blasting away stitch assumptions

Sometimes a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.

Last night and this morning I’ve been poring over the many photos I took on my trip to Mystery Country earlier this year. I’ve been trying to figure out the counting of some stitches. I knew a little about some of these stitches already from previous embroidery that I have done. Stitches often span cultures and what is used in one traditional embroidery can also be used in another, but often in a different way. I made some assumptions based on what I already knew.

This morning I have had several “OH!!!” moments when I have finally looked close enough at the photos and counted properly and learned that my assumptions about the counting of these stitches was WRONG for this style of embroidery.

What a good time to find these things out!

Again it cements in my mind what an important thing it is to go to the primary source to learn. A trip to the location the embroidery comes from, to see historical examples, is something that cannot be substituted. I have gained SO MUCH from my trip, including an understanding of the culture from which the embroidery comes, a sense of place for it, but most importantly, highly technical understanding of the stitches and their use from seeing THE REAL THING.

There is nothing like seeing the real thing to blast away assumptions.