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What is it we love so much about this time of year ~ that which we call the Harvest Season?  Is it the rich colors ~ golden fields of wheat, oceans of blue-green cabbage, the orange blush of Chinese Lanterns ~ purple asters & goldenrod & the creamy color of tassels topping fields of corn?  Or the brilliant red of the sumac & maple, the bright green & orange of bittersweet vine, & the rich purple of the ripening fruit on wild grapevine?  

Perhaps it is the wonderful goods we now find at local farmer’s markets.  Heirloom vegetable varieties with such charming names as Early White Stone Turnips, Keeping Onions, Hollow Crowned Parsnips, Crimson Globe Beets, Sugar Pumpkins, Buttercup, Butternut, & Sugar Loaf Squash, Autumn King & Little Finger Carrots, & don’t forget tomatoes ~ Old Virginia & Oregon Spring & (last but not least) Aunt Ruby’s German Green Tomatoes!

Or is it the scent of apple crisp, zucchini bread, & homemade soup or freshly cut basil & Sweet Annie & the pungent fragrance of freshly picked tomatoes?  And then there are the candles we like to burn at this cozy time of year ~ Sugar Cookie & Hazelnut & Roasted Chestnut & Spices…

The very word “September” invokes thoughts of amber leaves, lightweight sweaters to ward off the evening’s chill, woodsmoke in the air, & the slow but still persistent chirr of late season crickets.

Welcome, old friend September…

 

Harvest home, harvest home!
We've plowed, we've sowed
We've reaped, we've mowed
& brought safe home every load.

~ English song typically sung on the last day of the harvest ~

 

With joyful thoughts of the approaching harvest season, I was inspired to pick up needle & thread & the result is my newest sampler pattern called “The Rising Harvest Sampler”.  ‘Tis a motif sampler that is a feast for the eyes!  Done in shades of mossy green, marigold, nut brown, charcoal, cinnamon, & plum, it has the typical alphabet accompanied by a bit of old sampler verse, a pot of vining marigolds, grapes & acorns, & an abundance of charming fauna.  The verse reads:

 

~ Sweet is the Labour ~

The rising harvest never mocks our toil,

We’re sure of fruit if we manure the soil.

 

Most of the verse is stitched over one thread of linen, but for those who cringe at the thought of “over ones” I’ve included an optional verse that can be stitched over two threads.  Available as a mailed paper pattern or e-pattern.  See Featured Items at right.

And just a note to let you know that Mrs. Groves is still looking for a new home & this month she may be purchased at a reduced price!  Despite the old gal’s wild hair & eccentric look, she is one of the gentlest souls you could ever hope to meet.  She is only available on The Primitive Gathering.  Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the link.

Alas, I planned to have more to offer you this month but as sometimes happens, our time & energy is required in other areas of our life.  I promise new things come October!  I already have another cross stitch pattern in the works as well as a doll pattern for primitive doll makers. 

As you work on your handwork this month, keep in mind that you can find a good assortment of needful items such as lambswool, raw flax, linen, vintage textile bobbins, old-fashioned scissors & more on my Needfuls pages.