June Blooms Free Pattern

I do enjoy designing and stitching these truly primitive designs. It's not a conscious choice but I always tend towards them this time of year. While my life takes a decided shift towards complete and utter insanity during Summer Vacation the simplicity of these designs are a welcome respite. I'm still waiting on the fabric to sew this into a little pinkeep. Click here to see it. Isn't it lovely?

I can't keep a garden for anything. A few years ago I stopped at a garden center and asked for the most resilient, hardest to kill plants they had. I bought a few and only one lasted longer than a month. I joke the only think I can grow is children. The closest I'll ever get to a garden of my own is a stitched one, which is fine by me.

The flower stems are done in a stem stitch that I freehanded; a simple backstitch would work well too. The colors are GA Garden Gate, GA Copper and CC Khaki Mocha and the linen was a R & R 30ct from my stash. If you would like to stitch it for yourself the pattern can be found here. Let me know what you think . . .

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

January Freebie -- Cross Stitch Pattern

Christmas is over but for me the spirit of the season keeps on for a little while longer. Each season brings its' own joys but Winter is for me special. There's something about the cold, harsh weather outside that is so uninviting and yet so nice to look at out a window. This time of year keeps everyone inside on the sofa by the fire. It just invites warm blankets and comfy pajamas; soul warming foods and heart warming snuggling. After eleven months of the year spent running here and running there, summer vacations, soccer games, dance recitals, school performances . . . After the stress of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas all piled up one on top of the other with barely time to breath in between . . . After all that, January offers me a chance to slow down before birthday season in our home begins. Those long, dark evenings with no errands to run or trips to the playground find me sitting on the sofa with one of my children; we talk we laugh we play and I feel that I'm getting a chance to know them again without all the hustle and bustle that so often crowds out moments like that. Occasionally even my husband takes that spot on the sofa if he can squeeze in between one of the children.

In honor of those moments here is my January freebie. It could defintely be a Christmas design but it makes me think of those Winter months I adore so much. Where I grew up the deer would be out in the woods behind our house well into March hiding in and about the snow covered trees. I used Gentle Arts Oatmeal, Picnic Basket and a Christmas Limited Edition color called Christmas Tree (though Gentle Art Blue Spruce would work well too). The design is 41 squares wide and 66 squares long and is about 2 by 3 inches stitched on 40ct as I've done. If you would like to print out the pattern click on the link in my sidebar. I hope you enjoy stitching it during your quiet winter moments.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Meg's Flower -- Wool Applique

Before cutting into my new wool I decided to finish stitching an applique I started months ago. It's been sitting in a tin in my dining room all that time. Every once and awhile I would look at it, occassionally I would take it out and lay it on the table, sometimes I would carefully place all the pieces, there were even times I threaded the needle. Then I hastily put it all back and hid the tin behind something so as to not have it mock me. Like I said I'm new to wool applique (this is only my second project) and my confidence is a little low. Though I have to say I'm very happy with how this came out and and now have renewed confidence to tackle my other projects.

I used Gentle Arts Simply Wool for the stitching; I like the fuzzy look. As you can see I'm still not confident enough to applique something as thin as a flower stem so I decided to embroider the stem instead. The little lazy daisy flowers in the circles were my husband's idea or at least they were how I interpreted the little doodle he did. I'm still not sure how to "finish" it. Do I back it with wool, felt, quilting cotton? Do I stitch on the little "tabs" I see on penny rugs? Do I get another larger piece of wool to back it and cut little scallops around the edge? More circles within the tabs or scallops, maybe a few more daisies? Any ideas? For now I think it will simply lay on my hanging rack for me to draw inspiration from if my confidence wanes while working on my other projects.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn