embroidery

Because the Saints have the Best Stories: New Cross Stitch Book

Hey there!

In case you missed it, we are running a big PRE-ADVENT sale…because we plan to be offline for most of Advent! You can check it out right here: https://catholicsprouts.com/pre-advent-sale-2019/

After about a year and half of recording the Catholic Sprouts Podcast I have come to a surprising conclusion:

STORIES ARE MORE POWERFUL THAN FACTS.

Not necessarily more important, but so much more powerful.

Here’s what I mean.

I love hearing from you about which episodes really resonated with you and your family, and I work to pay careful attention to what worked…and what fell a little short.

When I started producing the podcast I thought that the most important thing I could offer was a very clear, very simple EXPLANATION of the Faith. Now, I will never say that an explanation isn’t important, but telling a story on the same topic to ILLUSTRATE a concept is infinitely more successful. I see this with my own children when we listen, and I feel it in my own heart.

When it comes to teaching, stories are king.

And you know where the best stories come from?

THE SAINTS.

I LOVE learning about the saints. I love reading their journals, biographies, and hearing their legends. I love it all. And I am inspired to keep trudging up that hill to holiness so much more by looking to the examples of Saints than I am by reading passages from the Catechism (which is also SO important…just not quite as inspiring).

I am constantly working to bring the stories of the saints to my children (and yours through the podcast). I also love to have images around our house to REMIND us of these powerful stories that we have heard. All too often we hear something incredible…only to race off to the next thing and never think about it again. Or is that just me?

No! We need to hold onto these stories and allow them to guide us and inspire us daily.

In my own small way I am working to honor the saints and the stories they have given us with my newest creation:

The Saints of the Catholic Faith in Cross Stitch.

I created many of these patterns years ago, but I am thrilled to be able to give them new life with a much better book and format.

The book contains 170 different Holy Characters, including images of God, Mary, Angels, Biblical Characters and Saints.

And if you don’t cross-stitch, don’t worry! The patterns can be used for melty bead creations as well.

Now, in case this sounds all a little new and strange to you, I thought I would let you take a closer look inside of the book, and explain a few decisions I made while putting this book together.

Here is an example of a couple of pages from the book:

As the title says, Saints of the Catholic Church in Cross Stitch can be used by crafters of ALL ages, so I deliberately made the patterns simple. Here is what I mean.

Each pattern is displayed as colored stitches on a grid. There is no additional image of each saint as a “pattern” with a thread color chart and thread symbols as there was in the previous Saint Cross Stitch book. Why? Because I decided it was unnecessary.

The cross stitch and melty bead patterns I have created are simple, and yet fun to stitch for even experienced stitchers.

They use color blocking and very few thread colors for each pattern. In fact, I encourage crafters to ADJUST THE COLORS they use for these saints. Not thrilled that St. Agatha is wearing blue? Change it! Not sure you agree that St. Agnes had hair that color? Change it!

I created something that I pray will be a springboard for your creativity.

Here is what I really hope you will do with these patterns:

1. Learn about the saints and their incredible lives. Allow their stories to MOVE YOU.

2. Then, create an image of that saint to display in your home, or for your children to play with. Stitch up something or set the kids up with the Melty Beads.

3. Look often at that image and REMEMBER the stories they have given us, and keep following their example.

It’s that simple.

There are literally COUNTLESS ways to use those patterns in this book. Here are just a couple of ways that they have already been used by some Creative Catholics out there:

Gift Patron Saint Ornaments to those you love.
Stitch a Patron Saint onto the corner of a baby blanket.
Create an entire Nativity Set out of Melty Beads
Create Melty Bead Saint super heroes for the kids to play with.
Stitch and frame each child’s patron and hang it above their bed.
Teach and entire Little Flowers/Blue Knights group to stitch and let them pick out a saint to stitch as their first project. (these simple patterns are a PERFECT first project).
Use the patterns with your class! Stitched Saints make a GREAT art project.

Sharing the patterns with your large family, Youth Group or class is super simple since each purchase of the book includes access to a library of digital content. Inside of that library, you will find lots of additional patterns, as well as a digital copy of the book ready to be printed and shared.

Need more ideas? Well, here are a few ways I have used them.

Saint Quote Bible Bookmark (template included with the digital resources):

Patron Saint Rosary Case (simple directions included with digital resources):

Patrons Saint Family Sampler (tutorial for creating a sampler for your family is also included with the digital materials):

By the way, here is my crew, including all of the little saints that we have waiting for us in heaven. Can you name all of those saints? 😉

Okay, have I whetted your creative pallet? Just writing this email has made me want to get back to it! Got so many Christmas gift ideas swirling around in my head right now! Ha!

The Saints of the Catholic Church in Cross Stitch is available right now, and, as part of the PRE-ADVENT SALE, you can get the book for just $20. To check out all of the deals and grab your copy of the Saints in Cross Stitch, head here: https://catholicsprouts.com/pre-advent-sale-2019/

All deals expire Monday, December 2nd at Midnight.

