More progress on Long Green.
You can see that I finished the mesh strip and have started on a simple double running band. The thickness of the darning on the mesh varies because I was trying out several stitching logics. I’m still working on the illustrations for the best of them, more on that to come. Also, there will be more on how these mesh styles were achieved in historical works. There look to have been several ways to do it – there is no “This is the only right way” method.
Here’s a close-up for Kathryn, who wanted to see the mesh more clearly. This photo is back-illuminated by the sun, and was taken with a piece of printer paper held behind the stitching:
Today’s double running band is yet another pattern that will be appearing in TNCM2.
It’s adapted from a drawn (rather than graphed) strip pattern appearing in Egenolff. The drawing however is clearly intended to be geometrical, and as you can see – translates easily to linear counted stitching. I will say that this gauzy linen is far better for the mesh darning and possibly solid voided work than it is for delicate double running. It’s tough to NOT distort the threads when stitching, which may be optimal for the pulled thread mesh, but is problematic for the other styles.
String-Or-Nothing 
The mesh background looks very thick and "tough" compared to the delicacy of the double running. I gather the thickness of the mesh is due to the numerous trips of thread with the needle. Is there any way to make fewer trips, or to use thinner thread? Failing that, to make your technique work with a linen background that isn’t that gauzy. I wish we could see close up (or handle) extant pieces using these techniques.
–Kathryn