cross stitch celebrations // graduation

It may sound a little early, but right now is the time to start planning handmade graduation gifts. And I have a new book to help you with that! Cross Stitch Celebrations: Graduation is my latest book and it's ready to help you create fun and special presents for the grad in your life.

Even though I've talked about this book on social media and in my newsletter, this is its first time showing up here on my blog. How did I manage to wait so long? I don't know the answer, but I do know that I'm very excited and so proud of how everything turned out. The actual release date is still about a month away, and more fun will come to the blog then, but I wanted to share a little about what's inside and some of the thought that went into making it.

About a year ago was when this new title and all the ideas for the patterns started taking shape. The idea behind the Cross Stitch Celebrations series (which started with Bundle of Joy) is that you can cross stitch all kinds of things to celebrate life's milestones. Graduation is definitely one of those, but while it's in the title, graduation is not the only event celebrated with the more than 35 designs in this book. That's because I wanted to also make it possible to stitch things for lots of things related to education, whether that be kindergarten, high school, university, and even special certifications.

Because the who, what, where, and when of anything graduation related has so many variables, the cross stitch charts are designed to come together in different ways, with different elements.



There are some motifs like graduates in different poses, a traditional hat and diploma, and several that have areas specifically ready to add extra mini designs. So of course, there are a bunch of mini patterns to use for this (or on their own!). I designed celebration borders and borders that have educational motifs. There are also several alphabets and sets of numbers that you can use for honoring the class of...well...any year you want!

And since many folks who are getting started in cross stitch are more hesitant to make changes to patterns, I have tips along the way about how you can combine or edit the charts. Things like making the graduates look like who you're stitching for or adding in custom text and colors. My goal was to make this as fun and approachable as possible!

Along with the charts for the separate elements, there are several projects with step-by-step instuctions and even more ideas beyond those.



One of my favorite projects is this graduation hat. When I graduated, people didn't decorate the tops of their hats like they do now, but I would have LOVED to have made one of these back then. But even if it's not worn for the big day, I think this is a sweet way to remember a graduation. It's also an example of how the borders can be changed.

Graduation caps are square, but the borders are all sized to fit within an 8x10 inch frame. However...many of the borders have repeats that make it easy to add to or remove a section. Which is what I did for the hat!



This is the full Celebration Streamers border. Can you spot what's missing on the hat above?

I also love how different the design looks on the white and black aida fabric. Now imagine changing the color of the streamers and all the other elements!

Obviously, this is just one small glimpse into this project. For more behind the scenes, be sure to watch my Instagram feed, and I'll share more here soon.

The process of designing, stitching, photographing, and writing a book like this is...well...a process. When I finished it, I felt a bit like I was graduating myself. But really, it's more like when you turn in that last assignment. You know that graduation is coming, but you aren't really done. But now, with Cross Stitch Celebrations: Graduation releasing on March 14, that's my graduation date. That's when the party happens.

For now, you're officially invited!