(because I plan to be offline for Advent ;))

Interested in reading more about the Cross Stitch book? Just head here: https://catholicsprouts.com/saintpatterns

Got a question? Just hit reply.

Your sister in the small things,

Nancy

St Barbara and Blessed Oscar Romero {free cross stitch patterns!}

by Nancy Bandzuch · 4 Comments

If I have learned anything while making my Saint Cross Stitch Patterns this past year and a half, it is that we have so many awesome saints in the Catholic Church. SO MANY! Every time I finish making yet another massive batch of patterns of beloved saints, I come across a few more saints that I can’t believe I have yet to make a pattern for. There are just so many good ones.

What a blessings our Catholic Faith is!

In the past month or so I have made two new patterns and it just doesn’t seem right not to share them with you. So, here they are. Free patterns for St. Barbara and Blessed Oscar Romero.

The first new pattern is of St. Barbara. I made this pattern just before Christmas so that I could stitch up a little rosary case for my mother, whose name happens to be Barbara. My mom, who is one of the biggest supporters of this blog, and the one person I KNOW will share my new posts on Facebook, started dropping hints about St. Barbara a while back. She picked up my Saint Cross Stitch Book and flipped through it looking for St. Barbara. When she didn’t find her in there she had to tell me all about St. Barbara, and how she is the person Rapunzel is based on (only she is WAY cooler than Rapunzel and SO MUCH more awesome). I nodded along as she told me. But then she brought up St. Barbara like 5 more times…and I finally got the hint.

I made a pattern for this incredible saint for my mother and almost got it done in time for Christmas. And I have to say, my mom was totally right. St. Barbara is so awesome. She was trapped in a tower and an angel came and brought the Eucharist to her. Why don’t they make a Disney movie about that?

You can find the materials for this project, and MANY other Catholic projects in the Catholic Family Digital Resource Library. To get instant access, and join a thriving community of over 10,000 Catholic Parents, just enter your in your email address.

The next pattern is of Blessed Oscar Romero. He is another great, although controversial, Catholic figure. This pattern came about when a dedicated blog reader wrote to me about a project her parish was hoping to do for their sister parish in South America, and I was so happy to help them out. Over the years it has been such an incredible honor to play a small role in the beautiful catholic gifts and goods made with my patterns, especially those used to raise funds for good and holy work. You guys are so good to me.

Here is how I designed Blessed Oscar Romero in cross stitch.

He is much more modern than St. Barbara. If you don’t know much about Blessed Oscar Romero, check out his biography. Fascinating.

Once again, you can find the materials for this project, and MANY other Catholic projects in the Catholic Family Digital Resource Library. To get instant access, and join a thriving community of over 10,000 Catholic Parents, just enter your in your email address.

And that’s all I’ve got for you today!

Your sister in Christ,

How To Embroider A Name on a Stocking

by Nancy Bandzuch · 3 Comments

Lately I’ve been getting lots of questions about stockings: where to get them, how to make them and how to add a child’s name to the top of a stocking. There are, of course, lots of answers to these questions, but I thought it might be helpful to put together a little tutorial on the subject of stockings, specifically, how to embroider a name onto a stocking.

And before I start I just want to state this very clearly–this is very simple and easy to do, seriously. Even if you have very minimal embroidery skills or experience, even if you have terrible handwriting (like me), you can do this and make it look beautiful. It just takes a couple of supplies, some time and patience. And a beautiful person who needs a stocking.

Here’s what you need:

Completed or bought stocking, with space to embroider at the top. If you are making your own stocking, embroidery the name before attaching the back. If you are stitching on a pre-made stocking, pin down the back so you have access to the front to add the name.
Tissue paper
pen
computer screen
pins
embroider needle
embroidery thread

As a first step, head to your computer and open PicMonkey, or a similar program. Select “design” from the top menu and on a white screen, pick a font and write out the name you wish to embroider. Picmonkey offers several free fonts, but I opted to use a font I purchased. I am making a special stocking for my sweet little Josie, who joined our family in May.

Resize, using the zoom in or out on your screen, until the name is a size that will fit nicely on your stocking. Then, take your tissue paper and tape it to your computer screen. Trace the letters onto the tissue paper.

Carefully remove the tissue paper from your screen and grab you stocking. Center the tissue paper and pin it in place, near the top of the stocking. Then, take your embroidery thread and needle. Using 2 threads in a contrasting color, stitch a back stitch along each letter of the name. As you can see in the photo below, you will be stitching through the stocking, as well as through the tissue paper.

The back stitch is one of the simplest stitches. It is just a straight line, one stitch after another. My only advice with this step is to take your time and do small careful stitches. It might take longer, but you are creating a family heirloom here, right? Something that your child will look forward to pulling out and hanging up year after year. It’s worth it to do it right.

After the stitching is done, it’s time to remove the tissue paper.

