I opened the package and sorted by yarns for the Teresa Layman Bees and Trees French knot rug. I had most of the suggested colors on hand but substituted a few like colors for the missing ones.
It actually uses a combination of Colonial knots and French knots, neither of which are familiar to me. I know I did a lot of them incorrectly at the start, but you can’t tell. Below is 2 hours of work, though I am sure to become more proficient as I go along.
I’ve never tried one of these but think French knot rugs provide the best illusion of proper scale in miniature. I bought three of her kits at the 3 Blind Mice show, but opted for this one to start. They are all similar in complexity, but this is the smallest of the three.
Update: I’ve managed to work a little each day, and the Bees and Trees rug is probably halfway done if you were to transfer the stitching from the right tree over to the empty spot on the left. I’m at 19.5 hours of work below.
I love the way these knotted rugs look in mini…such great texture. I departed from the kit instructions just a little. For smaller areas that called for Colonial knots, I used French knots instead since it seems a softer texture. I might just be doing the knots wrong, but I find the Colonial knots are slightly larger than the French knots. I’m also using a combination of the two to fill in the background for the same reason…the French knots can get into smaller spots around the trees and other details and they can fill in between the Colonial knots. (Note: going forward, I’ve used French knots exclusively since it’s a more consistent texture for the way I stitch.)
