Designer Spotlight: Needle Treasures Nook

If you like your cross stitch with a bit of a rustic look, you’ll want to check out the Etsy shop Needle Treasures Nook. This shop is based in Bulgaria and does a lot of projects shown as pillows, though of course you could frame them if you like that look better.

Because of the season at the time of this writing I was drawn first to the St. Patrick’s Day section, which has a couple of handfuls of projects for you to choose from. I like this lucky heart design, which includes shamrocks in a heart shape and a couple of ladybugs (or ladybirds, depending on where you live). Yes, they are supposed to be good luck, especially if one lands on you!

The design is 52 by 49 stitches and its shown on 32 count ecru linen that was dyed with green tea, which is kind of fun. Instructions for how to dye fabric with botanicals are included in the pattern. And of course you don’t have to make yours heart shaped but it is pretty that way.

In addition there are lots of other holiday themed cross stitch patterns. In particular there are a lot of Thanksgiving patterns, more even than Christmas, though only by a couple. Cute animals are on heavy rotation here, including turkeys, foxes, squirrels and rabbits. There are also plenty of leaves and pumpkins, of course.

How about those Christmas patterns? Here you’ll find sweet trees, rustic Santas, snow-themed projects and, of course, more adorable animals. You’ll also find projects for Valentine’s Day, Easter, spring and summer and an array of American patriotic patterns. (Do we Americans stitch so much red, white and blue stuff that designers from other countries need to make more for us? It’s a mystery.)

They also have a few fonts, Quaker style patterns, bees, flowers, fruits and more. Check out all the goodies at Needle Treasures Nook on Etsy.

[Photo: Needle Treasures Nook]

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Unique St. Patrick's Day Cross Stitch Patterns

I’m primarily a knitter, and in the knitting world the “emotional support chicken” has been a big trend probably for a couple of years now (I don’t know how long something has to be popular before you can stop calling it a trend, but whatever).

There are chicken crochet patterns that are popular as well, and now I’ve found a cross stitch chicken pattern that might just become the newest iteration of the emotional support chicken theme.

The Funky Chickens pattern from Satsuma Street are three-dimensional, triangular chickens embellished with felt to make their facial features and tail feathers. The bodies include stripes, curves, speckles and other little designs to mark different parts of their bodies. They’re super cute and not any more difficult to stitch than any other pattern, though of course there’s more finishing than you would normally expect.

The pattern includes designs for three chickens, which are actually a rooster and two hens. The rooster is slightly larger, at 120 by 60 stitches, or 4 by 4 inches/10 cm when finished. The hens are 100 by 50 stitches and come out to 3.25 inches/8 cm when finished. These measurements are for stitching on 14 count fabric or 28 count over two.

The patterns use 13 colors, and if you want to make all three, one skein of each color will make all of them. In addition to your regular cross stitch supplies you’ll need three or four little pieces of felt of different colors to add all the details.

These chickens would be great to use as pincushions, or you could put something heavy in the bottom and use them as pattern weights if you do sewing. They’d also be fun gifts for anyone who likes chickens or needs a little emotional support if you explain it to them.

The pattern is available from Satsuma Street on Etsy.

[Photo: Satsuma Street]

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