French Knots, A New Kiki Short Story, and a Winner!

LEARNING TO MAKE FRENCH KNOTS

When I had my foot surgery a year ago, I was totally frustrated by not being able to move around and do any crafts. In preparation for the surgery, I gathered up all my crafting kits that I'd bought over the years but not done. In there was a needle punch rug. That turned out to be an epic failure. The thread kept coming back out of the fabric. Finally, I decided to give up on needle punch and try French knots. Five YouTube videos later, I was on my way.

TERESA LAYMAN

Since then, I've done about a dozen French knot projects. My favorites are the dollhouse rugs by Teresa Layman. Her kits are outstanding, and her patterns are just beautiful. She calls those of us who do her pieces "knotty girls." That tickles me!

PORTABILITY

I like how portable these pieces are. I know that I could get better results by doing them in a frame at home under an intense lamp, but I enjoy whipping them out of my purse and attending to them in those small, wasted bits of time, like while I'm at my allergist's office waiting the mandatory 30 minutes to see if there's a reaction to my shots.

ROOSTER AND HENS--CUSTOMIZATION

This rooster has been in process for months now. I decided that all my hens would be a little different from each other. I also decided that the outside border would be magenta and a greenish-beige rather than the black green and green on the inside. Somewhere along the line I read that the stitcher should think of French knots just like coloring with crayons or pencils. The threads supply the color.

Funny how one little idea like that can totally change your perspective, isn't it? That comment gave me the freedom to customize the small projects.

NEW PROJECTS

I've chosen two new projects by Teresa, but I'm curious. Which ones would you like to see me do? Here's the link: TL
or
https://www.etsy.com/shop/teresalayman

NEW SHORT STORY

I've posted a new Kiki Lowenstein Short Story on Dru Ann Love's Book Musings blog. Here's the link: https://drusbookmusing.com/2017/11/21/kiki-lowenstein-8/#comment-70663

AND THE WINNER OF ANY KIKI BOOK/STORY SHE LIKES IS...Jeanie Whitmire Jackson!

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