Stitches of the Month: Knots!

This month, the Stitch of the Month club is working on knotted stitches, which reminds me of a conversation I once had with my friend, Cal, who also teaches embroidery.   Once, when she was taking a workshop of mine upstate, I was showing everyone how to do the french knot (or the bullion knot?) and I said how much I loved to use it as an all-over filling stitch, creating a mossy, dense background.  She laughed and said how she always recommends that everyone use it only sparingly. So, there you go, two different ways.

I'm a maximalist!  Once you get going with some of these knots, it's hard to stop.  

This example was stitched by one of my favorite Instagramers, Colleen Hornung, whose stitching is always bright and colorful. This entirely french knotted border made my eyes bug out of my head.   Colleen!  Thank you so much for posting your samplers and for tagging them.  I can't tell you, dear readers, how much it brightens my day when a new sampler appears with the #dropclothsamplers tag.  I check everyday (obsessively!) and I would love to feature one of your samplers on the blog.  If you're stitching- are you gramming?

These went out a little early this month (on Monday!) so they should be arriving in some of your east coast mailboxes today!  I've got plenty of extras if you'd like to start a new subscription  (or pick up again!) with this one.


PS- Cal is going to be hosting a Color Burst Subscription giveaway next week over on her blog, HodgePodgeFarm.  Stay tuned for details!