Designer Spotlight: Stone Street Stitchworks

If you’re a fan of ornamental folk cross stitch designs, you’ll want to check out Stone Street Stitchworks, an Etsy designer based in Houston, Texas.

According to their shop description, they feature designs with an “ornamental country style” inspired by cottages, country landscapes, primitive and folk art, as well as Americana and samplers from the colonial and Quaker eras, and American and European samplers.

As of this writing they have a little more than 30 designs, which definitely have an early America feel to them.

I love the Day to Night pattern, which features a little house and a big sky changing from day to night that looks like quilt blocks. There are actually several patterns that feature stars or snowflakes or other designs evocative of quilt blocks or knitting colorwork designs, which just goes to show that all crafts are connected.

There are historical samplers as well as designs made with more modern quotes (like “The time is always right to do what is right” from Martin Luther King, Jr.). And of course the one pictured, called Bookhouse, which features a quote from Neil Gaiman: “I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else.”

The design features two trees (the leaves are meant to evoke books) and a tall house with a light left on in a window for the reader in the house (which looks a little bit like a TARDIS, though I don’t know if that’s intentional). The design was inspired by classic book covers. It measures 93 by 81 stitches, or 5.8 by 5.1 inches (14.7 by 12.9 cm) when worked on 16 count fabric and uses only full stitches and some back stitching on the book spines.

This would be a great one for a library or to put on a bookshelf.

You can check out all the designs with a classic feel even though they might have modern content at the Stone Street Stitchworks Etsy shop.

[Photo: Stone Street Stitchworks]

Cross Stitch a Bookcase Full of Books

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10+ Folk Cross Stitch Patterns

If you’re a fan of detailed and colorful cross stitch patterns, Design for Cross Stitch might have a pattern you want to try. This Etsy shop is based in Spain and has more than 50 designs with a focus on animals, holidays and landscapes.

I’m just going to start with the first pattern that caught my eye when I visited the site, which is this Sakura by the Lake project. This pattern is 200 by 200 stitches and the whole background is stitched, so it’s definitely not for a beginner, but it’s stunning and would be amazing to make for someone who loves Japan. Despite the detail it only uses 24 colors. Worked on 14 count fabric it will measure 14.64 inches, or 37.19 cm.

There are a few other landscape designs, including a canal in Venice and a few cabins in the woods.

The shop also has some cute animal cross stitch, with big, round faces and often holding a warm beverage. Holiday projects focus on Christmas and Halloween. Most of the patterns have a cute, chibi-like feel, but there are some that are more detailed and realistic as well. Take for examples the flower patterns, which are full of details and soft colors.

You’ll also find some fun bookmark cross stitch patterns with a watercolor feel, as well as some that look kind of like paint pouring turned into stitches.

If this sort of stuff sounds like fun to you, check out their Etsy store at Design for Cross Stitch.

Do you have a favorite cross stitch designer who I haven’t featured yet? Let me know in the comments or share more about them by clicking on “suggest a DIY” at the center top of the page and let me know the details. I’d love to share the designers you’re enjoying with a wider audience.

[Photo: Design for Cross Stitch]

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