Baby, baby, babaaaay.

When I started embroidering, I had a lot of friends who were having babies, so I had an opportunity to outfit them in onesies with cute embroideries, and I was so pleased to see them wearing them from time to time! Here are some I made back in the day: This one is by Jim Goodring x Sublime Stitching

The Internet is Funny

The internet is full of such hilarity. Life is too short for bad coffee. This pattern is from cseneque on Etsy.

I made this for my pot head friend. Pattern by IvieStitches on Etsy.

Jesus ain't say that about a lot of things. Pattern by SnarkandStitchDesign on Etsy.

During the pandemic, there was a Japanese theme park that said while on their rides, to refrain from screaming and spreading Covid. They asked, instead, that you "Please scream inside your heart". I love the Japanese. Pattern by OctopusKnitting on Etsy.

Random Older Stitches

Feeling like posting some older stitches today. I just love these! The first one, I can't remember where I got it. I think I purchased the pattern, but it's on my other computer and I can't be arsed to go and find who did it.

Weekend Stitching

Just couple of weekend finishes! Our local stitch group, Austitch, had a meet-up yesterday, and I've never been to one, and since I found myself free, I went along. I chose a Facebroidery pattern from Bee's Knees Industries and some cute fabric I got from Spoonflower years ago to work on, since I am between projects and wanted something that wouldn't take concentration of counting in case I wanted to converse. It was at a brewery and we sat outside. True to Texas, it was like almost 90 degrees on a late October afternoon. So I was only able to stand about an hour of sitting in that heat, even with a beer and shade. So I had to leave. I finished my piece last night watching Suspiria (the OG one, which is... just a really weird movie and watching it again, I was a little disappointed in it). I love how this came out, and I'm happy with the colors and fabric I chose. I like to do a patterned fabric with these since a lot of them have a lot of blank space because I am not an embroidery painter- I am not spending 6 hours filling in large spaces with floss. And honestly, I think maybe doing these on patterned is sort of what the creator envisioned when she made these into embroidery patterns (not only because that's how I want to do them LOL but when she posted a picture of some she had completed, they were on patterned fabric as well).

Snarky Stitches

I feel like I hear this a lot from fellow stitchers- they spend a lot of time on a piece, and the recipient doesn't seem to appreciate it at all. I say, fuck those people. If they don't appreciate a hand-made gift, they're just garbage. Well, that may be a bit harsh. I have made my friends and family stitched gifts for a while now. They always say they love them, and I often find them hanging on walls of the recipients (Except for MY MOTHER WHO YOU WOULD THINK WOULD LOVE THAT SORT OF THING!), and if it seems they don't appreciate them, well, then lesson learned, and they won't get another. I love finding things I've made people years ago, especially when I had forgotten about them! And, to my mom's defense, she has hung every stitched ornament on her Christmas tree that I have made her. I love that the world of needlepoint is full of wonderfully snarky asshole designers, because I can make really cool stitched gifts for my friends, and can guarantee most will be hung up (except for my sister's because her husband, while he appreciates the humor, is all fancy and is like "Please don't hang the 'Have a Nice Dump' cross stich in our new fancy house". But hey, he takes GOOD care of my sister, so I can let that slide). Here are some good ones I've made in the past. 

I made this for my former high priestess, who has since passed away. It's a spin on The Wiccan Rede.  I would love to have it back, but I'm sure her family burned all her witchy stuff, sadly.

I found this one on Pinterest. I gave it to my ex's mother when they left to move to Canada (they couldn't sell so they had to come back but she still has it). I just wanted to give her something she'd appreciate and I screwed around and didn't get to make her something new, but she loved this one.

Another I found on Pinterest. Isn't this frame cool? I thrifted it.

I can't remember where I got this one... but for me, "it tracks", as the younguns say.

I did this one ages ago. If there is one thing I absolutely cannot do right (there are millions of things), it's doing a "mat" to frame my cross stitches. I only really do that when I can't find a frame the right size or I've fucked up and cut the fabric too small for a hoop or a decent frame. I have a Cricut now, though, so maybe I can figure out how to put that to use.

Alice in Wonderland by Cate Anevski of Bee's Knees Industries

Another Cate Anevski/Bee's Knees Industries post! I have a lot of her patterns soooo... I really love her take on the Alice in Wonderland Characters. I can't remember if she ever actually made any patterns out of these- she had a lot of cute illustrations that she didn't put into patterns, but that I downloaded so that I could stitch for myself, and I think these may be some of them.

Queen of Hearts:

2023 Ornaments So Far

Christmas is my favorite holiday. It's been hard for me the past few years, having lost both grandparents that I was very close to within a year of each other, and they were always so very excited about Christmas. I can't think too much about it, or I'll get sad and I don't want to be sad, so I'll just leave it at that. Christmas makes me miss them, but I really try not to let it get me down too much, because they wouldn't want me to be sad at that time.

