stitch a kawaii birthday with cross stitch crazy

Odds are, when you think of me, you don't think of someone who is "cross stitch crazy". I usually do hand embroidery, and when I do use cross stitches in my work, they're rarely the counted kind. But that doesn't mean that I don't like the look of counted cross stitch, especially the modern, pixel-ish kind.

So I was honored when Cross Stitch Crazy magazine asked me to design some charts in my kawaii style. I was also pretty nervous about it. This wasn't my first time designing cross stitch patterns, but certainly it's not what I would consider my strength.

But I jumped in, and it was so much fun. And look at the cover above. Look at the lower left corner!

This is just a sampling of the charts that are in the latest issue of Cross Stitch Crazy, which just came out yesterday. All of the designs have a kawaii birthday theme, and in addition to my favorite foods and objects with faces, there are some of my animal friends and even a little person!

If you're in the UK, you should be able to find this at newsstands right away, and internationally, it will make its way to shelves soon. And the digital edition is available online if you just can't wait.

If you like cross-stitch and Wild Olive, be sure to pick up issue 201 of Cross Stitch Crazy!