Each season has its own special characteristics. Though summer may not be my favorite season, it still holds many recurring delights. The fruits of summer are one part of summer I always look forward to. We are blessed with several orchards where we live, and at this time of year the berry patches and fruit trees are filled with delicious edibles. My family loves fruit on its own for the most part, but we do love making a good pie, crumble, brown betty and other fruity desserts. They are homey desserts that showcase the freshness of the fruit. It’s really a summer favorite!
This month’s Stitching Smalls were inspired by my love for a good pint of summer fruits. These little projects have become a new favorite design challenge for me, and I know many of you enjoy making them. Which is why I do what I do—so keep sharing what you make with these little patterns!
The idea began as a simple blueberry basket. I stitched up the little basket of blueberries, excited to use some fun cotton in this project, and for once thought I was ahead of our deadlines! But it was so cute, Kelsey told me, I had to make more. Strawberries, cherries and blackberries were what we settled on to add to the lineup.
Rather than sell the individual fruit patterns, we decided to put them altogether in one, since the patterns were similar and the instructions all the same. However, you know how ideas are. One idea leads to another…and suddenly we needed to make two versions of the project. There in front of our eyes, the design grew into a single-piece version, with the baskets positioned in a square. If we had time, Kelsey and I would have made a long version with the baskets lined up in a row—some inspiration for some of you, perhaps!
If you love the smalls individually, then the pattern gives you the option to make one (or them all) as standalone pieces, to hang or wrap like previous Stitching Smalls. For those of you who are more adventurous, you can follow the instructions to make the wall hanging. You can get kits for either of those projects on our website.
All of that to say that this month’s small is a bit special, and we look forward to seeing what you create out of it!