Designer Spotlight: Natalka Studio

Natalka Studio is an Etsy shop based in Ukraine with a wide variety of cross stitch designs, including realistic, detailed designs with women doing various things, holiday patterns, geometrics and more.

One of the biggest categories in the shop is called girl cross stitch, which features detailed designs of women with flowing hair doing things like drinking coffee, dancing and carrying flowers. There are seasonal projects in this category as well as a couple having to do with hobbies.

I like the knitting one, of course, and almost shared the sewing one as the featured pattern above until I realized the thread is coming off a cone on the floor and there’s no pedal for running the machine.

The one I am sharing here isn’t actually in that category but it is really cute. Little Girl with Watermelon uses 21 colors and measures 73 by 73 stitches. That’s 5.21 inches or 13.3 cm square if you work it on 14 count fabric. I love her messy hair and the little dress and matching bows. You could also change the colors if you have a little girl who isn’t as into pink (or doesn’t have brown hair).

The largest category on the page is animals, and there you will find wild animals like monkeys, pandas and sloths; ocean creatures such as rays, an octopus and a blue tang fish; frogs, dogs and geese, among others.

There are also a lot of Christmas cross stitch patterns, which include a lot of traditional motifs and some more whimsical themes. I like this one of Santa resting by the fire with his boots off.

In addition to all these you’ll find pretty flowers, a bunch of mostly floral bookmarks, a whole big set of patterns with lemons, and a lot more. The fruits and berries section (if you like fruits other than lemons) would be perfect for decorating your kitchen or breakfast area.

Check out all the great patterns they have to offer at Natalka Studio on Etsy.

[Photo: Natalka Studio]

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Cross Stitch for Women's History Month

Cross stitch is not a craft I generally travel with (since I’m not that good at it, I prefer not to be moving while I’m doing it) but I’m sure there are lots of stitchers who would like to take their projects with them when they travel.

Koekoek has a post all about cross stitching on a plane, which is a great plan since it’s lots of uninterrupted time to work. As mentioned in the post, you should be able to bring embroidery needles (which tend not to be that sharp anyway) on an airplane with you.

Regulations in the United States say that scissors with blades up to 4 inches/10 cm are allowed in the cabin, but whether they are allowed by security as you pass through it is up to their discretion. And thread cutters that use a razor blade are not supposed to be allowed at any time.

Alternatives include bringing nail clippers to snip your threads, or pre-cutting thread and placing it on bobbins so you can stitch on the plane. Then pack scissors in your checked bag so you can cut any loose ends or extra long strands later.

Check out the post at Koekoek for more tips on traveling with cross stitch and suggestions for projects to pack when traveling. I’ve also written in the past about this post from Caterpillar Cross Stitch about traveling with cross stitch supplies and, importantly, what to do to make your screening as smooth as possible. And, importantly, what to do if the security agents question your supplies or want to confiscate anything you brought.

And that’s a great tip, too: if you are packing scissors in your carry on but you’re also checking a bag, pack extras there just in case.

Do you have any tips for traveling with cross stitch projects? I’d love to hear them. Also check out my post about planning a travel stitching kit.

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