Postage Stamp Cross Stitch Bundle Features Every US State

While I’m definitely drawn to big, dramatic cross stitch patterns with lots of details, my attention span is such that smaller projects are a lot more likely to get done. Lots of cross stitch designers appeal to this small project impulse by designing minis, which can still pack a lot of details into a small space but take less time to stitch.

A great example of this is the 50 state postage stamp collection from Threading Our Journey. As the name implies, this set of 50 little cross stitch patterns has a design for every state, though some are more obviously connected to their state than others.

For example you’ll find Devil’s Tower on the design for Wyoming and Mount Rushmore with a buffalo for South Dakota. Virginia could maybe be Mount Vernon but it just looks like a house. Alabama has mountains and a rose for some reason, while Illinois is farmland and a field of wildflowers. Missouri and Mississippi both have river boats, and Iowa and Nebraska could be scenes from the same farm.

But even with some weirdness it’s a pretty good set, and you can just stitch the states that are meaningful to you or do the whole bundle. Each stamp is 33 by 42 stitches and uses between 12 and 20 colors. The pattern includes three different border options for the stamps.

If you want to stitch the whole thing, assuming 4 stitches between each stamp, the full stitch count is 366 by 226 stitches (which certainly eliminates it from the small cross stitch project category, but if you work one stamp at a time the are still individually small projects). That comes out to 30.1 by 20.1 inches, or 76.6 by 51.2 cm, on 14 count fabric if you include 2 inches/5 cm around the outside to make it easier to frame.

And if you don’t think you’ll ever want to stitch the whole nation, you can also buy just the states you want individually. These would be cute to make for people who have moved far from home or for a couple who are from different states and maybe live in a third.

[Photo: Threading Our Journey]

I was recently approached by Alyssa, the cross stitcher behind the Etsy shop Stitchonomy, to take a look at her cross stitch pattern subscription club, known as The Pattern Club.

I took a look around and there’s a lot of cute stuff and fun options you’ll want to check out, especially if you love themed patterns that are small, easy to stitch and fun to combine.

The Pattern Club combines cross stitching with a social network. When you open the site you’ll see a news feed and have the ability to share updates much like you would on Facebook. You can see who is online, have buddies and post your own updates and photos. The community aspect is a little sparse right now but that should only grow.

The stitch along hub is the place to find the most recent patterns and information on the current stitchalong. As of this writing the Book Lover’s stitchalong was happening, with little designs like Peter Rabbit, a skull for Hamlet and keys for Jane Eyre as well as authors including Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen.

Other pattern collections include European designs, Halloween, ocean life, an allotment garden and more. Alyssa tells me there’s a new theme every month that either she picks or members in the community suggest. You can stitch just the patterns you want or put them together to make a larger collage.

The Stitchanomini vault gives you access to all of the previous patterns, and new patterns are released daily through the stitchalong. You can download individual patterns (most of them are 19 by 19 stitches) as PDFs or Pattern Keeper files. The PDFs include a color and black and white chart as well as a floss list.

Another cool thing you can do is build your own pattern collages from all of the squares that have been released. The collage configurator allows you to add patterns of your choosing to a grid ranging from 2×2 patterns up to 4×4. You can scroll through all the current patterns or search by theme and size to make a project that suits your needs. (Above is an example I made kind of at random but you get the idea.)

If you want to check it out, you can grab a three-day free trial and see all the pattern options. Membership is $7.99 a month, or if you pay for a year at a time you’ll get two months free. In addition to the patterns in the club, members receive discounts on patterns and supplies purchased through the shop within the club. Annual members get access to three paid/retired stitchalongs and lifetime members receive all retired patterns.

If you check it out I’d love to hear what you think!

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