*NEW* Three Little Proverbs

Inspired by all the countless old pieces of needlework that contain snippets from the book of Proverbs, and with a return to a slightly more primitive style, I offer you this little collection of mini samplers. All three designs use the exact same colors, so they are well-suited for grouping together. Included in the booklet are three separate charts plus an all-caps alphabet and number set so that you can customize with your own initials and the date of your choosing.

Proverbs 8:11 (For wisdom is better than rubies...)
Stitch Count: 179 x 86

Proverbs 15:1 (A gentle answer turns away wrath...)
Stitch Count: 65 x 160

Proverbs 17:17 (A friend loveth at all times...)
Stitch Count: 90 x 165

All Models stitched on Weeks Dye Works 40ct. Mocha
Using flosses from The Gentle Art: 0350 Mulberry, 0410 Tarnished Gold, 7007 Cidermill Brown, 7018 Woodrose, 7039 Bayberry, 7061 Caramel Corn, 7080 Endive, 7097 Pecan Pie

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

Reward

I've been knocked out of my blogging mojo by the new school year and its schedule. I'm typically a morning writer, but I've made the decision to spend four mornings a week at the school helping my kids' teachers. The Kindergartener is only there from 9-11:40, which also happens to be the start of the Second Grader's lunch. So I stay and help teachers, then we eat lunch together, then I take the Girl home for a few hours while we wait until the final bell ring. I'm very happy with this arrangement, but have felt a little guilty for leaving you wondering when I will ever start leaving notes for you again.

Your favorite news will be that although my blogging has been scarce, my stitching and designing is still operating at the same pace. I'm nearing the end of a trio of samplers that will be offered in a booklet together. I love it when a project is nearing an end. Other than finalizing the designs, perhaps my favorite part is choosing which will be my next model.

As I find myself within a day or two of finishing, it is such a delightful reward to make the final decisions on threads and linen, pulling them and readying them so that I can put in the last stitch, then move immediately to the first stitch on my next baby. You can relate, can't you? That feeling of having a brand new something just waiting to be started. Somehow it motivates me to stitch even more quickly than before, my needle practically begging me to start weaving its way through a new piece of linen.

Timothy Lake

A few weekends ago we took a day trip to a nearby lake. Driving there in the Farmboy's Jeep with the top removed turned it into an even better, although windy, adventure.

Just a few miles up the highway, the views of our very own Mt. Hood are spectacular.

Once at the lake, we hiked in to a more secluded spot away from the crowded day use area. Our dear friends were camping there and let us crash their party for the day.

Come dinner time, smoke began wafting across the water from all the neighboring camp sites... there aren't many things that taste better than a hot dog cooked over fire in the fresh outdoor air.

And there aren't many better places to be caught stitching.

This smart Mama remembered to pack the mummy bags for the chilly return trip home.

I wouldn't want to live anywhere else on this whole glorious planet Earth.

And so it Begins...

It had apparently been quite a long time since I stitched on a piece of Weeks' 40 count linen. So when I picked up my newest project, started up my needle, and my eyeballs kept getting crossed instead of the threads, I thought I needed a new lightbulb in my lamp.

The new lightbulb did not help.

Sitting in a different chair with a different lamp helped only slightly.

Stitching by daylight helped only slightly more than slightly.

So I did what any intelligent woman would do.

I bought my first pair of stitching glasses.

I thought stitching glasses were at least a decade in my future.

But the glasses did the trick, so I'm just going to have to admit it...
this Spring chicken is all grown up.