My husband is sneaky . . .

My husband is quite sneaky. My Valentine's present along with these lovely flowers and some chocolates (most of which were eaten long before I could take a photo of them) was the BBC Series The Hour on DVD. Though my husband and I watch BBC America quite a bit I had never intended to watch this particular show. It was complete happenstance I turned on that first episode one evening this past Summer but within the first fifteen minutes I had already decided I was staying up late that night to watch the remaining episodes through our cable company's "on demand" service. I enjoy the show very much and of course had to start watching it that very evening. Now for the sneaky part . . .

Most evenings my husband and I watch television together I'm stitching, so he's relegated to his side of the sofa, opposite me. Now he knows that The Hour is a show I enjoy so much I will not stitch during it, leaving my lap free of linens and threads and available for him to rest his head in. The series is six episodes affording him at least three nights of my running my fingers through his hair instead of stitching. Sneaky. This isn't the first time he's done it either. We seem to have a growing collection of movies and television shows that I will not stitch while watching. Sneaky, sneaky. My husband rarely comes right out and says what he's feeling (he says it's a by-product of being British) but I think this is his way of saying he's jealous of my stitching. His most recent attempt to rid himself of his rival will most likely affect my productivity over the next week but to be honest I would much rather snuggle with my husband than stitch most any night. Just don't tell him that . . . there's a few more DVD's I'd like to add to our collection first ;)

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Happy Valentine's Day!

Young love . . .

I'm sorry I've been so quiet lately but it was chaos last week and this week is shaping up along those same lines. Unfortunately, I have nothing in the way of stitching to share, but thought this was appropriate for Valentine's Day.

Between my two sons I never would have imagined Benjamin to be the first to experience "puppy love". He's always been a bit of a loner, happy in his solitude, showing the most affection to his lovey, a stuffed puppy he's had since he was a baby. We were all a bit surprised when he started talking about a little girl in his class named Lily. Given the smile on his face whenever he spoke of her it was obvious to all of us she was special. Their friendship has grown over the last several months, on the school play ground, across the school lunch table and during play dates and birthday parties. Last month Lily helped his choose the guests for his birthday party and just last week Benjamin came home from school with "I [heart] Lily" scrawled on his arm. She wrote it for him, apparently. Whoever gets to school first will wait for the other at the door so they can walk in together, usually holding hands, but only after they hug. At the end of the day Benjamin holds the door open for her as they leave the school. I asked him awhile back if Lily was pretty. He giggled and said he didn't know how to tell if she was pretty. I told him that someone is pretty if looking at them makes you smile. He said, then yes, Lily was very pretty.

The picture above is of a Christmas card from Lily to Ben. On the inside she has written:

Dear, Ben

Mary Christmas you'r my B-frend. I love you. xoxoxoxo Lily

Benjamin made a point of showing me that there were four xo's at the bottom of the page and telling me that those meant hugs and kisses.

This photo is of one of Ben's writing project from right before Christmas. For those of you who find it difficult to decipher the handwriting of an 8 year old I will translate:

I love to make Lilian smile. I make her smile when we play together, when I tikle her and when we have fun together. I love to make people smile.

I know he's only 8 years old but I think he has the right idea. Who knew so much could be learned from the love letters of children? Is there really any greater joy than making someone you love smile? My son already knows that joy and I hope he carries that with him always. If there's anything I have learned about marriage it's that there are so many things that can get in the way of that feeling, that obscures the purity of just making someone you love smile. I have to thank Benjamin for reminding me of it . . . .

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

My Tattered Suitor

He's a scraggly little man, dingy and worn.
His heart (along with some of his stuffing) is bare for his love to see.
Perhaps not the most striking suitor to be seen, but adorable nonetheless.
We can only hope the object of his affection agrees.

This is a very simple pattern. My original idea was much more . . . elaborate. On days I feel particularly creative all my ideas get jumbled up with one another and I have a tendency to focus them all on a single project. Once I get to working, though, I am always drawn to the simplest expressions. The single appliqued heart said exactly what I wanted to say in the plainest way possible and when it comes to prim isn't that always best?

I'm offering the doll pattern to you as a free pattern. It's a design that lends itself well to virtually any embellishment for any occasion. If you're interested in the free pattern you can download it from my Free Pattern page. If you have any trouble downloading the pattern in the newer format let me know and I'll be happy to e-mail you the pattern as a PDF attachment.

Feel free to use the pattern any way you like and be sure to share with me your finishes. I hope you enjoy him and I can't wait to see what you come up with.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Valentine's Heart Garland

I've been promising a tutorial and I've finally finished it up this afternoon so here goes . . .

