Whacky Witches: finished

Hello!  I know I am very irregular with my blogging.  I apologize for that.  I find pockets of time for things I want to do for myself and I usually decide to stitch during that time so I don’t blog like I should.  It is what it is at this point in my life and I’m trying not to feel bad about it.  I do enjoy sharing my projects and connecting with other stitchers and crafters through the blog so I will continue to do my best and post when I can. I love reading other’s blogs and try my best to comment when I can as well.  

Today I want to share a finish! This is another challenge piece. It was a WIP that I carried over from 2014.  Here is Whacky Witches in Stitches from Clouds Factory and I absolutely LOVE this piece!

Isn’t it great? I really enjoyed working on this design. This was released in 2014 as a mystery SAL that I obviously didn’t keep up with.  There are so many fun, little details in this piece that made it a real pleasure to stitch.  The border was fairly easy to stitch and I just stitched it as I went so I wouldn’t get too bored.  The house in the center was the only thing that bogged me down a bit.  It was getting a little tedious so I just took a break from it for a bit and went back to it when I was ready.  Once I got that finished the rest really stitched up quickly.  This is stitched on 32 count belfast linen called Stormy Night.  I’ll go over some details in the photos below. 

The top of the border and the word Halloween stitched up nicely. I loved that she used an eyeball for the letter ‘O’.  Even the style of the lettering is different and really looks great. 

Block #1

These two witches are waiting at the bus stop with a black cat.  I’m not sure why this is so funny to me, but it is.  I think maybe they are dressed up too? I’m not totally sure but it tickles me to think of witches waiting for a bus.  Are their brooms broken?  Out of floo powder?   Whatever the reason, I’m sure it’s a very good one.  Haha. 

Block #2

This may be my favorite block.  This witch’s potion has gone awry and exploded all over the place.  Her pouty face is priceless.  I love the details of the test tubes and jars and the bat in this block as well.  So funny.

Block #3

This witch is running from a ghost which is just silly because aren’t witches way more powerful then ghosts?  I like the ghost in this block though.   

Block #4

Blocks 4,5 and 6 are part of the larger middle scene which I liked about this design.  #4 has a spooky tree with an owl and a graveyard.  What I love are the two zombies emerging from the graves, one is a head and one the hand is reaching up.  Such a great detail and I didn’t really notice until I had stitched it so that was a nice little surprise.  The clouds in this section are stitched with a DMC variegated  because the color that called for really blended into the fabric.  I like the effect of the variegated floss.  Also, I used Mo’s Sale “Mouse” for the tree.

Block #5

This is the big haunted house, at least I assume it’s haunted, it’s a Halloween design so it would be haunted right?  This is the part that slowed me down some on the pattern.  There are a lot of color changes in the house, but it ended up looking really good. 

Block #6

This witch got caught in a storm and poor thing lost her hat!  The jack-o-lanterns seem to be laughing at her, which isn’t very nice at all.  I love her red hair!

Block #7

This witch is hanging out in the graveyard in a tree, with an owl.  OOooooOOOOOooo!  I liked the little stars and tombstone details in this block.  The owl is pretty cute too.

Block #8

The party block!  These witches are getting down; breakdancing and disco to the hottest up and coming witch DJ around. This is such a fun block; the little bunting, the cool DJ, the breakdancing with showing her bloomers and the other with staying alive.  Even the bat is on the fun.  That’s a party I’d like to be invited to.

Block #9

This is the magical baker.  She has made a pretty cake with her wand and even has a little mouse helper (just look at the little chef hat!).  There are even a few candy corns for good measure.  I did get off count on this block but it’s not noticeable and so I didn’t fix it.  It’s fine. 

I would highly recommend this design to anyone looking for something a little different to stitch up for Halloween.  It’s funny and whimsical and was a real pleasure to stitch.  It was fairly straightforward with full crosses and just a little backstitch.  Easy peasy.  I’m not quite sure how I want to finish it yet.  I’m leaning towards stretching it onto a canvas but it would look pretty great in an oval frame.   So I may see if I can find one.  

Until next time! Happy stitching!

Come In My Little Pretties: finished

Hello friends!  I'm back with another finish! I've been stitching like mad on this piece because I've been enjoying it so much.  This was another Crazy Challenge start but I hadn't touched it since January.  I picked it up a couple weeks ago and couldn't put it down, stitching until I finished it. This is "Come in My Little Pretties" by The Primitive Hare.  This design is part of the Wednesdays We Stitch Black SAL that she started last year.  I'm thrilled to bits with her!

I adore all the little details; spiders, bats, jack-o-lanterns, skull, keys.  There so much to love about this design.  I stitched this on 32 count Belfast linen on a color called Stormy Night (I think).  It's a lovely gray which goes really well with this pattern. 

This skull adds some serious macabre to this piece. 

The witch is so fantastic.  I thought about adding a little mouth but there's something a little more frightening about her not having one.  I think it adds to the darkness of this piece.

I used DMC in everything except her hair, which I used GAST Maple Syrup

I always love the limited color palette she uses in her designs.  I think I would get bored with stitching so much back but I really don't.  The design keeps me very interested while I'm stitching. 

This wee spider sitting on the key is too much.  I love it. 

Another scary feature of this design, a menacing jack-o-lantern

So another to cross of my challenge list.  I am keeping a list on the right sidebar and I'm crossing them off as I go.  This is my eighth challenge finish.  I'm so please with that.  I'm already thinking about my starts for next year!  

