*NEW* V is for Valentine

As things usually go when being inspired by life rather than doing things in proper order, the seventh letter in my series is actually the 22nd letter of the English alphabet. But hopefully no one will complain too loudly, because sometimes there is no controlling the creative portion of my brain.

I don’t have a planned release scheduled for this series. With 26 letters to chart, it might take me ten years to get through them all, since I have other ideas and plans and designs in the works too. They won’t be released in alphabetical order, but instead, as inspiration strikes. The one thing you can count on is that they will all be round, designed to fit into the same frame, which can be found on etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/178555694/6x6-picture-frame-with-circle-opening?ga_search_query=circle+frame&ref=shop_items_search_2 When you purchase a frame from their shop, they have generously offered a coupon code just for my customers! Enter HEARTSTRING10 at checkout to get ten percent off of your order (this coupon code won't work in MY shop, but only in the SignedandNumbered shop).

You could buy one frame and swap out the letters as you see fit, or a grouping of four or more of them for a nice collection to spell out your last name or a favorite word.

Or, you could finish your pieces as ornaments for an alphabet tree. The options are multiple; use your creativity!

Stitch Count: 80 x 80
Model stitched with one thread over two
on Nikyscreations 32ct. Old England

The Gentle Art threads:
Barn Grey, Onyx

Weeks Dye Works threads:
Loden, Red Rocks, Sanguine


Conversion to DMC included with the chart.

Frame by Signed and Numbered: 6” Circle Opening Vintage Red Dye


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* M is for Mermaid

As things usually go when being inspired by life rather than doing things in proper order, the sixth letter in my alphabet series is actually the 13th letter in the alphabet. But hopefully no one will complain too loudly, because sometimes there is no controlling the creative portion of my brain.

You all have been asking for years now, when I will get around to designing something mermaid-ish, nautical, ocean-themed; when, when, when? Well, I’ve finally found the perfect time to dive in head first (pun intended). I had so much fun with the colors, the flowing hair, the multi-shaded scales on their lovely tails. It is highly likely that merfolk will appear again in the designs of my future. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I have!

Mythical creatures are perhaps one of my favorite motifs on antique samplers; partly because they are rare, but mostly because they show a quality of imagination that I can identify with. In my formative years, all of the stories going on in my brain involved outer space or Pegasus or time travel or anything possible that wasn’t deemed “reality”. For some reason, mermaids weren’t high on my list of favorites; perhaps because I wasn’t fond of swimming and the thought of living under water made me feel claustrophobic. My utmost apologies to Tritan’s daughters and fans… I have had a change of heart.

I don’t have a planned release scheduled for this series. With 26 letters to chart, it might take me ten years to get through them all, since I have other ideas and plans and designs in the works too. They won’t be released in alphabetical order, but instead, as inspiration strikes. The one thing you can count on is that they will all be round, designed to fit into the same frame, which can be found on etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/178555694/6x6-picture-frame-with-circle-opening?ga_search_query=circle+frame&ref=shop_items_search_2 When you purchase a frame from their shop, they have generously offered a coupon code just for my customers! Enter HEARTSTRING10 at checkout to get ten percent off of your order (this coupon code won't work in MY shop, but only in the SignedandNumbered shop).

You could buy one frame and swap out the letters as you see fit, or a grouping of four or more of them for a nice collection to spell out your last name or a favorite word.

Or, you could finish your pieces as ornaments for an alphabet tree. The options are multiple; use your creativity!

Stitch Count: 80 x 80
Model stitched with one thread over two on R&R Reproductions' 32ct. Winter Brew

Using threads from:
Classic Colorworks: Poblano Pepper, Cinnamon Toast, Honeycomb
The Gentle Art: Green with Envy, Brethren Blue, Ruby Slipper
Weeks Dye Works: Skinny Dip, Havana, Collards, Holly, Cadet, Teal Frost


Conversion to DMC included with the chart.

Frame by Signed and Numbered:
6” Circle Opening Vintage Turquoise


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* B is for Beekeeper

As things usually go when being inspired by life rather than doing things in proper order, the fifth letter in my alphabet series is actually the 2nd. But hopefully no one will complain too loudly, because sometimes there is no controlling the creative portion of my brain.

