Stitching with memories

image by K. Marszycki

There's something about the winter months that brings on such a strong sense of nostalgia.  I find myself hunkering down for the onslaught of snow, ice and extreme cold, lighting fires in the fireplace by 3pm because the light is fading quickly -- which reminds me that Winter Solstice is tomorrow!  At least we have the comfort of knowing that slowly the light will return, minute by minute.

I've been reading a fun mystery series for the past few months -- once I get on a roll with a series, I tend to follow through until the latest book -- and this series is written by Monica Ferris.  It's all about various types of needlework because she runs a small, busy shop in upper Minnesota.  Brrrr!  And, of course, in her spare time solves murders and such.

Ferris writes well.  That's important to me.  I cannot tolerate sloppily-written novels that read more like a TV script.  And lately there's many on the market, amateur detectives dashing here and there, jumping around, just like the jerky sentences written by their authors.

Okay, I digress.  Ferris is a good writer and her stories are more thoughtful than violent and probably meant for those of us who are stressed out and a bit older and wiser (!).  Anyway, each mystery has a different focus on needlework -- cross stitch, needlepoint, hardanger, etc.  She even works in some knitting and crochet.

And this brings me back to my original thought when starting to write this entry -- memories.  My grandmother was an avid cross-stitcher, and I can remember large works hanging in her living room and dining room of deer and pheasants.  She was a tiny woman, about 4' 10" tall and weighed nearly nothing.  She'd sit in the living room by the window, busy stitching away on a large hoop with a bowl of pretzels by her side.  My mother was more into crewel work and was often stitching up something, usually pillows. So it seems to be in the blood.

image by K. Marszycki

Today, as I was toodling around Pinterest, I searched for cross-stitch images and boards, as I want to work on a series of small cross-stitch birds.  I have 3 feeders and love to sit with my morning coffee and watch the birds.  So I thought I'd get an idea on how to create my own designs.  Right away I thought of Pinteres, and it didn't let me down.  About an hour later my brain was overwhelmed with the possibilities, and so I created a new board (see the link to your right).

Well, I guess I know what I'll be doing after the New Year . . . :-)

Happy Stitching,

whether you use needles or hooks!