Supplies:
sheet music, book pages, or make your own
watercolor paper (if you're making your own pages)
coffee stain (if you're making your own pages)
heart punch or template for cutting
hole punch or a large eye needle
twine, ribbon, string for hanging

Here are the instructions for my Heart Garland made of "faux" antique music paper. I did try real antique music paper but the sheets I had were too thin and didn't take well to being sewn together so I had to come up with an alternative. I decided to use watercolor paper which worked quite well. It was thick enough to withstand having the twine pulled through it but not quite as thick as cardstock would have been. It also has a lovely texture to it, especially when aged. I simply sprayed both sides with a coffee mixture using a spray bottle and then "baked" each sheet in the oven for a minute or two. I then printed "The Wedding March" onto each sheet, front and back. You can download the sheet music I used here. I used a heart punch to cut out each individual heart but I've also included a template you can use to cut out your own.

I then layered three hearts together, making little "sandwiches) held with a paperclip. I used a small hole punch about every quarter of an inch down the center of the heart and then "sewed" the three hearts together using twine. I left about three inches between each heart as I strung them together and a tail on either end for hanging. You can also sew without pre-punched holes using a large eye needle though I would suggest using something thinner like ribbon to string the hearts. Fold the two hearts on the outside of the "sandwiches" away from the center to open the hearts and then hang.

Suggestions:

You can string as long a garland as you would like but if you'd like to make a garland more then five feet long I would suggest working in segments no longer than five feet. Any longer and the whole thing becomes unwieldy.

Cut the tip of your string or twine on the diagonal to create a nice point for threading through your hearts and then dip the edge into some white glue and let it dry. It will stop your twine from fraying.

You can also create a page of romantic poetry or verse to print out and cut into hearts. You can make every few words red and then print in color so each of your hearts have a little red in them. You can also use images of antique Valentine's Cards or intersperse a few hearts of images on a strand with sheet music or poetry. I think that will be my next garland.

Here's a closeup of my heart garland hanging under one of the shelves in the living room.

This is my first tutorial so I hope everyone enjoys it and that it was easy enough to understand. It's hard to believe Valentine's Day is already less than a month away. I still have so many things I want to finish to display around the house. I better get busy. Hopefully, I'll have more to share with all of you soon.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

St. Valentine's Day Free Pattern

I promise you I had every intention of stitching this by now . . .

What's that expression? Man plans and God laughs . . . after this past week I have no problem believing that.

It's a tiny pattern, only 1.5 inches by 2 inches when done over two on 40 count. With any luck I'll have it done by St. Valentine's Day but I wouldn't be at all surprised if some of you had it done before me.

If you'd like to download the pattern simply click on the Free Patterns link on my sidebar. Maybe pictures of some of your finishes will compel me to get started on it.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Seek Thy Love -- A Pattern to Purchase

Seek Thy Love is finally finished and ready to be purchased. My valentine to you. If you wish to view more pictures of or information about the finished design and pattern simply click on the link on my sidebar.

If you would like to purchase the pattern for $6.50 which includes shipping charges simply send me an e-mail using the link on my sidebar or directly at appleseedprim@yahoo.com. The pattern is also available on etsy, simply click on the link on my sidebar.

The pattern booklet includes a color photo, easy to read charts, as well as suggested thread colors and linens. It also includes a printed chart of the free pattern Peahen's Valentine. If you would like to download that pattern seperately please click on the Free Patterns link on my sidebar. The peahen was originally designed as part of the 1805 Valentine panel of Seek Thy Love but I opted instead for the Queen's and King's crowns. Of course the design is still lovely and complements Seek Thy Love well and you could easily incorporate a third panel if you choose or make a seperate little pincushion.

I hope you enjoy the pattern. Let me know what you think and remember I love seeing finishes of any of my patterns.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

St. Valentine's Day Free Pattern -- Cross Stitch

Here is the St. Valentine's Day Free Pattern. It's a complement to the pattern for purchase Seek Thy Love which I will post tomorrow. The pattern is entitled Peahen's Valentine. Year after year my husband complains that Valentine's Day is a "woman's" holiday, that men are primarily ignored in the area of recieving gifts and being pampered. I'm not sure that's entirely true but even if it were I, personally, have no problem with that. The peahen (rather than the more traditional peacock) is in honor of that spirit. The colors used are GA Pumpkin Patch, GA Dark Chocolate, GA Heirloom Gold, GA Grecian Gold and GA Shaker White and it is stitched on 40 count Weeks Dye Works Angel Hair. (The same colors and one of the linens used in the Seek Thy Love pattern.) If you would like print the free pattern simply click on the link on my sidebar. I hope you enjoy the pattern and consider purchasing Seek Thy Love. The two patterns really do look quite lovely together.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn