Bridgerton Embroidery Craze

 

So apparently a side effect of everyone watching "Bridgerton" is a new found love of embroidery.  I absolutely loved the show and I'm contemplating reading all of the books.  I also love that I was ahead of the curve on the embroidery craze.  Can you imagine having hours on end to sit and perfect your stitches??  Yeah only on TV and in history....

My first attempts at embroidery were done when I was in a Brownie troop as a young girl and had to do a piece for a merit badge that I was trying to earn.  I remember the stress that this piece of work caused in the Vink household.  My stitching wouldn't pass without an example of herringbone stitch and it had to have a design in the center.  Well, my mum must not have paid attention in home economics class because she didn't know who to do it and shocker folks....this was before there was Google!!  Luckily an elderly neighbor was able to show me how to do this, you know like a live YouTube video 😆. For the design in the center, my artistic dad sketched a Sprite (my troop mascot) for me to stitch over.  Gesh, just remembering this is bringing back the stress that this project caused my 8 year old self.  Here's the best part - my mum saved it and gave it back to me when I was in college.

After taking a very long break after this traumatizing event, I got into cross-stitch when I moved back to the States in high school.  There for awhile I was cranking our samplers for every wedding and baby around - my husband would say I have now replaced that with quilts!!  I even cross stitched the ring bearer's pillow at my wedding.  Then I had kids and there wasn't anytime to stitch - also, by then I had discovered scrapbooking!!

I stitched the pair on the left when I had to stay face down for a week last year after my eye surgery - you know me, can't sit still to save my left.  I really want to stitch the one of the right for a dear friend who uses this expression and it would be just perfect for them!  I have it in my Etsy cart right now.  I'll just keep stitching until the new season of Bridgerton starts.....then I'll stitch while I watch.