One of the reasons I do so many swaps is to motivate and challenge me to try new things. A lot of the cross stitch patterns in my shop came about because of swaps and lately I have been using it to push myself more with sewing. CraftingCon is a sewing based competition with different nerdy themes. There was a swap on the Facebook group and I couldn't resist signing up. My partner loves Alice in Wonderland and I was right in the middle of my Tsum Tsum cross stitch madness and decided to make an Alice pattern. I wasn't sure what to make, but when Faith from ... Read More
Free Cross Stitch Pattern – Mario 1 Up Mushroom
Normally I wouldn't share a project from a swap before I've sent it out, but this month for CraftingCon the theme is Mario and I wanted to share this pattern with you! I made this for the Nerds Craft It Better swap and I love how it turned out. I used a Dandelyne hoop necklace and stitched the mushroom using water soluble canvas. (If you're interested in trying out water soluble canvas, I wrote up a tutorial over at &stitches!) The mushroom is tiny, it's only about 1.25" x 1.25" when stitched on 14ct Aida. It makes a perfect little badge or embellishment. ... Read More
Artbar Geek Show and a New Pattern
So while my space cross stitches were on display in Bedford, England, almost 4,000 miles away in Aurora, Illinois I had my work in another show. There is a monthly art show at the Two Brothers Roundhouse. The first Friday of the month there is an Artbar show with a different theme, this month was the Geek Show. I was hoping to create three new pieces, but time was just not on my side. I displayed my periodic table cross stitch and I made a pattern for a 20 sided die. I love how the design looks, but I think if I made it smaller I probably could have finished two ... Read More