2024

Sewing-themed magnets (Zhar-Ptitsa/Жар-птица cross-stitch kit)

I started these during my summer trip to Moscow and kept working on them in-between other projects, mostly during slow days at work. My two favorites are the scissors and the hoop, followed by the sewing machine.

Dracula sampler by melannen on Tumblr (free pattern)

I've always wanted to hang some vaguely ominous patterns next to my front door for the guests to enjoy, and I love Dracula, so I decided to start with this free pattern someone made during one of the Dracula Daily runs. I modified it to leave only the words and the border, though, because I wanted something on the smaller side. Still need to frame it, but I'm sure it'll look lovely on my wall!

Sad Beistle Pumpkin by The Witchy Stitcher (free pattern)

My pattern of choice for October 2024! I thought it would go nicely with the retro Halloween kitty (by the same pattern maker) I'd stitched the year before, but I'm not sure how to frame this, so no pic just yet.

Gothic biscornu by r/daniexanie (free pattern)

My first biscornu! The experience of making it was slightly tainted by the fact that, apparently, even same-count Aida can have minor size differences if it's made by different manufacturers :/ I learned that the hard way when one of the pieces turned out to be a little smaller than the other one despite the identical number of squares. Thankfully, it's barely noticeable on the finished biscornu!

Beachcomber's Paradise (from CrossStitcher Magazine issue 399 2023)

A prime example of me being chill about colors :D. This pattern called for some fancy linen floss that can't be color-matched to regular floss because it's naturally dyed or something like that. I had no access to that particular floss, so I just googled it and then eyeballed the colors and matched them to the ones I already had in my stash. I don't think I even bought any new colors!

I love the way it turned out. This is three strands of floss on 14ct Aida, and working with more than two strands was a first for me. I have to say, I usually prefer the two-strand look, but for this particular pattern the density of three strands works pretty well. The seashells look awesome, if I do say so myself!

Sunny Morning. Lighthouse (Alisa/Алиса cross-stitch kit)

I usually keep one or two small cross-stitch kits at work in case it's a slow day, and this was one of those kits. This was done purely for the sake of the process itself - I didn't even frame it properly afterwards, lol. The kit itself was pretty nice though, I liked the way it utilizes half-stitches and it ended up being a really nice little picture for such a small size. Also, lighthouses. It still lives at my workplace btw.

Frances Humber's purse from Nancy Drew: Secret of Shadow Ranch (free pattern by Rissa of the Krolmeister Sisters)

This is a recreation of an iconic item from one of my favorite Nancy Drew games, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE how it turned out (even though it's wonky as hell irl because it was my first time using a glue gun)! I'm pretty sure that in the game the purse is fully decorated with beads instead of cross-stitch, but I think it looks awesome when stitched (beadwork is something I'm yet to try, anyway). This is what it looks like in the game. One of the important in-game puzzles was finding new beads and recreating the missing part of the pattern. The finished piece looked like this. When it came to the poppy and those other big beads, I tried to recreate them with Smyrna stitch instead of just making big crosses like the pattern suggests or making my own beads the way the pattern creator did. I feel like it was a stroke of genius on my part, to be honest. This stitch has fuller coverage and does a particularly great job recreating those beads with pink corners. 10/10, absolutely obsessed with the result. This was on 16ct Aida, if I remember correctly.

Beer magnet (PANNA cross-stitch kit)

I love beer and I love making little magnets from pre-packaged kits, so it was a match made in heaven.

Bookmarks: Storm (Andriana cross-stitch kit)

I finished the piece itself (it's another lighthouse, lol) but I haven't framed it yet, hence the lack of pics. I have Big Plans for it, fingers crossed it will look good!

Firewatch Logo by Cross Stitch Quest (free pattern)

I wanted something gaming-related to hang above my desk and Firewatch is my favorite game, so... yeah! This is on 18ct Aida, which felt like a big miss steak initially, but I got used to it after a while. Still, it took me a long time to finish this piece. I chipped away at it for a couple of years every time I felt like stitching big blocks of solid color. If you can see the difference in texture where I stitched to mark the grid because my disappearing marker started to disappear, NO YOU CAN'T.

The World is a Miserable Place by Nymori (seems like they don't sell it anymore, sadly)

Simple and fun, nothing much to say about this one except that I love OTGW. It's a bummer that the creator doesn't seem to sell this pattern anymore :( The world is indeed a miserable place.

2023

Spiderweb coaster by u/MaiasaLiger (free pattern)

I really recommend this if you feel like making something Halloween-themed but don't have much time! This was a very enjoyable project, plus the finished coaster is both functional and nice-looking. I stitched it on standard plastic Aida I found in a craft store and backed it with orange felt.

Pumpkin Season by MamaWitchXstitch (free pattern from her FB group)

This creator's free patterns are always so elaborate! This pumpkin guy was stitched on 16ct Zweigart "vintage" Aida, I think (and the finished thing is massive even on 16ct - unless I'm mistaken and it's actually 14ct, lol). Twas a fun October/autumn project.

Hallow Kitty Surprise by The Witchy Stitcher

Another banger from The Witchy Stitcher! Instead of using the DMC Etoile floss where the pattern called for it (it's not available in my country), I bought regular floss of the same colors and swapped one of the two strands for the metallic floss I already had. Due to the thinness of the metallic floss, the areas I stitched with the regular/metal blends are flatter than the ones stitched with two strands of regular floss, which is even slightly visible on the picture. I don't mind that at all - if anything, I think it adds texture to the piece. Oh, this was also the first project where I used that special floss wax thingy! I read that it helps keep metallic thread in check AND IT DOES! The lace at the bottom of the piece is from my old underwear that disentigrated after one (1) wash (sorry for the TMI lol). The fabric is 16ct Zweigart "rustic" Aida.

