Designer Spotlight: Ruby Red Thread Design

Calling all lovers of geeky and gamer cross stitch! I’d like to introduce you to Ruby Red Thread Design, a Canadian Etsy shop full of projects you’ll love if you’re into Pokemon, Studio Ghibli, Final Fantasy and other geeky genres.

The first thing to catch my eye in this shop was the adorable hobbit hole cross stitch pattern, but since there’s a Ghibli category (which is a big love in our house; our cats are even named for Ghibli characters) I knew I needed to show one of those projects off.

I’m already working on a Baba Yaga house for my daughter, but I know she would also love this Howl’s Moving Castle project. Maybe her room needs to be all fictional houses? The hobbit hole would fit in that theme as well!

This big boy of a design is 258 by 300 stitches, and it uses 55 colors. It’s all full stitches and you’re not stitching the background, so choose a pretty color of cross stitch fabric. Worked on 14 count fabric this design would be 18.4 by 21.4 inches, or 46.7 by 53.4 cm. You can make it smaller by using a higher count fabric if you want.

You’ll also find some great stuff in the TV and movies section, with projects ranging from Luci in a bottle from Disenchanted to a Sailor Moon heart locket and several The Fifth Element themed projects. The Pokemon patterns are all super cute, and while I don’t know anything about Final Fantasy those projects look good, too.

There are even a few projects that aren’t linked to fandoms, though I’m not totally sure why you’d want such a thing.

Check out all the fun offerings at Ruby Red Thread Design on Etsy. As of this writing you can receive 20 percent off your order when you buy three patterns or more at once, so let’s get to geeky stitching!

[Photo: Ruby Red Thread Design]

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Review: Pokemon Cross Stitch

Cute spooky and fantasy cross stitch patterns is how the designer behind Haunted Frames describes their shop, and I have to agree with them. These designs are cute and Gothic and a little bit spooky all at once. There’s a heavy focus on book themes, which you know I am a fan of, so let’s get into it.

Stopping first in the books section, there are lots of designs that are literally on book shapes, but if you know my love of both books and cats, you’ll know I had to share the Midnight Book Cart cross stitch pattern. As the name suggests it’s a design with a witchy book cart, complete with a spiderweb, bats flying out of a book and what it describes as a ghost cat (though I would have to make a black cat instead of a white one since I have a black cat, and that fits with the vibe).

The design is 65 by 97 stitches and is worked in 17 colors. It’s shown on 16 count fabric, which makes it 4.1 by 6.1 inches, or 10.3 by 15.4 cm.

I also love the winter themed little free library design, which would be perfect to stitch up for the little librarian in your life (or to drop at a neighborhood book space).

Projects with a book theme make up the majority of the patterns that are categorized in this shop, but you’ll want to scroll through all their patterns to see what else is available, since it doesn’t look like everything is in a category. You’ll find castles and dragons, more cats of course, some more obviously Halloween and Christmas themed projects and those that would suit for spooky season or any other time of year.

If cute and dark is your aesthetic, you’ll want to check out all the patterns at www.etsy.com/shop/HauntedFrames, which you can find on Etsy.

[Photo: Haunted Frames]

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