In Memoriam

Gratitude to all those who have served and died to defend our country and a prayer that all those serving now can return home to their families soon.


xoxo
Jennie Lynn

Eyelet Sampler Finished . . . I think?

Here is the completed eyelet sampler. Or perhaps partially completed? I can't decide whether or not to add a name on the bottom, under the last row of letters. It would have to be a relatively short name given the amount of room I left myself. I think it looks complete even without a name or date. What do you think?

Would you stitch it as is or would you prefer a name and date? The smaller alphabet up top is complete (minus the letter J) so you could always include your own name choice. With the addition of a name the sampler becomes almost a perfect square, though visually it registers as one now. I simply can't decide. Why is this decision so difficult for me? I think I obsess too much over details and I'm pretty sure my husband would agree.

I did choose to make a few letters in the light shade of cream. It blends really nicely and adds a nice contrast to the darker letters. I promise it shows up better in person and would probably in the photo as well if it wasn't overcast today. The eyelet stitches turned out beautifully and I'm already adding a few other speciality stitches to some of my designs. Though I think the next pattern I stitch will be more "prim" than my last few. I feel the need to return to simpler things and given the chaos about to descend upon me when school ends in three weeks "simple" will be a wonderful addition to my days.

I am anxious to hear what you ladies thing about the sampler. Finished? Name? No name? Date? No date? As soon as I decide (with some help from you) the pattern will be available for purchase. So don't be shy, ladies, opinions are always welcome, since if left to my own devices I'd never decide.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Mother's Day

I just love this picture. To me it completely captures motherhood. How I view the picture depends largely on the day I've had. Some days I imagine the older child making a gift of the fruit in the basket to her mother and the two younger children hugging her about the neck. Other days I imagine the older child complaining about having to do her chores and the two younger children fighting with one another while the mother attempts to keep them apart. I think what draws me to the picture is the mother's expression. It is simply the perfect combination of love and exhaustion. But then again isn't that what motherhood is?

So with that I wish a Happy Mother's Day to all women. As women we have all nurtured a soul (whether it be a child, husband, sibling or a friend) in a way that only a woman can and for that we have already received our reward but a day of applause doesn't hurt.

xoxo

Eyelet Alphabet Sampler

So many antique samplers I have seen have an alphabet comprised of eyelet stitches. I've always loved the way they looked. The stitches are so delicate and add a wonderful texture. I don't have much experience with working eyelet stitches. The last sampler I designed I added a few here and there just to get some experience and I adored the way they came out. I decided then to simply throw myself into the deep end and start working on a sampler I'd designed inspired by several antique ones I'd seen pictures of. I don't actually own any antique samplers of my own but they're on the "wish list" my husband keeps for anniversaries and birthdays and the like. There's a full alphabet of cross stitches and a partial alphabet of eyelet stitches as well as three borders of eyelet stitches. By the time I've completed this sampler I will certainly have plenty of practice!

I struggled with choosing the blue thread for the design. I tend towards blues that actually appear more grey. This is truly a blue and I was a little cautious as first; I wasn't sure if it was just too bright. The more I stitch with it the happier I am with my choice. It's very unusual for me not to change thread colors several times once I've begun stitching. How the tread looks stitched can be so different than how the skein itself looks. I am flirting with the idea of stitching a few letters with a lighter shade of white, only slightly darker than the background color actually. The thread barely shows up on the linen, but the texture of the eyelet stitches makes them slightly more noticeable. I've always loved the tone on tone effect and with some older samplers the threads have blended through age beautifully into the background. I'm not sure if I can achieve that effect or how it will look if I do but once I've stitched up the letters I'll post a photo and get some opinions.

The linen is new to me as well. It's a color from R&R that I've never worked with before. For another sampler I designed I wanted an aged white linen so I simply ordered a bunch of colors from several different lines. It's amazing how they all appear white when viewed alone, but when put together you can see subtle differences. One is yellow-white, one is blue-white . . . also different thread colors bring out different tones in the white. This particular linen is a grey-white and while it didn't work for the other sampler it looked wonderful with these colors.

