Designer Spotlight: Stitch Riot Designs

For cross stitch projects with a ton of pop culture references, check out Stitch Riot Designs on Etsy. This Oklahoma-based designer sells charts that are heavy on TV show and movie references, music-themed projects and snarky quotes.

You can get a whole bundle of Taylor Swift patterns, a set of patterns of the card decks from the original Microsoft Windows solitaire game, or find quite a lot of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” patterns.

There’s such a wide variety of fun stuff that hits so many fandoms I don’t even know what to highlight, so if you like a particular TV show or movie and would like to see your favorite quote or character in cross stitch, this is a good place to look.

I see patterns ranging from “Bluey” to “Firefly,” “Supernatural” to “Beavis and Butthead.” For movies you’ll find Monty Python, Barbie, Star Wars and The Crow, among others.

But it’s not all pop culture on this storefront, either. There are holiday patterns, pet memorials, projects for nurses and moms, too.

Because I’m a child of the ’80s and I love The Princess Bride, I decided to highlight this As You Wish cross stitch pattern because I love it so much. There are color options that use either three or four colors, and of course you can pick your own colors to suit your decor if you don’t like the red and gold look.

The pattern is 122 by 77 stitches, which comes out to 8.71 by 5.5 inches (22.1 by almost 14 cm) on 14 count fabric. This would be a fun one to do for a wedding or anniversary gift.

With all this I’ve only scratched the surface of the fun stuff you’ll find at Stitch Riot Designs, so head over to their Etsy shop to check it all out. As of this writing they offer 10 percent off when you buy three patterns, 15 percent off of four and 20 percent off of five pattern purchased at the same time.

[Photo: Stitch Riot Designs]

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Designer Spotlight: Pixell Patterns

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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