Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

Stitch a Sweet Sleigh Full of Presents

by

Country Living magazine features a free cross stitch pattern in every issue, and they collect them on one page on their website, which sometimes makes it hard to find what you are looking for but is also kind of fun.

If you check it out close to when I am writing this you’ll see the pattern from December 2019 at the top, which is a design featuring a sleigh filled with colorful presents.

It uses seven colors as shown but you could make each present a different color if you liked to use up some bits of leftover thread.

[Photo: Country Living.]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Designer Spotlight: Haunted Frames

Cute spooky and fantasy cross stitch patterns is how the designer behind Haunted Frames describes their shop, and I have to agree with them. These designs are cute and Gothic and a little bit spooky all at once. There’s a heavy focus on book themes, which you know I am a fan of, so let’s get into it. 

Stopping first in the books section, there are lots of designs that are literally on book shapes, but if you know my love of both books and cats, you’ll know I had to share the Midnight Book Cart cross stitch pattern. As the name suggests it’s a design with a witchy book cart, complete with a spiderweb, bats flying out of a book and what it describes as a ghost cat (though I would have to make a black cat instead of a white one since I have a black cat, and that fits with the vibe). 

The design is 65 by 97 stitches and is worked in 17 colors. It’s shown on 16 count fabric, which makes it 4.1 by 6.1 inches, or 10.3 by 15.4 cm. 

I also love the winter themed little free library design, which would be perfect to stitch up for the little librarian in your life (or to drop at a neighborhood book space). 

Projects with a book theme make up the majority of the patterns that are categorized in this shop, but you’ll want to scroll through all their patterns to see what else is available, since it doesn’t look like everything is in a category. You’ll find castles and dragons, more cats of course, some more obviously Halloween and Christmas themed projects and those that would suit for spooky season or any other time of year. 

If cute and dark is your aesthetic, you’ll want to check out all the patterns at www.etsy.com/shop/HauntedFrames, which you can find on Etsy. 

[Photo: Haunted Frames]