After a few decades of being interested in keeping bees, I started my first hive this Spring. And now I don’t think there will ever be a time when I stop doing so. I am absolutely in love with the processes involved in caring for a honey bee colony, and find myself looking forward to each hive inspection as it comes, and being sad when I have to close up the hive for the week. These tiny creatures are fascinating and clever and inspiring all at the same time. I’m thrilled to be added to a long history of beekeeping on planet Earth.

Honeybees can thrive on their own without human intervention, but there is evidence to suggest that we have been interacting with them from as early as 7000 BC, based on traces of beeswax found in Middle Eastern pot sherds from that time. It appears that beekeeping on a commercial scale dates back to sometime before 2422 BC; on the walls of the sun temple of Nyuserre Ini in Egypt, workers are depicted blowing smoke into hives while they remove honeycomb. Archaeological finds related to beekeeping have been found on every continent.

I don’t have a planned release scheduled for this series. With 26 letters to chart, it might take me ten years to get through them all, since I have other ideas and plans and designs in the works too. They won’t be released in alphabetical order, but instead, as inspiration strikes. The one thing you can count on is that they will all be round, designed to fit into the same frame, which can be found here on etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/178555694/6x6-picture-frame-with-circle-opening?ga_search_query=circle+frame&ref=shop_items_search_2 When you purchase a frame from their shop, they have generously offered a coupon code just for my customers! Enter HEARTSTRING10 at checkout to get ten percent off of your order (this coupon code won't work in MY shop, but only in the SignedandNumbered shop).

You could buy one frame and swap out the letters as you see fit, or a grouping of four or more of them for a nice collection to spell out your last name or a favorite word.

Or, you could finish your pieces as ornaments for an alphabet tree. The options are multiple; use your creativity!

Stitch Count: 80 x 80
Model stitched with one thread over two
on Picture This Plus 32ct. Legacy

Using threads from:
The Gentle Art: Green with Envy, Grecian Gold, Endive, Pecan Pie
Weeks Dye Works: Sandcastle, Cocoa, Deep Sea, Gold, Teal Frost

Conversion to DMC included with the chart.

Frame by Signed and Numbered:
6” Circle Opening Super Vintage Roman Gold

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

Nashville Needlework Market 2017 Official Release Announcement

I will have five brand new designs available to wholesale shoppers who attend the Nashville Needlework Market the first weekend in March. Three of those designs will be exclusively available to attendees (but will be released to the general population one month after the show). Be sure to contact your favorite needlework shop owner and put in requests for any of these designs that you need to get your hands on right away!

Show attendees: I will gladly take pre-orders to have ready for you to pick up on Friday.




*Nashville Exclusive*
P is for Pomegranate: The Alphabet Series #4
Retail Price: $10

Model stitched with one thread over two
on Dames of the Needle 32 count Dirty Ewe
Using threads from The Gentle Art and Weeks Dye Works

Frame by Signed and Numbered:
6x6 Circle Opening Super Vintage Wood Tone

*Nashville Exclusive*
Let it Begin With Me
Retail Price: $10

Model stitched with one thread over two
on R&R Reproductions' 32 count Stars Hollow Blend
Threads: The Gentle Art, Classic Colorworks, & Weeks Dye Works

Hornbook by Perfect Prim Punch: Hornbook #39, 5.5 x 6.5 unfinished
(tutorial available on request).

*Nashville Exclusive*
Coffee Quaker: The Magical Elixir Series, Part II
Retail Price: $10

Stitch Count: 195 x 170

Model stitched with one thread over two on R&R Reproductions’ 40ct. Stars Hollow Blend

Weeks Dye Works: Palomino, Grasshopper

The Gentle Art: Maple Syrup, Dark Chocolate, Apple Cider, Picnic Basket, Caramel Corn, Ruby Slipper

Classic Colorworks: Hazelnut

Frame by Total Framing (details to follow at a later date)

The Redheaded Dog Sampler (a Faithfully Reproduced Antique Sampler)
Includes charts for the reproduction sampler along with three small projects designed by me, inspired by and in tribute to the original.

