Hobbit Tracks

Stitches and DMC thread used: Satin stitch leaves in 368 and 647 Stem stitch stems in the same Granitos blossoms in 3326 and 3835 Long and short forget-me-nots in 825, 813, 162, 3078 Long and short dark forget-me-not in 825, 826, 827, and 3078 Long and short pink blossoms in 3326, 3835, 818, and 3078 Long and shorted muted purple blossom in 3835 and 647

The Foolishness of God Perform impossibilities or perish. Thrust out now the unseasonal ripe figs among your leaves. Expect the mountain to be moved. Hate parents, friends, all materiality. Love every enemy. Forgive more than seventy- seven. Camel-like, squeeze by into the kingdom through the needle's eye. All fear quell. Hack off your hand, or else, unbloodied, go to hell. Thus the divine unreason. Despairing you may cry, with earthy logic - How? And I, your God, reply: Leap from your weedy shallows. Dive into moving water. Eye-less, learn to see truly. Find in my folly your true sanity. Then, Spirit-driven, run on my narrow way; sure as a child. Probe, hold my unhealed hand, and bloody, enter heaven. Luci Shaw

I did this little piece for my lovely sister. The hem is pin-stitched, but this time with 3/4" hem and a shaped border. The pattern for the border was taken from this Hungarian design on Mary Corbet's Needle'N'Thread. Heritage Shoppe provides PDF's for a number of stitches, including pinstitch , which is also known as point de paris, parisian hem stitch, and madeira applique stitch. The pin stitching on this handkerchief was done with white rayon thread, more suitable for machine stitching, but with care it worked quite well for hand stitching and I love how it makes the stitching and the little holes stand out quite brightly. The embroidery was done with the same white rayon thread; the pattern was taken from this lovely French blog , except that I dispensed with the border and used only the motif, which is what caught me eye in the first place. Broderie d'Antan has a zillion lovely, creative, inspiring, and easy to use patterns. It's in Mary...

This is a little piece I embroidered for a dear friend. It's all worked by hand; the hem is done with a pin stitch (point de paris, parisian hem stitch, or madeira applique stitch). The stem of the lavender is stem stitch worked with two shades a green at the same time and the blossoms are wheat stitch with two shades of purple worked at the same time right over the stem stitch. The dark brown of the monarch's lower wing is split stitch and the light tan is long and short stitch. The upper wing is outlined with dark brown split stitch and all the colors are worked with long and short stitch. The body of the butterfly is long and short, and the legs and antennae are back stitch. The wee french knots were worked last and applied rather randomly. Thanks to my mother and Mary Corbet ( Needle'N'Thread ) for instruction and inspiration!

Verdant and solid, the ground reappears when the           sun wears the Circlet, Tying year's end to new year's beginning; and meekly the           waters give over. Silently ceasing the siege, till dappled and           calm, running smoothly, Leisurely hurrying past to the sound of its           own cheerful singing, Rippling and simmering, no end in sight, a           river unwinding. Sunbeam nor eye nor stem or rock can           resist the resistless Pull of its mighty inexorable weight;           born on its broad back, Leaning low 'neath the current. Surging past           the rocks it once covered, Breaking the flow to pause till it dips and           slides round the turning.

Love is the key of life and death, Of hidden heavenly mystery: Of all Christ is, of all He saith, Love is the key. As three times to His Saint He saith, He saith to me, He saith to thee, Breathing His Grace-conferring Breath 'Lovest thou me?' Ah, Lord, I have such feeble faith, Such feeble hope to comfort me: But love it is, is strong as death, And I love Thee. Christina Rossetti

"The flood made of a million emeralds was ebbing as slowly as the sun was sinking; but the river of human nonsense flowed on forever." "I think modern people have somehow got they're minds all wrong about human life. They seem to expect what Nature has never promised; and then try to ruin all that Nature has really given." "And every truth a man has found out as a man of science is always subtly different from any truth he has found out as a man; because a man's family, friends, habits, and social type have always got well under way before he has thoroughly learnt the theory of anything." "It is wonderful how easily one outlives someone else's crucifixion." "...that timeless clock of all lunatics..." "The next best thing to really loving a fellow creature is really hating him: especially when he is a poorer man, separated from you otherwise by mere social stiffness. The desire to murder him is at least an ackn...