Make new friends, and keep the old....



Star of Bethlehem Quilt square done in Cross stitch on punched paper.

 synchronicity (ˌsɪnkrəˈnɪsɪtɪ)

— n
an apparently meaningful coincidence in time of two or more similar or identical events that are causally unrelated

[C20: coined by Carl Jung from synchronic + -ity ]



Cow sampler made while commuting to Chicago every week.

 This one is one of my favorites! When I first started flying, we went to great small towns that were in rural areas and I loved the cow theme. I enjoyed working on this one while sitting in my commuter apartment on reserve while I was based in Chicago. 


 I've always believed that people come into your life (or you into theirs) so that you can learn from them or teach them something important, sometimes within the same chance meeting. There are no insignificant coincidences in life.  I treasure my old friends but a new friend has entered my life that made me realize that I have spent a lot of time away from doing stitchery.  I've enjoyed knitting, spinning, sewing, quilting, and other pursuits of fibery things, but I have always enjoyed traditional counted cross stitch, especially samplers. 



Maryland sampler made for an old boyfriend.  He said:
 "I don't want it, I'm not into that."  That's why I have it.

I worked a few "country" themed items when I bought my first house and wanted it to be very warm and homey and to feel like a country place. 

Country Sampler, love the cats!



I found this neat patriotic sampler in a book at a long
gone stitchery shop in Gettysburg in the late 80's.

I am thankful for new friends but I always cherish the old, we had a song in Girl Scouts that we used to sing all the time "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold." and that is surely the truth. These samplers are like old friends, and my appreciation of the enjoyment I had while making them is brought to me by a new friend.


Southern Sampler



Mid-Atlantic Sampler



One of only two pieces finished since
moving to Maryland.  I love this sampler. I finished it when I had just moved to Maryland full time and it will always remind me of going out and exploring to find stitchery shops and places to express myself creatively. It hangs in my upstairs hallway



Sun and Moon sampler

Primative house and tree sampler



Quilting sampler which brings together my love
of quilting patterns and stitchery

I used to live in Denver and work out of Chicago and then Baltimore, so I did a lot of stitching on the airplane while making my way to work each week. After I moved to Baltimore, I fell out of the habit of spending time stitching and stopped making cross stitch designs. I have given many away over the years and have a few unfinished ones packed away somewhere.



Salt glaze miniature shelf


I love salt glaze pottery and have collected it for years.  My daughter spotted an example of this project when we were walking through "The Stitching Post" which is a local stitchery shop and thought it would be perfect for me to do.  I immediately bought the book and the frame and stitched the project which now sits in my kitchen with my miniature salt glaze items.  Thanks, Jenn, I think of you whenever I look at this. :)