Karen Witemeyer’s Scrapbook Page

The heroine from In Honor’s Defense enjoys needlework and has several cross-stitch samplers on display in her home. In fact, when she creates a special space for the hero during his recovery, one of the things that makes it feel like home to him is the stitched sampler with a Bible verse that she uses to adorn the wall.

I share my heroine’s love of needlework. I’ve been cross-stitching since my teen years and love to adorn my own walls with my needle art or give projects away as gifts. As most things do, the craft of cross stitching has evolved over the years. Back in the 1800s, most designs consisted of rudimentary figures (houses, trees, flowers) along with alphabets, special dates, and Bible verses or inspirational sayings.

In this virtual scrapbook, I’ve compiled photos of some of my modern projects that I consider to be most similar to those Damaris might have completed.

Sampler-type designs featuring Bible verses and inspirational sayings.

A hand-sewn pillow Christmas ornament with a design reminiscent of 19^th century stitching – simple flowers and a Bible verse.

Damaris is also an avid reader, so I can picture her stitching this quick bookmark with the candle and mantel clock reminiscent of her era.

These designs are more modern than what Damaris would have likely stitched, but with her affinity for novels, I think she would have enjoyed stitching this pair of medieval maidens.

With Damaris’s dedication to family, I can easily picture her stitching a wedding sampler similar to the one I stitched for my son and his bride this past year. This mimics the nineteenth-century style of commemorating an important date with a piece of heirloom stitchery.