Happy Halloween

    I have been on a break from this blog. I have spent a lot of time quilting and embroidering, and too much time on Facebook. I hope to resurrect this blog in a few days and show my latest cross stitch. In the meantime, here's a Happy Halloween wall quilt that I made.

It is hand embroidered and hand quilted (all by me). I used Walmart fabrics, except for the white, which was a good quality cotton.

A Thursday Update

The water was shut off for some hours both Tuesday and Wednesday, and there was no notice given, and no robo-call. They have been digging up at the end of the block. It came back on yesterday at noon but I had to catch up on other things (due to lack of water) and so I didn't post. last night they were still at work, under lights.

I got rid of cable TV and bought a SONY DVD player. Yesterday I watched this video.  Whe I bought it from the sale bin, I thought it was the Tom Cruise one, but realized it was not after I got home. It was a good movie, and better, probably, because it lacked the Hollywood flash and glitz, and focused upon the mindsets and paths of the individuals involved in this ill-fated plot.

Daughter went to Ben Franklin and bought me my mat board while I was occupied elsewhere. She said that the store seemed not to have as much stuff--"struggling"--as she put it. The only mat board she could find were some large scrap pieces left over from their framing section. They still charged the full price. I just hadn't wanted to go up the I-70 hill to Michael's (lots more traffic). I guess the BF will not survive against Michael's too much longer. The dwindling population in our area cannot support too many competing stores.

So, I plan to finish as many pinkeeps as I can with the 3 pieces of mat that I got, before going out to buy more.

I finally got this (JCS 2010 Halloween Issue) stitched:

I finished Maison Fleurie yesterday:

The small flowers should have been stitched with a darker pink, as they blend in to the background of the grass, instead of standing out.

Today I will stitch solely on my Fair & Square Round 26, as I need to get it finished.

I downloaded a free "Give Thanks" chart from a blog. I will find the link and let you know from where. I've decided to stitch it upon Lugana.
Happy stitching!

Halloween Exchange from Verona

This is the great ornament that I received from Verona in the HOE Halloween Exchange 2010. I am so happy to receive this, because it saves me the time of making it! It's from the Just Cross Stitch 2010 Halloween Ornament issue, and it is by Blue Ribbon Designs.

She enclosed some beautiful Victorian Sampler overdyed floss.

Thank you, Verona!

Trick or Treat Tree for Kathy

"Trick or Treat Tree"

by Pat Thode of The HeartStrings/The Artists Collection

from  the Sept/Oct 2010 issue of Just Cross Stitch
Overdyed & DMC on 28ct. eggshell linen

 This is the front of the ornament that I stitched for Kathy as part of the HOE 2010 Halloween Exchange. I put the pumpkin face in the wrong place. I added some tree branches here and there, and used a different yellow for the moon. I worked on it off and on for about a month.

I put these wonderful buttons on it that I bought last year at Michael's.  This year I went to three different Michael's, in two states, and they did not offer them.

The reverse side:

A Halloween Ornie Begun

This is my start on "By The Full Moon," presented in the JCS Halloween 2010 Ornament issue by Ink Circles. I changed the colors because I'm stitching it on Silkweaver "Solo" fabric (32ct) and I needed to match it. I stopped work on this because my HOE Halloween Exchange piece took me so long.

A Halloween WIP

This is the Primitive Betty "Boo" freebie. It has turned out to be very large (on 28ct.). I will either frame it and display it, or make it into a pillow.

Halloween Treat Bag

This is the Halloween treat bag that I stitched for Edgar in the HOE Halloween exchange. It is "By The Light of The Moon," a freebie from The Primitive Needle. It is done with a combination of DMC and Carrie's Creations threads on a hand-dyed linen(don't know the count). The handles are black grosgrain ribbon.

I found some great Halloween fabric and created the bag. I added a cross-stitched commemorative label on the inside. Adding initials (or names) and dates makes needlework more valuable for the future. Plus, we get to remember our stitching buddies every time we look at their creations.

I just love this design and want to stitch a bag for myself.

I thought my daughter mailed this Priority mail and was worried because it hadn't arrived. She just told me it was sent Parcel Post.

Halloween Exchange from Michelle

Michelle B. sent me a wonderful box of pumpkin-themed goodies for the HOE Halloween Exchange.

First, there is a beautifully stitched "Happy Jack" on fine linen that she attached to a great canister that is decorated with jack-o-lanterns. Inside the canister is a bag of candy pumpkins. She added a cute copper-colored jack-o-lantern pin and a set of cute Halloween stickers.

