Get Inspired with Mr. X Stitch’s New Book

I haven’t seen this one in person yet, but I’m super excited about the new book from Mr. X Stitch, aka Jamie Chalmers, The Mr. X Stitch Guide to Cross Stitch.

If you don’t know about him, check out this video:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr154jHDeLY]

The book includes instructions on the basics of cross stitch and 20-plus lovely, modern cross-stitch designs, from a project where you’re meant to show off the back of your work (!) to a cityscape stitched with glow-in-the-dark thread. I love that flower on the cover.

There are profiles of artists who take cross stitch to new places, and tons of inspiration for stitchers of all skill levels.

You can get a peek into the book at the publisher’s website. Mr. X Stitch is British but the book is available from Amazon in the US as well.

Have you seen this book yet? I’d love to hear what you think!

[Photo: Search Press.]

Next Pattern:

How to Stitch Partial Stitches in Cross Stitch

The designs from Bella Rose Craft look like they would be good for beginner cross stitchers and others who like relatively simple and small designs that are quick to finish for gifts or decor.

I’ll mention up front that this Etsy shop based in Indiana has no organization whatsoever. There are two categories: kits and patterns. So it’s a bit of a treasure hunt to find what you might be interested in.

As mentioned there are lots of minis and small looking projects with simple lines and minimal colors. There are holiday projects, animals, summer motifs like palm trees and beach umbrellas, a bathtub with a rubber duck, some text based designs (like hoppy spring and merry and bright), some biblical and religious designs, flowers, bunting and more.

On a site like this its difficult to pick something representative of the whole page, but I liked this bees and beehive design, so it’s the one I picked to share. This one illustrates a lot of my general points about the patterns from this shop. It’s small (2.79 by 2.57 inches, or about 7 by 6.5 cm on 14 count fabric), it looks like it’s all whole cross stitches and probably uses only six colors, and a couple of colors are only used for a handful of stitches.

Of the 300 plus cross stitch patterns available as of this writing, 140 are also available as cross stitch kits. These would be great to give as gifts if you’re trying to get someone interested in cross stitching. The kits include the pattern, fabric and floss, and you can choose to have it include a needle or not. The hoop is not included but the patterns explain what kind of hoop is shown if you want to get one to match.

So if you’re looking for cute, beginner friendly patterns for yourself or you’re trying to be a crafty enabler for someone else, check out Bella Rose Craft on Etsy.

[Photo: Bella Rose Craft]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?