Designer Spotlight: Murder Puffin

I’ve long had a soft spot for puffins, so of course when I found an Etsy shop called Murder Puffin I had to share it.

And I’m so glad I found it because they’ve got some weird stuff that I hope you’re going to like as much as I do.

There are cryptids and true crime, nautical themed designs, holiday wanted posters and an entire section called memento mori. So if that sounds like something you’d be into, read on.

The biggest section on the site, though, is Altoid tin cross stitch patterns. If you can’t quite imagine what an Altoid tin cross stitch pattern would be like, this mummy cross stitch tin is a pretty representative example.

Most of them have a character (in this case, the mummy, but it could be anything from an alien to a racoon to a gnome) or more than one, who is made into a tiny stuffed doll. There’s a design for the top and bottom inside of the tin; here it’s a pyramid and an anhk design. There’s also a small design for the top of the box. And finally, a kind of blanket and a pillow so you can tuck your little character into the box.

Each one is a cute little set that would be so fun to display (and play with!) on your desk or bookshelf. And there’s a great range of options to choose from.

In addition to those, you’ll find a lot of other fun stuff for the strange and unusual on your gift list. There are some delightfully creepy (and mostly cryptid-inspired) tarot cards. A whole set of dark samplers called Gothic murder family. And a section called potted cross stitch, with little designs like mushrooms, plants and pumpkins you can stitch up and “plant” in tiny pots.

There’s so much fun stuff you really just need to stop reading this and go visit Murder Puffin on Etsy. I hope you find it as delightful as I do!

[Photo: Murder Puffin]

Next Pattern:

A Cute Idea for a Cross-Stitched Scene

It’s back to school time where I live, which I always feel like is a great time to learn a new skill or take a deeper dive into something that you might not have learned a lot about before.

Usually when we are learning new hobbies we only know what we know. We learn the terms that we encounter, the skills that come up in the projects that we want to make. It’s not that we don’t care about other basics or different approaches, we just learn what we need to know to make what we want to make.

And that’s totally fine, but sometimes it’s a good idea to go back and review the basics or learn the things you might have missed the first time.

In that spirit I share this post from Caterpillar Cross Stitch all about basic cross stitch terms that every stitcher ought to know.

Did you know that the little bundle of thread you use for cross stitch is called a skein, for example? Or the difference between grid size and design area in a pattern? Or that working complete stitches one at a time is known as the English method? (I didn’t know that one! Apparently doing half of the stitch across the row and then coming back and finishing it is the Danish method. Who knew?)

There’s also a little bit about getting started with confidence that might be helpful at any skill level.

So what I’m saying is, even if you feel like you know a lot about cross stitch already, head over to Caterpillar Cross Stitch and check out their list of terms and make sure you know them all. If nothing else you’ll feel a little smarter, either because you already knew them all or you learned something new!

And if you do learn something new, I’d love to hear about it.

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