and work on it, to the exclusion of others. I'm trying not to always just stitch this. It's so fun, though! 🤪
You know that feeling when whatever you are working on looks more and more beautiful as you work on it?
That.
The realization that your nail polish and your #blackwork #embroidery thread match!
DMC 156!
@Archergal There are two places you can find Clare's free #blackwork #embroidery pattern.
You can find it on Facebook in the FB for her patterns. It is called "The Steady Thread - Modern Blackwork Embroidery". This is how I spotted and downloaded it. (Seeing community members' posts on this are motivating and inspirational.)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesteadythreadmodernblackworkembroidery/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT
You can also find the pattern on her website!
https://thesteadythread.com/collections/chart/products/100-days-of-tiny
Enjoy!
It's beautiful! My favorite shades of blue. Working on black can be really challenging though.
@Krenshar_posts I've discovered that I do need more light to work effectively on dark cloth, but it really is fun to have the colours pop out at me in ways so different from stitching on white or off-white.
I am trying to resist doing *all* my projects with dark cloth this year, but I think this is definitely my phase for 2023. 😆
@Siniful
Could it be that the aida is the problem? That it would look better on linen?
I've more experience with linen than aida but I remember short backstitch sometimes behaving weird on that fabric.
@FanCityKnits Maybe? I should get some waste linen and stitch this diamond to compare. Looking at other people's completed diamond, I think the ones that look ok have a good floss thickness to fabric ct ratio. I think they are single DMC strand on 14ct Aida. If it is too small, then it looks poorly defined/squished/muddy.
I haven't been doing blackwork for very long (a bit over a year) and some patterns don't look well when I execute them. I'm still wrapping my head around why. 🤔
@Siniful
It's very interesting to watch how this goes.
Might make me want to take out my embroidery needles again after all those years...
@Siniful black aida?
That will look gorgeous! Her designs are so beautiful.
@FanCityKnits Yes! I did my holiday projects in richly coloured linen with white floss and loved it, so I wanted to do more light-on-dark work.
I super love Clare's designs and they are so much fun and relaxing to do. I do a lot of her stuff! 😆
@Kayray My eyes have been acting up the past few years, as I think I have developed a lazy eye, but my eye doctor says that they still look healthy and shows no signs of my diabetes. 🤞
I want to work with higher cloth counts, like 18/20ct+ Aida or 36ct+ linen. I figure this is the time to do it, while I still can.
@Siniful I chose 18ct aida for my 100 Circles. When I first looked at it I thought it would be difficult but it wasn’t, not at all. My 14ct Botanical SAL looks like burlap in comparison!
But I know, from my ONE attempt at knitting black socks, that my eyes do not like looking at black/very dark fiber projects.
Looking forward to trying #blackwork on linen someday soon. I make my own hankies so that’ll make them fancy.
@Kayray Whenever I do something at a higher count, going back to 14, which I think is the preferred count for a lot of hand-dyed embroidery fabric makers, the fabric always looks coarse!
With the dark fabrics, I need a lot more light to work effectively compared to light fabrics. And multiple light sources, as a light shining through the dark fabric can bring out the holes. It is challenging but the results are so pretty!
I think this is going to be my Dark Fabric Everything year. 🤪
@Siniful it’s the same with knitting. After knitting lace on tiny steel needles, a regular worsted-weight (sweater) needle feels like a telephone pole!
I keep telling The Man that I need more light in this house. I need bulbs that are as bright as the SUN.
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