Tapestry

  I started this blog several years ago and I named it Mountain Laurel & Coal to honor my farming ancestors from the hills of Southwestern Pennsylvania and the coal miners from the valleys. Since then I have used it to share family photos and stories.  Recently, I decided that I would like to share my cross stitch and embroidery, but I didn't want to create another blog for that.  So, I decided to mix the two and switch the name of the blog to Tapestry. After all, our families and our lives are like tapestries... filed with lots of little details, memories, and love. With that said, if you are here for the stitching you will have to weed through some family stories, and vise versa.  As far as stitching goes, I have been using a needle and thread for many years and I'm looking forward to writing about this journey, sharing tips, patterns, and inspiration. The cross stitch sampler pictured here is My Little Sampler by Running with Needles and Scissors. I stitched t...

  I said I’d never do this again. Then I changed my mind! While finishing my second embroidery journal I thought of the free time I would have once I was done. I dreamed of all of the other things to do: some slow stitch Christmas ornaments, family tree research, reading some books, relaxing. My 2023 embroidery journal.  Then I saw all of the blank canvasses posted on my Facebook embroidery groups - including Stitching A Round. That’s when I felt like I was missing out and I started planning a 2024 journal. It also dawned on me that I will turn 60 in November and it feels like that’s worth commemorating.  My sister Morgan shared the Stitching A Round group with me in October of 2021 and I knew immediately, without hesitation, that I wanted to give it a try. I rushed out to buy supplies and started the next day. I had embroidered a bit in the past and done some cross-stitching, but I literally had no idea what I was doing. (I used a permanent pen at the beginning and made ...