Remember how we played when we were four?
Hanging out this morning with my 4-year-old grandson Jacob reminded me. Anything can be anything, and imagination is everything.
Start with parsley for hair. Add rosemary for the arms and thyme for the feet. Basil bits make the body and ears, and cherry tomatoes make the perfect hat, face, and tummy.
As adults we often need encouragement and inspiration to play with our crafts. That’s one of the reasons I love Sue Spargo’s books and patterns. Her modern folk designs combine hand embroidery, quilting, sewing, and appliqué.
Forest for the Trees
Sue Spargo’s Forest for the Trees is a quilt of trees from around the world, from Jamaica to Morocco and the United States to South Africa, each filled with animals, birds, fruit, and flowers in layered wool appliqué and hand embroidery. Each tree has its own chapter, with a short story about where it grows and step-by-step instructions for its block, so you work the 39 x 51 inch quilt one tree at a time. The book also has two smaller projects, a workbox and a breadfruit pincushion.
The Stitches
The book names the embroidery stitches each block uses and refers you to Sue’s Creative Stitching, Second Edition for how to work them. That book is her stitch reference: more than 70 stitches, each with step-by-step instructions, illustrations, and a close-up photo of the finished stitch. It is spiral bound, so it lies flat beside your work.
Originally published September 5, 2022, as "Be a kid again. Relax, play, create." Revised November 4, 2026, to update the Sue Spargo books and remove a knitting pattern we no longer carry.