*NEW* East or West

"One's home is like a delicious piece of pie you order in a restaurant on a country road one cozy evening - the best piece of pie you have ever eaten in your life - and can never find again. After you leave home, you may find yourself feeling homesick, even if you have a new home that has nicer wallpaper and a more efficient dishwasher than the home in which you grew up.” ~Lemony Snicket

This little design was inspired by a couple of folky old hooked rugs, my childhood home next to a family dairy farm, and the forest that surrounds my now-home. It was fun from the first mark in my computer software to the last stitch crossed over linen. I have an inkling of a thought that it may one day also turn up as a hooked, punched, or appliqued design, but for now, let the cross-stitchers have at it!

Stitch Count: 154 x 76
Model stitched on Weeks Dye Works 30ct. Confederate Gray

Using flosses from The Gentle Art: 0410 Tarnished Gold, 0930 Deep Sea, 7007 Cidermill Brown, 7044 Dungarees, 7055 Uniform Blue, 7057 Roasted Marshmallow

And from Weeks Dye Works: 2200 Kudzu, 2202 Bullfrog, 2254 Cinnabar

Frame by Valley House Primitives.

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

*NEW* Victorian Posey Pinkeep (a Faithfully Reproduced Antique Pincushion)

I’m not generally a huge fan of Victoriana. At least not the overly floral and foofy parts of that era. But something about this old cushion was alluring to me, so I placed a bid on its online auction, and was pleased when I won.

Undated, unsigned, stained, faded, worn, but still retaining all of its original beads. When I first received it, I was a bit disappointed, because the beads were so scratched up that they looked like plastic. It was only after one of the loops broke and I got a closer look at the edges that I realized they were indeed glass, and appear to have been hand-cut, due to their irregularity.

I can’t glean much else from this old piece, but can tell you that I enjoyed every second of reproducing it for you. I hope that you have fun with this project too.

Stitch Count: 68 x 77
Model stitched on Weeks Dye Works 30ct. Confederate Gray linen

Using flosses from The Gentle Art: 0620 Apricot Blush, 1030 Banker’s Grey, 7005 Old Red Paint, 7024 Tin Bucket, 7033 Harvest Moon, 7042 Raven, 7057 Roasted Marshmallow, 7072 Raspberry Frost

And flosses from Weeks Dye Works: 1171 Dove, 2201 Moss

Recommended Additional Materials:
1 fat quarter of plain muslin
Crushed Walnut Shells or Sawdust for filling
360 beads, 5mm length

I do have enough beads leftover for 8 of you to order. I have made them available in 27 gram packets, each having around 275 beads; more than enough if your pincushion is finished according to my instructions. There is a separate listing in my etsy shop for the beads. If I find that there are more than 8 of you that want the beads, I can continue to order bulk bags as needed. I am selling them to you for just enough to cover my cost plus shipping.

As usual, you can find the listing for this, my newest release, in my etsy shop. You can also contact me directly via email if you prefer to bypass PayPal.

New Release... Now Christmas is Come

Never too late for a new Christmas design, right?

Introducing... Now Christmas is Come

It began with the frame, a lovely vintage oval that has been sitting in my closet for a few years. The perfect dirty cream color, and here I am, in the mood for Christmas.

Something simple, cheerful, heartfelt and festive was certainly in order. After designing the border, I did some searching online for a perfectly Victorian Christmas quote, and what did I find, but a snippet from an old English folksong, as quoted by Washington Irving in his book The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon:

Now Christmas is come,
Let us beat up the drum,
And call all our neighbors together;
And when they appear,
Let us make them such cheer,
As will keep out the wind and the weather.

Now doesn’t that invoke feelings of nostalgia and longing for wassail and a crackling fire? Oh, to have an old-fashioned drawing room and fur muffs and a sleigh ride!

Stitch Count: 180 x 114

Model stitched on Zweigart 40ct. New Castle Cream linen which was coffee stained prior to stitching.

Using flosses from The Gentle Art:
1170 Dark Chocolate, 7019 Pomegranate, 7080 Endive

As usual, this pattern is available for purchase in my etsy shop for $10 (shipping is free to the USA), but you can also order it directly through me via email (beth@heartstringsamplery.com) or you can wait until your local needlework shop has it in stock (if they don't carry my designs, ask!)

New Release... Let Us Be Truly Thankful

Never too late for a little bit of Thankfulness, eh? Its a quick stitch, taking me just 3 evenings to finish it up, so you could conceivably have this ready to give as a hostess gift by Thanksgiving, or to hang on your own wall.

Every year, I am both annoyed and grateful that my most favorite holiday seems to be skipped over by the machinery of commercialism. Grateful because I’m glad it remains simple and unadorned. Annoyed because it seems to mean that the masses aren’t interested in the celebration. Perhaps I am completely wrong. I hope I am wrong. But in the meantime, I satisfy myself by creating my own little tokens to make my home festive.

Knowing that there isn’t a whole lot available in the way of patterns to stitch for Thanksgiving, I thought I would make a yearly tradition of offering one to you (you can find last year's free chart here).

Stitch Count: 101 x 61
Model stitched on Weeks Dye Works 35ct. Cappuccino linen
Using DMC flosses:420, 676, 839, 976, 3011

As usual, this pattern is available for purchase in my etsy shop for $10 (shipping is free to the USA), but you can also order it directly through me via email (beth@heartstringsamplery.com) or you can wait until your local needlework shop has it in stock (if they don't carry my designs, ask!)

And because of the lateness of this release, I will offer this pattern as a pdf for a very limited time, just until November 24th, for a lower price of $7... simply email your request, and I will respond with the emailed file within 24 hours of payment (in most cases you will receive it in less than an hour, since I check my email almost constantly when I'm home).

Three New Releases

I think I'll let the cat out of the bag today, and show you the three patterns that will be released on Saturday at the St. Charles Market.

They won't be available for purchase in my etsy shop until Monday, but you can pre-order if you would like by sending me an email, and I will most likely send the first batch of orders out on Monday. Their retail price is $10 each, and shipping is free within the continental US.

In no particular order, here they are...

Flock of Christmas Wishes

Unity Sampler


A Partridge in a Pear Tree (wool applique)

Free Chart... Unna von Bergen 1869

Do you remember the promise I gave you last month?

Click on the photo above to be directed to a free downloadable pdf charted version of Unna's sampler.

It is charted for the original, uber-bright colors (if you want to make an authentic reproduction, you will need to stitch with wool), but please, by all means, change the scheme to suit your own tastes!

I left out stitches on the chart where stitches are missing on the sampler, due to the wear and tear of time, but you can fill in the blanks and stitch it as you imagine it might have originally looked, if you so desire.

Anja, a blog reader from Germany confirmed that the antique sampler is stitched with German words... Im Jahr 1869 = In the Year 1869.

Change the name and date to your own... or don't... it is completely up to you.

I am sure that Unna wouldn't mind; I like to think that she would be thrilled to know that anyone at all has been inspired by her original stitches to create something all their own. She most likely used motifs that were charted in some booklet or magazine, arranging them to her delight, using the colors that were fashionable at the time.

So, off you go... download the chart, spread the word to your stitching friends, challenge each other to be creative, send me photos of your completed work, and start checking the Heartstring Samplery Finish Blog to see how many different ways it is translated!

As always, I would be very grateful if you gave credit to me if you post photos or links anywhere online, or offer your finished goods up for sale.