It's a New Year!

STITCHED ON - 32 Count Vintage Country Mocha Lungana

It's a new year and one filled with so many changes.  We all have been constantly pushed to adjust and acclimate to the continually changing restrictions and the climate of our nation.  And although my daily routine hasn't really changed because we are retired and we're used to being home many days consecutively  already - this still feels all very foreign to me.

I'm so grateful for this hobby of cross-stitching.  It had dropped off the popularity-radar in regards to hobbies for the past couple of decades with only a small percentage of faithful stitchers staying loyal.  But as patterns changed and new designers started creating...the craft has picked back up again and it's going stronger than ever!  (Proof of this is in the hunt for supplies and lack of inventory.) With the help of social media platforms and YouTube outlets like "FlossTube", the industry is gaining momentum with rocket speed!

This year I decided to have more than one project in progress.  As I was doing some online shopping at my favorite cross-stitch websites, I found myself strongly drawn towards samplers and designs with a "Bible story theme."  Not the cutesy patterns of Noah and his ark and cute little cartoon animals gathering under a rainbow.  I'm talking about the real stories of the Bible that are nitty-gritty and have a hard lesson behind the not so pretty graphics we see in children's books. There are several designers out there that have found the hard messages in these stories.  Plum Street Samplers and Mary Beale are just two of many. 

So that's my focus this year of 2021 - tough Bible message samplers!  I'm finishing up on the Civil War themed sampler from Silver Creek Samplers titled, "Seeds of Freedom."  Such a great poem  and it's been going quickly.   I started this on January 3rd and I actually have a little more finished than this picture shows.  And I'm currently working on gathering what I need for Plum Street Samplers "My Brother's Keeper" which is shown in the picture above.  (I'll post pictures as I go along!)

Okay my friends - have a great year and stitch what you love and I'll check back in with you soon!

---