Practice pieces

I think I've got the hang of this now. The weather has been awful, so another day in the crafting studio, aka my living room. I haven't got one of those wooden embroidery hoops so a bit of imagination was needed to find something else which would do the job. Take one wooden picture frame, remove the backing, picture, and glass. Then stretch the fabric and net over it and secure around the edges with plastic clips. I used a piece of curtain lining fabric for the first practice piece.

The mesh I used was very fine. I found that stretching it can alter the shape of the squares, these are more like diamonds. It is important to stop the mesh from moving while working on the piece by securing it tightly around the edges.

The mesh is removed. These stars are quite tiny and not all exactly the same. I don't think it matters. 

The second one I did was on a piece of orange silk, using two colours of cotton. The silk was slipping a bit and I had to adjust the clips as I was working on it. Some of the lines are a bit wavy. It would probably be better to use a hoop for slippery fabrics, to stop it moving about. 

This reminds me a bit of cross stitch, each star is two crosses, one on top of the other. I needed to get quite close to it when I was stitching, because it's important to push the needle through in precisely the right place. This meant bending forward, and suspending it between my knees and the table. I had to keep stopping to straighten up as I was quite uncomfortable. It would be better to find a way of lifting the work to eye level, perhaps using a free standing embroidery frame, or using a magnifying glass which hangs around your neck. That would stop the need to lean forward and scrunch your body up. I need to get more organised before I do any more of this. Sitting hunched up is no good for my stomach. Back to the rag rug tomorrow.
Toodle pip.