Koigu

I used to be a knitter. I guess I still kind of knit, but not like I used to. I used to have multiple projects on the needles at all times. Almost twelve years ago, my knitting hobby came to an abrupt end with ulnar nerve surgery. Since then I’ve made a couple of baby gifts and some hats for my kids. I can manage about one knitting project a year.

I love the color variation and the texture of this Koigu Painter’s Palette yarn.

I still love yarn. Going to my local yarn shop, so I could just pet all the yarn was a favorite past time. I’ve been wishing for yarn-like embroidery floss. I want the color varieties – hand painted or hand dyed. There are some good variegated embroidery floss options, but there are so many more choices in the yarn world. The different textures you can find in yarn are also inspiring. Sometimes the texture is enough to inspire a new project. I spotted this partial ball of Koigu Painter’s Palette that I had in my stash and decided to give it a try for embroidery.

Make about 6 Straight Stitches to give the general size and scale of the starburst.

Start to fill in the gaps with different length Straight Stitches.

If you move around the starburst to make the stitches, you’ll start to see more of an irregular pattern with the color changes.

Keep filling in the gaps until you like the density of the starburst.

This is an improvised pattern – the yarn is interesting, so I think a very simple stitch works great. First make about six Straight Stitches that all end in the center of the starburst. These stitches will give the general outline and size of the starburst. Then add in a variety of stitches in between working around in a circle so the colors blend. You can alter the lengths of your stitches to get a little more interest in the starburst. Another bonus is that you don’t have to lay out a perfect circle here. Perfectly imperfect is the goal.

A lovely new addition to my front door.

If you are a knitter . . . or you know a knitter, then try to get your hands on some sock yarn scraps– Koigu if you can find it. You can use the lighter weight yarns (e.g. lace, fingering, sock) for stitching. If you have some lovely yarn that’s chunkier, you can try Couching to add it to your project. Using yarn for embroidery is a great way to use up scraps, but it’s also great to see your favorite yarns in a different way.

All of that beautiful color and texture just makes me smile.