Review: 50 Cross Stitch Quickies Christmas

If you love little bitty Christmas cross-stitch patterns, you’re sure to enjoy 50 Cross Stitch Quickies Christmas, a booklet from Leisure Arts by Plaid Bucilla. (Note: as of this writing I am not finding the booklet on the Leisure Arts site, though it has been published. Check Amazon, Barnes & Noble or your local big-box craft store if you have one.)

It includes a nice range of motifs such as angels, candy canes, Santas, pet motifs, other animals, religious symbols and sentiments, presents, ornaments, penguins and more.

Projects are shown in a finished form as well as the stitch chart, and most are around 2 inches square when stitched, which makes them great for attaching to gift tags, holiday cards and other little items. You could stack a couple designs on a bookmark or just frame them in a hoop.

The book includes general instructions on chart reading and basic stitching, as well as tips for framing, making gift tags, mounting on a greeting card or turning them into ornaments, which are all great ideas.

If you’re new to holiday stitching or just want a nice reference with a bunch of different patterns to choose from, this is a great book.

About the book: 32 pages, paperback, 50 charts. Published by Leisure Arts, November 2016. Retail price $9.99.

Looking for more Christmas Cross Stitch patterns? Check these out on Etsy.

Next Pattern:

Candy Canes Cross Stitch Pattern

Embrovia is a cross stitch designer with a lot of funny designs, plenty of ghosts and cats and other fun things for you to stitch. Let’s take a closer look.

I love the story of this shop, which I hope is true and not made up by AI, that it’s run by a husband who made cross stitch designs for his wife and then opened a shop. We’re just going to believe it’s true, OK?

The biggest category on their storefont is called “funny,” and that makes sense because there are a lot of funny designs here. From a duck with a knife to a dog on a toilet, there are lots of options here to stitch for that person on your list with a slightly off sense of humor.

When I saw this caution: floor is lava design I knew that was the one I needed to share with you all. It uses six colors and measures 130 by 135 stitches. On 14 count fabric that comes out to 9.3 by 9.6 inches, or 23.7 by 24.6 cm. It only uses full cross stitches.

Another big section is the one devoted to cats. This includes some more realistic looking cats, cat ghosts and superheroes, cats in coffee cups (or with coffee cups) and cats at computers. Other animals also feature in their designs, including bunnies, dogs, birds, capybaras, butterflies and more.

There’s a pretty collection of floral patterns, and a nice set of patterns designed to be stitched on dark canvas (mostly black or red). Rounding out the offerings are designs focused on gaming, mountains, abstract/modern designs, patterns and mandalas and designs for the nursery.

Check out all their fun designs at Embrovia on Etsy.

Have a favorite shop you’d like to see in the designer spotlight? Let me know in the comments or click on “suggest a craft” at the top of the page and tell me about it!

[Photo: Embrovia]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?