I have no idea when this sampler will be completed. Eyelet stitches are a little more time consuming than I had anticipated so it's slow going. I promise more pictures as I make more progress. Until then, best wishes and happy stitching!

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Basket of Flowers Free Pattern

Another free pattern I won't get the time to stitch. At least not while flowers are still blooming. They'll be snow on the ground again by the time I get around to it.

Most of my free patterns were designed to be a component of a larger pattern, but ended up not fitting into the final design. Perhaps at some point they'll find a home in another design, but in the meantime it seems too much of a waste to let them sit in a folder on my desktop. Hopefully you ladies can find a use for this little guy. You can find the pattern on my Free Patterns page. Let me know what you come up with!

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

I won a giveaway!!!

I was lucky enough to win Ronda's giveaway at Simple Thyme Prims. The package arrived on Saturday just moments before we were starting coloring eggs. I didn't even get a chance to open the box until Sunday evening, but oh what a treat it was!!! I received one of what I refer to as her "signature rabbit pillows". I have been admiring them since I first happened upon Ronda's blog months ago. Trust me, it's even lovelier in person. The stained tea towel smells delicious; it's hanging on my drying rack right behind me and I can still smell it. She also gifted me some Weeks Dye Works threads and some gorgeous wool. I realized after I took the picture that the textured wool is on the bottom of the pile. I'm so excited; I've never worked with textured wool before.

I also received a cute little basket that is currently holding the treads for my latest project (pictures to come soon). There was also a bag of flavored jelly beans. I put them out on the table Monday afternoon and my children had a blast looking at the pictures and flavor descriptions on the back of the bag and then rooting around in the bowl for the flavor jelly bean they had chosen to taste. My husband picked out all the licorice ones. There was also a little bag of chocolate eggs; those I'm saving for myself.

Finally, my favorite item, the heart in hand wool pinkeep. Isn't it just breathtaking? The stitches are so tiny and perfect, the colors are so rich, the design is so perfectly prim . . . I could go on and on. It's been sitting on my bedside table for the last day and I keep finding myself stopping and staring at it, picking it up, admiring it. I adore it, I can't thank you enough Ronda. Thank you, thank you, thank you . . .

Dave and I managed to have "date night" last Friday. We had originally planned once a week but every other week seems more manageable right now. We're enjoying the time together so I'm sure as we get the hang of it we'll be doing it even more often than once a week. It's surprising how hard it is to schedule time together . . . but it is wonderful when it happens. This past week we played (believe it or not) Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit. Okay, so it's not exactly dinner and dancing but do you have any idea how expensive it is to hire a babysitter for four children? For now our "date nights" are at home with the two youngest put to bed and the oldest told in no uncertain terms that mommy and daddy are getting some time alone. Perhaps in the future we can arrange babysitting, or even something more romantic at home, but for now we both had a great time Friday night. I even beat him, which is surprising given I'd never even heard of Lord of the Rings before I met him. He did get his nose slightly bent out of joint (he has an ever so slight competitive streak) so maybe next time I'll let him win.

Ronda, thanks so much for hosting the giveaway. It was a lot of fun and really you give the best prizes. You can play the Easter Bunny at my house any year.

I tried linking this post to Ronda's blog but it seems to be disabled. I linked to her facebook page instead and she last posted on her wall yesterday so I hope all is well. Of course my just doing it wrong isn't out of the realm of possibility :)

xoxo

Another Butterfly Free Pattern

I had promised this buttefly months ago. I stitched her brother back in February and shared pictures and the pattern. If I don't stitch things the moment I'm finished designing them they tend to get lost in the shuffle. That's what happened to this little lady. I had planned on stitching her with GA Picnic Basket and GA Roasted Marshmallow (like her brother) but use a peach thread rather than the teal. I never even got so far as to pick the thread color :)

In the way of an apology for having made you wait so long I've also included the border that was meant to go with the butterflies with perhaps a name or the date inside. All three patterns can be used together or seperate but at least someone will get to stitch them since I can't seem to find the time. All three patterns can be found on my Free Patterns page. Enjoy!!!


xoxo

Jennie Lynn