The March Gnome is now available in the ornament section on the freebie page. This little guy was fun to design and stitch. I could see so many color combinations and ,ay even stitch him multiple times for this years tree. 

Enjoy and spread the word.

February and March ornaments are stitched. They are coming along great. Keep an eye on the freebie section for the charts.

Also I got one ort/snippet ornament done. Time to start a new one. 

The April Gnome has been added. The colors are so fun. This is going to be a great finish. I'm working on a fun border for the overall project so come December this will be fantastic. Get your free copy in the freebie section.

I really want one Christmas tree with ornaments that are only handmade. This is one of several I will be doing this year to get to that goal. I'm still working on my finishing techniques so disregard the imperfections there. 

Many stitcher's believe the sampler is based on the alphabet. Well, yes, we do consider the alphabet part of the modern sampler but the definition was much different in the 16th century.

In that time, needlework was an integral part of a woman's life. She was taught by the older women around her and she kept a sampler going as a diary of sorts. It was often a diary of stitches. The stitches she learned from others were put on the sampler as a long term reference. Samplers were also used to track significant events such as birth, marriages, and deaths.

I just finished this little gem. I love the color combination.

I have the hardest time keeping up with my scissors. When I first started stitching I would waste so much time searching in the cushions for my little friends. Eventually I found the wonderful world of fobs. Now all of my scissors are dressed up. This makes ir harder for them to fall beneath the cracks.

The picture shows the different ideas for stitched fobs. I have also added a chart in the freebie section. I will add more as I get them designed. The two in the back are the same design just in different colors. You can stuff them into pillow form or even add them to the top of Altoid tin boxes like the one in front. Don't forget you can also do simple beaded fobs to keep those sneaky tools at arms length.

These tuck pillows are so fun and easy. I am adding them to my Etsy shop so be on the lookout. 

I have also decided to sell them in two ways, as far as shipping goes. I will sell them stuffed and unstuffed. My theory is that if you can cross stitch, you can stuff and sew the opening without difficulty. This would save the buyer tremendously on shipping cost.

Let's start with what an ort is. The original definition is German and it meant the remnant of food. Crumbs for example. In needlework an ort is the snippet or piece of strings left over while stitching. We tend to look at the stitching as the art and over look the orts, However, orts can be recycled in many ways,

One way is to create Christmas ornaments. These empty ornament shells can be purchased at craft stores, Walmart, etc. I got mine at the Dollar Tree. I keep the orts in these jars, as the jar gets filled I transfer the orts to the ornament. It is neat at the end of the years when you see the ornaments and you can pick out which projects go with which ornament just by the color combinations. I have these orts and snippet jars in my Etsy shop.

Another option for your orts is to put them outside in the spring. Birds will use them to make nests. The nests are also pretty because of the colors. There really is no reason to just throw away orts, there are so many possibilities to recycle them.

A Year of Gnomes

I always have a BAP on my scroll frame. Right now it is a Marty Bell design and it is full of confetti stitches which Bell designs are famous for. The only way I could ever complete one of these giants is by sprinkling in some littles. It breaks the monotony and gives me the breath I need in between all of that confetti. This year I decided to challenge myself to designing the littles I would stitch and came up with the Year of Gnomes. Every month I will release a new seasonal gnome.

The Story Behind the Gnome

Aside from my stitching, I am also an avid reader and researcher so of course I went in search of the origin of gnomes. Here is their story. Gnomes started showing up in the German and Scandinavian folklore of the 16th century. In fact, an alchemist named Paracelsus of swiss decent is given credit for the little fellows. (female gnomes really don't show up in the beginning) They were considered underground protective spirits. They were also symbols of prosperity and safety. Keep in mind from the 16th century through the 18th century food was a luxury with many barely getting by. There wasn't a Walmart on every corner and often the food that was available depended on personal livestock and more readily gardens. Therefore, the protection of the garden could mean survival.  This was also a time of superstition (think of witch trials), therefore believing in entities such as gnomes was very common.