This design comes from a photograph I took at Savanna Portage State Park in northern Minnesota, while walking around Loon Lake on the way home from the Forest History Center. SASSAk12 had participated in Archaeology Month with the Minnesota Historical Society that year, traveling from site to site each weekend throughout the month of September to share hands-on activities with visiting patrons. One of our volunteers and I decided to stop for a walk before heading back. I hesitate to call it a hike because we were really just walking, but it was nonetheless invigorating and we throughly enjoyed searching for all the vibrant natural treasures hiding in plain sight. Minnesota does an incredible job providing public parks and paths all around the state and there is something about being able to step out of the car, into the woods, and into the vivid color of a northern Minnesota autumn.
What I love about this image is the way the leaf seems to hold the whole season inside it. The greens, yellows, oranges, and reds are all present at once, along with the veins, shadows, and small imperfections that make it feel alive rather than decorative. Maples are such an important part of the autumn landscape in Minnesota, and their leaves help create the brilliant color that draws people into the woods every fall. I wanted this pattern to preserve not only the shape of a maple leaf, but also the variation within it—the evidence of weather, light, age, and seasonal change.
For me, the real heart of the image is the memory attached to it. It was an ordinary decision to stop and walk, but it gave us a moment to breathe after a day of presenting, driving, and being responsible for other things. There was no grand plan behind the photograph. I simply noticed the leaf, thought it was beautiful, and took the picture. Now it has become a small record of that day: the Forest History Center, Archaeology Month, northern Minnesota, and the kind of unexpected beauty you find when you take a moment to take it all in.
This piece also reflects something that matters to me about the work I share here. The original image is my own photograph, taken by me, and when I adapt my photographs into graphic designs or photo-based cross-stitch patterns, I do that work myself. The same is true of my drawings. I care that these pieces come out of my own life, my own experiences, my own hands, and my own way of seeing. So this is not just a maple leaf to me. It is a memory of an autumn walk, a glimpse of Minnesota’s changing woods, and a reminder that sometimes the most meaningful images are found in the quiet moments between one obligation and the next.
- 200 × 150 stitches
- 10 × 7.5 in. on 20-count Aida
- 90 DMC colors
- 2 strands of floss
- Includes color chart, black-and-white symbol chart, pattern key, overview, and instructions
- Digital PDF; no physical item will be shipped
This design comes from a photograph I took at Savanna Portage State Park in northern Minnesota, while walking around Loon Lake on the way home from the Forest History Center. SASSAk12 had participated in Archaeology Month with the Minnesota Historical Society that year, traveling from site to site each weekend throughout the month of September to share hands-on activities with visiting patrons. One of our volunteers and I decided to stop for a walk before heading back. I hesitate to call it a hike because we were really just walking, but it was nonetheless invigorating and we throughly enjoyed searching for all the vibrant natural treasures hiding in plain sight. Minnesota does an incredible job providing public parks and paths all around the state and there is something about being able to step out of the car, into the woods, and into the vivid color of a northern Minnesota autumn.
What I love about this image is the way the leaf seems to hold the whole season inside it. The greens, yellows, oranges, and reds are all present at once, along with the veins, shadows, and small imperfections that make it feel alive rather than decorative. Maples are such an important part of the autumn landscape in Minnesota, and their leaves help create the brilliant color that draws people into the woods every fall. I wanted this pattern to preserve not only the shape of a maple leaf, but also the variation within it—the evidence of weather, light, age, and seasonal change.
For me, the real heart of the image is the memory attached to it. It was an ordinary decision to stop and walk, but it gave us a moment to breathe after a day of presenting, driving, and being responsible for other things. There was no grand plan behind the photograph. I simply noticed the leaf, thought it was beautiful, and took the picture. Now it has become a small record of that day: the Forest History Center, Archaeology Month, northern Minnesota, and the kind of unexpected beauty you find when you take a moment to take it all in.
This piece also reflects something that matters to me about the work I share here. The original image is my own photograph, taken by me, and when I adapt my photographs into graphic designs or photo-based cross-stitch patterns, I do that work myself. The same is true of my drawings. I care that these pieces come out of my own life, my own experiences, my own hands, and my own way of seeing. So this is not just a maple leaf to me. It is a memory of an autumn walk, a glimpse of Minnesota’s changing woods, and a reminder that sometimes the most meaningful images are found in the quiet moments between one obligation and the next.
- 200 × 150 stitches
- 10 × 7.5 in. on 20-count Aida
- 90 DMC colors
- 2 strands of floss
- Includes color chart, black-and-white symbol chart, pattern key, overview, and instructions
- Digital PDF; no physical item will be shipped
