Are You Up for a Cross Stitch Challenge?

I for one don’t think we should try to do anything new in January. There’s enough going on, and it’s winter (at least where I live) and the way this timeline is going just getting through it is enough.

But it might be about time to start thinking about goals and challenges, at least when it comes to our crafts. There are lots of fun things you can do to learn new skills, finish old projects or just keep making things.

Sirious Stitches has a post all about gamifying your stitching, whether through a challenge devised by someone else or by making your own challenge for yourself.

There are lots of potential benefits such as using what you have and finishing projects you wanted to make at some point in the past.

The post includes some ideas for challenging yourself to stitch more, such as 100 days of stitching or planning to do 24 hours of stitching over the course of a long weekend, as well as ideas for starting new projects, making a tracker project, skill challenges and more.

If you’re looking for some challenges with a bit more structure, Stitching the Night Away has compiled a list of cross stitch challenges and stitchalongs that you can jump into whenever you are ready. You’ll find both free and paid stitchalongs here, and a wide range of topics are included.

For example, there’s a Doctor Who themed project, Christmas projects, floral designs and more. Joining in one one of these projects can be even more fun because typically there’s a community aspect to it, which is nice if you don’t know other people who cross stitch.

Do you have any particular goals or are you taking part in any cross stitch challenges (official or your own) this year? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Sirious Stitches]

I started writing this one as a designer spotlight kind of post, and then I realized when I was almost done with it that I had actually featured this designer before. It was in late 2024, so I’ll forgive myself for forgetting, but it’s worth taking another look at Mama Witch Cross Stitch. It looks like the shop has changed a bit since the last time I looked in, and you all just needed to see this amazing pattern anyway.

In the listing this one is called “whimsical opossum,” because of course it is. This little creature is sporting a straw hat and playing a banjo next to a crock of moonshine and surrounded by a wreath of pumpkins, mushrooms and other fall icons. Clicking through the images, though, I see it’s also called Possum Song, which is also pretty great.

Either way, the design is 144 by 130 stitches, which comes out to 10.29 by 9.29 inches, or about 26 by 23.5 cm on 14 count fabric.

This is not the only possum pattern offered by this shop, but you get the vibe from this one.

And to quickly check in on the rest of the shop, there are a great number of Halloween themed cross stitch patterns here, too, many with a sort of dark whimsy like mermaid skeletons, cat witches and a pumpkin-headed rider on a skeleton unicorn, to name just a few.

Another category worth noting, though it is much smaller, is “sad Victorian ghosts,” which features ghosts (sometimes in Victorian garb, sometimes not) going to the pub and the library, hanging laundry and taking a bath.

There are also a lot of Christmas designs, some sweet and some snarky, and a few creepy ones, too. Other categories include the new for 2026 “sunny patterns” (similar style motifs just with brighter colors and lighter backgrounds), as well as bookmarks and mini cross stitch designs.

[Photo: Mama Witch Cross Stitch]

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