May 20, 2012

Angela~ Bullion Knot

 I had never worked bullion knot before and had some difficulty with it.  The video was a great help as I am a visual learner.  Most of this journal page is worked in stem stitch with some straight stitching.
The gold metallic 'lights' around the sign are bullion knots.  I started beside the W and worked my way around the bottom and to the right and you can see my work got better as I went.  I actually did very well with the first practice stitches I did in cotton thread.  The metallic thread took more practice.  I decided to leave the not so great knots there as a lesson to myself.
Las Vegas was founded on May 15, 1905 and I chose the subject because when I was 20 we took a family vacation there and there were a lot of firsts for me.  My first airplane trip, my first taxi ride, my first experience of room service at the hotel and my first experience of casinos.  I wasn't quite old enough for gambling yet, but no one asked and I only played the slot machines.


15 comments:

Debra Dixon said...

and now your first bullion knots! Viva, Angela!

Recycled Cottage & Garden said...

Sorry for the missing D in 'founded', I'll be fixing that! Lesson: Don't watch an intense program while sewing.

Debra Dixon said...

What's so fun about this challenge is what we learn that we don't expect to learn! Ha!

Suztats said...

I've never been to Las Vegas. Your bullion 'lights'look pretty good for a new stitch. I found them to be a bit tricky at first, too. I always learn something from your posts-thank you. ;-)

Connie Eyberg Originals said...

Great job on the bullions. You are brave starting with metallics, but you persevered!

This makes me smile because we had taken a trip when my daughter was about 14 or 15 (with the teenage attitude) and stopped over in Vegas. We were walking through the casino at Circus Circus and our daughter quickly dropped a quarter into a slot machine. Before we even realized it a couple of security officers were at our side with arms crossed and looking gruff telling us she was not old enough to gamble. She just said to us "What's the big deal!". I guess she didn't understand the concept and figured she knew how to drop a quarter into a machine as well as any adult. LOL (now).

Carol-Ann said...

Another page another dollar, the bright lights beckon. Gold stitching, gold fabric, a great play on "bullion". Fabulous.

Debra Dixon said...

I remember a trip like that--we went to London and my son was at the height of his "punk" stage & insisted he had to wear all his heavy metal. I'm sure he thought he was going to meet up with some punks on the english streets & needed to look the part. Getting through security was a nightmare; so on the way home, he volunteered to pack all the metal in his suitcase and wear his sneakers.

Recycled Cottage & Garden said...

Probably doesn't hurt that I work in place that buys & sells gold jewelry and coins including bullion!

Cyra said...

Love all the stories and memories that your pieces evoke Angela, lol.

Fabulous Las Vegas - one place on my "to visit" list (just dreamin').

You were very brave to try this stitch with metallic thread. Yes, it is definitely a stitch that gets better the more you practice. You did good with your practice too. Isn't it a great feeling when we master a new stitch.

Judy S. said...

Kudos to you for using metallic thread on bullion knots, no less. It's always fun to see what you create! Are you going to put all of your historic tidbits together in one piece or.......?

Recycled Cottage & Garden said...

They are pages for a stitching journal. There are 2 pages per piece of fabric.

jenclair said...

I love that you included all the "firsts" that your Las Vegas trip provided. Another nice spotlight on history!

Peacock said...

thanks for pointing out the "bullion" wordplay! I might have missed that! tee-hee!

Peacock said...

Wow. Great job on the bullion stitches! metallic thread is one of the more challenging threads you could have chosen for that stitch. Congrats on persevering!

Anonymous said...

I don't see a thing wrong with ANY of the bullion stitches! Kudos to you for trying them in metallic, too. That is just the best Vegas sign ever, and so much like the flavor of that city.