Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

Dreaming of the Beach? Stitch One for Yourself

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beach waves cross stitch

Clearly I wish I were traveling somewhere during spring break (happening as I write this where I live) because I have lately been drawn to cross-stitch patterns of landscapes nothing like the place I live.

The Beach Waves cross stitch pattern from Ugly Duckling House is a gorgeous, realistic-looking design of the ocean kissing the beach.

It’s really where I’d like to be right now.

It’s a free pattern but you have to sign up to receive updates to download the chart.

Well worth it for a little vacation in every stitch.

[Photo: Ugly Duckling House.]

Have you read?

Designer Spotlight: Stitching Housewives

Stitching Housewives offers a ton of cute, sort of country feeling cross stitch patterns with different themes I don’t quite understand but they’re super cute so let’s get into it. 

One section is called Dapper Doodads, which it looks like are all square. Tiered Tray Tidbits are generally more rectangular, and RoundAbouts are circular. There are also Sassy Strippers, and I don’t know what the difference among all the different kinds is. All of them are colorful, graphic, often with text, and mounted on something cute. A lot of them are seasonal designs.

Just as an example, here’s Charlie Chicken, a big black chicken hauling an even bigger pumpkin in a wagon past a house with sunflowers. This one is labelled as a Tiered Tray Tidbit, but again I don’t really know why. 

This one uses seven colors and is 56 by 42 stitches. It comes out to 4 by 3 inches or 10 by 7.6 cm when stitched on 28 count linen (equivalent to 14 count Aida). It’s shown mounted on a wooden pumpkin, but you could put it in a frame or make it little pillow or whatever you like. 

There are lots of smaller categories with some themed projects, such as “calendar crates,” which are themed for the month but don’t actually have the month on them. There’s a lot of Christmas patterns, and smaller collections of Halloween/fall and spring projects. 

Another section is called “What’s in My Cup,” which features a tall coffee cup with text on it and decorations in and around the cup. For example there’s a happy birthday cup with a cake coming out of the top and surrounded by presents and balloons. The Good Old Days collection includes monthly minis with the month on one piece, a house decorated for the season and another little seasonal design. 

The seasonal series includes literal seasons as well as Halloween and Christmas designs. 

It’s hard to tell you what’s here but if you like the style of this one or combinations of text and fun images, check out all the goodies at Stitching Housewives. 

[Photo: Stitching Housewives]