I'll take credit for that

Since school ended last week things have been very quiet, at least as far as stitching is concerned.  It's been, really, the only thing around here that has been quiet :)

Since I have nothing new to share from my own hands I thought I would show you the work of someone else.

I don't garden.  I don't even have houseplants.  The folks at our local garden nursery center know me well and each Spring they try dutifully to guide me through caring for one delicate little seedling.  Each year I purchase one and I make a deal with myself that if it survives a month I will purchase another and so on.  I have yet to care for a plant that has survived beyond six weeks. I have dreams of a beautiful garden crafted from my own hands but for the time being I will have to admire the work of someone else.

I have no idea who planted these wonderful flowers.  When we bought the house six years ago it had had only two previous owners.  The owners before us were a brother and sister who both attended college in the area.  Their parents had purchased the house for them to live in and rented out the remaining bedrooms to other students.  No offense intended, but given the state of the house when we purchased it I can't imagine they spent much time tending the yard ;)

The family who owned the house before them were the descendants of the original builders of the home and I can only imagine it was a member of that family who possessed the "green thumb" I have come to envy so.

Every year these flowers bloom without being tended to at all.  As a matter of fact I'm afraid that if I so much as stand too close to them it will be their demise.  It amazes me that each year they bloom without being tended to at all.  They've even survived my children's antics in our yard, including digging up half of it while searching for buried treasure one Summer.

Perhaps Mother Nature seeing my heartfelt efforts (and heartbreaking failures) has taken pity on me and tends these flowers on my behalf.  I imagine that whoever planted them looks in on her garden from time to time and is quite pleased they continue to bloom.  No matter, I will continue to enjoy them and feel blessed that it is my yard they choose to grace.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Perninah Frye Sampler

This sampler was a long time in the making, but well worth the wait!

I designed it last Summer and as with some of my designs it began being charted all as one color.  Usually, once the design is complete and it's simmered in my mind for a few days I have a color palette (or two or three) I want to try but with this sampler . . . nothing.  Nada.  Zip.  For almost a whole year.  Then just a month or so ago I was inspired and my fingers couldn't move fast enough to stitch up this little sampler that had been so patient for so long.

 

The sampler contains two alphabets, one uppercase and one lowercase.  The alphabet is a little funky as I don't think any two letters are the same size, but I believe that adds to the charm.  There are a total of four Gentle Art thread colors used in the sampler and they all blend together so nicely.  As a matter of fact, when stitching at night I found it difficult to tell the thread colors apart, as my threads are usually a jumbled mess on my stitching table.  It was stitched on a 30 ct R & R Reproductions linen from my stash that I must admit was a tad too small for this sampler (there is barely two inches of linen around the pattern) but the color was too perfect not to use for this piece.  The motto of the prim artist: make do.

  

The sampler also a name, Perninah Frye (I just adore that name), her age (9 years), and a date (1773).  There are also two (I deemed them apple) trees and a small farmhouse on the bottom of the sampler.  The actual piece is 177 by 157 squares and is approximately 12 inches square when stitched on 30ct linen. 

The pattern is available as an e-pattern and the cost is $8.50.  I have been having the darndest time figuring out the new Blogger format (am I the only one?) so it may be awhile before I am able to update My Designs page.  Orders can still be placed from it I just haven't been able to figure out how to add anything new to it and to be honest I stop trying to figure it out the moment I get the urge to bang my head on the keyboard. 

So, for the time being, if you would like to order Perninah Frye as an e-pattern simply e-mail me at appleseedprim@yahoo.com and I'll be happy to send you an invoice. 

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Memorial Day

Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare

The shaft we raise to them and thee.

                                                   -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sneak Peek

I am sorry for my recent absence from Blogger.  My mother was having issues with her health that required she be hospitalized for a few days.  Though I do enjoy blogging, it quite suddenly became the least important thing in my life.  She's home now and doing much better.  With some luck she should be fully recovered in just a few weeks :)

I did promise a sneak peek at my latest sampler.  It's almost completed and should be released next week.  I took these photos earlier today.  That soft glow isn't a photo effect.  It is so humid outside that my camera lens kept fogging up.  It does make the photos awfully pretty, though.

Hopefully things will quiet down here for a week or two before Summer Recess begins and not only will I be able to finish this sampler but begin the next.   I already have the threads and linen chosen and I'll be sharing that with you soon.

I hope all of you enjoy this holiday weekend.  I, for one, am hoping for a good, strong thunderstorm to dispel at at least a little of this humidity.  I'll be sure to enjoy our picnic much more if I'm not sweating all over my food :)

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Happy Mother's Day

     

My Great Grandmother Charlotte and my Grandmother Alice

 My Mother Loretta

Women know
The way to rear up children (to be just)
They know a simple, merry, tender knack
Of tying sashes, fitting baby shoes,
And stringing pretty words that make no sense, And kissing full sense into empty words.

~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Peace(ful)work

I tried piecework first years ago, right after my husband and I were married.  I'd never done it before and realized quickly that I did not enjoy it.  Rather than being the peaceful retreat I had hoped for I found it downright infuriating.  I'm a bit of a perfectionist and lacking the skill I was always disappointed in my efforts.  So I packed away the little collection of quilting tools I had acquired and re-acquainted myself with cross stitch.  An early love, I found this to be my perfect companion and never gave piecing another thought.

Since then I have never wavered from my stitching but my tastes have changed.  Discovering the world of primitive work and antique reproductions has provided me with a small corner of my life where I am free from my perfectionism and without that I am quite sure I would have gone mad years ago.  I have applied this principal to my stitching, sewing, decorating . . . it has extended its' reach throughout my life (thankfully).  It occurred to me a few months ago (I'm not sure what took me so long) that I might extend that philosophy into piecework as well.

It took longer than I had planned (as do most things) but I couldn't be happier with the results.  I chose colors and placement based on what I had in my stash and what pleased my eye and forgot all those rules I'd read about years ago.  The borders are pieced because I had strips left over from making the squares and saw no reason to let them sit unused.

My seams don't line up.

My points aren't perfect.

You know what?  I don't care.  Say it with me.  I DON'T CARE.  That felt good :) 

I am pleased with it.  So much so I believe I will quilt and bind it (first time I've ever been happy enough with a piece to invest that much additional work into it) as soon as I'm caught up on some of my stitching that is.  I did promise you progress on that sampler . . .

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

P.S. I forgot to add the photos when I posted earlier . . . that's what I get for bloggin and cooking at the same time :)

Stress, Sun & Stitching

Stress certainly has a way of seeping in all areas of one's life, doesn't it?  At least for me if I'm really stressed about something I tend to enjoy everything else less.  The car (thankfully) is due back by the end of today and it might actually come to less than expected (hooray).  There was even sun yesterday, if only for a day.  In an attempt to lighten my mood I headed outside with Mina to select some floss colors.

There really is nothing like natural sunlight to make everything seem brighter :)

I've had this particular sampler design sketched out since last summer but just can't seem to commit to a color palette.  I've narrowed it down some but still have a ways to go.

I think I might just have to go ahead and begin stitching through my doubts.  I think it's one of those situations where I'm talking myself out of believing I've made the right choices.  After this past week a little lack in confidence is to be expected and it may have slowed me down a tad but I refuse to let it stop me all together.  So keep an eye out for the first few stitches of this (as yet unnamed) sampler.  With any luck you'll be seeing them soon.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn