CROSS STITCH DESIGNS

'THIMBELINA' Design Diary

Thimbelina's Passion ... a silly little poem.

I've been delighted to find, in the past year or so, that Cicely Mary Barker's "Flower Fairies" have been rediscovered. As a child (and now again, as an adult) I've been completely smitten by the brilliance of her ingenuity and the charm of her little people.

Many years ago (in a town that's half a world away) Toadflax, Clover, Poppies, Dandelions, Holly and Deadly Nightshade all flourished in the fields near our house. Unfortunately though, they were never populated by the fairies that lived in the pages of Miss Barker's books.

After spending a morning visiting the "Flower Fairies" at a local gift shop (yes, a whole book of them did decide to emigrate to our house), it seemed like a neat idea to see if I could come up with some "Needlework Fairies".

As you can see, my first crude attempt was a bit chaotic. I liked the idea of including needlework tools but, obviously, this concept was going to need some work.

Perhaps it would be better to concentrate on just one 'Needlework Fairy'... but how can a single fairy suggest many elements of stitching?

(Please click on the thumbnail pictures for a closer view and more details)

Oops, meet Thimbo-Warrior Needlework Fairy!

That's more like it.

The pencil sketch of Thimbelina has now been hand-drawn into my computer programme.

It's time to start stitching...

Wow, designing this piece has gone SO smoothly... it's going to be done in no time.

Finishing Thimbelina took a lot longer than I expected but, eventually, it all came together... please click here for complete details about stitching this design.

Thank you very much for exploring this design's evolution with me. I hope you enjoyed it... Lynne

If you'd like to see how other designs were developed, please visit... Design Storyboards.