Cranky Cat Cross Stitch

Designer [Description taken from their Etsy page] Subversion, sass, snark, Pride, folk art How Cranky Cat Cross Stitch Came To Be and Where it's Going I started designing cross-stitches as a therapy project to recover from a severe, ongoing case of complex PTSD. At that point, I was doing mostly geometric work, as it seemed to help settle my battered brain. As my recovery (which is still ongoing) plodded slowly along, a friend suggested I sell the designs on Etsy. My young niece, who is extremely fond of my much-loved, if cantankerous feline, suggested the name Cranky Cat Cross Stitch. When considering what sort of store I wanted, I knew first off that I wanted to ensure it was queer-inclusive, not just in basic terms but also recognizing lesser-known gender and sexual minority identities. I've been blessed to, upon request, customize flags for customers, and I'm proud to be part of helping others feel included and loved. I chose to work mostly with subversive, snarky material simply because that suits my personality. In line with my feminist beliefs, I wanted to have a feminist angle, which comes out both in the subversive patterns and in the Great Feminist Moments in Fine Art series, which is an ongoing project that's been amazing to research. I will be adding more of those in the future. At present, my biggest focus is producing patterns that support Ukraine. Though I have no Ukrainian background, I come from a family who has endured occupation and war in Europe, and I grew up listening to those stories. I also live in the country that has the largest population of people of Ukrainian descent outside of Ukraine, so the connection to the country is close. Ukraine has a long and beautiful history of folk embroidery that does inspire some of my work, so it makes perfect sense to use a cross-stitch design shop to assist in the war effort. Until this conflict ceases, all my profits (after listing costs and software subscription, which runs $20-$30/month together) will be going into the war effort. I'll choose a different method of giving each month, including directly into the Ukrainian army fund, buying digital content from Ukrainian creators to get money directly into their pockets. and, if I have a really good month, booking a Ukrainian AirBNB even though I won't use the booking, as the money will go straight to a person in Ukraine who needs resources to survive this atrocity. Though at some point I want this shop to be part of how I make my own living, for now I have a safe place to live, enough to eat, access to health care, etc. so I'm blessed enough to be in a place where I can use CrankyCat as a means to help others.