Pretty to Think So

Dear Gentlest Readers,
May all your daydreams and musings be light and sweet.

Nora

Pretty in Pink

Clover blooms, crescent moon, fluffy dress covered in roses, invitation on a windy spring day, heady perfume, eccentric guests, elderberry wine and sweet whispers.

The Sea Merchant’s Wife

She is the sea merchant’s wife.
They meet in the silver water of the full moon.
His ship brings her treasures to placate her instinct to steal him away to his death in her dark sea.
In the water, her hair surrounds her like a halo and the sweetness of her ballads makes him hers alone. When the pink dawn comes, she will be gone with the flick of her diamond tail and a splash. She will wait in the darkness for her love until the next starry night.

February Amethyst Fairy

We are pleased to introduce you to the
Mirabilia Amethyst Fairy for February.
She is adorned with mesmerizing shades of deep violets. Fluttering amethyst blossoms dance in the sun as she sashays down the runway of moss.
A crystal treasure choker tied with brown velvet pulls the look together with quiet elegance.
She is the pinnacle of vogue fairy fashion.

The Muse

This is inspired by the paintings of the radical Scottish sisters in the late 19th century, Margaret and Frances McDonald. They challenged the Victorian art nouveau depiction of women as objects of purity and beauty. Their images were unapologetic statements of the emerging, “new woman.”
No longer submissive, they broke free from the rigid victorian past and presented a wiser independent, newly imagined, mystical woman.

Delphine’s Butterfly Brigade

Come with me to stitch butterflies with intoxicating colors. Tiny x’ s are made with the most luscious threads.
Thread your needle and come to our special party.
We can’t wait for you to join us.
Glittering beads and silver threads await!

Goddess Garden

In the conservatory at the botanical gardens in New York, there is the most lovely fountain. Statues of women holding hands under the drops of rain. Orchids cascade from all around and the sound of delicate rain fills the glass castle.
This pattern is inspired by that fountain and the magical serenity that is present there.

Blackbird

Cathy, the protagonist of Emily Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights, is often portrayed as a wild and untamed character. Cathy is depicted
wandering across the moors in a brocade gown adorned with embroidered black birds. The dress is a stark contrast to the rugged landscape around her, emphasizing her refinement and elegance. Despite her refined appearance, Cathy’s presence on the moors is still somewhat unsettling. She seems to blend in seamlessly with the dark and foreboding landscape, hinting at her own dark and mysterious nature. The dress, with its intricate embroidery and classical design, serves to further emphasize Cathy’s complexity and depth as a character. Overall, the image of Cathy on the moors in her brocade gown with embroidered black birds is a powerful and evocative one, capturing the essence of this iconic literary character.

Luda

Inspired by the women of Ukraine.

Camille in Bloom

She doesn’t sit still for her portrait or wear the right frock. She gardens in the moonlight and wears roses like jewels. She’s charming but misbehaves. A cross-stitch design of a wild girl for your stitching pleasure.

Nightingale

Florence Nightingale revolutionized nursing with her round blue diagrams called blue roses. Her dress is a myriad of blue patterns that gleam like china. It is said that she gifted a friend a delft blue and white vase. She carried a lantern at night to attend to the sick and wounded. The same light that radiates in all nurses and caregivers everywhere.

Portrait Queen

A lady of regal manner born meets your
gaze as you ascend the staircase.
What does she know? What secrets
are hidden beneath the rose vines?
They climb the brocade frame as if it were a
forgotten castle. Maybe the answer is under
the layers of oil paint that define her neck.
She’s ready to whisper to you.
While you stitch she quietly tells you…