Shorttakes

 

Literary Love Notes - from Little Robin.  This is not a new pattern, but I wanted to highlight it for Valentine's stitching.  Each one is a quote from a classic author ~ "Bewitched" from Jane Austen, "Breathed" from F. Scott Fitzgerald, and "Souls" from Emily Bronte.  Aaaahhh, books!  My love language!

 

 

Sweetheart Spool - from Crafty Bluebonnet.  A cute & quick little design!  The finishing on this really makes it (& our fabulous finisher can make yours look lovely!).

Hugs & Kisses - from Crafty Bluebonnet.  A fun little creation for your Valentine decorating.

 

 

Stitchy Love - from Crafty Bluebonnet.  This is a fun design you could make for a stitching friend!  I love the ruler at the bottom!

Sew Hearts - from Crafty Bluebonnet.  Do you know someone who loves to sew (you can't call them a sewer...for obvious reasons).  You could stitch this up for them as a sweet gift!

 

 

Valentine's Pillow - from Flossabilities.  Cute, fun, quick...makes you smile!

Secret Admirer - from Infinity Bear. Oh my goodness, this is adorable!!  This little sweetheart is "hand" delivering a little love note!

 

   

Be My Valentine - from Calico Confectionery.  Lovely and to the point! 

 

   

Projection of Love - from Twin Peak Primitives.  This book is loaded with 7 different designs, featuring charming cherubs spreading love!

Love is Winged Quaker Sampler - from Twin Peak Primitives.  A beautifully elegant sampler, it really seems to evoke feelings of Victorian times.

 

2025 StitchAlong: Baldaquin Birdies - from Modern Folk Embroidery.  This year's stitchalong from Jacob, it is inspired by Daniel Marot, a French born Dutch baroque designer, engraver and architect.  Under a fabric canopy (baldoquin ~ I wondered what that word was!) there are flora, fauna, and baroque archtectural details all coming together in a festive, swirling, monochromatic design. Having said all that, while I was studying art history in college (one of the only 3 A's I earned in 4 years ~ when you only get 3 you remember them ALL!), I do recall thinking that the Baroque period was really over the top fancy!  And this has that feel ~ so pretty & fancy!

 

It is never a bad time to stitch "stitchy" stuff!  And now that the holidays are over & we've all finished giving things to loved ones, it's time to stitch something for us!  Also, so we don't stab other people (especially when it's so cold out...and I feel extra stabby!). 

      

Heart Song - from Cherry Blossoms.  Another darling chart from Cherry Blossoms, this one is perfect for your stitching spot!

Oh So Crafty - from Tiny Modernist.  This is just fun!  My bestie Carol (whom many of you may know from The Stencil Shoppe) has retired & is into all kinds of new crafts ~ she's already made a quilt, and now she's learning embroidery (she already knows how to stitch), & next month we'll do our 2nd year of February Baking for Ronald McDonald house (SUCH fun!!).  This design would be something I should whip up for her....in my spare time!

 

     

A Stitch A Day - from Stitcherhood.  Boy if that isn't the truth!!! 

One Stitch at a Time - from Twin Peak Primitives.  What a perfectly lovely sampler & a wonderfully appropriate verse!

 

          

Swans a'Swimming Badge - from Stacy Nash.  How gorgeous is this?  Not only do I love the swan, I also love the section above with the trees.  I have to believe you could wear each one separately, as well as together.

Little French Hen Needlebook - from Stacy Nash.  Just adorable!  I love designs with a French country flair & this one is lovely!

Animal Crackers: Millie - from Stacy Nash.  Aaaaawww...isn't she sweet??  Looks like she's wearing either a Santa hat (thus carrying in the tree) or maybe it could just be a fun party hat!  She'd be so cute stitched in "birthday party" colors (whatever they may be!) & maybe carrying a little present to someone's place at the table on their special day.

