July update

Not much to show since last month.  Just a few smalls (I don't fell like working on the big projects right now).   I did, however, remember to take a picture of Autumn Log Cabin's progress from June.  It wasn't much but every little bit gets it closer to 'done'.

My haunted house for the Halloween Ornament SAL is from Handblessings.  I changed the look of this one significantly by changing the threads and fabric.

 

And finally, a group of snowmen from Prairie Schooler.  These will be made into ornaments for kids stuck in the hospital over Christmas.  All except the little one.  We were supposed to stitch on 14 ct fabric but I mistakenly grabbed 18 ct instead for the first one.

 

I'm afraid my whole stitching schedule has gone to hell and probably won't get back on track for awhile.  My dad died over a month ago.  My mom died 14 years ago.  I'm sure they're glad to be together again but I miss them both.

 

Sigh .... June already?!?

Not much stitching to show .... May was a super craptastic kind of month .... but here's what I stitched so far this month.

First up is Frank N Stein from Pickle Barrel Designs and my choice for June's Halloween Ornament SAL.

 

 

The designer had him in 3 pieces but that's too much finishing for me .... sooooo, I put him back together as a whole monster and now he's    A L I V E!  

 

 

My second piece is a Facebook group project.  It's a little quilt that's making it's way through our group and will be auctioned off to benefit cancer.  The theme is woodland things.  I picked a bluebird and flowers from a pattern that was gifted to me (Joyful Summer from CCN).

 

 

And while I was at it, I took a picture of the whole quilt to date ... isn't it adorable?

 

 

I guess since I used part of a gifted pattern, this will be June's Gifted Gorgeousness update.

 

Oh!  I almost forgot .... I did a little on the Autumn Log Cabin in May but didn't get a pic of it yet.  That'll be for the next update ... unless I forget again ;)

 

 

 

Magic broom on the fritz

Back in January I stitched my witch for the Halloween ornament SAL and then sadly set her aside until May (pumpkin month).  But as soon as May started, I immediately picked Fright Flight back up to finish this cute project.

I absolutely love the humor in this pattern.   How can you not smile at this little witch and her alternate ride?

Late for almost everything in April :(

Unfortunately, my stitching schedule went out the window for April.  My dad was in the hospital for a few weeks so the month was mostly spent in the car driving back and forth to visit him.  He's out now so things should return to normal.

Anyways, for April's WIPocalypse I didn't get as much done as I planned.  Only 2 projects received any attention.  The tulip sampler has one more square finished:

And the great pumpkin conspiracy has another pumpkin and some blue zigzags:

For the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL I finished Nevermore (which is a birthday present for a friend):

 

For the Halloween ornie SAL (this month's subject being tombstones) I took pieces of Nevermore for my ornament:

 



 

And then I started a new project that the Sampler Life group is stitching.  I love this square from Faby Reilly:

 

 

 

Just what I need .... another project ;)

 

And last but not least, for the final days of April, I decided to pick up Primitive Santa and put in his coat sleeve.

 

 

 

And that's it for April's stitching.  I hope May is a better month.

 

 

A Tale of Two SALs

Well I'm a day late but hopefully not a dollar short for the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL.  I added another gifted item to this SAL because it's pretty and calls for Spring to get it's sorry arse here asap.  I'm sick of the cold and snow already!

This was a fun little stitch and all I need to do now is put it into the frame it came with.  The kit used ivory Aida but it was so horribly stiff I didn't want to use it.  I changed the fabric to a soft white 28 ct even weave I had on hand.  I'm going to give this to a friend who loves pansies.  I like it so much that I'm going to stitch it again for myself .  But first I have to match the dmc thread colors to the kit's threads.  I received this lovely kit at an EGA function.  I can't remember if it was at a past Christmas party or maybe the summer picnic.  

I also have an update on Nevermore from Prairie Schooler which will be a birthday present for a friend.  It's coming along nicely and should be on time for her birthday.

 I also finished February's skeleton for the Halloween Ornie SAL.  It's a redo but one I'm keeping for myself.  And since the first one was in brown and I'm tired of stitching with brown right now, I changed the palette to a cooler blue/grey.  What do you think of the effect?  It looks creepier and kind of ghostly to me compared to the more realistic brown.  And, yes, I'm going to add another spider but it'll be silver instead.

Thanks for stopping by!

Spooky mansions and witches

Even though it's only January, I'm working on Halloween.   Nevermore is working out much better on the 22ct fabric.  I finished the mansion and didn't swear at it once.  Which is good because I need to finish it by March for a birthday gift. 

I'm participating in the Halloween ornie SAL again this year.  We are to stitch an ornament a month.  January's topic is a fav of mine (who am I kidding, they're all favs of mine) ... witches.  I picked a larger project from Cross-eyed Cricket called Fright Flight for this witchy month and for May (aka pumpkin month).  

