Archive
Cross-Stitch #14: Fiddleheads
I’m happy to announce that I’ve finished designing and stitching the second item in my Foraging New England line. I actually finished this a few weeks ago, but I gave the completed stitch away as a present, and I didn’t want to post it until I had given it away. Didn’t want to spoil the surprise!
The second plant featured in the Foraging New England line is: fiddleheads!
Fiddleheads are young ferns before their fronds have unfurled. They are foraged by New Englanders for use as a vegetable, generally boiled or steamed and served alongside a main course. The pattern is stitched on oatmeal aida with the common name (fiddleheads) above the plant, and the scientific name (matteuccia struthiopteris) below it. This is done to reflect older hand-drawn plant guidebooks.
Both the completed item and the pattern are available in my shop! Completed items ship to the US, the European Union, and Japan. Patterns ship worldwide as an instant digital download.
Use the coupon code INSTAFID1ST through the end of the day Saturday, July 19th to get 25% off either item!
ETA 3/5/15: I have now closed my Etsy shop, but I’ve made my patterns available on my Cross-Stitch page.
Friday Fun! (April: Busyness and Hiking)
The view of Boston on our hike.
Hello my lovely readers!
April was such a busy month, I can actually hardly believe it’s over already! It’s always a busy month for me at work, as I help organize and run an annual event on-campus. In addition this month, we also welcomed a new program to our campus, so the library was very busy putting in the groundwork for supporting students studying that new subject area. I also submitted my first-ever poster abstract. So busy! On top of this, the weekend of my work event was the same weekend as the first motorcycle race weekend of the season for my partner. He was incredibly busy prepping for the races. Instead of just the normal getting everything running again after the long winter, he also was prepping a new (to him) race bike to be track ready. Since I couldn’t go with him for the first race weekend, I wanted to send along something nice, so I made him a pie and cookies for carb-loading at the track. I honestly found the baking to be stress-relieving and really enjoyed it. I’m happy to report both the work event and the first race weekend went well!
In spite of the busyness, we were able to squeeze in quite a few hangouts with friends and dates for ourselves. One of our dates was to hike a local trail on Easter Sunday. It was gorgeous weather in a month of a lot of iffy weather. I always find it so refreshing to get outside and in the woods, and even more so with my boyfriend. We saw lots of jack-in-the-pulpits and also got a great view of Boston.
My stitching slowed down a bit this month, although I did release the first design in a new line–rhubarb in foraging New England. The rest of the patterns for the line are designed but they still need to be trial-stitched! I hope to release at least one of them this month.
I read and reviewed four books this month, sticking to my overall goal of one book a week. I’ll be happy if I manage to stick to that during my upcoming even busier month of May! In my own writing, I’m still working away whenever I have the time on my new book idea, writing background short stories. The typewriter my bf got me for Christmas is coming in really handy, freeing me of distractions.
Happy reading!
Announcement: New Line in Shop: Miffy / Nijntje!
Hello my lovely readers!
I am incredibly excited to announce the new line in my shop: Miffy / Nijntje!
Miffy is a beloved character from a series of children’s books by Dick Bruna. Her name is Nijntje in Dutch. I discovered Miffy on Netflix one night, and immediately fell in love. She’s such an adorable little bunny, and her stories are wonderful! Their availability in dual-language apps are also helping me on my side-quest to learn Dutch. When I discovered a shocking lack of Miffy cross stitch patterns, I made my own so we could hang a version of her in our living room. I decided to make BOTH the patterns and the completed products available for all Miffy fans to enjoy. The picture on this post is just of my personal favorite design, Miffy’s Garden / De Tuin Van Nijntje. Please click through to my shop to see all five designs!
PS I am now shipping completed items to The Netherlands and the UK in addition to the US! Patterns are available worldwide.
ETA 3/5/15: I have now closed my Etsy shop, but I’ve made my patterns available on my Cross-Stitch page.
Cross-Stitch #6: Sriracha Rooster Bottle
I still have two cross-stitches I made for the holidays left to show you guys! I fully admit, I was waiting on showing you the last two since they’re related to my newly opened Etsy shop.
One of my good friends is a big fan of Sriracha rooster sauce. It’s a hot sauce made from chili and garlic, frequently used in Asian cuisine. Its bottle is rather iconic. It is red with a green cap and has a white rooster on it. I thought it’d be a cute piece for her to have in her kitchen. However, I couldn’t find a pre-existing pattern for cross-stitch, or even one I could adapt, anywhere. I wasn’t expecting that, since it has a big fan-base. But, oh well, I figured, I guess I’ll just design one myself. And design it I did! My friend was quite happy with her present.
ETA 3/5/15: I have now closed my Etsy shop, but I’ve made my patterns available on my Cross-Stitch page.
My Publications
, is post-apocalyptic scifi.
You may check out a complete list of my publications here.
This work by Amanda McNeil is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
