Halloween in June: Raven Cross Stitch

In a previous post, I shared what I received from my partner in the Halloween in June swap.  Well she finally received what I made for her so now I can share it here.  She had some great inspirations and I went back and forth on what to make.  I knew I wanted to stitch her a hoop, but of what???  I finally settled on this raven cross stitch pattern because ravens were one of the things my partner mentioned that she likes and this was gothic and spook, but not gory.  I absolutely love how it turned out. 

The pattern is from the 2013 Just Cross Stitch Halloween edition.  It’s always chock full of awesome things to stitch. I stitched it on linen and I’ve really grown to like stitching on linen.  I like the end result of stitching on linen.

I made a few tweaks to the pattern because I didn’t have some of the Kreinik threads it called for.  I substituted a metallic gray for the feathers which is subtle but I like the effect. There was also a mask to make for the raven, but I didn't really like it so I didn't make it.

The background has these gorgeous oranges and reds that create a nice plaid pattern. I finished it off in a hoop, adding some glittery ribbon along the side and little bow on the top.  It definitely took me a lot longer to stitch than I though. I always underestimate cross stitch, you'd think I know by now!

So now I'm moving on to my next swap.  I'm keeping the Halloween spirit going with Mini 13 Days of Halloween swap.  I've got a lot of crafting to do for this one!