 

And now she'll have to wait until May to get her  balloon filled because February is SKELETON month.

 

What fun!

 

 

 

 

WooHoo! Christmas stitching is DONE!

Thank goodness!  Here are my finished ornaments for this year.  All I have to say is ... it's a good thing I stitched all those hardanger angels earlier in the year.  And you'll notice that the last one doesn't look very Christmas-y because I still don't feel very Christmas-y.  It was the only one I just stitched (finished it last week) and I'm still feeling like Autumn.  Luckily the friend I made it for is an Autumn kind of gal.

 And my favorite one this post .... 

sums up my Christmas spirit.  I love this little gingerbread-style house under attack from the spiders.  Cracks me up!  It's for the Halloween Ornie SAL.  Our subject for November ... BUGS!  Can you tell?  I'm still in a Halloween-kind of mood  ;-)

I love the Bad Neighborhood series from Ink Circles.  They make me giggle.  I need to stitch the Upstairs Downstairs one for my brother ... he's a drummer.  I probably should make one for my dad, too.  My brother loved to practice when he was growing up.  Hmmm, maybe I should make one  for each of our old neighbors.

The spider is from one of the Halloween issues of JCS.  And in case you didn't notice, there's a sleeping beauty on the back of the couch totally oblivious to my photo taking session.  This is my old lady beagle Willow.  She's 12 now and does lots of sleeping.  Her hearing isn't what it used to be so she sleeps through almost everything now.  Unless it smells like food.  That generally gets her attention.

I hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving on Thursday and safe travels for those going home for the holiday.

A quick update

I finished a little witch over the weekend for the Halloween Ornament SAL.  This is a freebie from The Little Stitcher called Vintage Witch.

Love that nose!

I stitched some more of El Muro II.  My little village is almost finished, just a few more houses to go.

And I finished The Way to Happiness sampler.

Love it!

Have a good one!

Beyond time for an update ....

Wow, it's been almost a month and a half since my last post.  I'm going to blame it on computer problems and leave it at that.  These machines can be so frustrating at times.

Anyway, I finished an autumnal small for the Stitching Smalls SAL I joined this year.  It's Spooky Tree by Elizabeth's Designs.

I

Another ornament I worked on is Not Forgotten from Plum Street Samplers.  This one is for the Halloween Ornament SAL.

And finally, a larger, different type project I've been working on is a class my EGA group had.  It's a doll skirt.  Here it is almost finished.  I had intended to take a picture of the whole thing flat when I finished  stitching but forgot.  Sigh .... oh well.

Here she is, all assembled and finished.  She's a little hippy, and if I were to do her again, I would leave a couple rows off her skirt to make her a little thinner and easier to assemble.  I had a hard time getting that skirt gathered around her tiny waist.  But I think she turned out okay.  Especially since this type of finish is a first for me.  

Time for a little pirouette, my lady ....

Have a good week and thanks for visiting.

WIPocalypse & IHSW for November

I'm sorry it's been awhile since I posted last.  Blame it on my shoulder (which is loads better -- not completely, but it's getting there).  Unfortunately typing and stitching (among other things) have been on the back burners.  Typing has been confined to work-related stuff  and not to fun stuff like blog hopping or posting.   And stitching has been kept at a minimum.  I've been working on my Santa and though he's a recent start, I'm including him in my WIPocalpyse report.  I'm almost done with his coat and have just his beard and all the beads to add.  I'm sure he'll be done by year's end.

 

I also got a little stitching related fun in over the weekend for IHSW.   It was basically a finishing kind of weekend.  I made the cording for a bunch of ornaments (however, I didn't get them all attached) and assembled 2 little pillows.

The pillows still need the cording made for them. The smaller one is getting red cording around it and the larger one will probably get blue or maybe white (I haven't decided yet). Once all the cording is attached, I'll add some buttons, bows or other baubles to each of the ornies. 

And last but not least, I do have one finish to show you.  It's a little Christmas bird all ready for the tree:

Happy stitching!!

Another busy week!

I got lots done over the weekend, most of it finishing work.  First up is the blingy ornament from Threedles Needleart Design.  I am pleased with my first attempt at this type of project.

More Chirstmas ornaments finalized:

And a few more in the process of being finished:

Now for a couple Halloween finishes:

And a few in the process:

Being on a roll, I decided to finish a couple Fair and Square ornaments:

And a couple flea market finds that I just couldn't throw away after scavenging the frames:

And lastly, a scissor fob that I finished a couple months ago and never showed off.  Another first for me, silk ribbon:

Whew!  Have a good week!