Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

Designer Spotlight: Counting Puddles

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Counting Puddles is an Etsy shop that doesn’t have a huge selection of cross stitch patterns, but it does have some printables that might be relevant at the time of year that I am writing this.

Most of the patterns you’ll find in the shop are seasonal, with a couple of space-themed ones thrown in. 

I of course love this Books are Magic design, which includes books, flowers, a butterfly, moon and stars worked in back stitch. There are lots of techniques here including cross stitches, back and straight stitches, French knots and star stitches, which give it a lovely, textured look. The design is 114 by 140 stitches, which comes out to 7.1 by 8.8 inches, or 18 by 22 cm, on 32 count linen stitched over 2.

Many of their patterns combine cross stitch with techniques that might be considered more embroidery, which is a fun way both to learn some different techniques and to give your project a different look than straight cross stitching gives you.

As I mentioned, in addition to patterns, the shop offers a couple of good looking printables if doing more cross stitch and being better organized are among your new year’s resolutions. There’s a cross stitch tracker printable to help encourage you to stitch a little every day and a project tracker that’s set up with 12 projects on a progress wheel with another page for notes with more details about what each project is and when you started and finished them. 

The tracker has am x (like a cross stitch, of course!) for each day so you can color it in when you do stitching. It’s important when forming or reinforcing a habit to not break the chain and this gives you a visual reminder of that. 

Check out all their designs at the Counting Puddles Etsy shop. If you try out their printables, or you have another way of keeping your cross stitch goals on track, I’d love to hear about it.

[Photo: Countin Puddles]

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D&D Cross Stitch Patterns

My husband is a D&D player from way back and still does role playing with his friends most weekends. There are lots of great D&D cross stitch patterns, but somehow the ones that caught my eye this time have a theme of being about the D&D classes or involving dice (or both). 

I love this collection of the D&D classes done as tarot cards. These would be so fun to stitch up for all the people in your party, or make the full set as one big wall hanging for the game room. There are 16 patterns total (just a few are shown here) and each one just uses three colors. The designs are from GlitchStitchAU.

This set kind of reminds me of astrological signs, though I can’t really say why. This set of 16 designs from White Raven Patterns is color coordinated so it sort of makes a rainbow if you stitch all of them. The dungeon master one is more colorful. Each one uses five or six colors and fits in a 10-inch hoop. 

Combining character classes and dice we get this set of 14 designs from Stitch it Picasso. Each one includes the class name and a die with a number on it, as well as some images that make sense for that class (the bard has a lute and music notes, for example). Each design is around 90 by 90 stitches and they use 13 to 19 colors each, depending on the design. 

Or you can make patches that look like dice with this D20 dice bundle from Non Player Creation. The patches are inspired by the four seasons, but you could change up the colors to suit your campaign setting if you like. They are 31 by 35 stitches and use between nine and 12 colors depending on the season. 

And speaking of D20s, this little dragon might be protecting your dice or cursing them, it’s hard to tell. It’s kind of cute, though! The design is from Cross Stitch Wow and measures 80 by 95 stitches. It fits in an 8-inch hoop and uses 16 colors.