Halloween Finishing Spree Day Four

Hi, stitching friends!

I'm realllly excited to show you today's finish. It's my first attempt at a drum. Hats off and big thanks to Vonna, The Twisted Stitcher, for her excellent tutorial video. She made it look so easy. I did not expect much from my first attempt, but I have to say, I absolutely LOVE it.

The pattern, by Lizzie*Kate, is "Just a Little Hocus Pocus," which is the bonus chart that came with part 2 of Lizzie*Kate's Halloween Mystery Sampler 2019. I'm still working on the sampler, and I stitched the bonus design on a little scrap of 32-count "Fog" linen by Picture This Plus. The cat's eyes are amber-colored beads from the mystery sampler embellishment pack.

It was such a cute, fun little stitch, and I am really enjoying stitching the sampler. The orange diamonds in the bottom diamond pattern above were supposed to be filled in with black stitches, but I thought the diamonds would look more dainty if I left the black stitches out.

Isn't that little witch trick-or-treater darling? In the original pattern, she didn't have any hands, so I added two little stitches to give her some hands. Without them, her little bag was just floating beside her.

I topped the drum with some black pom-pom trim and stitched on a narrow black ribbon around the bottom.

For the top, I used a little square of Moda fabric from a charm pack I bought on Etsy a while ago.

I used another square of Moda fabric from the same charm pack for the bottom. Sooo cute!

Thanks for stopping by, friends. I will be back again tomorrow for Day Five of my Halloween finishing spree. I'm telling you, I have been on a roll! Until then, be well, and I hope you find (or make) lots of time to stitch!

Halloween Finishing Spree Day Three + Freebie

Hi, stitching friends!

Wow, how's that for assonance in the title? My English teachers would be proud.

For day 3 of my Halloween finishing spree, I'd like to show you "Scaredy Cat" by Val's Stuff. This was a free pattern I received from the Crazy Annie's Stitching PTP Fabric of the Month club. They send a shop freebie with each fabric cut.

I stitched Scaredy Cat on 28-count coffee/tea-dyed Irish linen using DMC black and white and a selection of Colour & Cotton flosses from my collection. I used Mill Hill petite beads for the pumpkin's teeth and the spider eyes.

I laced the little ornament onto foam core, added a felt backing, and pinned ribbon around the edges.

I embellished regular ol' straight pins with some decorative beads I found at Michael's. I wasn't sure if this would work, but it did. What do you think?

A Cute Autumn Freebie

Check out this adorable freebie, brand new for autumn 2019, from Ricami di Marula at Crocette a gogò. You can get the chart from her blog by clicking here. She also has an Etsy shop with some very cute patterns.

I'll be back again tomorrow with Day Four of my Halloween finishing spree. Thanks for stopping by!

Halloween Finishing Spree Day Two

Hi, stitching friends!

Next up in my Halloween finishing spree is "Boo Moon." Designed by Blackberry Lane Designs, this pattern was in the September/October 2010 issue of Just CrossStitch magazine.

I stitched this over one on 28-count denim evenweave using the called-for DMC colors.

Don't you just love that little mouse? Look at that little pink tongue! Because everybody knows the moon is made of cheese.

This is a basic flat finish, and I used cotton twist cording from my Stampin' Up stash to finish it off.

Thanks for stopping by. I will post the next finish in my Halloween finishing spree tomorrow. See you then!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, stitching friends!

My husband and I have a New Year's Eve dinner date with his sister and her new boyfriend (woot! woot!) in a little over an hour, so let's see if I can get this post done before I have to go change clothes and get ready.

Ready... set....GO!

"Snow in Love"
by Little House Needleworks
Stitched on 28-count coffee/tea-dyed linen with called for threads

Yes, yes, Christmas is over, but I'm still finishing ornaments! I stitched "Snow in Love" by Little House Needleworks while my husband and I were on vacation in Oregon earlier this month. I finished it today as a wedding gift for his former high-school band teacher. What do you get someone you haven't seen in more than 25 years, who already has everything she needs household-wise? Something handmade and personal, of course! She is a crafty girl herself, so I know she will love this. A cute "Made with Love" charm (a gift from RJ and Mary) tops it off.

The back is a Christmas print fabric from Moda fabrics.

By the way, I recently treated myself to a tracing table. It's a flat LED tablet that plugs in via USB. I don't like the dot pattern on it, so I lay a piece of plain white paper over top to diffuse that. It's awesome for centering stitched pieces on foam core, sticky board, or whatever you need to center them on when finishing. Sure beats trying to hold it up to a window and keep it centered! And it was not expensive - less than $15 on Amazon.

"Winston the Snowman"
by The Trilogy
Stitched on coffee/tea-dyed mystery linen from my stash with called-for threads

Next up is "Winston the Snowman" by The Trilogy. I didn't have the triangle buttons called for in the pattern, so I substituted some Algerian eyelets instead. He is a dapper snowman, indeed! I mounted the ornament on foam core, added a fabric-covered piece of chipboard to the back, and glued lacy trim around the outside. I topped it with a gold hanger and a rusty star.

The fabric on the back goes nicely with the rusty star, don't you think?

I hope your holiday celebrations were awesome! One of my favorite presents under the tree was this "pocket locket" from my wonderful stitching friend, RJ, from Stitching Friends Forever. Look at those tiny stitches! Thank you, RJ!

We enjoyed having my mom stay with us over Christmas. My husband and I played lots of three-handed pinochle with her, and my son joined us for cards when we agreed to play Texas Hold 'Em. We ate lots of good food and watched movies.

I wish you all lots of time to stitch, safe travels, good health and good memories-in-the making in 2019. See you next year....

Woohoo! It looks like I'm going to be on time for dinner after all.