Cross stitch – Hopefully Creative

Owl Post

Two little owls wishing you the best.

As I was buying some more thread to work on a different project, I couldn’t stop myself from looking at the ‘sale’ section and seeing this little kit being discounted. I thought it was very cute, so in the cart it went, I needed the thread anyway.. right?!

Two cross-stitched owls in a little frame on a card.

It was a very quick afternoon project with only a few colours. I really like how the two owls came out and I’ve kept the pattern and the leftover kit-thread and I think I can make the owls again if I want to. I’d have to find different card, bow and dangle, but that should be doable too. This one is on its way to the recipient for a happy birthday message!

Project	Two Owls Card
Author	Luca-S
Type	Kit
Search words	owls; card
Location	Embroidery box
#stitches	~400
Purchased	28-07-2026
Date started	07-08-2026
Date finished	07-08-2026
Fabric	18 ct aida

Sea Dice

Island scene in embroidery

There was a birthday coming up and I figured, I’d make a little thing. Now, I don’t remember how I stumbled upon this designer’s patterns on Etsy (SVStitch), but I did. And I bought a fair few of them, so you’ll see them appear more in the future. This one was probably the one that set it off. The idea of cross stitching six sides and then putting them together really tickled my fancy. So I bought the pattern and got to work.

A cross-stitched die with an island scene, sail boats and sky view.

A cross-stitched die with an island scene, cove and flowering tree view.

There are normal cross stitches, but also half stitches, back stitches and French knots to complete the little cube. The top is the emptiest, depicting a sky with some birds. Then round the sides there’s a light house, a mini village, a tree and a set of sailboats; this is also where all the French knots were. Still not my favourite stitch because I am very prone to messing them up. And finally, the bottom was a lake with some islands in it.

Six cross-stitched sections with an island scene, to be stitched together in a die.

All the pieces line up really well and overlap in colour in such a way that it feels very cohesive. Stitching them together was a bit of a pain, but that was to be expected. I managed to get it all stitched and stuffed with a bit of sponge and batting. When I closed the final two sections, I stitched in a loop of string that would allow it to get a clip attached. I think it turned out really nicely and makes for a nice tiny gift.

Project	Take me to the Sea
Author	SVStitch
Type	Pattern only
Search words	dice; 6 sided; sea scape; birds
Location	Drive
#stitches	1128
Purchased	27-07-2026
Date started	29-07-2026
Date finished	20-08-2026

Owl Bookmark

Owl to guard the colourful pages

I was browsing Etsy for embroidery patterns a couple of months ago and I found this little owl on a pile of books. A friend of mine has their birthday in August and I figured making a bookmark for someone who likes reading and writing is appropriate, right?

Embroidered bookmark of an owl on a stack of books

For one of the more colourful people I know, the original colours were just a bit too muted. So once I started planning the stitches, I went and picked some different colours for the books and edge. I attached some white felt to the back to hide all the stray stitches and some ribbon to the bottom for some extra length. I quite like the way it turned out and it was a fun little project.

Project	Owl Bookmark
Author	ThreadingOurJourney
Type	Pattern only
Search words	owl; bookmark; stack of books
Location	Drive
#stitches	2308
Purchased	11-02-2026
Date started	26-07-2026
Date finished	28-07-2026
Fabric	18 ct. aida

Protect Local Wildlife

Travel projects to think of Scotland

This cross-stitch Nessie has been my travel project for the past couple of months. The hoop and associated threads were nice and small and fit perfectly in my bag. And with Pattern Keeper, I didn’t even need to bring a paper pattern. I did, however, make some changes to the original design. It’s supposed to have black back spikes, a white sail and no tail. I didn’t like the spikes so I omitted them. I stitched the sail in white, but it was invisible, so I chose a random red from the hoard. My brain also couldn’t deal with a potential plesiosaur without a tail, so I created one. I really like how it worked out and I’m quite proud of it.

Embroidered Nessie in water with a castle, a boat and a fish with Protect Local Wildlife quote

I do have one regret though, and that is that I should have chosen a different colour fabric. There is a white border around the project that is only visible under certain angles. And I don’t think anyone can see the white ‘shadow’ of Wildlife. I’ll still find a place to hang it on my embroidery wall, once I’ve put up another string of hooks.

Project	Protect Local Wildlife
Author	NeedleLotDesigns
Type	Pattern only
Search words	Nessie; sea; boat
Location	Drive
#stitches	3440
Purchased	23-10-2025
Date started	02-03-2026
Date finished	18-07-2026

Highland Fox

Blue and orange in the mountains.

Ages ago, after I had found the adorable hedgehog that I gave as a gift in April, I looked at the other cross stitch patterns of the same designer and stumbled upon this one. I really loved the colour combinations of the bright orange and the blues. And I thought the fox was adorable. So after finishing all kinds of other projects, I got around to this one.

Embroidery of an orange fox with snow capped mountains in the background.

It’s tiny in real life, but the colours are really quite striking. While I did follow the instructions, I don’t think my blues were all as intended. There are bits that probably should have been darker, and one a little less bright. Really though, it doesn’t matter because this end result is still very pretty. You could also see the idea of what it was supposed to be, but the backstitch did help a lot. I really like how much detail there is.

