Saturday Stitches

EA Selleck 1842 Antique Needlepoint (from my collection)

*NEW* Festive Little Fobs : Beekeeping Edition

This series, unlike the others that I’m in the midst of, has a clear start and finish, as well as a total number of volumes. There will be 12 total, one for each month of 2018. Some will be seasonal, the rest will have general themes, good for any time of year. The intent is for there to be a whole lot of littles that you can stitch for friends and/or that you can fill a little tree with. Imagine if you worked your way through this entire series; with at least 9 different motifs per chart, that’s a total of 108 little ornaments or fobs that you could fill an old feather tree with. Or 108 friends that you could spoil with the labors of your hands.

I’ve included basic instructions for a few of the fob finishes, but I encourage you to explore the internet on your own for the fabulous DIY tutorials there are out there on Floss Tube and Pinterest. I’m far from being an expert finisher, and easily confess that my methods aren’t new. The Silver Dollar finish might be original, but the other finishes are the same that are already out there. If you’re not a person that likes to finish their own stitching, I’m sure you can find a willing person out there to do it beautifully for you for a fee.

Each new theme will remain a mystery until the date of it’s release, but I think you’re going to love them all!

Stitch Count Varies: Approximately 30 x 30 or smaller for each fob

Models stitched with one thread over two
on Weeks Dye Works’ 36ct. Parchment

Using threads from Weeks Dye Works:
Blue Jeans, Bluecoat Red, Fawn, Gold, Grits, Havana, Lichen, Mocha, Oscar

Conversion to DMC included with the chart.

Additional Materials Suggested:
US Silver Dollar
Acid Free Card Stock
Felted Wool
Rick Rack, Mini Pom, Chenille, Braided Floss, Seam Binding, or other ribbon-type finishing notion
Large Lobster Clasp


This design is now available in my etsy shop, and will soon be in the hands of my distributors and the shops on my auto ship list. If you prefer to bypass etsy and order directly through me, you can send me an email: beth@heartstringsamplery.com

*NEW* Bee Garden

There aren’t many things I like better than sitting out in the orchard where my bee hives are positioned. Watching the honey bees as they come and go, buzzing from flower to flower is meditative and calming in ways I never imagined. On a warm, sunny afternoon, if my family can’t find me in the house, they know exactly where I’ll be, content and calm, and always reluctant to leave.

With the exception of those that are allergic, I think everyone should have a bee garden, large or humble, filled with flowers that are the favorites of bees. Early blooming flowers and especially late bloomers (for the end of the growing season, when the bees are especially hungry and wanting to store up for Winter); providing forage for the pollinators is the best thing a person could do to help insure the survival of my favorite insect. Even a single pot of a long-blooming perennial could mean one bee gets enough food to make it home at the end of a long day of searching.

If you don’t know which flowers to plant, or if you don’t have a green thumb and fear killing anything you put in the ground, check with a local garden club or horticultural society. Sometimes all you need is a bare bit of ground and some native plant starts and you can have a maintenance-free food plot for bees. I have a combination of both native flowers (which require very little intervention for them to thrive), and showy hybrid perennials that I find a my local garden center. I have heirloom plants and shrubs and humble wildflower mixes all planted side by side. The more I put in the flower beds, the less room there is for the weeds to take root. The flowers make my yard pretty, but most importantly, I feel good about feeding all the varieties of bees that live in my area. Including, but not limited to, my own sweet honey bees.

Stitch Count: 192 by 74
Model stitched with one thread over two on Picture This Plus 40ct. Legacy

Using flosses from:
Classic Colorworks: Onionskin, Honeycomb, Pine Needles
The Gentle Art: Green With Envy, Maple Syrup, Dark Chocolate, Ruby Slipper
Weeks Dye Works: Concord, Pink Sand

Conversion to DMC included with the chart.

This design is now available in my etsy shop, and will soon be in the hands of my distributors and the shops on my auto ship list. If you prefer to bypass etsy and order directly through me, you can send me an email: beth@heartstringsamplery.com

*NOW AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE* Prairie Life Sampler

The "Nashville Exclusive" status has been lifted, and this chart is now available for purchase anywhere my designs are sold.

Much to my great happiness, my 10-year-old daughter has become obsessed with all things related to the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, just as I was at the same age. She’s read all of the books (some of them multiple times), and we’re currently watching through the television series as a family. At some point this past Autumn, she turned to me and said, “Mama, all I want for my birthday is for you to design a sampler for me.” Be still, my heart! How could I say no to such a request? Once I had the design partially done, I showed it toher on my computer screen and she gasped out loud with delight. This nearly brought me to tears, if I’m being honest. At that point, I let her give input into the final version of the sampler. It was her idea to have Laura hold a fishing pole, to put in the tiny little copper penny beside the tin cup and candy cane (from Laura and Mary’s Christmas in the big woods. She requested the basket of eggs and lunch pail as well as the Grizzly Bear in the forest. I think we make a great team, don’t you? And when it came time to stitch the model, she was very intent on stitching that copper penny all by herself. I hope she treasures this sampler for the rest of her life.

The quote included in the sampler is from a letter written in 1947 by Laura Ingalls Wilder, addressed to the children that read her books. In the letter, she gave a brief update on many of the people in her stories, including herself, and closed with, “The Little House books are stories of long ago. The way we live and your schools are much different now, so many changes have made living and learning easier. But the real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong.” Good words that apply even now, another 70 years after being written.

Stitch Count: 203 x 203

Model stitched with one thread over two, one thread over one, and also includes some straight stitching.

R&R Reproductions’ 35ct. Classic Homespun

Weeks Dye Works threads: Beige, Straw, London Fog, Havana, Palomino, Dirt Road, Sage, Garrison Green, Caper, Molasses, Dolphin, Baked Apple, Deep Sea, Gold, Sanguine, Sand

Conversion to DMC included with the chart.

The lovely frame is by Valley House Primitives.

This design is now available in my etsy shop, and will soon be in the hands of my distributors and the shops on my auto ship list. If you prefer to bypass etsy and order directly through me, you can send me an email: beth@heartstringsamplery.com

Saturday Stitches

Rachael Holmes