Ye Olde Outhouse – A Saturday Stitching Post

Today’s Saturday Stitching Post features the lowly, humble outhouse.  In the past I have shared projects as varied as angels, a tree at dawn, a girl reaching for a cookie jar,  and a slogan “Bless This Mess”.  As I decided on which project I would post this week, I had to chuckle.  There is a certain bit of humor in taking the time and making an effort to stitch an outhouse.

The reasons for my project choices have been diverse.

Sometimes I am looking for a design that would be suitable for a gift for a certain person.  Sometimes I see the design first and think, “I have to make this for [fill in the blank.] ” At times I see something that strikes me as so beautiful that I just know I want to do it, although I do not know who it will be for or when I might make it.  This week’s feature does not fit any of those categories.  My friends and family should feel relieved (no pun intended) that I didn’t see the outhouse and think of one of them. And everyone should be relieved that I do not necessarily think of an outhouse as being extremely beautiful, although there might be a bit of nostalgia associated with it. This choice was purely utilitarian as I needed something for a bathroom wall. There are not a lot of places that would be fitting to display an outhouse, but a bathroom does seem appropriate

This is one of my very early projects, completed in 1984.  In the ensuing years, I have not stitched another outhouse and I will probably not do so again.  I had to do a little searching on the internet to find the source of my design because the chart book from which it was taken has disappeared from my collection.  I was intrigued by a book that I came across on the internet: “Nature Calls: The History, Lore and Charm of Outhouses” by Dottie Booth, 1998.  The book’s description started with, “The crunch of leaves under your feet, the sounds of nature around you, the smell of . . . well, never mind.” I did not order the book, but I am struck anew by the fact that you can find a book on virtually any topic that your little heart desires.

[Project Details: Chart is from Back Home, an Album of Memories from Country Cross Stitch Inc., by Joyce C. Bailey, based on drawings by Tallahassee artist, Roger Eudy. 1981  Project was stitched on 14 count ivory aida using DMC floss, 2 strands for cross stitch and one strand for backstitch.] 

Advertisement