Designer Spotlight: Favorite Gnome

Just by the name of this designer’s Etsy shop, Favorite Gnome, you can probably guess at most of what you will find in this storefront. There are in fact more that 250 gnome cross stitch patterns on this page as of this writing, with themes form holidays to sports, occupations, hobbies and more.

You can stitch up a knitting gnome (you know I had to mention that!). Or a gnome that’s a dentist. How about a mushroom? Or one in the Navy? And that’s just a few just on the first page of listings!

There are of course lots of Christmas and other holiday themed ones, too. I like this classic Santa gnome shown here holding a stocking with candy canes. I like that it’s not all red and white stripes but brings in some green, too. The design is 63 by 117 stitches, which comes out to 5 by 9 inches or 11.4 by 21.3 cm. It uses 20 colors and includes a fair bit of back stitching to outline the gnome and add the snowflake to the stocking. It would be a great gift for a gnome lover or a Santa fan.

You can also buy some sets of gnome cross stitch patterns if you like. As of this writing they include witches, zodiac signs, wine-themed gnomes, autumn and Halloween gnomes, winter gnomes and a set for St. Patrick’s Day.

I did say there was more than gnomes here, though that collection would be plenty. You can also find some animal cross stitch patterns, which are done is a cute cartoony style with most of them having flowers on their heads.

This designer will also make custom cross stitch patterns from a photo for you if that’s something you’re interested in.

Check out all the fun (and gnome-filled!) patterns they have to offer at Favorite Gnome. And maybe let me know which gnome is your favorite.

[Photo: Favorite Gnome]

Hanukkah is a great reason to pull out your cross stitch fabric and thread and stitch up some fun seasonal cross stitch patterns.

If you have trouble spelling Hanukkah (I know I do!) you’ll want to stitch up the How Do You Spell… project from SKB Cross Stitch Design. This one includes a bunch of different ways to spell the holiday, along with some symbols like a dreidel and menorah. (Technically I think all the ways to spell it are “correct.”) The pattern includes full, fractional and bask titches, and measures 8.5 by 7 inches, or 21.6 by 17.8 cm. It has the date for 2004/5785 but you can easily change the year or leave that part off.

Another project with some fun word play is the Words to Live By chart from Sam Brie Stitches. This one includes Hanukkah related symbols and word presented crossword puzzle style, which is fun to stitch and to display. The design uses 10 colors and measures 74 by 103 stitches. It’s shown worked on 18 count fabric.

I may have shared these before, but the Hanukkah patterns from the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery are so cute they’re definitely worth sharing again. Happy Hanukkah features a menorah, dreidels, gelt, stars and candles, and it fits in a 6-inch hoop. At 75 by 75 stitches, it comes out to 5.4 inches/13.4 cm on 14 count Aida or 28 count linen. They also have this cute little dreidel stamp cross stitch pattern, which is 39 by 49 stitches, or 2.8 by 3.5 inches (about 7 by 9 cm) on 14 count Aida or 28 count linen.

Works By ABC has a lot of great patterns for Hanukkah, but here are just a couple to get you started. The Rules for Dreidel design is fun for kids and adults and shows the different sides of the dreidel and what it means when you land on them. The stitch count is 62 by 94 and its shown worked on 32 count linen. It calls for three colors. I also like this menorah one, which measures 44 by 49 stitches and uses two colors along with coordinating seed beads. On 32 count linen as shown (equivalent to 16 count Aida) it measures 2.75 by 3.1 inches, or almost 7 by 7.8 cm.

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