Magnets (Zhar-Ptitsa/Жар-птица cross-stitch kit)

I bought a similar whale-themed kit in 2022 (check it out in the "pre-2023" section!) and really enjoyed making these magnets, so I didn't think twice before buying another one. Like with the previous kit, I kept two of the magnets for myself and left the other one on one of the metal shelves at work.

Mini Seraph (Salvation) by The Retro Stitcher (free pattern)

A gift for my best friend who loves biblically accurate angels. No picture yet - I'll ask my friend to take one when the package arrives.

Meg the Moth Woman by Night Spirit Studio

This is the best pic I could get :") I've already framed it and the glass is too freakin reflective. This is going to be a part of a gallery wall in my living room someday, but for bow it just sits on one of the shelves. Love this pattern and all the other ones by Night Spirit Studio that I've done.

Christmas Cheers by MamaWitchXstitch (I'm pretty sure this was a freebie from her FB group as well)

I kinda wish I picked a slightly darker Aida for this one. I love the way it came out still, and it looks better irl than on the picture, but the pale colors still don't pop on rusic Aida as much as I'd hoped. This was a gift for my mom (her affectionate nickname for me is "Piglet") and I had to work around the fact that I miscalculated the size of the piece of Aida I would need and it ended up being a tiny bit too small for the frame :") I sew two additional pieces on the sides and hid the seam by glueing some wrapping twine around the framed work.

pre-2023 + undated

Oneself by HappySlothPatterns

My first proper cross-stitch! This quote from A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf really resonates with me. The original pattern, however, has "anyone" while my copy of the book has "anybody", hence the change I made to the pattern. As it was my first proper foray into stitching, I simply used the floss I had left from my past embroidery endeavors without buying anything new. The only dark green I had was a couple of satin DMC skeins, AND LET ME TELL YOU, working with satin thread without knowing anything about loop starts or Thread Magic was A NIGHTMARE. Almost worse than working with metallics - almost.

Gothic ornament: Coffin by Night Spirit Studio

Made for the spooky box Halloween exchange on Reddit in 2021. My match liked handmade things, so I went all out. Man, I miss 2021.

I'd Rather Be Ghost Hunting by Night Spirit Studio

Also made for the spooky box Halloween exchange on Reddit in 2021. I bought a plain black tote and used water soluble canvas to stitch on it. Such a fun project! I feel like I should make one of these again.

Stay Spooky by The Witchy Stitcher

The third and final thing I made for the spooky exchange. Love the slimy green letters!

Retro Kitchen by Stitchrovia

A gift for my aunt ♥ She requested something kitchen-themed, so I went with this pattern by Stitchrovia. Her designs are always so colorful & I'm especially fond of the ones that have a retro flair. I loveee how this piece turned out! It's now hung in my aunt's kitchen, just like the wanted.

Indian Elephant by SamXstitch

Another gift, this time for my mom! She needed to hang something over the hole in her living room door and she chose this pattern.

Golden Lily by SamXstitch (original wallpaper design by William Morris)

My first full coverage piece. I've always loved William Morris and I simply HAD to stitch this for my apartment! It's not up yet, but someday it will be a part of a gallery wall.

Ornate Pumpkin Sampler by Night Spirit Studio

The original pattern has two shades of orange, but I wanted to play around with variegated floss and see how it looked. In fact, it was my first time using variegated floss EVER, so I experimented a lot with the type of stitch and the direction of the crosses. A fun and easy project :)

Little Boar (Riolis/Риолис cross-stitch kit)

I saw this kit at the craft store and immediately grabbed it because LOOK HOW CUTE. LOOK AT HIM. HE'S JUST A LITTLE GUY. This was my first time working with wool thread (I think all Riolis kits use wool) and yeah, I still prefer cotton.

Magnets (Zhar-Ptitsa/Жар-птица cross-stitch kit)

I love these plastic canvas kits! I grabbed this one from the store because it had a lighthouse AND an orca - two of my favorite things! I think it was my first time working with plastic Aida. It's a very easy material to take with you on the go, as I discovered. I took it with me on the train, on the plane and to work and had a lot of fun working with it! Two of the magnets now adorn my fridge and the beluga whale lives at my work.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Cross Stitch Quest (free pattern)

Just some mindless stitching for my silly mental health. The THE is one stitch too high than it should be because I miscalculated the number of stitches between the lines, and it's liteally just on a scrap piece of black Aida, but it got the job done and took my mind off the terrible things that were happening at the time (still are). It how hangs above my desk.

The Soul of the Rose by CrossStitchObsession (original painting by John William Waterhouse)

This is such a gorgeous tiny design of this beautiful painting! I used it to make a birthday card for a friend, which I sadly don't have a photo of.

Double-sided Halloween wall hanging (Zhar-Ptitsa/Жар-птица cross-stitch kit)

This is probably my favorite cross-stitch kit of all time! Firstly, it's Halloween-themed, which is always a plus. Secondly, it was very fun to work on, there were many blends of different colors that gave the finished piece a more detailed look. It hangs in my bedroom all year round because I don't want to put it away.

There is Always Time for Tea by tinymodernist (free pattern)

This one's gonna go on my kitchen wall someday. Just a nice free pattern for a tea lover (btw there's a variation of the same pattern for coffee lovers, if I remember correctly).