The only downside is that it doesn’t work with pattern keeper, and keeping track from paper is harder then when stitches just light up in bright green on an app. That is what it is. I do notice that it holds me back from purchasing some more adorable patterns from this shop (this racoon and this tree owl for example). But who knows, I might just be swayed.

Project	Fox and Mountain
Author	OwlAndThread
Type	Pattern only
Search words	fox; mountain; orange; blue
Location	Drive
#stitches	max. 2600
Purchased	11-02-2026
Date started	13-06-2026
Date finished	24-06-2026
Fabric	16 ct. aida

Hedgehog

Cute little hedgehog for a hedgehog keeper

When someone who has built a hedgehog house in the garden has a birthday, the only appropriate gift is hedgehog embroidery, right? At least, that was what I thought back in February. So I set out to find a cute hedgehog and managed to do so in the patterns of OwlAndThread. There is a lot of backstitch in this thing, but it ends up being so cute!

Cross stitch embroidery of a hedgehog in clover - in a blue hoop.

Cross stitch embroidery of a hedgehog in clover - in a green frame.

After completing the stitching, it needed to be ‘kept’ somehow. First, I found some dark green paper in the hoard and made a little frame. Realistically, it was too much fabric in too small a frame. So in the end, I went out to get some different paper and made a bigger frame. I used my embossing machine to cut out some balloons and wrote a message on the back. I really enjoyed working on this, even if it was not able to be uploaded into Pattern Keeper. Old-School counting all the way.

Project	Hedgehog
Author	OwlAndThread
Type	Pattern only
Search words	hedgehog; clover
Location	Drive
#stitches	max.1960
Purchased	11-02-2026
Date started	16-02-2026
Date finished	28-02-0206

Go Get It!

Motivational bear reaching for the stars!

Another colleague of mine decided to pursue her dreams and is leaving my work soon. For the goodbye party, I wanted to stitch a cute little something so that she can feel motivated. I chose this adorable bear that originally said ‘Yes I can’ in the bottom. I changed it to ‘Go get it’ because she should reach for the stars and she’ll grasp them. It was a fun quick stitch with a lot of backstitching.

Embroidered bear on a ladder with Go get it underneath

I really love how this one turned out and I can absolutely see myself making it again for a different occasion. She said that she really liked it and that it had sentimental value for her too, so my goal was achieved. She’ll go get it too!

Project	Yes I can Bear
Author	StitchDI
Type	Pattern only
Search words	bear; ladder; yes I can; stars
Location	Drive
#stitches	873
Purchased	28-05-2026
Date started	30-05-2026
Date finished	31-05-2026

Manatee!

Cutie Manatee

As part of my Kingfisher purchase, I also got a free manatee embroidery pattern that used colours that were also used in the Kingfisher. There were very few stitches so who was I to ignore this cute face. He’s tiny and quick and it was lovely to just sit down and sew some brown.

Project	Manatee
Author	LaSelvaDesign
Type	Pattern only
Search words	manatee
Location	Drive
#stitches	534
Purchased	09-01-2026
Date started	14-06-2026
Date finished	14-06-2026

Not My Monkeys

Oh no! This is a circus and those are monkeys!

A colleague of mine is leaving to pursue another job and I wanted to make her a little gift. So I figured that I would embroider the saying that we use in the office a lot: ‘Not my circus, not my monkeys’, which in essence means ‘not my problem’. However, it needed some adaptation since it will be her circus. So I found a pattern of a set of monkeys with tails in a heart shape, and found a 5-stitch high font here that I adapted a little. The final result is a ‘This is my circus and these are my monkeys’ embroidery with the name of her new company in the middle.

Two embroidered monkeys with the saying 'this is my circus and these are my monkeys' above it.

Two embroidered monkeys with the saying 'this is my circus and these are my monkeys' above it. Framed

I personally think this is hilarious. I hope she likes it.

Project	Monkey Love – adapted
Author	PixAndPrintCo
Type	Pattern only
Search words	monkeys; heart
Location	Drive
#stitches	1751
Purchased	01-05-2026
Date started	25-05-2026
Date finished	27-05-2026

Chicken!

Cute embroidery of a chicken carrying some lovely plants.

On of the first kits I purchased when I restarted my cross stitch craze was one called Kip met de planten or ‘Flower Bustle’ from Andriana. It depicts a white chicken with an apron, running around with two plant pots with the leaves trailing behind. I thought it was very cute and since Monsteras are one of my favourite plants, I didn’t think I could go wrong with it.

Embroidery of a chicken in an apron carrying two plants in a frame.

I started it a while ago, in February, and have been working on it intermittently. There are a lot of different colours and it also requires stitches made with one strand each of two different colours. Which means that the colour gradients are even prettier and more subtle. The size of it did mean that I had to reposition my rectangular embroidery frame a few times, since it was not big enough for the whole picture in one go.

Embroidery of a chicken in an apron carrying two plants

This was a really fun one to since you could see the leaves grow bit by bit. I did make an adjustment in the apron because didn’t like the red detailing at the bottom. So I replaced it with green and left out the triangles. All of those details were made with backstitch and this means that the reverse of this is an absolute disaster. Luckily you don’t have too see the backside to enjoy the front!

Project	Chicken with Plants
Author	Andriana
Type	Kit
Search words	chicken; apron; plant; monstera
Location	Embroidery box
#stitches	unknown
Purchased	06-09-2025
Date started	15-02-2026
Date finished	25-05-2026

Tag: Cross stitch