*NEW* Gather Ye Tulips

I can’t even really put my finger on the moment of inspiration for this design. I had seen a super folky and sweet old sampler on an antiques web site that had a girl on a horse. I liked the idea, but stashed it away in my brain for awhile. Then somehow, when I sat down to create my own version, she ended up riding on a Stag! And they were frolicking along through a field of tulips, of all things. The opening stanza of Robert Herrick’s poem, “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” came to my mind,

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying.

The over-riding message of Herrick’s work is that life is short, the world is beautiful, love is splendid, and we must use the short time we have to make the most of it. I hope he doesn’t mind that I tweaked his poem just a little, by substituting a different flower!

Stitch Count: 146 x 120
Model stitched on Weeks Dye Works 40ct. Beige

Using flosses from The Gentle Art: 0540 Brandy, 1150 Flax, 7019 Pomegranate,
7057 Roasted Marshmallow, 7061 Caramel Corn, 7080 Endive

And flosses from Weeks Dye Works: 1134 Cherub, 1171 Dove, 1230 Havana

This design is now available in my etsy shop, is being displayed this weekend by Norden Crafts at the TNNA show in Nashville, and will be going out to my other distributor and the shops on my automatic shipments list today. If you prefer to bypass etsy and order directly through me, you can send me an email: beth@heartstringsamplery.com