TAST Bullion Knots

Forgive me Sharon; it has been many weeks since my last TAST submission! Comfort dolls and fairy shoes amongst other things have distracted me, but I always intended to tackle at least some of the stitches I had missed, especially Bullion Knots.

The last TAST sampler I stitched was French Knots and I found it a very satisfying piece to work on. I worked the bullion sampler as a companion piece but I did not find this one nearly so satisfying. Bullions for me are a bit hit and miss and they did not seem to get any easier with practice. I did pick up a few tips that helped, like twisting the thread around the needle in the right direction and loosening the twists by twisting the needle before drawing the thread through the knot. I found that threads with a good twist, like cotton perle, are much easier to work with the loosely twisted thread and that ‘fluffy’ threads, like Border Medicis ‘drag’ are do not form bullions easily.

It was difficult for me to stick with this piece until I thought it was complete but I am pleased that I did.


There are some areas that I enjoyed working and I like how they turned out.


There are some areas that I seemed to struggle with every stitch and the result looks messy and unattractive.


We may not work in perfect harmony but there is something about this stitch that really appeals to me and I think we will meet again.

Happy Stitching

TAST French Knots

Ok, so I have only been working on this in my 'spare' time, but it has taken me four weeks to complete this TAST! I think this is something of a break through for me. Gone are the neat lines of carefully planned stitches. Although I had a vague idea of how I wanted this to look, I have really felt my way and let the needle guide me and I feel somewhat liberated by it.


I began with a piece of muslin and made running stitches across it lengthwise with DMC Perle cotton. I then gathered the muslin to fit a pre-marked area on felt. Using the 'tails' from the gathering threads, I attached the muslin to the felt using French Knots. I then spread or bunched the gathers in a random manner and began filling the flat areas with French Knots.

I kept selecting threads and adding knots where it felt right and kept going until it felt finished.

Happy Stitching

TAST Running Stitch

Without Internet access, I knew that I would miss a couple of weeks TAST while away. I usually take some stitching on holiday with me, even though experience tells me that I rarely find time to sit still and stitch. I thought I would pick my own TAST and choose Running Stitch, partly because I thought it would be easy to pick up and put down when ever I had a few minutes, and also because I had read an article some time ago about Kantha embroidery.

Kantha, traditionally, are created by quilting together several layers of fabric taken from old worn out clothes or other textiles. Folk motifs are stitched into the designs using running stitch.

I used 3 layers of muslin and drew on my paisley design before I left. Traditionally, treads pulled from the fabric were used for stitching, I took half a dozen reels of DMC perle cotton.

True to form, I did very little stitching while away. I only completed the outline of the paisley in three rows of staggered running stitch. I can't say I was disappointed, I was having an action packed holiday, after all, but what a delight on the very day that I return home to find that the TAST of the week is Running Stitch.

As I said, I had stitched the outline whilst away, next I added the flower motif in the paisley but stacking the running stitches and altering the width to represent the petals. I filled in the background with rows of running stitched arranged to create a version of a motif I saw again and again in India. It is simply four shapes arranged at the corners of a diamond shape, often the shapes were small diamonds or dots but other shapes where used including tiny flowers.

In the circle, I first outlined the petals in running stitch and then filled the space between the petals with randomly placed running stitch. I don't like this element very much; I think it is too indistinct.

Finally I created the border by lacing two staggered rows of three stacked stitches. I really like this effect. I had to work out how to turn the corners, and am pleased with the solution I came up with.

Happy Stitching