I hope you are having a lovely stitching day.  See ya next time!

Christmas On Gingerbread Lane: Finished!

Hi friends!  As mentioned in my last quick post, I've had some big changes lately.  We are settling into our new home and absolutely love it!   So I need to catch up on a few things, namely my most recent finish!  I'm so thrilled to have finally finished "Christmas on Gingerbread Lane" by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.

I've been working on this for a loooooooong time.  I started it when it first came out--like two years ago!  Then at the beginning of last year, I decided to take it to work and work on it on my lunch breaks.  I only get thirty minutes for lunch so the progress was very slow.  I worked on it all year on my lunch breaks.  By the end of the year I was sick of looking at it and couldn't believe it still wasn't done.  AH!  So I brought it back home and told myself I'm never working on a larger piece at work anymore, so this year I've been doing smalls and it's been great.  So anyway, I added this piece to my Cross Stitch Crazy list for this year but it wasn't until June that I picked it up again using it for my Whine and WIPs piece for the Stitch Maynia group on Facebook.  I whined and moaned and finished it!

It's a lovely pattern and I do still like it, even though it frustrated me while I was stitching it.  I'm still not terribly thrilled with the fabric I chose to stitch it on, but certainly will not be re-doing it!  :)
It's cute and bright and I will display it during the holidays.  I think I may just pop it into a frame if I can find something suitable.

Do you have projects that just drive you bananas sometimes?  How do you get through it?  I found that taking a break from it for a while really helped me with this particular project. 

So another finish off my challenge list!  I'm still SO thrilled with my finishes this year! I will come back with a WIP update and a couple of more finished smalls.

'Til then,  Happy stitching!

I'm still here!!

I wanted to drop a quick note to let you all know that I am still here!  I know it's been a while since I've updated.  We bought a new home so we've been busy with that.  I've finally been stitching somewhat regularly again this last week.  We're settling in our new space and totally love it.  I do have some things to share so hopefully I can do that soon!

'Til then!

Cross Stitch Crazy Challenge: "Adventure Time" finish

I have another finish to share today friends! This is finish number six for the Cross Stitch Crazy Challenge that I started at the beginning of the year.   If you'd like a refresher of the what the challenge is or what designs I started please click here.  This is one of the three Wee Little Stitches patterns I started for the challenge....here is Adventure Time!

I had a difficult time photographing this piece.  I'm sure it's because of the bright colors, so please bear with me.  You can find this pattern here.  I just love Wee Little Stitches patterns.  They are so fun to stitch and they such a broad range of pop culture characters to stitch.  There's something for everyone.  The only complaint I could make about this pattern is that it doesn't have Lady Rainicorn, but that's not a super huge deal.  I stitched this on 28 count lugana in the color Calypso from Picture This Plus.  This color was absolutely perfect for this pattern and really showcased the bright colors of the characters. Here are some closeups of each character. Again, such a fun stitch.

Ice King and Gunther

Marceline (my favorite)

Finn

Jake and BMO

Peppermint Butler

Princess Bubblegum

Lumpy Space Princess (my other favorite...and yes I now see the hair that's in this photo, whatevs)

I have so many Wee Little Stitches patterns in my stash that I can't wait to stitch.  If you have a favorite movie, show, comic book etc., I'm sure they have something you'd like.  

'Til next time...happy stitching!

Crazy Cross Stitch Challenge 2015: 'Scared Silly' finish

I have another finish for the Cross Stitch Crazy Challenge!  I seriously am so happy with the amount of stitching I've been able to do this year!  This challenge has really helped in that regard.  This is my fifth finish for the challenge, so just ten more to go.  oof.  But progress is progress right!  This is "Scared Silly" by Birds of a Feather.  It's a super fun design and I just had to stitch it. 

I used floss that I had on hand including Charcoal by Weeks Dye Works for the black areas.  It has a subtle variation that looks nice in the design.  The rest were DMC including a few variegated ones.  The orange in particular turned out very nice! I'm not totally happy with the yellow I chose, it's a bit too light, but I'm not going to redo it...at least not now. 

The fabric is 28 count cashel linen in the color Ale by Picture This Plus.  I love this fabric!  It's so nice to stitch on and this color really makes the colors pop.  I would buy yards of this color if I could afford it.  

This cat's face is just crazy.  I love it so much.  I'm not exactly sure how I want to finish this one off.  I think it would be a nice pillow to bring out for Halloween so maybe I will do that.  But for now, I'll just store it with the other finishes until I figure out for sure.  

'Til next time...happy stitching!

Mother's Day finish...a little late

I'm a bit behind on blogging again.  I seem to go through periods of active posting and then periods on inactivity.  I would say that's just how life is sometimes. So I have a few posts planned to show some recent finishes.  Up first is this small finish that I made for Mother's Day for my mom.  It was a quick stitch and I'm really please with how it turned out. 

The pattern is by The Primitive Hare and is a freebie you can find here.  I stitched it on some scrap fabric I had on hand, a dusty pink evenweave. I stitched it with a few different shades of pinks for the design.  I know the colors may not be very prim, but it is for Mother's Day and I wanted it to look a certain way.  

I decided to finish it as a little ornament that my mom could hang off of a knob or door handle or something like that.  I added a little floral fabric, some lacy trim and a few buttons to finish it off.  I sewed everything together by hand because it was such a small piece that I didn't want to drag out my sewing machine.  

This was a really nice little project. I like to work on small items in between my larger pieces so I have a feeling that I'm finishing things!  

'Til next time!