Mercy Sampler

Teach me to feel anothers woe
To hide the faults I see
That mercy I too others show

That mercy show to me

I think this is a lovely sentiment to begin the New Year. I enjoyed stitching this sampler immensely and not only because the verse is so appealing to me personally. It's just such a simple sampler. It's small, measuring only 8 1/2 inches square and was so easy to stitch in hand. It also uses only two thread colors which meant much fewer tangled threads in me sewing box.

The colors came so easily, as well. The moment I saw Gentle Arts Portabella I instantly fell in love with the color. It was such an elegant blue-grey and so beautifully variegated. I stitched this sampler during the holiday season, and with so much frenzy around me and such an udemanding sampler as this was a blessing.

As soon as the sampler is framed it will hang with "Mercy" doll. When I chose the fabric for her dress I wanted a pattern that was simple but the colors of this particular fabric were too bright, black and what looked to aqua. I bleached it in an attempt to lighten the colors some and to my surprise the little flowers became brown and blue, almost identical to the colors in the sampler. Obviously these two pieces were meant to be . . .

I'm putting needle and thread away this weekend and working on a little paper project. As all the holiday decorations begin to come down my house is feeling empty and I'm already looking forward to St. Valentine's Day. Hopefully I'll be able to share that with you next week. Perhaps it will be my first tutorial to share with all of you.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Edit: Mercy Sampler and "Mercy" Doll are now both available as e-patterns for purchase on My Designs page or feel free to e-mail me.

"Mercy" Doll

For someone (me) who says that she does not like sewing I have spent the last few days doing just that. Thanks to my wonderful husband who (while still on his vacation) has stepped up and taken over so many of my household responsibilities I have had the time to finally sew up this little doll that's been inhabiting my imagination for weeks now.

Meet "Mercy"

I just put the finishing touches on her and was so anxious to share her that I braved taking photos on a cloudy day. The idea for her came just before I began stitching on my latest sampler. Oh how I was torn. The comfort and ease of stitching on my sofa under a fluffy blanket or the anxiety of digging around in my chilly basement for my sewing machine, relearning how to thread the darn bobbin and then wrestling with seam allowances, pleats, and pattern measurements. Did I mention I don't really like sewing? It just doesn't come as easily to me as stitching and causes me so much anxiety. This little doll would just not stop nagging me, though, until I made her real.

I've seen dolls such as her before but I had to make one of my own with my own unique touches. She measures about 18 inches to the bottom of her skirt. She's a stump doll; there are no legs hiding under that dress. Neither the top of the bodice nor the bottom of the skirt are hemmed, just the frayed fabric ends. The skirt is attached to the bodice with pleating, so the skirt flares a bit from her body. She hangs from a sting attached to a rusty safety pin at her back and has the sweetest twigs for arms. I have to say that's my favorite feature; it's so perfectly prim.

Mercy had to wait so very long to be made because I was busy working on a sampler, also called "Mercy". The entire time I was stitching the sampler this little doll kept distracting me and I couldn't resist naming her after the sampler. With any luck you'll see photos of that finish tomorrow.

Until then I wish you all a peaceful winter's evening.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn