LatelyI’vebeenspendingalotof
timebrowsingInstagram,an
onlinemobilephoto-sharing
appthatletsyousnapaphoto,
addacoolfilter, andshareitwith
theworld.It’s whereI’vestarted
fallinginlovewithsome
fantasticcrossstitchartistswho
havecreatedamazingonlinevirtual‘worlds’wherethey
showcasetheirtalents.Somejustliketopostpicsoftheir
work,whileothershavemadefull-blowncareersoutof
doingwhattheylove.
It wasduringoneofmyrecent Instagrambrowsing
sessionsthatIstumbledacrosstheworkof‘StephXstitch’
alsoknownasStephanieRohrfromChicago,Illinois.
WhatstruckmemostaboutSteph’swork,besidesher
beautifulstitchingstyleandgreatphotography,were
herpatterns.Theywerebold,fresh,andsomewereevena
littlenaughty. AfterexploringherworkthroughherEtsy
shop,Ilearnedshewasn’tjustanaccomplishedcross-
stitchpatternmakeranddesigner,butthatshewasalso
atalentedentertainer.Ihadtolearnmoreabouther, and
seeifhertwoworldswereconnected.
“Performingandcrossstitchhelpmebalancemy
different creativesidesofmypersonalityquitewell,” says
Stephanie.“Theybothallowmeto
domyfavouritething,whichis
connectwithothers,makethem
laugh,and/ormakethemthink.
Performingisveryimmediate
anddesigningandstitchingis
moredelayed.Iputitoutintothe
world,andwaitforthefeedback.
Luckilyit’s beengreat!”
Steph’s mumtaught herhowtocrossstitch,“She
alwayshadaprojectgoingwhenIwasakid.Eventually
shebought memyownlittlekitwhichhadaplastic
grid,agiantplasticneedle,andusedyarninsteadof
embroideryfloss.Imadeapictureofabutterfly, and
Iwashooked!”Herpattern-makingskillswereformed
early–shetellsmeshehadafascinationwithcolouring
insquaresofgraphpapertomakedesignsasakid,“Ilove
gridsandsymmetryandexperimentingwithcolour.”
Duringcollege,stitchingfellbythewayside.She
pickedthecraftupagainafewyearslaterwhenafriend
mentionedwantingtohaveafunnycrossstitchmade
forhisparents.Shethought,“Icoulddothat!”Thatfirst
design,shetoldme,“plantedtheseedthathumourand
crossstitchgowelltogether.”Shestartedmakingsmall
pieceswithsarcasticsayingsandafewswearwords–
thingsshepersonallyfoundfunny. Herworkhasbeen
describedas‘cheeky’,whichshesaysmakessense
becausemanyofherthemesareadult,butstillplayful
andgood-spirited.“Itissubversivebecauseofthe
juxtapositionofaverytraditionalartformwitha
modern,oftenfeminist,sentiment.Anditinvolvedpop
culturesimplybecausemanyofthepiecesareinspired
byfunnyquotesfromfilmsorinternetmemes.I
basicallydesigncrossstitchesbasedonwhatIfind
funny, andIampleasantlysurprisedwhenothersshare
mysenseofhumour,”shesays.
Stephhasalsobeenaperformerallherlife–sheacts,
sings,andplayspiano.Currentlysheperformsinan
all-female1960srockbandcalledTheBangers,anda
five-piecebandandcomedygroupcalledTheMoxie
Sisters.Thelatterisatrioofwomen,muchlikethe
AndrewsSisters,accompaniedbypianoandtrumpet.
Stephcreatesthegroup’sarrangements,oftentaking
modernsongsandturntheminto1930sswingandjazz
tuneswiththree-partharmony.“WhatIdowithThe
MoxieSistersisverymuchrelatedtowhatIdowith
StephXstitch,”shesaysofhertwocreativeworlds.“Itis
thejuxtapositionoftheoldand
thenewforcomiceffectand
makingastatement.
Needleworkwasviewedinthe
pastasjustforwomen,orasa
trivialartform.WhenIam
designingasamplerthatsays
‘smashthepatriarchy,’
Ifeellikeithashumourandalso
amessage.Andthatmessageisdeliveredinan
artisticallypleasingway. Iwant peopletodoadouble-
take,like‘wowlookatthatborder...waititsayswhat?’”
Stephfindsitdifficulttomakealivingsolelythrough
theatre,butsaysshe’sableto“cobbletogether”aliving
betweentheatre,performingwithbands,teaching
privatevoicelessons,andofcourseStephXstitch.She’s
proudthatafterfiveyearsofsellingcrossstitchdesigns,
it’s herbiggestsourceofincome.
VisitSteph’s designsonlinebyvisitingherEtsyshop
atwww.etsy.com/shop/stephXstitchorherpersonal
websiteatstephxstitch.com.FindheronInstagramand
Facebookbysearching ‘StephXstitch’.
CrossStitchercorrespondent,Christen Smith,
from NewYork state,USA,discoversthework of
StephanieRohr,crossstitchartistandperformer
THE ART OF STITCHING
It is subversive because
of the juxtaposition of a
very traditional art form
with a modern, often
feminist, sentiment
INSPIRING PEOPLE