Designer Spotlight: Goffin Design

Even though their patterns cover a wide range of seasons, holidays and motifs, there’s just something about the designs from Etsy seller Goffin Design that evokes spring to me.

The colors are bright, fresh and cheerful, whether they’re used to illustrate four seasons of windows, Santa at his workshop or a pair of potted citrus trees.

A great many of the designs on offer have to do with the seasons, and quite a few of them are sets of four patterns that are related, such as the above-mentioned windows, or there are seasonal mice, hearts with the season’s word in the middle each stitched in a different color, and all sorts of seasonal birds, birdhouses, landscapes, cats…I could go on and on. The point is, if you like patterns that evoke the seasons, or a set of patterns that can keep you stitching on a theme all year long, you’re going to want to check those out.

The photo above is the vintage yard cross stitch pattern, featuring a teal doorway and a pink bicycle. Of course you could change the colors if you want but I really like this combination. And, again, with all the flowers and bright colors I think you can see where I’m getting the idea that their patterns feel like spring.

This particular pattern is 109 by 101 stitches and measures 7.79 by 7.21 inches, or 19.78 by 18.32 cm, when stitches on 14 count fabric. It uses 24 colors and has whole stitches and back stitching.

They also have a lot of flowers and cacti featured in patterns. There are several patterns for cross stitched orchids, for example, and botanically correct fruit shown on the plant and in cross section, including pear, peach, apple, orange, strawberry, pomegranate, cherry and apricot. These would be so lovely in a kitchen or dining room!

I can only scratch the surface in these reviews, but if I’ve piqued your interest, go check them out on Etsy at Goffin Design.

[Photo: Goffin Design]

I was recently approached by Alyssa, the cross stitcher behind the Etsy shop Stitchonomy, to take a look at her cross stitch pattern subscription club, known as The Pattern Club.

I took a look around and there’s a lot of cute stuff and fun options you’ll want to check out, especially if you love themed patterns that are small, easy to stitch and fun to combine.

The Pattern Club combines cross stitching with a social network. When you open the site you’ll see a news feed and have the ability to share updates much like you would on Facebook. You can see who is online, have buddies and post your own updates and photos. The community aspect is a little sparse right now but that should only grow.

The stitch along hub is the place to find the most recent patterns and information on the current stitchalong. As of this writing the Book Lover’s stitchalong was happening, with little designs like Peter Rabbit, a skull for Hamlet and keys for Jane Eyre as well as authors including Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen.

Other pattern collections include European designs, Halloween, ocean life, an allotment garden and more. Alyssa tells me there’s a new theme every month that either she picks or members in the community suggest. You can stitch just the patterns you want or put them together to make a larger collage.

The Stitchanomini vault gives you access to all of the previous patterns, and new patterns are released daily through the stitchalong. You can download individual patterns (most of them are 19 by 19 stitches) as PDFs or Pattern Keeper files. The PDFs include a color and black and white chart as well as a floss list.

Another cool thing you can do is build your own pattern collages from all of the squares that have been released. The collage configurator allows you to add patterns of your choosing to a grid ranging from 2×2 patterns up to 4×4. You can scroll through all the current patterns or search by theme and size to make a project that suits your needs. (Above is an example I made kind of at random but you get the idea.)

If you want to check it out, you can grab a three-day free trial and see all the pattern options. Membership is $7.99 a month, or if you pay for a year at a time you’ll get two months free. In addition to the patterns in the club, members receive discounts on patterns and supplies purchased through the shop within the club. Annual members get access to three paid/retired stitchalongs and lifetime members receive all retired patterns.

If you check it out I’d love to hear what you think!

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