I have always loved Mother Goose rhymes.
Opening any book of these melodic songs, baffling riddles and
nonsense verse is like opening a treasure chest of jewels from
earliest childhood. One of my first publishing projects involved
illustrating a selection of nursery rhymes for a little set of
board books. But I wanted to do more with Mother Goose. Years
later, while visiting a cousin, I noticed her fine cross-stitched
samplers framed and hanging in her home. Some of the pieces she
had stitched included scenes of children climbing fences and
picking flowers. I realized that cross-stitching might make a
wonderful illustration technique for a children's book. But what
would be the subject of the book? I knew that the people who
stitched regularly often created samplers to hang in a child's
nursery. 
Then what better subject for a
cross-stitched children's book -- Mother Goose! Once I started
researching, I soon discovered that young girls in the 1700s and
1800s stitched samplers as part of their schooling. Those early
American school-girl samplers usually included verses along with
pictures and alphabet letters. And sometimes the verses
originated with Mother Goose! I wondered, however, why almost no
one in recent years had illustrated any books using
cross-stitching as their technique. I found out why. It takes
forever!!! It took three years to finish the book. Since I don't
personally know how to sew, I enlisted the help of 50 friends and
relatives to stitch up the samplers I designed. Their names are
listed in the front of the book and I still feel thankful for all
their work.
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Copyright © 1998 Tedd Arnold. All rights reserved.