Who new these pirates would become such a hit?  I think everyone has a bit of pirate in them, or at least knows someone near and dear to their heart that has a bit of pirate…ya gotta love those bad boys! 

Do you have a pirate idea you want to share with me?  I always welcome your ideas though please don’t be disappointed if I don’t use it…it has to hit me just right for me to consider it and that might not happen right away.  However I might read it next month and the timing is perfect.  So, I do keep almost all the suggestions for that very reason.  Or your idea combined with someone else’s idea could morph into a whole ‘nother idea and I am off and running.  So please don’t hesitate to send me an email at suehillisdesigns@aol.com.

Pirates are always looking for booty, after all.

I am thinking about another group of designs with a pirate’s raggedy parrot yelling orders, like “Fire his arse!”  or “Downsize–just another word for keel-haul”  Let me know your thoughts on this!

The bunnies remind me of a book of my childhood…I don’t even remember the name but it was a Little Golden book and the bunnies were all busy, as these are, getting ready to fill Easter baskets.

These two were so fun to design!  I had two of my grandchildren in mind when I worked on these…Ella (age 3) is a girly girl, and Jackson (age 5) is all boy!
I also recalled favorite toys from when I was young and added them ALL into these two pieces because I like to stitch pieces that have a lot of components.

L431 Thank Heaven for Little Girls

These two fit perfectly into 8″ x 10″ frames when stitched on 14/28 count fabric. 

L430 Thank Heaven for Little Boys

Also included are color numbers for African American, Asian, and Latino skin
tones so you can truly personalize these designs to suit yourself.  These two leaflets should be available from your favorite shop at the end of the month. 

For a while it seemed like these pirate designs took over my entire life…lucky for my sanity, I have a new series coming mid-March featuring angels…but more on that later!
I’m not saying that there won’t be more pirates…as you can see here, there are still more in my design file.  It’s amazing how circuitous a design can be…a friend gave me one idea (that hopefully can be used eventually if I can find a rum bottle charm), that evolved step by step into a whole new design “Burnt to Perfection”.  So the final design, is often a surprise to me!
I think “Burnt” will be a great seller, especially for Father’s Day, don’t you think? 

PS157 Burnt to Perfection

And with record breaking snowfalls this year, I thought the pirate snowman was the perfect stitch while we sit waiting for Spring to arrive!  When our family was deciding on where we wanted to live after my husband retired from 22 years of military service, we decided to settle here in Virginia.  We wanted the change of seasons and the little bit of snow we experienced here in two tours at Fort Lee.  So, that was more that 20 years ago, and aside from a few minor snowfalls over the years, there was just no snow!  Well this year makes up for it!  We have literally piles of snow everywhere and so far, I still love it!    L432 Shiver Me Timbers

These two designs are going to be introduced at the Nashville Market next week and your favorite shop should have them soon after that!  Enjoy the stitch!