I don’t get my hands on cross stitch books all that often, but I visited my local library recently and saw this one that I wanted to share with you.
Whimsical Cross-Stitch: More than 130 Designs from Trendy to Traditional by Cari Buziak is just that — a whole bunch of charts for a wide variety of cross stitch designs.
There’s that sweet hedgehog on the cover, as well as a wide variety of animals, real and fantasy. You’ll find a baby elephant, unicorn, robin, rooster, panda, seahorse and more.
In addition the animals, there are also designs that make frames or repeating patterns on the fabric, florals, snowflakes and other dashing designs. A hearth and home section that includes patterns like a patchwork heart, stack of books, teapots and sentiments like “If you want the best seat in the house, move the cat.”
There are plenty of cute designs for a kitchen or bar area, including a bunch of grapes, a beer stein with the words “wish you were beer” and a cute design with peppers.
You’ll also find a section called nature in bloom, which includes a beach scene, potted herbs, flowers, butterflies and bees. Finally, special occasions like Christmas, Easter and Halloween are highlighted in cross stitch patterns.
The patterns are shown in color with the code for the floss used, but the charts themselves are in black and white other than any backstitching in the projects. The charts are good sized and easy to read.
This book would be a great choice for someone new to cross stitching who wants to see a variety of options they might want to stitch. It also includes some basics on how to cross stitch if you need a reference.
About the book: 118 pages, paperback, 130+ patterns. Published 2019 by Dover Publications. Suggested retail price $19.95.
