I've been working on the railroad

Greetings to all.  Prayers for Oklahoma.  I've mentioned before that we were 1/4 mile from the F5 that came through Wheatland PA in 1985, and took our best friend.  Seeing such destruction is mind numbing, and hard to comprehend.

I received an email from Beth, the stitcher responsible for the perfection in Kathy Barrick's post.  She mentioned railroading, a term I remember from my early stitching days.  After checking a few online sources, I thought I'd give it a try once again.  My sis in law used a laying tool to smooth her threads, and she was kind enough to gift one, which I considered a direct hint.  She was a top notch stitcher and rolled her eyes a bit at my style.   Using the stabbing method instead of the laying tool is my preference, and I tried it on my messy eyelet stitches. 

 The last one on the right is railroaded.  See the one above with the twisted thread?  This is how many of my regular cross are also.  I usually give the needle a quick twist in hand but it doesn't always work.  Sometimes it comes up through the linen with a bad twist and a laying tool doesn't even help. 

 

This is the stab method I tried on the eyelet.  Instead of the usual down stitch (on the right), 

 

 you lay the floss in front and insert the needle between the two strands before going down.  This prevents the twisting and both threads lay side by side (as a railroad track), which gives better coverage and a full flat stitch.

 The biggest problem I have with this method - I can't see the linen threads and end up in the wrong hole.  So I decided to scrap the idea of better stitches out of fear that frustration will add to my impatience.  Looking at these photos did show me another reason my eyelets are off. 

Take a good look - don't they look like they are all doing a Travolta move?  The top left corners appear to be pointing, don't they?  This is because I am starting the next stitch from that outside edge and it's being pulled from the left.  I guess I should start it from the center eye or a middle stitch rather than a corner.  Another color will fill between them and probably even them out but I should pay attention to that. 

 

Here's the railroad stab on a regular cross stitch.  I may keep practicing and see if it becomes a habit I can handle.  I doubt it, but it's only because of my lack of patience and absence of caring what anything thinks.  It bugs me that my threads are twisted, but not enough to be more careful.  Beth also directed me to this article on correct placement of the first stitch.  I can never remember, but this article used the term, "leaning on the post", and that was all I needed.  Thanks for your help Beth!

Ed left after what we hoped was the final sanding this morning.  For some reason, I am so exhausted I can't even go out for groceries.  This afternoon will be spent on the swing stitching, enjoying the beautiful day.  Eliza is turning out to be a fun stitch with the different dividing bands and bright colors.  I'm so glad I chose her.  In fact, I think my last few projects were some of my favorites.  Which brings up a question I may not be able to answer.  Can you?
What is your absolute favorite piece? 

 

Have a wonderful day and stay safe!

Thanks for visiting.

 

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