Hi friends– I hope you are well! I have a new pattern to share with you, it all came together rather quickly and I’m very happy with how it turned out! This little stitched pillow “Donwell Abbey” is inspired by the Jane Austen novel, “Emma”, and Donwell Abbey (Mr. Knightley’s home) is the setting of the strawberry picking party that so many of the main characters attend.

While many people love “Pride and Prejudice” (which I do too!) “Emma” is always my favorite if I had to choose an Austen work. It was the first Jane Austen book I ever read (11th grade English!) and I just love the story so much. I think what I love so much about Emma is that the two main characters are such good friends before they officially fall in love (surely that’s not a spoiler for a story over 200 years old, right?!)

When I think of “Emma” I always think of flowers and berries and outdoor scenes. And since the strawberry picking party is classic scene of the story, I thoughts strawberries were the perfect nod to Mr. Knightly and Emma!

This pattern is available now in my etsy shop as a PDF download. It’s an easy, quick stitch and done on Aida cloth, which is great for beginners and easy to find.

Currently there are two excellent adaptations of “Emma” that I very much enjoy (And they are excellent to stitch to!) My all time favorite is the BBC version starring Romola Garai– I have painted many pieces with that series in the background! Because it is a 4 part series, it is much longer than most movie adaptations and is able to get into more nuances of the story. It also has a more ‘real’ and less stylized look to the setting, clothing and acting. I absolutely love Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller as Emma and Mr. Knightley. Perfection!

However, the 2020 version of “Emma” directed by Autumn DeWild is also a wonderful watch, and is done in a much more sumptuous, picturesque style. Anya Taylor-Joy and Johnny Flynn who play this version’s Emma and Mr. Knightley are both wonderful to watch and great in their characters. This movie actually came out as a download just as the world was entering lock down last March, so it will always be a memory for me that we all sat down to watch it to have something to look forward to when the world was looking so dark and chaotic. It was definitely a bright spot of 2020.

I hope you enjoy this stitching project, and can’t wait to make more to share! Have a wonderful week–

take joy!

H