 

Now, in my opinion, there's NEVER a bad time to stitch on a sampler.  But certainly winter (& nasty cold weather) is an opportune time to stay in & work on something detailed & beautiful.  I love samplers!  One of my earlier pieces of cross stitch was a sampler from Merrily Beams (anyone else remember her?) that was in a magazine!  Over the years, I've stitched reproduction samplers, modern samplers and everything in between.  I also LOVE brightly colored geometric designs!  And beach designs!  And gorgeous floral creations.   That is something that I love about cross stitch ~ there is something for everyone (including those of us who are totally schizophrenic & LOVE ALMOST ALL OF IT!)  I've also met stitchers who are drawn almost exclusively to the beautiful old reproduction pieces. I find that I gravitate towards reproduction samplers if they are DIFFERENT now.  I particularly like it if there is history attached to the graph where I can learn just a little about the person who stitched the original piece.  Hands Across the Sea Samplers does the most phenomenal job of researching their samplers & the charts have almost as much history included as they do stitching!  One thing I'm fond of (at the moment) is the collection of Bristol Orphanage Samplers ~ they have a definite look to them & the stories are both tragic & inspiring.  And I always enjoy when someone comes in the shop (perhaps a stitcher or more often someone coming in with a stitcher) & they say, "Geez, what's with all the ABC's on all of these things??".  If they seem actually interested, it's fun to explain to them that originally samplers were a type of schooling for girls ~ they learned their alphabet (there's those ABC's!), their numbers, oftentimes a Bible verse & believe it or not, a little bit of geometry (you try laying out a design & not using some sort of math skill...).  Many old samplers include decorative stitches or designs, darning patterns, hemstitching & other things.  These pieces were never hung on the walls of the home (nor even framed), but were brought out & discreetly displayed when a potential suitor came to call.  This way a young man could ascertain that the girl could handle many home-keeping jobs, like darning clothes, making tableware (tablecloths & napkins), teaching children their alphabet & more! 

How would those girls react to seeing us hanging what amounted to their "homework" on our walls today?  Would they be appalled?  Think we are crazy to do something for fun that they had to do, whether they wanted to or not?  And can you imagine if they then learned how much we pay for the chart??  Yep, these are the rabbit holes my mind wanders down!! 

   

Elizabeth Dinsdale Sampler - from Hands Across the Sea.  What a perfectly gorgeous sampler!  Obviously Elizabeth was an accomplished stitcher & excellent at planning her work.  That gorgeous border is pristine, her motifs balance on each side, and yet, there is also a bit of whimsy too!  This is one of my current faves!

Blue Hollyhock House Sampler - from Happiness is Handmade.  I like this more primitif style sampler just as much as the reproductions.  Its simplicity in concept is set off by the lovely borders included.  Also...it's blue!!

 

   

Mary Ann Groom - from Hands Across the Sea.  What a darling small sampler!  And while it is smaller in size, it is still big in detail (& color!). 

Dorothy Bryant Sampler - from Hands Across the Sea.  I am always drawn to redwork samplers.  I have to believe that red threads were either easier to dye "back in the the day", or were somehow of more importance.  It can't be that they were of a higher value because many orphanage samplers were all stitched in red (leading me to believe it was easy to get or dye).  Who knows?  But I like them.

 

 

Well, Santa may be taking a well-deserved break, but I know SOME of y'all are already thinking about NEXT Christmas!  That would not include me, but if it includes you, you have my admiration!  I wanted to post these Christmas designs now because if I wait for a more "Christmasy" time, I'll surely forget about some of them!  So even if you're not planning on stitching Christmas right now, take a look at these lovelies & maybe grab the chart so you're ready when the mood strikes!

   

Quaker Christmas Stocking...and Sampler - from Kathy Barrick.  YAY!!  These stockings are always so amazing!  And I am THRILLED that she included a layout to stitch it as a straight sampler!!  It is gorgeous (& already in my stash!).

Christmas Morning - from Erin Elizabeth.  I love this!  Being that it is stitched all in one color using an overdyed thread, it reminds me of some of the old window designs from The Danish Handcraft Guild (man, I'm feeling old today!).  I think this is really just beautiful.

 

   

Glad Tidings - from Shakespeare's Peddler.  This is absolutely beautiful.  For this, I might actually have to break down & stitch on darker fabric. Yes, I love it that much!

Peace on Earth - from Pansy Patch Quilts.  Oh my gosh, how sweet is this design?  I always love seeing quilt blocks in stitching (I'm sure I think I can satisfy my desire to quilt if I just stitch them...newsflash: I can't!).

 

   

Christmas Word Tree - from Primrose Cottage.  Love this design ~ it's darling & not so complicated that I couldn't get it finished!  It would be a fun ornament or something to hang inside a wreath at Christmas.

Christmas Magic - from Primrose Cottage.  Love this collage of all the things that make Christmas, well, magic!

 

Click that ornament for page 3!