Retail Price: $14

Model stitched with one thread over two
on Zweigart 40 count Newcastle Cream
which I coffee stained after stitching.

Using DMC threads
Antique sampler shown in cover photo; model picture available on request, but at a later date (I forgot to do its photo shoot before mailing it to my Nashville suite! Oops.)

The Bird Collection, Part IV: American Robin, Song Sparrow, Tree Swallow
Retail Price: $12

Model stitched with one thread over two
on Picture This Plus 32 count Wren
Using threads from The Gentle Art and Weeks Dye Works

Frames were thrifted then refinished by me (tutorial available on request).

The Redheaded Dog and The Bird Collection are NOT exclusive to the Nashville show, and will be released in my etsy shop as soon as I get home from Nashville, as well as being available from my distributors.

Market Preview: Sneak Peeks!!!

You guys! I've been SO hard at work getting new pretties ready to release in Nashville next month. Next month! Its really, really hard to believe that my big, most anticipated trip of the year is right around the corner again.

I still feel like a total newbie in the industry, having only been designing for 9 years, and this being just my third time attending the show. But as each year passes, it is feeling more and more like a home away from home. If you ever get a chance to attend as a helper or a shop owner or even as a fly on the wall, you need to; its like Disneyland for stitchers.

I've got four new designs for sure, and I'm working as hard as I can to get the fifth done in time. Wish me luck? First up, I'm offering the following three designs as exclusives; this means that they will only be offered for sale for the first month to those that buy them directly from me at the Nashville show. They won't be available to anyone else until one month after the show ends. So if you can't wait to get your hands on them, let your local needlework shop owner know so they can pick a copy up for you at the show. They are, in no particular order:

P is for Pomegranate: The Alphabet Series #4
Retail Price: $10

Model stitched with one thread over two
on Dames of the Needle 32 count Dirty Ewe
Using threads from The Gentle Art and Weeks Dye Works

Frame by Signed and Numbered:
6x6 Circle Opening Super Vintage Wood Tone

Let it Begin With Me
Retail Price: $10

Model stitched with one thread over two
on R&R Reproductions' 32 count Stars Hollow Blend
Threads: The Gentle Art, Classic Colorworks, & Weeks Dye Works

Hornbook by Perfect Prim Punch: Hornbook #39, 5.5 x 6.5 unfinished
(pdf tutorial will be made available for finishing at home)

Coffee Quaker: The Magical Elixir Series, Part II
Retail Price: $10

Model stitched with one thread over two on R&R Reproductions' 40 count Stars Hollow Blend
Threads: The Gentle Art, Classic Colorworks, and Weeks Dye Works

Frame by Total Framing (details to follow at a later date)

If I can get it finished in time, I'll be releasing The Bird Collection, Part IV, but its a little touch-and-go at this point. I'm stitching and designing as fast as I can. If I don't finish it in time for the show, it will be out shortly thereafter. All I can tell you for sure is that it includes an American Robin. Yay! There will be 3 birds like in the other installments of the collection, and all stitched on Picture This Plus' 32 count Wren.

The other immediate release will be an antique reproduction, which I've enhanced by adding a few smalls that were inspired by the antique:

The Redheaded Dog Sampler (a Faithfully Reproduced Antique Sampler)
Retail Price: $14

Model stitched with one thread over two
on Zweigart 40 count Newcastle Cream
which I coffee stained after stitching.

Threads: DMC

Frame by Total Framing (details to follow at a later date)

*NEW* H is for Holly: The Alphabet Series #3

As things usually go when being inspired by life rather than doing things in proper order, the third letter in my alphabet series is actually the 8th. But hopefully no one will complain too loudly (wink, wink). I wasn’t planning to make the next installment seasonal in any way, but I kept looking at that RED frame, and suddenly knew exactly what needed to go inside.

I don’t have a planned release scheduled for this series. With 26 letters to chart, it might take me ten years to get through them all, since I have other ideas and plans and designs in the works too. They won’t be released in alphabetical order, but instead, as inspiration strikes.

