Love Subversive Cross Stitch? You’re gonna love this!

Over at Julie Jackson’s place, all purchases made before July 31, 2010 at midnight CST will entered a draw to win a $100 gift certificate!. The winner will be chosen at random and announced on August 1, 2010 on the Subversive Cross Stitch Facebook page!

Go get some!

Halloween is only a few weeks away, and if you’re looking for something holiday-themed and snarky to stitch, Julie Jackson of Subversive Cross Stitch has what you’re looking for!

This kit comes with the patterns and all the materials you need to make them. Go get it here!

Mr Random Number Generator has given chosen comment number 71 as the lucky winner of the fantastic Subversive Cross Stitch gift pack. Congratulations Tanya!

If you can email me (mrx@mrxstitch.com) with your details (name, address etc.) I’ll make sure the package gets to you soon!

Thanks to everyone who commented; it was great to read about people’s relationship with stitching and it affirms the reasons why we all love the world of stitch. Terrific!

It’s amazing that Mr X Stitch is one year old.

I can’t quite explain how it’s happened, but a year ago I wrote the obligatory “This is my blog” introductory post and off I went:

“It’s an attempt to funk up the world of cross stitch a bit, and stems from my frustration at the lack of decent patterns for men, and for people with a bit of style. I’ve had enough of country cottages and kittens playing with balls of wool. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure they bring joy and happiness to a lot of people. Just not me.” Mr X Stitch, 27th August 2008.

I still stick by that first statement – I prefer country cottages and kittens in real life, rather than embroidery, but that’s my particular persuasion.

What’s been astonishing about this site is that it’s introduced me, and you, to a huge array of stitch superstars who create magnificent works:

Like William Schaff, whose work just blew me away when I saw it. And I’ve also gotten to know a lot of very creative individuals, such as the inimitable Benjibot!

And the legend that is Ruby42 (NSFW).

It’s been terrific over the past year how people have manifested their own expression with a needle and thread.

The Nu Craft Movement is growing and the increase in stitched pieces that we’ve seen appear over at the Phat Quarter indicate how popular stitching is becoming. It’s a great time to be a stitcher.

I still blame this person for a lot of what’s gone on here:

If Bridget hadn’t come on board, this site would still be crap. But her enthusiasm and endeavour has brought us all kinds of wonder. And for that, we are all grateful. Thanks Beef!

We’ve had some exciting finds over the year. The discovery of Severija‘s amazing embroidered metalwork was a good moment:

Particularly as we were able to also feature Lynette Andreason‘s embroidered silverware on the same day:

And we’ve had some terrific concepts, like Girli Concrete:

Tinyhaus‘ embroidered porcelain:

And Liz Kueneke, who uses stitching to engage with communities:

It’s terrific to see new ideas emerge and to discover people who have so much to offer – long may it continue.

There have been some stitched pieces this year that have pushed at the boundaries of the genre, in a variety of ways. The thing I like about this is that each push opens up more creative ground, and gives other people space to explore.

I hope we get more works that continue to break new ground, and I also hope we get to see more stitchy animation stuff  - that baby’s got loads of potential.

So it’s onwards and upwards for the next year – who knows what we’ll find along the way?

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If you know of anyone that should be featured on this or any of our posts, just email me, or Beefranck, with your ideas. We love hearing from you!

So, now that we’ve gotten all of that out of the way, it’s GIVEAWAY TIME!

Yay!

No, seriously YAY! Who would like to win a gift pack from the fantastic Subversive Cross Stitch!?!?!

(A bit like, but not exactly the one below!)

I want to know your thoughts:

Tell me about stitching, what does it mean to you?

What stitchy stuff excites you? What inspires you?

Competition Rules:

The closing date for this competition is Midday (GMT) on Thursday 3rd October.

The winning comment will be chosen by a random number generator and announced in a post on the same day.

The winner will not be eligible for any of the other prizes in the competition – if their comment is chosen at random in a subsequent competition, another number will be chosen.

The winners will be contacted by email and the details for postage arranged therewith.

(Ha! I said “therewith”! I love all that – “herein”, “forthwith”, “henceforth” etc. Magic words!)

Anyway, come and comment and best of luck to all of you.

On 27^th August, Mr X Stitch will be one year old, and there’s lots happening!

First of all we will be launching a new range of cross stitch and embroidery patterns from some of the newest embroidery talents out there. When you find out who they are, you’re going to want them!

We’re also announcing a new roster of guest posters, who will be bringing you more views from the wonderful world of stitching.

And finally, the information you’ve all been waiting for…we’re having a giveaway!

Yes indeed, you will have the chance to win one of the following:

• A gift pack from the awesome Subversive Cross stitch!
• One of Emily Peacock’s fabulous needlepoint kits!
• A free sampler of your choice from Miso Funky!
• A copy of Manga Cross Stitch, courtesy of Ilex Books!
• An original Beefranck stitchery!

…

• And a piece of work from some wiseacre called Mr X Stitch.

We’ve also got a special prize of a batch of light effects threads that will end up with whoever makes us laugh the most over the course of the week. Can’t be bad!

So spread the word, tell your friends, and we’ll see you there!

Hi everybody! This is the first in a series of posts the gracious MrXStitch is allowing me to do here each Monday, barring some sort of catastrophe or other minor distraction. I’ll be posting about funny, vulgar, subversive and geeky cross stitches and embroideries that strike my fancy. I hope you’ll like them, too. Join me, won’t you? Thank you!

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and love is in the air! That probably explains the smell – don’t worry, it will be gone in a week or two. In the meantime, here’s some stitchy goodness for the holiday.

Julie Jackson is selling DIY Valentine Kits at the Subversive Cross Stitch website. It comes with doilies, floss, needles, a blank grid and patterns for a variety of words that allows you to create your own personalized Valentines – sweet or sour.

It might be cutting it a little bit close to get the kits and make them in time for Valentine’s Day, but I see these having all sorts of great applications at any time of year.

Sometimes you might find yourself the recipient of some unwanted attention at this time of year. If that happens, you can always use this piece I found at peppermintkite’s etsy shop as a gentle hint:

It’s a bit blunt, but sometimes that’s the only way to get your point across.

Finally, here’s a handmade Valentine that was stitched and posted in the Needlework section of Craftster by manbroiderer extraordinaire and hopeless romantic, WhateverJames.

You can see the original post here for more details – like the fact that he sold most of his action figure collection to buy his fiancee her engagement ring! What I really love about this (besides the fact that it’s incredibly sweet) is that it made me think. We all have SOMETHING that we’re a bit obsessive about. Wouldn’t it be cool if we all made a declaration like this to our partner this Valentine’s Day? I’d take that over chocolates any day.