Very carefully rip the tissue paper and pull it off in pieces, making sure to get all the little bits. And, once you add the back to your stocking, you are all done!

See, that was pretty simple, right? Even you (and I) can embroidery pretty names on stockings!

And in case you are looking for a few stocking patterns, here are the four I offer:

As you can see in the image, you can also add a name to a stocking with felt letters, cut out and stitched on. Those instructions and patterns come when you purchase one of the patterns pictured above. The stockings can be purchased together for $9 or separately for $3 each. The links below will take you to the esty listing, if you are interested.

All 4 Patterns ll Nativity 1 ll Nativity 2 ll Tree ll Santa

I hope that was helpful. And, if you purchase a pre-made stocking from Target and add a name with puff paint there is NO SHAME IN THAT. Please believe that. Christmas is not about stuff like stockings and trees and presents. It’s about Jesus. And that’s it.

Blessings on you and your family this season!

The Catholic Saints In Cross Stitch: THE BOOK

by Nancy Bandzuch · 45 Comments

No longer just a digital download–the Catholic Saint Cross Stitch Patterns are now an actual book…which is on sale today!

The printed book, in full color is available for $35. It includes ALL of my patterns!

The book turned out so good. It’s thrilling! Here are the details:

The book contains over 150 different patterns–30 of which I have never offered before. Just to wet your pallet, here is the entire table of contents:

Yup–I even included the characters from the Old Testament and the Nativity. They are all in here.

The book is printed in FULL COLOR. Although this made the book a bit more expensive, I think it was worth it because now children can grab the book off the self, pull out the perler beads and get creating. That’s right–the patterns can be used for both cross stitch AND perler beads. Also, the color makes it really fun to flip through. My kids enjoy just looking at the book and learning about the saints that way.

The book also includes 4 pages describing in detail how to cross stitch and a few never before shared patterns for Saint Quote Bible Bookmark patterns.

Here’s a look at the the inside of the book (and one of the new patterns):

Each saint has a 2 page spread in the book. On the left is a color image of the pattern and on the left is the cross stitch pattern with legend. And, if you don’t know anything about Our Lady of Chestohova, stay tuned. She will be featured here real soon!

I also created a ABC Sampler with the saints! Check it out!!!

The ABC Saint Sampler is a Digital Pattern. The whole thing is $5. After you purchase you will be able to download the pattern right away.

I am definitely too excited about this one. I put together this pattern because people had been asking for it, not really expecting it to turn out so cool. I mean, after seeing this don’t you just want to get started stitching it now? That is the way I felt. Here is my progress so far:

Yes, I have A LOT left to do, but I can’t even explain how excited I am to have this done and hanging in my children’t room. What better way to learn the alphabet?

And that is basically it! Once again, here is the link if you are interested.

Thank you for your endless support!

Your sister in Christ,

Holiday Characters in Cross Stitch

by Nancy Bandzuch · 1 Comment

Everything is cuter in cross stitch. It’s a fact. And you know what we all need during these dark political times–more cute (and diligent prayers).

I’m in a funny mood today. We are leaving on a BIG road trip tomorrow, so instead of packing/laundry/cleaning I am doing something totally silly–making cross stitch patterns. And you know what, I’m having a ton of fun (so get off my back!). Before now most of my patterns have been of the Catholic persuasion, and I LOVE those patterns (in fact, I am currently stitching up a BIG project using my Catholic Saint Patterns that I can’t wait to share with you) but today I stepped away from all things strictly Catholic in favor of (dun dun dun) the secular.

<screams of terror!>

So, I’m being a little dramatic, but, this is a bit of a departure for me. I decided awhile back that I was going to stop being a lame “lifestyle blogger”–meaning a blogger that posted about whatever tickled my fancy–and instead be a Catholic Mommy blogger. And I love what has happened around here once I dedicated myself to serving this specific and wonderful audience.

But I still kinda love Halloween–all of Halloween. Even the witches and vampires and zombies, I love it. The block we live on has gone Halloween NUTS! One house a few blocks away has transformed their yard into a graveyard and it actually looks like zombies are crawling out of the earth. We drove by one night and it was all lit up, and I got major goosebumps–IT WAS AWESOME! Yes it’s all silly compared to the grand feast of All Saint’s Day the following day, but I just can’t help loving Halloween.

And loving all the folksy Thanksgiving stuff. And even Santa.

These are things I grew up with. They are characters from stories I love and transforming them into cross stitch characters this afternoon made me happy. I can’t wait to finish stitching up these projects and adding them to my holiday decor.

Purchase ALL 3 Sets for $5

Purchase Our Halloween Friends for $2

Purchase Our Thanksgiving Friends for $2

Or Purchase our Christmas Friends for $2

And now that I’m done with the patterns…and this post…I guess this means that I need to get to work getting this family ready for a cross country road trip. Sigh.

Thank you for indulging me.

In Christ