This was my first attempt at using Pattern Maker, the PC software I purchased to help me create my own charts. It is a direct translation of artwork found at the obakemono website, which aims to catalog the monsters of Japanese folklore.

Baku is a chimera, and is able to devour one's nightmares. I plan to follow tradition and place him near my bed when I finally get him framed.

This is a free design by Martina Weber, also known as Châtelaine. The garden is a mandala of sorts, with its square aspect ratio and repeating symmetrical patterns. It is abstract and yet achingly literal—gold seed beads crown a wrought iron blackwork fence and variegated silk floss is used to render the tiniest of roses in a scatter of Algerian eyelets.

This enchanting pattern depicts a gathering of birds and small mammals wearing fancy hats. To be able to render this kind of whimsy in so few stitches is the genius of Brightneedle. I've started on this piece twice. It is the first design I've ever attempted over-one. I am disregarding the color instructions and making it up as I go along. This is a large part of the fun.

It seems that for as long as I've been stitching on this one, the description should just write itself. It's the first chart I've done which is also based on my own artwork. I love the idea of a little house surrounded by stars. I want to draw a parallel between stitching motifs and heavenly apparitions.

This is one of the most complex and figurative samplers I've ever seen. It will require climbing a tremendous learning curve, as it contains many different kinds of stitches I've never done before, a universe of techniques that I hope to somehow master. The piece is named after the designer's grandmother, who taught her how to sew.

This is another sampler featuring a host of stitches still unknown to me, stitches with beautiful and exotic names like Montenegrin, Smyrna cross, padded Rhodes, double back, holbein. My doodle cloth will be getting quite the workout.

This will be my first foray into pure blackwork. I think the maze format is novel and yet perfect for highlighting the diversity of blackwork stitches and their beautiful intricacy.

I also have my eye on her Starry Nights design.

This glorious piece arose from Karen's study of tree motifs in samplers. She found so many she liked that she decided to put them all together in one exuberant collection: more than a hundred of them populate the forest.

I will probably swap out the quote in the middle for something a little more esoteric, perhaps in a language noone recognizes.

Another exquisite Brightneedle design. Their patterns are so meticulously crafted, not a single stitch is wasted.

Sheep, birds, and neat thing in the sky. Love it!

Playful yet powerful depiction of the biblical legend. Articulate and captivating even in a limited color palette.

Peacocks, a landscape populated by hearts, squirrels and deer, and an intriguing quote: "Adorn your heart, adorn your mind, with Knowledge of the purest kind."

I enjoy the colorful and playful look of this traditional style of embroidery, with its oversized greenery dwarfing the rabbits, goats and squirrels that frolic beneath the gigantic flowers. This is a complete departure from counted stitch work, but I hope to add it someday to my tool box.

Breathtaking band sampler inspired by centuries-old designs from Anatolia, the Asian portion of modern-day Turkey. Coded for Carrie's Threads.