Spring Bloom

It's really happening. Spring is on the way! To celebrate, I give you Spring Bloom:

I stitched this one with two threads, the design inside the petals is stitched with a single thread. French knots in the corners add a bit of whimsy. Click here for the pattern.

For Peace, For Hope, For You - Revisited

Stitcher, Irene McIntosh took my recent pattern and made it into something truly amazing.

Thank you, Irene. Your work is inspiring. 

In case you missed it, here's the open domain pattern again:

Motif Fun

I love stitching well into the night. I turn on Netflix, find a show, and stitch the night away to the flickering light of the television. My newest Netflix guilty pleasure is the television show, "Merlin." It's a horrible departure from the Camelot legends, but it's fun, the people are pretty, and I get to see some nice settings. I particularly enjoy the castle windows, which are lovely leaded glass with a quatrefoil (four petal flower) motif. Those windows became the ideal inspiration for a nice exercise in blackwork fill.

The large pattern on the left is the actual pattern of the windows shown in "Merlin." The upper right portion is that pattern expanded to create a fill. I think the diagonal quatrefoil motif would look lovely in green or red, giving the effect of a vine on a trellis.

I got looking at the quatrefoil motif and started thinking about how it would look arranged differently. The bottom two are the result. 

For these patterns, plus two bonus patterns, click here.

Snowflake Fill

Snowflakes are a great motif for repeating patterns. This snowflake is a nice size for ornaments or borders.  Click here for pattern

Happy Stitching!

And Happy New Year!

For Peace, For Hope, For You

I thought about writing an essay about the tragedies that have recently captured the news, about the hardships so many face, but I can't. I just don't have the energy. So rather than blather on, I give you this free pattern. Enjoy it, send pics, and find peace, hope, and solace in the thread. Be blessed, dear readers.

There is no copyright on this design. It is open domain.

Faces

Not much time lately for designing, stitching or blogging, though I will admit that I've been quite taken with the iPod Touch I won at a recent company gathering. Much like the iPad, but, of course, smaller and easier to carry around. And yes, I do have access to some of my patterns through Dropbox.

However, this post is not about iPods or Dropbox. It's about my new pattern to you: Faces.

Still small, still symmetrical, but a little different from my more 'architectural' designs. My friend, Maria, stitched it a few times, each time using different colors and thicknesses. The effects were quite interesting:

Stitched with two threads

Single thread

Colors

My version on evenweave

I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I have discovered a new perspective and I am eager to see where it takes me. Click here for the free pattern. 

I know I put them here someplace...

So we all know that the reason I hardly ever blog anymore is because I'm working again. And yes, it's true that I rarely get an opportunity to stitch, what with work and classes and such. But losing my 2012 patterns and ideas? How could that happen?

That's right, I can't find the patterns I designed for this year. I have searched my computer somewhat frantically, to no avail. The patterns just aren't there. I guess they felt neglected and chose to run away from home. Or something. 

The good news: there were only a couple of patterns anyway (most of which I've already shared with you), and the one that I've been working on was saved as a PDF and placed in my Dropbox app. I can always draw it again.

Note to self: Back up your patterns more often.

Instead of stitching, let me send you on a journey. The Washington Post recently held a photography contest: travel photos. They're awesome, so click here and be swept away.