Designer Spotlight: Lola Crow Cross Stitch

If you’re looking for cross stitch patterns with a gothic twist, you can find them at Lola Crow Cross Stitch. This Etsy seller based in Oregon describes their shop as having “adorably unusual cross stitch patterns” and I have to say I agree.

My daughter would love just about everything in this shop, from the creepy Christmas village (done as a stitchalong, it features six designs including a holiday tree decorated with skulls, a ghoulish set of carolers and a headless horse-drawn carriage, each one fitting in a 4-inch hoop so you can use them as ornaments) to the ghastly gnome in a poison garden. That one is 119 by 114 stitches (or 8.5 by 8.1 inches/21.6 by 20.7 centimeters on 14 count fabric) and uses 25 colors.

The pattern that caught my eye, though, which is shown above, is the greenhouse of oddities. This one was also done as a stitchalong but you can purchase the full pattern now. This one has so many cool details, from the wrought-iron greenhouse frames to a ton of different creepy plants, all of which are based on real, naturally occurring plants. There’s a corpse flower, of course, pitcher plants and other oddities that are poisonous, carnivorous, parasites and other weird plants.

You can also stitch in a scientist of your choice, as well as a skeleton, crows and other fun stuff. In all it uses 30 colors and measures 218 by 160 stitches, or 15.6 by 11.4 inches, which is 39.6 by 29.0 cm.

If you’re not into things that are quite that weird, they also have a series of cats in windows, not all of which are creepy (also reaching cats and cats in boxes, and some cats on shelves, too); chickens and goats; holiday patterns for Valentine’s Day, Halloween and Christmas; and some cool (OK, maybe a little creepy, too) crows.

If you are or you stitch for someone who is a little on the darker side, these patterns are a lot of fun. Check them out at Lola Crow Cross Stitch.

[Photo: Lola Crow Cross Stitch]

Artmishka Cross Stitch is an Etsy shop based in Italy with lots of whimsical and colorful designs and an emphasis on animals, flowers and landscapes. Let’s take a closer look!

The animal section is by far the largest, and it includes everything from realistic birds to cartoony cats, a set of little chick ornaments for Easter and a blackwork butterfly, to name a few. There are little animals in clothes and scarves, and this sweet folk art style owl in modern colors.

This one (and lots of them, really, I think) was designed as nursery decor, and it calls for 10 colors, which you can of course change up to suit your decor, nursery or otherwise. The design is 95 by 95 stitches, which comes out to about 7 inches or 18 cm square on 14 count fabric or 28 count evenweave stitched over two strands.

Another large category is flowers, which includes birth month flower designs, flowers that look hand drawn and colored, floral wreaths with teapots and wedding floral cross stitch designs.

The sampler section includes a variety of small patterns, images with words, colorful geometric and floral designs, and a few holiday patterns. Christmas designs include stamps, Christmas trees, stocking, snowmen and a cute box of snowflake shaped Christmas cookies in a box with a mug of hot chocolate, to name a few designs.

There are also a fair number of designs in both the landscape and cottage categories. These include iconic landmarks and colorful sunsets, and buildings from beach houses to a mushroom cottage, book shop and a cottage with flowers bursting out of the roof. There’s also a section called girl, which has designs of a little girl in different outfits and situations and some other characters.

Other categories on the site with smaller numbers of patterns include boy designs, princesses, plants, hobby themed designs (sewing, knitting, baking), art and bookmarks. There are also a handful of cross stitch kits, all of the little girl character.

Check out all of the fun designs at Artmishka Cross Stitch.

[Photo: Artmishka Cross Stitch]

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