I've always loved stitching happy little characters. These miniature framed portraits range from Bathing Belles and Beach Boys to Gorgeous Girls and Handsome Fellows. The striped fabric inspired me to stitch Victorian styled bathing attire, as it has always made me smile. I wonder if any of these cheerful little people remind you of somebody you know?
'Ring a ring 'o' roses a pocket full of posies atishoo atishoo we all fall down'.
This design is one from a collection of circular pieces themed around childhood nursery rhymes and songs. I am lucky enough to be surrounded by the most wonderful children, my two beautiful girls, my gorgeous niece and the wonderful little girls and boys I teach. They are all a never ending source of joy and inspiration and my work very often reflects snippets of conversations that makes me smile. This piece was inspired by my gorgeous little baby niece who is happily listening to all the lovely songs mummy and daddy are singing to her from the books I send her each week. Her favourite this week is 'Row Row Row Your Boat' which is next on my list of pictures to stitch!
'Happiness is a Butterfly which when pursued is always beyond your grasp, but if you will sit down quietly may alight upon you'
This is another design from my collection of circular pieces inspired by my Nannys love of butterflies. I remember as a child a pair of beautiful ceramic butterflies that my Nanny inherited from her Aunty and had pinned to her curtains. I loved them as they looked as though they had flown there and were just resting a while.
I love all the different butterfly names in English and French.
Purple Emperor - Grand Mars changeant
Painted Lady - Belle-dame
Red Admiral - Vulcain
Swallowtail - Machar
Peacock Butterfly - Paon du jour
Speckled Wood - Belle dame
SmallTortoiseshell - Paon du jour
'How doth the little bumble bee improve each shining hour and gather honey all the day from every opening flower'
This design is from a collection of circular pieces inspired by my garden and the lovely little bumble bees that often pay me a visit.
Here are some interesting bumble bee facts:
• Bees have been around for more than 30,000,000 years.
• All worker bees are female.
• The average worker bee produces about half a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime.
• Bees have two stomachs one for food, one for nectar.
• The worker bee would visit approximately one hundred flowers in one collection.
• It takes over a thousand bees to make 1kg of honey and they would of visited over 4 million flowers.
• Honey bees communicate by dancing
• In winter they huddle together to keep themselves and the queen bee warm.
I love the fact about the bee having two stomachs. It makes me smile as my youngest daughter used to say she had two compartments in her tummy. When her dinner compartment was full she couldn't eat anymore, but she could still eat pudding because that compartment was empty!
Nutella was created in an Italian bakery by Pietro Ferrero in the 1940s. He wanted to try to make a cheaper alternative to chocolate because it was in short supply due to World War ll. He made it by using a little cocoa combined with hazelnuts. Originally it was a solid block, sliced to put on bread, but it soon developed into a spread. The name Nutella is two words combined Nut and ella which is a Latin suffix for sweet. Children who came into an Italian shop with a slice of bread were given a free spoonful of Nutella to spread onto it. Pietro Ferrero's son Michele still owns the company that makes Nutella and is one of Italy's richest men. A jar of Nutella sells every 2.5 seconds.
These little Nutella pictures were made by me. My inspiration - An empty Nutella jar and a rumbling tum!
Every week I send my gorgeous baby niece a book in the post with a little hand drawn illustration or stitched letter from her Aunty Sara. This one was for her to catch all the kisses as she unwrapped her parcel. I remember how I used to feel when I was a little girl and my Nanny wrote to me, I still have each and every letter she sent. Letters evoke the most wonderful memories when you stumble upon them many years later. I hope that Georgia will one day have a box full of stitched letters that will tell a story and remind her when she looks at them how much she is loved.
Pots of Love are miniature Victorian ointment pots embellished with my Justsosara personalised embroidered characters.
These lovely little pots were used by Chemists to mix substances they thought would cure a variety of different illnesses. I like to imagine what the Chemist shelves looked like with these beautiful little pots and the Victorian ladies and gentlemen who came to buy them gently placing them in their baskets and returning home to use their contents full of hope that their ailments would be cured. In reality the contents rarely were of any benefit to the user.
These beautiful ceramic pots have been retrieved from Victorian sites by an avid collector who very kindly saves them for me. My favourites are the Victorian ointment, jam and cream pots. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes and glazes and vary considerably making each one totally unique. Occasionally you even see a thumb print in one of the pots left by a Victorian who was somewhat hasty in picking up a pot before it was dry. I love the fact that these pots have survived two world wars and have been buried treasure rediscovered and given a new lease of life to adorn our shelves once more. I hope to make a few more of these little Pots of Love, but there is not an indefinate supply, which I quite like, as I think that makes them extra special.
My brother gave me the best Christmas present ever, one very beautiful neice. So I made him this little gift, a vintage jam pot with a stitched portrait of daddy and his adorable daughter.
Inspired by the beautiful portraits often found in Victorian homes, this is my very own embroidered portrait gallery. An alternative to framed photos this totally unique little collection will be displayed using vintage velvet ribbon to hang each frame directly onto my wall. It was lovely to stitch loved ones and extra special to be able to add my beautiful little neice who is the newest addition to our family!
