About me & the studio

My name is Simone de Jong, the face behind Atelier Soed Idee in Vaassen, in the Veluwe region of the Netherlands. Cross stitch has been my favourite hobby for many years. Since 2011, I have also been designing my own cross stitch patterns, with a love of traditional samplers and warm, antique colours.

A soft spot for antique samplers

I love antique samplers. Especially buying them, I have to admit! I have built up a collection that I enjoy studying. Whenever possible, I try to find out where a sampler came from and who stitched it. Sometimes I discover something about the stitcher; sometimes all I have is a name or a few initials on the sampler.

These old samplers are also the starting point for many of my patterns. I reproduce a complete sampler as a book or chart, or we stitch it together during a SAL (Stitch Along). Sometimes I use just one part as the inspiration for a smaller design.

At Soed Idee, you can stitch the samplers I so enjoy searching for. Another one regularly finds its way into my collection, sometimes with a little encouragement from my team…

How Soed Idee began

The name Soed Idee comes from my son. When he was little, he could not pronounce the Dutch G, so a “goed idee” (good idea) became a “Soed Idee”. With my head always full of ideas, it seemed the perfect name for my studio.

Since 2017, I have worked from a wooden studio in our back garden. Here you will find my own patterns and a range of stitching supplies chosen to suit the style I love: beautiful linen and threads in warm shades, with coordinating fabrics for finishing your needlework.

Many stitchers know Soed Idee through Randje per Week, our SALs, or a meeting at a needlework fair or stitching retreat.