Taking a different path today . . .

For the past week or so I've been working on another sampler. It's lovely and I am enjoying stitching it but . . . maybe it's because it's a large sampler? perhaps it's because I had so much difficulty choosing the right threads? could it be because I'm stitching from a printed chart? Whatever the reason, I decided today I needed a little change of direction. This morning I took a scrap piece of linen from the basket, a few colors of thread that I liked, and just sat down and started stitching. It's so relaxing to just stitch without having to constantly reference a chart, worry about what thread color I'm going to stitch with next, or count to make sure my stitches line up

I have to admit I'm enjoying traveling without a map. I'll post photos tomorrow of what I've come up with so far.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Apple Tree Free Pattern

I adore apples and not just apples but apple orchards as well. Growing up in Upstate New York I have the utmost appreciation for the beauty of apple trees year round. Even in Winter the bare branches are beautiful covered in snow. The bark is almost black and the trees have such a striking shape contrasted against the snow. When I was younger they would bring to mind the writhing limbs of a tortured soul, but I was a morose teenager. Now they look to me as if they are dancing.

In Spring the blossoms can boast the most lovely shade of pink I have ever seen. I have such fond memories of the Apple Blossom Festival every year in the town I grew up in. And of course in Autumn they bear such a wonderful fruit even as the leaves on the branches begin to change.

Where we live in Maryland there are no apple orchards and though cherry trees can be quite beautiful they do not (to my mind) hold a candle to apple trees. I do miss my hometown, apple trees being just one of many reasons. In their honor and in honor of the town I grew up in, here is this month's free pattern. It was originally meant to be part of a larger sampler but in the end I opted for a tree with a slightly different shape. The two apples depicted here are Macintosh and Red Delicious, two of my favorites stitched using Gentle Arts Mulberry and Gentle Arts Limited Edition Plum Pudding. The tree is stitched with Weeks Dye Works Bark and the leaves are Gentle Arts Endive. If you would like to stitch this pattern for yourself you can find it on my Free Patterns page. I hope you enjoy this pattern and just in time for the start of apple picking season.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Hooray! New Threads . . .

I thought I would share with you some new thread releases that I recently received. They just arrived in the mail today. What a wonderful treat on a Monday!

The first is from Crescent Colours. It's not a thread line I use often but these new colors are wonderful. When I ordered them I was told they were "plain". You know what I love about over-dyed threads? They're never plain. There's always so much subtle variegation and depth in even such a "simple" color as brown or grey. I specifically like Eggshell and Polliwog. Brown Hen is a very complicated color with light and dark brown with hints of grey/green and yellow. Honestly, I don't know how to describe it.

The next is Gentle Arts. You've already seen Antique Lace; it's used in Blest Art. Wheat Fields is my favorite of the new threads. It's a wonderful combination of dark and light gold and green. It's perfect for Autumn and I'm trying desperately to fit it into a design but that rarely ever works for me. I'm sure that if I let it sit long enough on my table it will eventually inspire its' own design. I'm still waiting on the new Weeks Dye Works colors but I'll share a picture when I receive them.

On another note, a friend of mine purchased the e-pattern for Marked Anne and commented that she had difficulty printing the pattern so that the chart lines were dark enough for her to see. Has anyone else had this problem? If so, please let me know. I always print out a test of all my e-patterns and assume that if it prints well for me that it will for everyone else. If you've had any problems please e-mail me. I would hate to think that anyone purchased a chart they couldn't use.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have this month's free pattern stitched and ready to post. It's in honor of my favorite time of year, apple picking season. Until then I hope everyones week got off to as good a start as mine did.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Marked Anne

Marked Anne is my another recent finish, a smaller piece done in Gentle Arts Nutmeg and Dark Chocolate. My intention was to finish it into a pincushion but it seems just a little too large. Stitched on 30ct R & R Reproductions Dye Pot Blend it measures approximately 5 inches by 9 inches. Perhaps I will still stitch it into a little pincushion or pillow or maybe framed along with all my other pieces patiently waiting. I adore the rusty pumpkin orange and the linen has a hint or orange to it as well. It's a very simply primitive piece and a quick stitch taking me only a few evenings to finish.

Between this and Blest Art I am certainly gravitating towards those wonderful "Halloween" colors of black, orange, and green. The weather here the past few days has been wretched, 85 degrees and humid, as far from Autumn as I could imagine. Here in Maryland the season won't begin to turn until the end of October. But as the calendar says Autumn is approaching I will choose to make it so in my mind regardless of the weather outside.

Marked Anne is available for purchase as either a printed or e-pattern. You can visit My Design page or e-mail me directly for more information, pricing, and to order. Thank you to everyone who ordered the Blest Art pattern and I know some of you are already begun stitching on Euphemia Myles Sampler. I can't wait to see finishes!

After my mad dash to finish Blest Art I will most likely take a night or two off from stitching. I believe my husband is starting to feel neglected. These past few nights I've done little more than shush him while I was preoccupied counting stitches. A little rest is in order but I do promise September's free pattern soon along with a sneak peak of my next pattern. I can't keep from needle and thread for too long!

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

On this day, remember . . .

Blest Art Sampler

Blest Art is finally finished! I've been busily (and happily) stitching away at it every free minute this past week, hence my lack of blogging. It is finished, though still unframed. I just couldn't wait to share it.

I have been working on this piece for awhile now, stopping from time to time to work on another piece, but then dutifully returning. The design is somewhat whimsical (for me anyway) which I've come to like in it. As I said before, the border was a bit of challenge to design and I had to go back and tweak it a few times after I had started stitching. I do like it, even though it is a bit wonky. I had difficulty choosing how to design the vine border between the first to lines of the alphabet. I'd considered stitching a simpler version of the outer border but in the end decided on a stem stitched vine with a few little leaves added in cross stitch. Finding the perfect color white was challenging as well. Thank goodness for Gentle Arts latest thread releases. The color looked perfect online and I ordered it right away but still I had my doubts. When my package from Gentle Arts finally arrived the color was even better than I had originally thought. Of course I opened the package minutes before the children were due home from school with hours left before I could stitch with it. I think I showed a great deal of patience that day though I do admit to rushing through the evening cleaning. GA Cornhusk is a wonderful color as well. It's a little bright and I was skeptical at first but as I began stitching it won me over quite quickly

The colors are Gentle Arts Cornhusk, Weeks Dye Works Onyx and a new color from Gentle Arts Antique Lace. It was stitched on 30ct R and R Reproductions American Chestnut and finished measures approximately 12 inches square.

The verse is one of my favorites. Be my ambition to excel in the blest art of doing well. I adore the sentiment and hope I in my own life take care to do well in all that I choose to do.

The pattern is available for purchase as either a printed or e-pattern. You can visit My Design page or e-mail me directly for more information, pricing, and to order. I have one more finish to show you (what I worked on while waiting for my thread to be delivered). Hopefully I will find the time to post it tomorrow; for now the time has come to start preparing dinner. I hope you enjoy the pattern and please let me know what you think of it.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn