I am a maker. I delight in producing something that I make with my hands. I find it relaxing but it is more than that. It is part of who I am. When life gets rough and I find myself thrown in a different direction, crafting keeps me grounded. Creating something that I find to be beautiful whether it be food or a towel, helps things seem normal even when life is not normal.

Before a recent trip to Japan, I stitched dish towels as part of the gifts I gave to my home stay hosts. I wanted the towels to be New York State themed. Since I was stitching four towels and I wanted it to stay interesting for myself, I did 3 different motifs on 4 towels (made 2 of the Statue of Liberty) but stitched the state of New York on all of them.

I found images on the internet (I like using coloring pages), resized them and printed them out. Then I used a lightbox (or you can use a window) to trace the pattern onto the towel using a water soluble embroidery transfer pen. I designed the towels to hang from the center and orientated the images so that if it was hung that way, the image would be positioned correctly. I mostly stitched with 2 strands of variegated DMC thread. I like variegated thread because I think it makes the finished work look more elegant.

Rose: I simplified the pattern found in this post.

New York State: I used this pattern but typed my own text.

Blue Bird: I simplified the first bird on this page.

Statue of Liberty: I used this image but could not find the actual source.