I love a good shop hop! I’ve participated in a number of Quilt Shop Hops & even a few Cross Stitch Shops Hops (heck – I participated in one years ago as a shop owner!!)
– One of my Big List goals for 2024 was to be more consistent with my HOD stitcher newletter & to create some ‘regular’ features – a way to support the industry & to educate stitchers. I’ve spent quite a bit of time sharing photos of HOD ‘in the wild’, creating more SAL’s & now I want to share more about the shops that order from us here at HOD.
Please introduce yourself & your shop!
When did you open your shop & is there a special memory from that time?
Back in 2017, I decided to start a stitching Instagram… which quickly led to filming my first flosstube video (you can catch me there for ~biannual updates these days) – I was ecstatic to discover an incredible stitchy community via the internet and now many of my closest friends are people I met through cross stitch – how cool is that? Somewhere in 2018 I sold a few needle minders on instagram to help me pay for plane fare to attend my first cross stitch retreat – shortly after that, I opened an etsy shop and TopKnot Stitcher Shop was born!
I hadn’t initially expected the shop to grow much beyond that. Sometimes I wonder what I might have named it if I’d known—TopKnot Stitcher Shop is a bit of a mouthful! But I had so much fun curating a small shop filled with the patterns and supplies I love. In 2020, I expanded to my own website (topknotstitcher.com), greatly expanded my inventory, and attended my first Nashville Market as a buyer. Just a few days later, we entered lockdown. With so many new stitchers finding their way to cross-stitch (and seasoned stitchers with more time on their hands!), I was delighted to help people find the supplies they needed, discover new designers, and try out new materials and dyers.
The shop has continued to evolve and grow, and you’ll also find some TopKnot Stitcher designs available in my shop or at your local needlework store. I’m limited to one room in our house, which means I have to be very selective about what and how much I keep in stock. You won’t find absolutely everything, but I try to carry a mix of what I love and what you need—and if I don’t have it, I’ll do my best to help you find it.
What is your favorite part of your job?
There are too many favorites! At least once a day, I sit back and think “Wow, I can’t believe I get to do this for my job”. Some days that moment comes when I’m just sitting down with a giant bin of floss to put away, some days it’s when I get to highlight a new designer or dyer (I love supporting the next wave of creativity in our industry and seeing the extraordinary talent that exists!!), and some days it’s helping a customer kit up a new start. The fact that I get to spend my days immersed in cross-stitch is just unreal to me—I feel like the luckiest stitcher in the world.
A quick round of stitchy question!
Hoop or in hand?
Most of the time you’ll find me with a q-snap, but I have been loving my Nurge hoops lately too. I also love stitching with a stand so I can keep sipping on coffee or Diet Coke while I stitch one-handed.
Go to linen (or aida) & count?
20-count Aida is my absolute favorite right now—and it’s definitely worth trying if you haven’t stitched on it yet! When I’m stitching on linen, I usually gravitate towards 36-count.
Please share your website & social pages:
Shop – topknotstitcher.com
Instagram – @topknotstitcher (lots of cross stitch but also lots of Jam!)
Flosstube – youtube.com/topknotstitcher
Facebook – facebook.com/topknotstitcher
Newsletter (monthly-ish updates on news from the studio, the lastest additions to the shop, special offers, and pictures of Jam!)- topknotstitcher.com/newsletter
A very original proposal designed by stitchy bff Ryann of Wild Violet Cross Stitch & stitched by Mr. TopKnot himself!
Enjoy the Stitch!
Cathy, Hands On Design, LLC
Leave a Reply