Story of the Stitch: Aunt Bea

Aunt Bea

Once upon a time there was a young bride who wielded a brush and painted cute little signs with silly sayings on them. Sayings like, "If Mama Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy".  She would paint all sorts of barnyard animals but far and away her most popular character was a chicken known only to herself as Aunt Bea. Aunt Bea sold many a sign and took an early retirement when a cute little baby showed up on the scene and took the young bride off into the world of motherhood. 

Aunt Bea waited patiently in the background of the brides mind manifesting herself as a real chicken when homeschooling brought real chickens into the backyard. (You can read all about our chicken raising days here.)

The Real Life Aunt Bea

And then one day the real life Aunt Bea became egg bound and went to that big chicken coop in the sky where her wings weren't clipped and she could catch all the worms she wanted without fear of her sister chickens stealing them from her. 

So Aunt Bea returned to the back of the bride's mind. The children grew and needed less direct attention from the bride and she decided to go back to her crafting ways.  (You can read about that here.) It seemed only natural that Aunt Bea would once again make an appearance only this time she would be rendered in thread. And she would have a newer, hip saying..."Fresh". Because if ever there was a hip(ster) chicken it was Aunt Bea. 

Aunt Bea

And in case you wondering where her name came from and thought perhaps of another Aunt Bee from a certain 1960's series....you are right. She is a bit of an homage to Aunt Bee from The Andy Griffith Show. And so was the original painted Aunt Bea. And there were other members of the female cast that showed up in our little backyard flock as well! (Thelma Lou, Helen, Skippy and Daphne (the Fun Girls) and Clara...all chasing worms in chicken heaven now.) 

And that, in a corn kernel, is the story of Aunt Bea.  You can find her in my Etsy shop, LuhuStitches, as a PDF Instant Download and very soon she will be available as a hard copy pattern that will also be available in my Etsy shop. 

Aunt Bea