*NEW* My Shadow

Her origins began on a cold December evening in 2008, as I was decorating for Christmas. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen, I created a papercutting titled, “NOEL 1887”.

A full year later, I was taking a slightly different direction in my business, moving away from finished goods and fully embracing my sampler designing work. A flash of inspiration, and the original shape of my dancers became the logo that I now use to represent me. I first introduced her on January 15, 2010, saying:

Meet my shadow, formed from paper

with scissors and knife,

born from a seed of inspiration

that was certainly planted by God.

She represents the feeling I truly want to convey, that the designs I present to the world, are all creations that spring forth from my heart. I am strongly convicted to never, ever offer a design that is not meaningful in some way to me. I will not offer designs that were made just to generate money, but rather to generate an emotional response, a resonation in the hearts of my customers.

And so, she has come full-circle, My Shadow, now depicted not with paper, but with needle and thread, and a motto that hopefully will resonate with you as much as it does with me:

With only a silver needle

and a string from the depths of my heart

I will stitch love and beauty

into the warp and weft of the world.

Warp and Weft: Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric. The longitudinal threads are called the Warp and the lateral threads are the Weft. 

My Shadow would still be waiting in a “designs to be stitched” folder if it wasn’t for the generous and patient Donna Gabbard, who willingly took on a project calling for Black, Black, and more Black. With an extra skein of Black thrown in for good measure! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your time and the result of your skill is a gift that I will cherish for all of my days.

Stitch Count: 191 x 292

Model stitched on Weeks Dye Works 40ct. Linen

Using Weeks Dye Works 1094 Linen and 3900 Kohl (5 skeins)

When I set out to find a frame for this design, I had something in particular in mind, and was super excited to find Homecraft Framing on etsy. Dona has been making frames for a very long time, and understands the world of cross-stitch. I highly recommend that you check out her shop the next time you are looking for a painted frame for one of your pieces.

My Shadow is now available in my etsy shop and will be going out to my distributors soon. If you prefer to order directly through me, you can send me an email: beth@heartstringsamplery.com