Hi Everyone! Welcome back to my blog. For those of you who subscribed to my YouTube channel, thank you as well. It was a leap of faith for me to put the video out there and I cannot be happier with the results. It is also nice to be in a space where I am learning something new at every step to include mannerisms on camera, video editing, and flow of conversation. Luckily my sister, Angie, joined me so it was like having a conversation with friends and family.
I am so excited to be writing this blog today because I have a finish. I completed Hawaiian Petroglyphs test stitch yesterday. It was my first original design and I am so thrilled on how it turn out. The piece is at the framers and I plan to post the fully finished piece when it returns. During the test stitch, I found a few minor items to fix and updated the pattern in the shop. I hope you enjoy this piece and if you want to stitch it, it is available on this site. There is very little significance in the colorway that I selected so be creative. If you happen to stitch this piece, I would love for you to show it off on my Facebook Group, Salty Stitcher Designs.
What are Hawaiian Petroglyphs? In short, they are stone carvings of humans, animals, sailing canoes, fishhooks carved into island rocks or hardened lava. They are prehistoric art of the Hawaiian Islands and are only found in roughly 100 locations that have been preserved to the extent possible in the outdoor or cave environment. Petroglyphs represent a variety of things, including animals, tools, voyaging canoes, and weapons. Some petroglyphs are related to ceremonies and events used to infuse mana (divine power) into someone or something. For more information on petroglyphs, take a look at this site, Hawaiian Encyclopedia Petroglyphs.
I observed the petroglyphs found in this pattern in the Pahoehoe lava in South Kohala on the Island of Hawaii at the Puako petroglyph preserve and was very moved by them. They inspired me to create this pattern, my first original pattern. A few pictures from the hike are in the below gallery.
I also have a second finish to show off. Again, another week of firsts for me. I created a pillow from one of my finished cross stitch projects. I stitched an Ink Circles pattern for my husband and, since we were running out of wall space, I tried my hand in sewing and assembling a pillow for the first time. How hard can it be? Well, it is going to take me a few more attempts to stitch in a straight line. Lets just say that it has some character. The pattern, however, was a dream to stitch. I stitched the Hawaiian Mandala Sampler on 18 count white Aida using most of the called for threads. I changed up the greens based upon what I had in my stash but kept the convention of a dark and light green.
Finally, I have a few future plans to share with you. A special thanks to Garon Stitchery for setting up the O’ Feathers, stitch along in August. My supplies arrived two days ago and I am pretty excited to get started on this gem. O’ Feathers is a Rosewood Manor pattern released during the last needlework expo. The pattern looks like a lot of fun to stitch and the colors are fantastic.
Also, I plan to continue working on my African White Lions and Diver and Buddha patterns which have not received much love this week. My goal is the finish the African White Lions by the end of the year. I started this project in January 2019. Below is my test stitch and I have made several updates to the pattern on the website since starting.
African White Lions 
Diver and Buddha
Finally, I plan to start a test stitch on my second original design, Big Island Walkabout. Big Island Walkabout was inspired by my trip to the Island of Hawaii and highlights our circle island drives and our drive of Chain of Craters Road which culminates at the magnificent Sea Arch. I plan to stitch this on 40 Count linen with Weeks Dye Works thread.
I almost forgot to mention that I signed up for Stitch-Con 2021 in Sharonville, OH. It will be my first stitch-con and I am so excited to be able to attend this year. I will be attending the second weekend and cannot wait to meet everyone in person. Until next time. Happy stitching.
