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]

I have never been one who can predict trends, and even when I hear about trends for crafting I don’t always believe them. When I heard ducks and geese were going to be big this year I didn’t totally believe it, but here were are, with duck and goose cross stitch patterns everywhere, not to mention porch geese having a resurgence and these birds showing up in other crafts as well.

So when a wizard goose cross stitch pattern caught my eye, I knew I needed to share it.

It’s not only a wizard goose, but a wizard goose riding a bicycle, announcing their mission to go cause a kerfuffle.

How could I not share that?

The design is from Cross Stitch With Art, and it’s actually not the only one this character features in, but we’ll get to that. This particular design uses six colors and measures 76 by 103 stitches. That’s about 5.5 by 7.5 inches, or 14 by 19 cm, when you stitch it on 14 count fabric. The pattern is great for beginner to intermediate stitchers, as it uses pretty simple shapes and not a lot of colors.

It might also be fun to do the sparkles in a metallic thread, but it’s cute just as it is, too.

If you’re not up for raising a kerfuffle, maybe you’d like another one of this character’s designs. There’s another one on the bike (riding the other direction, so you can make the pair and hang them together) in which the goose is cultivating whimsy. Other designs show the goose holding a candle. One of them is also about whimsy, while another advises to “hang in there it gets worse.”

If you like your geese with a side of magic, snark and whimsy, these patterns are for you. Check them out at Cross Stitch with Art on Etsy.

[Photo: Cross Stitch With Art]

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