I KNOW. It is TOO TOO EARLY to start thinking about Christmas, because we haven't even hit Halloween yet. And I'm honestly only thinking about it because I wanted to get a head start on my holiday stitching. So, I made quite a few ornaments. I usually make one for my sister, one for my mom, and one for all of my friends, and I end up keeping a few for myself.

I did this one from a few different snowflake patterns I have. The fabric is sparkly, but the picture didn't pick that up :(

Tinies

If you have read this blog, you know I love doing tiny cross stitching in between bigger projects. Here are some cuties I've worked on in the past. These are from Makoto Oozu, who is the master of tiny embroidery. 

Portlandia

I found this pattern on a site that I refer to as Iotacons. The artist makes pixel art of different people, and since I love Portlandia, I made it long ago, and then a friend of mine said she wanted me to make her one, so I just gave her this one. It's Fred and Carrie. I may have to make myself one now that I see this one!

Blast From the Past- Embroidery

Wild Olive Coffee Hanging

Memory Lane

I was going through my blog for the heck of it and noticed I did not post pics of all of the onesies and stuff I did years ago, back in 2011, so here are some more cute little things i did! Some of the pics are blurry because this was still the time of digital cameras and so getting a good close-up was not my strong suit. These are from a Japanese embroidery book. I made onesies and I made some burp cloths (eww).

Horror Whore

Horror movies have been a huge part of my life. I grew up watching horror movies, because my mom is a horror fanatic. I also read a lot of horror novels (most of them probably NOT being what I needed to be reading that age). I love talking about them, discovering them, sharing them, and especially watching them while I do craft stuff.

I have hoarded many horror themed patterns, but here are some of the ones I’ve actually done, and I’ll credit the designer where I can.

“Sometimes, Dead is Better”- Pet Sematary- StarKissedJade on Etsy

Freddie Krueger- A Nightmare on Elm Street (one of my favorite horror franchises)

Jason Voorhees- Friday the 13th- Pattern from Iotacons

May Zombies Destroy this House Last- JackTheStitcher on Etsy

We All Float Down Here- Stephen King’s IT- Found this one on Pinterest

I have many more, but I need to save them for another day.

To The World...

To say I am obsessed with Good Omens is an understatement... I had this pattern custom made aby PixelsInStitches on Etsy. This is from the first series and it captures the Angel Aziraphale with his flaming sword (that was "flaming like anything") and the Demon Crowley with the window handle to his 1928 Bentley, as they go to stop Armageddon (Spoiler, not sorry).

Stitch Witch

I'm a witch. Now that we have that out of the way, I'd like to express my joy that there is no lack of witchy designs online and I'm lovin it, lovin it, lovin it. I think this one is from Junebug and Darlin on Etsy. I don't know why, but those letters gave me hell! And there goes the shitty framing job for which I'm so famous in this house.

This is one from an online friend of mine who goes by The Heathen Homesteader. She has an Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheWellAndSpindle

I think this is from StephXStitch on Etsy

I found this one on Pinterest and mocked it up myself. I love the way the variegated floss looks in the lettering!  I don't love how you can't see that in pictures.

This took forever. It's less "witchy" and more pagan. It's from LovelyStitchArt on Etsy.

Finally, this is from The Witchy Stitcher.

I hoard patterns, so many more to come!

Wuv Twoo Wuv

I have THE coolest husband ever. He puts up with my moodiness. He puts up with me endlessly doing cross stitch and embroidery when he's trying to watch something. He is supportive and funny and sweet and thoughtful and the CUTEST ever. I like to make him cute cross stitches for Valentine's Day and I try not to miss a year (though I have in the past...). He has made a collage in our bedroom of every piece of art I have ever done for him. Here are some of the things on the Wall of Love. I just sort of stitched this one up from an online alphabet.

I believe this is from The Witchy Stitcher and I remember giving it to him WAAAY late...

I can't remember where I got this one, but it was on Etsy, I'm pretty sure.

I'm sure I'll find more of these, digging through my photos.

Flashback Stitches

For longest time, I just did a bunch of snarky cross stitch patterns that were mostly cross-stitched letters. I have since stretched my wings and branched out into a bit more complex pieces. But here are some cute ones I did way back in the day. 

 
I copied this one from Pinterest but I had to alter it because the way it was created, it was obviously created to say "I never finish anyth" and I wanted it to look like a truly unfinished cross stitch.

I did this so long ago and I can't remember who created this pattern. I can't find the original on my computer. But it's 100% accurate.

