Robin Atkins (Beadlust) reviews how participants in last year’s Bead Journal Project finished their works for display — with scads of fabulous photos. I accidentally spent a half-hour with this post, studying details, absorbing colors, admiring ingenuity, and sighing wistfully. So be prepared: Turn off the phone and get a fresh hot beverage before you go see the post.
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Year of the Snake Cross Stitch Patterns
Lunar New Year for 2025 marks the beginning of the year of the snake. Snakes are intelligent and strong-willed, and they can be sneaky and jealous. Let’s celebrate the year of the snake with some fun cross stitch patterns!
This snake coiling into the year 2025 is a fun one, and it’s pretty easy because it’s only worked in two colors. You can get it from Anna X Stitch Art. The pattern is 91 by 76 stitches and comes out to 6.5 by 5.43 inches, or 16.5 by 13.8 cm tall on 14 count fabric.
Red is a classic color for the new year, so why not stitch up a red snake like this one from Lady Stitchicorn? It measures 33 by 40 stitches, which is 2.4 by 2.7 inches/6 by 6.8 cm on 14 count fabric. The snake is stitched in red with backstitch embellishments on the body worked in white.
The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery does adorable patterns for Lunar New Year each year with the year in lanterns and a cute version of the year’s zodiac sign. The snake in their version is wearing a bow tie and top hat to make it extra festive. It is 58 by 67 stitches, and the pattern includes the full set of numbers if you want it to commemorate a different year of the snake.
The Art of Cross Stitch also has designs for each zodiac symbol, and the year of the snake one uses four colors and is 58 by 71 stitches. It comes out to 5 inches/12.7 cm square when worked on 14 count fabric.
This adorable new year’s greeting from poco a poco stitch has a Japanese twist with Mt. Fuji and the rising sun in the background. Some creature is wearing the snake costume, which adds to the cuteness.
Then there’s a sweet design from Madly Stitch with a cartoonish snake. This one is 90 by 71 stitches and uses five colors, so it’s pretty good for a beginner to try.
If you like blackwork or want to give this style of embroidery a try, check out this blackwork snake from Trunky Stitches. It uses three colors of floss and is all worked in backstitch on 14 count fabric.