Just Call Me Hopalong

Hi, stitching friends!

Here is my view today from my couch, where I have been spending way too much of my day lately. I apparently broke my foot 2-3 weeks ago. I was just walking into the kitchen and POP! I felt this very sharp pain in my foot. I hobbled around on it for a couple weeks, thinking it was just tendinitis or my imagination. On Friday my doc ordered X-rays and we found out it was broken.

Luckily, a family friend is a well-known foot and ankle surgeon and he pulled my X-rays up at home this weekend. He thinks it may be broken in two places. He suggested I wear this lovely boot and stay off it, so I have an accompanying rolling scooter, which, to be honest, is pretty fun to roll around on.

By the way, my current stitching project is “Welcome Christmas” by The Drawn Thread. As you can see from all the little holes, I have done quite a lot of frogging on it. I just wasn’t loving the green for the letters and decided to try them in navy blue. I would have scrapped the whole thing and started over, but I just finished the over-one stitching on the stockings and couldn’t bear to start those over again.

Happy Mail

Today’s mail brought this sweet Halloween envelope and needle book from Stasibee. Isn’t she the greatest? I’ve been feeling kinda down and this lifted my spirits. Thank you, Stasi! ❤️

So, I need help coming up with a good story to explain how I broke my foot. Any suggestions? I was thinking I could tell people I was helping my husband on the ranch when I saw a 2,000-pound bull charging toward him. I threw myself in front of the bull, and the bull veered off at the last second, avoiding plowing into me but stepping on my foot. Better story, yes? What are your ideas?

Have a wonderful week, friends, and don’t be clumsy like me!

Your friend,
Hopalong

Autumn Leaves

Hi, stitching friends!

A few days ago I featured an autumn freebie from Ricami di Marula at Crocette a gogò. You can get the free pattern by clicking here.

I wanted to stitch this while our leaves were still so beautiful, so for the past few days this is all I've been working on. I finished it last night and framed it today. Isn't it sweet?

I've had this little mahogany 4x4 frame in my stash for more than 20 years! Isn't it great when you finally find a use for something? I thought about painting the frame green or white, but my son said I should keep it natural because he liked how it went with the tree trunk and branches.

I stitched "Autumn" one-over-two on 40-count Flax Newcastle with the called-for DMC thread, except I substituted DMC 817 for the called-for DMC 321. I thought the 321 was a little too fire-engine red and bright, and I wanted a more "orangey" red for the birds. I stitched the string in DMC 898, same color as the branches, instead of the called-for DMC 310.

I have to thank Carol at Stitching Dreams for recommending the 40-count Flax Newcastle as one of her favorite stitching fabrics. I bought a big cut of it because she liked it so much, and while I was stitching on it, I thought, "Where have you been all my life?" It had such a nice feel and I love how I could use just one thread.

I absolutely love those birds. I changed the legs a tiny little bit, removing a couple of stitches in the pattern so they would be more delicate.

I think this would be a fun stitch to alter for different seasons, using different color schemes. The acorn between the birds could be a Christmas gift and they could be cardinals, or, for spring, the acorn could be a little tied bouquet.

Autumn Leaves

I call your attention to the title of this post: Autumn Leaves. It has a double meaning. The local news tonight said we're going to get "winter-like" temperatures in the middle of the next week. I'm not sure I'm ready to hear that! But I do like it when the colder weather sets in because I like to make soup and homemade stock, and I start getting all giddy thinking about watching Christmas movies and getting busy with the holidays.

My heart goes out to all of you still suffering the heat. Hold tight. This, too, shall pass. They just never say when!

Be well, friends, and I hope you have lots of time to stitch.

Halloween Finishing Spree Day Six

Hi, stitching friends!

Welcome to Day Six of the Halloween finishing spree! Today's finish is "Pumpkins," a gorgeous pattern I first saw when Honeybee featured it on her beautiful blog, The Copper Fox. If you haven't already visited The Copper Fox blog, please do. She does such amazing stitching and she has some very good inspirational posts on finishing. I owe a lot to Honeybee for helping me to silence my inner critic! (I think we are all pretty hard on ourselves when it comes to being perfectionists.)

You can find the PDF pattern for Pumpkins on Etsy at LoLaLottaShop.

I stitched Pumpkins on 32-count Barnwood linen by Picture This Plus. The pattern uses DMC threads, but I swapped out some of the greens for Colour & Cotton threads I had on hand. I wanted brighter greens that would pop on the dark linen. I used petite seed beads from Mill Hill for the lacy pumpkin.

I finished the stitch as a flat fold (thanks for the tutorial, Vonna!) and trimmed it with some handmade cording made with DMC thread.

I used some lovely fabric I received from RJ and Mary at Stitching Friends Forever to complete the flat fold.

I love the finish and the Barnwood linen. It just pops! And I'm so thankful to Honeybee for inspiring me to start this project.

I hope to have Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow back from the framer soon. She called me yesterday to tell me there had been some sort of mix-up with the moulding I chose, and her supplier told her it wasn't going to be ready until mid November! And did I want to wait until November to pick it up? (Would you?!) I'm going in today to pick a different moulding, which is heartbreaking to me because the one I had originally chosen was just so perfect. Wish me luck, and I hope to have it back by the end of the week so I can show you.

Until next time, happy stitching!

Halloween Finishing Spree Day Five

Hi, stitching friends!

Welcome to day FIVE of my Halloween finishing spree. Today's finish is "Chic Witch," a free pattern from La Comtesse & Le Point De Croix. Click here for the pattern.

I stitched Chic Witch on 36-count Star Hollow linen by R&R Reproductions. I did not have the called-for threads and I didn't want to use all DMC, so I used:

• Weeks Dye Works (WDW) Grasshopper - boot accents
• WDW Taffeta - wording and purple stripes on sock
• WDW Mascara - crow and spider
• The Gentle Art Fragrant Cloves - orange stripes on sock
• DMC 310 - blended with 535 for boots
• DMC 535 - blended with 310 for boots

The designer does such beautiful work and she is very generous with her free patterns.

The pattern, on 36-count linen, fit perfectly in a 5x7 thrift store frame I painted with black chalk paint. For the skirt, I took some wired plaid ribbon, removed the wire and stitched a running stitch on one side to gather the pleats. I stuck the ribbon to the inside of the frame with some sticky dots and put the needlework, laced onto foam core, into the frame.

I blended DMC 310 and 535 for a heathered look in the boots. What do you think? And don't you just love that spider? (If it's possible to love a spider.)

This was such a fun stitch, and great because you can use any color combination you want, with any ribbon you have on hand.

See you tomorrow for Day SIX of my Halloween finishing spree! Until then, be well, and I hope you have lots of time to stitch.

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!