TAST 2012: Stem Stitch

As I was getting ready to add this familiar stitch to my sampler, I checked it out in Sharon B’s Stitch Dictionary and learned something I didn’t know before. The thread is worked to the right side of the needle.  If it is worked to the left side, it is the outline stitch.  I always interchanged them, depending on the direction I was stitching, never noticing the difference in appearance.  I see it now, although it's difficult to detect in the photo below.