Garnet's Wuthering Heights

[Garnet]

Hi everyone, I have been working away on Wuthering Heights and finally finished it. Well the stitching and backstitching were finished on 2nd November and I have been spending the last 13 days doing the challenging part, can you tell what it was?



ok, here's a close-up, I cannot even hazard a guess at how many there are.



I think it was worth it though, in real life they add a depth that full crosses would not have been able to achieve.






edited as original completed photo was too dark

[rcperryls]

It was most definitely worth it!!!! Beautiful, perfect and so identical in size!! I cannot begin to imagine what patience that must have taken. I'm lucky if I get 2 french knots to look similar to each other, let alone so perfectly matched. Congratulations on a beautiful finish!

Carole

[Podolyanka]

Fantastic finish, Maurene. You have done a really great job. Your French knots are so neat and perfectly made. They really look like flowers in the close up photo. Beautiful finish. Congratulations!

[Mabel Figworthy]

What a beautiful finish, and those French knots do add a lovely texture to it all - well worth it!

[Garnet]

Thank you so much!

I will admit I treated myself to a bar of dark chocolate after I finished the French Knots.

[Mabel Figworthy]

I treated myself to a bar of dark chocolate after I finished the French Knots.

After the french knots was definitely a good idea - you wouldn't want to get chocolate on them

[poppy]

Wow, this is wonderful, Maureen! So many perfectly formed French knots would have driven me crazy. You certainly deserved a chocolate bar ( or two) after finishing all of them.
The heather, with all the French knots, gives a wonderful effect and makes the river looks like it is really flowing. I do love the stonework frame too.
Brilliant work of art!

[mauveme]

That is absolutely stunning. Beautifully stitched too. The colours are gorgeous. Very well done.

[Serinde]

Golly! Isn't that just gorgeous. The texture of the French knots makes it really come alive. Well done!

[fccs]

Holy moly, it’s gorgeous!! The stitching and the French knots are perfection. You deserve a few more chocolates.

[wendywombat]

Wow! Totally perfect !!
Very well done, so worth finishing and those French knots for the heather just put the final incredible touch.

You really deserved that

[Nicola Main]

It's absolutely gorgeous Maureen congratulations! Such a lot of hard work and yes those French knots really set it off xxx

[Squirrel]

Totally absolutely completely gorgeous Maureen and oh how those French knots bring it all alive. A most fabulous finish indeed and I do hope you are proud of all the work that has gone into this heirloom masterpiece.

[richardandtracy]

You have done a stunning job on this. The size, number and particularly the consistency of the French Knots is remarkable. I take my hat off to you for the skill shown doing these. I can hardly aspire to doing it so well. The backstitch in the zoomed in area - wow. Just Wow. Not a stitch out of place. Brilliant.

The overall picture is lovely, the shading the designer has put in is really nice and the sharpness is accentuated by the beautifully done backstitch.

Really is remarkable. Definitely should be displayed in a good position where you'll see it every day.

Regards,

Richard.

[Angelite]

Garnet this is so beautiful! Can you share your secret of how you get your French knots all looking exactly the same?!! Mine never, ever do!

I am sure Emily Brontë would adore this unique rendition of her novel

[Garnet]

Hello Lovelies,

Thank you all so much for all your lovely comments, you are all so kind.

I should really have thanked our lovely Héléne (poppy) for saving my sanity when I got myself in a tizzy trying to decide on the size of the French knots. This was stitched on 16 count fabric and I used a size 26 needle, so naturally I was trying the size 26 needle for the French knots but I wasn't happy with the coverage, so tried with 3 strands wrapped twice, the 3 strands wrapped three times (ugly!) and then changed to a size 24 wrapped the usual twice around the needle, by the time I had practised all these, I was confusing myself, so I asked Héléne what she thought and she said she thought the size 24 was fine, so I did them all with the larger needle. I am pleased with the result. And Thank You to Héléne for saving my sanity.

Angelite, it's practise, practise and more practise I'm afraid.
Whenever I do French knots I always have a practise on a scrap piece of fabric first to get into the rythym of doing them again. I can tell you how I did this if it helps.
This was stitched using a roller frame on a stand, so both hands were free, and I used aida, so after I had had my practise, I kept a "sharps" needle tucked into the grime guard (you know the covers for frames preventing the Mysterious Marks) and when I had brought the needle up through the side of the aida block I picked up the sharps and pierced a hole in the middle of the aida block for where I wanted the knot to sit, then picked up the threaded needle again, then I held the thread in my left hand and wiggled the needle around the thread twice using my right hand, while holding the thread taut but not tight, pushed the needle down the hole made by the sharps with my right hand, I let the thread ease down my middle finger so it was sort of guided to where I wanted it to be.
Gosh reading that back it sounds so terribly complicated but it is much easier than it sounds and I found I got into quite the rythym doing them. I also found I could start in the middle of nowhere by using my usual loop start and after the half cross was formed, coming up again at the middle of the side of the aida block meant that the half cross was hidden under the knot without adding any extra bulk.

I hope this makes sense and is helpful to Angelite and anyone else reading this.

[Serinde]

That's really helpful, Garnet. So many stitchers have trouble with French knots, but they are so effective, as you've shown. Practice – that's the key.

[Garnet]

Thank you Serinde, I hoped I had made sense typing all that out, I am always worried I might be telling people things they already know.

I hope it does help those who have difficulty.

[Angelite]

Thank you very much Garnet for the tips. It is helpful and I don't think anyone here would mind you sharing even if it is something they already know. I will get practising!

[wendywombat]

Definitely a very clear explanation for making French Knots. I love doing them but there are times when one slips and the whole shebang has to be undone!!

I have to repeat . A truly wonderful masterpiece. Very Well Done Indeed!! The colours look just like the heather.