The piece de resistance is the pumpkin greeting card with a small pumpkin that morphs into a huge, frightful, menacing "Jack."

Freebie for Seasonal Stitchers

To all stitchers who enjoy Halloween designs:

If you send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the owner of The Primitive Needle, she will send you a delightful, primitive Halloween chart titled "By The Light Of The Moon."

Halloween Freebie

I stitched this Tanya Anderson (The Sampler Girl) freebie on black Aida. It's finished as a (stuffed pillow) hanging sign. I think I overstuffed it a little, but I was in a rush to get it finished.

The reverse is stitched with DMC Glow-in-the-Dark floss. This is the side that faces outwards (as it hangs in our window). I modeled the "B" after Tanya's alphabet and the ghost is my own creation.

I know people don't like Aida. I don't either. It's very stiff to stitch upon. However, it's the only black fabric that I had.

I wrote to the Michaels craft store corporation and told them that stitching on linen has been preferred by cross stitchers for some years. I asked them to stock our local Michaels with some basic colors of linen, i.e. pink, pale blue, mint green. They said they would consult with their buyers. The last time I went shopping there not even white linen was in stock.

Halloween Is Here

Although I haven't blogged in some time, I was stitching on several projects. Above is the freebie "Quaker Boo," by Tanya Anderson (The Sampler Girl). I left out some of her motifs and added some of my own: the witch's hat, the bat, and the crescent moon. I wanted the sampler to have more Halloween motifs instead of her geometric designs. I stitched this on 28-ct. white Monaco fabric. I used the cotton Monaco because I'm saving my small stash of linen for stitching my own smalls and for exchanges with other stitchers.

I want to finish it as a hanging but don't have the money right now to get the pumpkin-shaped metal bell pull that I saw advertised on a cross stitch supplies website. I really like the way the colors pop on the white background, and I found the Monaco easy to stitch upon.

Halloween Exchange from Jayne N.

Yesterday I received my HOE Halloween exchange that was mailed from England (only took a week). The fabric will be put to good use when I create Halloween and autumn-themed decorations for our living room. Yes, I needed embroidery scissors!! Jayne N. must be a little psychic. I love humbugs and this one is very cute. The other sides sport a witch and a jack-o-lantern.

HOE Halloween Exchange

I stayed up very late last night finishing my HOE Halloween Exchange and I was so tired this morning that I FORGOT to take a picture of the finished item before packing it up. Dear exchange partner, please take a good picture of the stitched item itself so that I can have a copy of it.

Halloween Musings

Last night I began a JBW pumpkin design as part of the Friday Night Stitch-a-thon group. Today I'll be working to get my HOE Halloween Exchange sewn together and packed up, as well as sew a (stitched) Halloween sign.

This will be our first Halloween in this apartment complex and people are already decorating their doors and windows. I realized that we will need a LOT of candy to give out. Last year we were much more isolated (down a gravel country lane), and had not one single trick-or-treater! I enjoy going to the door and giving out the treats.

I remember from my childhood that a whole candy bar was only a nickel. One family used to keep them slightly warm in the oven for us! Our paper grocery bag full of Halloween candy lasted about a whole month because we were allowed to have only one piece per day.

I've got a Martha Stewart Halloween book from the library and have recipes to copy, as well as some templates for decorating ideas.

Spooky Time is Coming!

I finished the stitching of "Spooky Time." I substituted the cat button for the suggested spider, used DMC white instead of oatmeal for the top of the candy corn, and sewed on silver-lined glass beads instead of glittery thread.

I embroidered the eyes with black and glow-in-the-dark thread, as a substitute for the eye buttons. Now it needs to be finished into a ?

More Halloween Stitching

I started "Spooky Time," a freebie by Lizzie Kate.

Poor Jack Finished

"Poor Jack" is finished. I didn't have DMC 972, so I made the eyes of the spiders darker. I think that the spiders' legs would have turned out better if I had a one of the thicker, single-strand type floss, such as Tentakulum. Someone sent me some (rose/green shaded) in an HOE exchange and I enjoyed using it as I did not have to unply it.

In the woods across from my window, a blue jay is calling over a low background of buzzing insects. Fall arrives tomorrow.

"That soon they will die

Is unknown

To the chirping cicadas."

----Basho

(from The Moon in the Pines, by J. Clements)

Halloween 2008 Stitching

This is a freebie on 28-ct. linen, "Poor Jack" by Just Nan, that I started last night. I made his eyes and grin with DMC glow-in-the-dark floss. I'll be making several Halloween designs, and I'm not sure yet which will be used for my HOE partner. The linen is really natural but the scan makes it look grey.