Opinions of a Wolf

Since I finished the Miffy / Nijnjte line for my shop, it was time to think of a new one! I knew I wanted to do something to pay homage to New England, both where I grew up and my current home.  It’s a truly beautiful place.  The spring weather and planting my (incredibly tiny) container gardening got me to thinking about plants.  Then it struck me.  I could make a line about the plants you can forage for in New England!  Foraging is the act of gathering plants that grow wild to eat, as opposed to gardening.  My grandmother on my father’s side was incredibly knowledgeable about foraging.  She passed her knowledge on to my dad, who passed it on down to me.  Of course, my father knows more about it than I do! I consulted him some on the new line on everything from which plants to choose (there are so many edible wild plants in New England!) to getting the look of each plant just right.  I decided that I would include with the plant itself the common name and the scientific name.  The line is intended both to decorate and educate.

The plant I chose to stitch up first for the new line is: rhubarb!

Rhubarb features in my favorite pie, strawberry-rhubarb pie!  It can also be used in everything from breads to jams to drinks.  It has a savory, bitter flavor, so it generally is combined with something sweet to bring out its underlying sweetness.  The pattern is stitched on oatmeal aida with the common name (rhubarb) above the plant, and the scientific name (Rheum rhabarbarum) below it.  This is done to reflect older hand-drawn plant guidebooks.

ETA 3/5/15: I have closed my Etsy shop, but this pattern is available as a digital download for $2.99 in my Ko-fi shop.