The one thing you can count on is that they will all be round, designed to fit into the same frame, which can be found on etsy.

You could buy one frame and swap out the letters as you see fit, or a grouping of four or more of them for a nice collection to spell out your last name or a favorite word.Or, you could finish your pieces as ornaments for an alphabet tree. The options are multiple; use your creativity!


Stitch Count: 80 x 80
Model stitched with one thread over two onDames of the Needle 32ct. Dirty Ewe

The Gentle Art: Endive, Piney Woods, Pecan Pie, Ruby Slipper
Conversion to DMC included with the chart.

Frame by Signed and Numbered: 6” Circle Opening Super Vintage Red Dye: when you purchase a frame from their shop, they have generously  offered a coupon code just for my customers! Enter HEARTSTRING10 at  checkout to get ten percent off of your order (this coupon code won't  work in MY shop, but only in the SignedandNumbered shop).

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* A is for Acorn: the Alphabet Series, #2

This is the second alphabet design that came to me after deciding to embark on this series. And I can’t think of a better time to release it than now, on the verge of Autumn. Featuring some sassy little squirrels, plenty of acorns, and surrounded by a wreath of greenery, this round design could grace the center of a candle mat, the top of a pantry box, or live in a frame (as mine will). I hope you like it! And stick around… there are still 24 letters to go!

I don’t have a planned release scheduled for this series. With 26 letters to chart, it might take me ten years to get through them all, since I have other ideas and plans and designs in the works too. They won’t be released in alphabetical order, but instead, as inspiration strikes.

The one thing you can count on is that they will all be round, designed to fit into the same frame, which can be found on etsy.

You could buy one frame and swap out the letters as you see fit, or a grouping of four or more of them for a nice collection to spell out your last name or a favorite word.Or, you could finish your pieces as ornaments for an alphabet tree. The options are multiple; use your creativity!

Stitch Count: 80 x 79
Model stitched with one thread over two on R&R Reproductions' 32ct. Winter Brew.

All threads are from The Gentle Art: Old Hickory, Endive, Piney Woods, Pecan Pie
Conversion to DMC included with the chart.

Frame by Signed and Numbered: 6” Circle Opening Super Vintage Dark Wood Tone: when you purchase a frame from their shop, they have generously offered a coupon code just for my customers! Enter HEARTSTRING10 at checkout to get ten percent off of your order (this coupon code won't work in MY shop, but only in the SignedandNumbered shop).

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* O is for Old Glory: The Alphabet Series #1

I didn’t originally intend this to be the beginning of a series. It was simply a patriotic design idea that I loved. But as I sat stitching it, my mind began to wander and in a matter of minutes I had ideas for at least half of the alphabet. Why not? I asked myself. And the answer was a resounding Go for It!

I don’t have a planned release scheduled for this series. With 26 letters to chart, it might take me ten years to get through them all, since I have other ideas and plans and designs in the works too. They won’t be released in alphabetical order, but instead, as inspiration strikes.

The one thing you can count on is that they will all be round, designed to fit into the same frame, which can be found on etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/178555694/6x6-picture-frame-with-circle-opening?ga_search_query=circle+frame&ref=shop_items_search_2

When you purchase a frame from their shop, they have generously offered a coupon code just for my customers! Enter HEARTSTRING10 at checkout to get ten percent off of your order (this coupon code won't work in MY shop, but only in the SignedandNumbered shop).

You could buy one frame and swap out the letters as you see fit, or a grouping of four or more of them for a nice collection to spell out your last name or a favorite word. Or, you could choose to finish your pieces as pincushions or ornaments for an alphabet tree. The options are multiple; use your creativity!

Stitch Count: 76 x 70
Model stitched with one thread over two on Picture This Plus 32ct. Ale

All threads are from The Gentle Art: Brethren Blue, Old Hickory, Caramel Corn, Endive, Piney Woods, Pecan Pie, Ruby Slipper
Conversion to DMC included with the chart.

Frame by Signed and Numbered: 6” Circle Opening Super Vintage Navy

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