Susan Bates - Designing the “In Bloom” Patterns for StitchableCards
Spring is the time of year when the days are getting longer and the warmth of the sun is encouraging new plants to grow. After the cold of the winter months lots of brightly colored flowers suddenly appear and flourish. Nature seems to awaken, and for this reason spring is the time of year that we associate with new life, re-birth, renewal and growth.
Crocus: Photo by Marek Studzinski on Upsplash
This season has been the inspiration for my new set of designs that you can see here. The color palette I’ve chosen ranges from rich purples and fresh greens to soft blues and yellows – and to add a pop of brightness to some of the designs there’s a flash of pinks, corals and reds.
We often see the crocus bloom in early spring. This flower is thought to symbolise re-birth, but it can also signify dignity and grace.
In this design we see a pretty arrangement of the purple crocuses. There’s also little bluebell flowers dotted around the main flowers, giving the pattern a delicate feel. The soft yellow background gives a warm glow and adds to the overall springtime vibe.
As crocuses are such striking flowers and I love their purple colour I decided to produce a second pattern on this subject.
A close-up view of the flower fits the circular stitchable shape really well. As the petals splay out the eye is drawn to the centre of this flower and its yellow stamens.
The pale pink background works well against the purple tones and creates a pleasing design. The backstitching helps to add detail to the flower and create curving lines around the petals.
This little bird is called a Yellow Throated Warbler. I decided to include this bird in this group of designs as it has such striking plumage and makes for a very pretty picture. On spring mornings I often hear the birds chirping and they are welcome visitors to many gardens.
Here it’s perched on a cherry tree branch that’s in bloom with lovely pink flowers.
I set this little character against a light turquoise sky, as I thought this worked well with the other soft colors I’ve used here.
Ladybirds, (or ladybugs as they are sometimes called), are considered good luck in many cultures. They’re also loved by gardeners as they eat other tiny bugs and keep aphids at bay.
I’ve chosen to depict the most commonly seen one, with its oval red body that’s decorated with black spots.
I’ve arranged my ladybirds in a symmetrical way – and the heart-shaped stitchable template is great for creating these little symmetrical designs.
The background is dotted with a variety of little ditsy flowers, on a bed of fresh peppermint green.
These sweet little designs were really fun to create and I hope that they bring you joy when you stitch them up.