Really Cross Stitch

I wouldn’t actually say I’m a feminist. I believe in gender/gender fluid equality, I am proud to be a woman, I am all about the divine feminine and women’s power, and you will often hear me talk about how men have so totally fucked us beyond any hope of repair.. Wow, I guess I sort of am a feminist, I’m just a bit more quiet about it. Anyway, I bought this book a couple of years ago called Really Cross Stitch by Rayna Fahey. The patterns are political in nature, which I didn’t actually realize when I purchased it, but that’s okay, because political cross stitch will always be a thing. So far, I’ve done four pieces from this book. I kept two and gifted two. This is my favorite piece from the book, and I wanted to do it for my sister, because, well. However, while my sister is one to stand up when she sees injustice, and of course is super into woman power, she’s not got the activist energy that my other friends do. So I did this one for my friend Liz.

I did this one for a friend, but decided to keep it because it’s from a show called Father Ted, and I think it’s funny. I did her another one…

This one I did for my friend Rebecca. She’s a Star Wars fan, and this quote has been stitched and plastered all over Genereal Leia merch. I love the sentiment, and I love how it’s associated with General Leia (she was my hero when I was a little girl), so I thought it was more appropriate for her than the other one, though I can totally hear her saying “Down With…This.. Sort of Thing..”

And this is hanging in my bathroom. The guy who came in to redo our shower thought it was hilarious.

The Witchy Stitcher Cryptid Stitch-Along: La Chupacabra

Tales of a mysterious monster that sucks the blood of livestock have exploded in Mexico, the US Southwest and even China.  The Chupacabra was first reported in Puerto Rico.  The Chupacabra has been described as either reptile or dog-like or a combination of both.  It is mostly hairless and has a pronounced spinal ridge, unusually pronounced eye sockets, fangs and claws.  It has been credited with strange attacks on goats, sheep, rabbits, horses and chickens.  The attacks happen mostly at night, leaving the animals devoid of blood, with oddly vampire-like punctures in their necks.- The Witchy Stitcher, Cryptid Wiki, National Geographic

Anglophile

I’m a huge Anglophile. I love a lot of things about the UK. Their snacks, their accents, their sayings, their funny little ways.. and probably most of all, their TV.

Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge character has a special place in my heart. I think he’s so funny, so when I found this cross stitch pattern by 8bitNorthStitch, I knew I had to do it.

Another good British show that I could watch over and over again is Broadchurch. David Tenant is just… perfect, and so is Olivia Coleman. Oh, and Jodi Whittaker. I love them all, and that series was gut-wrenching and perfectly cast and acted. David Tenant plays Alec Hardy, a cranky asshole Scottish detective who obviously hates life. He has a few kind of funny lines, although the show is a crime drama and not a comedy, but one that stood out to me was “BLOODY TWITTAH!” Not because it’s funny, but because the way he said it was funny. I was making a cross stitch dude, I can't remember why, maybe I was trying to make Allen, but I realized  I’d accidentally made Alec Hardy.  I thought "Oh, this is happening!" and added “Bloody Twittah!” under it.  Also, since Twitter was purchased by a lunatic, and he renamed it, this one contains a bit of history too.

Finally, my two favorite alcoholic drug users- Pasty and Eddie from Absolutely Fabulous. I discovered this show in the mid-nineties, I think on Comedy Central. My idiot boyfriend at the time (who can't allow himself the most fleeting moment of joy, and good, because he's a miserable fuck anyway) told me it "glorifies drug use". If he had watched it, he would understand it was meant to make fun of rich, shallow drug users, and that it did not AT ALL glamorize or glorify drug and alcohol abuse. I still love it.

These are not all of my British TV cross stitch pieces, and I have a lot in the pipeline too...

Scotland's Story

I have always known there is a lot of Scottish ancestry in my family, but recently, I found out that you can trace our roots right back to Robert the Bruce, first king of Scotland and free-er of the Scots from English rule, and that our ancestry is 61% or more Scottish. I have always loved Scottish things and people, and three of my very favorite bands are from Scotland- Cocteau Twins, Teenage Fanclub and Belle & Sebastian. My favorite Doctor is also Scottish- Mr. Peter Capaldi! We were also lucky enough to be able to spend a week in Scotland for our anniversary this year. It is the most magical place I have ever been. I cried when we had to come home. I cried this morning when I saw something I purchased in Scotland. I am homesick for a place I have never lived in. We will definitely be going back. 

 The point of all this is that I am very proud of my Scottish heritage and also that I found an Etsy shop called SonofaCrossStitch, and it has quite a few Scottish slang and insult cross stitch designs.  Here are some I have stitched up.

For more Scottish insults, check these out for starters (once you get past these, a lot of the websites have the same ones):

https://www.buzzfeed.com/hilarywardle/chew-mah-banger

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/scotland-now/21-best-scottish-insults-22931947

JobStitch

At my former job, I had a huge cubicle with which I decorated with many different cross stitch pieces. Now that I work from home, I have them hanging about in random places at home. I have several my current office and I have a couple of gallery walls around the house, so they live there now. Here are some of the cool pieces I used to have hanging up. BTW I suck at framing so... This first one I did ages ago. It's a Subversive Cross Stitch pattern.