New Pattern Release... Poppy Maye Russell

Poppy Maye Russell was proud of her name. There were no other girls in the county named after her most favorite flower of Summertime, and she liked how it felt to have a unique title. She was rather fond of running barefoot through the grasslands, and could often be found climbing trees and daydreaming in the midst of a patch of wildflowers, watching the birds soar overhead. She didn’t much like being kept indoors during the cold, wet months, but tried to keep busy and be as industrious as her loving Mama.

Poppy’s sampler was worked in the evenings while her Papa read from the Farmer’s Almanac or the latest newspaper to reach their remote town. She carefully placed her letters on the linen, keeping them as straight as a row of peas, wishing the days until the Spring awakening would fly by. She smiled as she added her signature Poppy flower, then fanciful towering vines of wildflowers, and finally, a favorite snippet of a poem from her English Reader: “See the early blossoms springing See the jocund lambkins play Hear the lark and linnet singing Welcome to the newborn day”.

She planned to hang it on the wall in her corner of the sleeping loft so that in future winters she would have a bright reminder of warmer seasons to come.

Although my character, Poppy Maye is fictional, the portion of poetry on her sampler is real, taken from a book called Introduction to the English Reader. This charming book can be found in its entirety and downloaded as a free PDF from Google Books.

I am ever grateful to Donna Gabbard for stitching the sampler model for me. A perfect stranger to me, yet willing to take on a time-consuming project, and at the end, sending it away with a smile. I am happy that she is no longer a stranger, but rather counted as a friend.

Stitch Count: 306 x 100

Model stitched on Weeks Dye Works 35ct. Cappuccino linen

Using Weeks Dye Works flosses: 1193 Guacamole, 1228 Pecan, 1230 Havana, 1236 Mocha, 1331 Brick, 1332 Red Pear, 2202 Bullfrog

Conversion to DMC provided.

Frame by Valley House Primitives.
Profile: MCN, Color: Dark Ale, Design: Old Wood

This pattern is now available in my etsy shop, and on its way to my distributors soon. If you don't have an etsy account, you can always contact me directly to purchase the pattern at: beth@heartstringsamplery.com