Jo's December Ornament

Well, I finished my December ornie with two days to spare!  I deliberately chose a nice simple design with just one colour of thread.

This freebie design comes from our own Jacquie and is available from her blog My Journey.  I stitched it on 28 count black evenweave using a GAST thread appropriately called Harvest Moon.  The perfect stitch for the calming days after Christmas when you don't want a lot of threads to change or too much counting to do!

I did really well this year, being admin on the blog gave me that extra impetus to stitch something every month!  Well done to those of you who managed the same and better luck next year to those that faltered along the way.  Here are my 12 in order so you can follow this link to find out more details of the designers - Jo's Hallowe'en Year

Now to choose a witch for January!

Jo's November Ornament

I was just sitting down at the computer to look for a small ornie I could stitch in time for the end of the year when I remembered I hadn't shown my November stitch yet!

November's theme was Bugs, Insects or Spiders and I chose this amazing pumpkin spider from JCS Sept/Oct 2013.  The designer is Tempting Tangles.

He was stitched on a random piece of 32count linen from a Crafty Kitten grab bag.  The plan is to stretch him round a canvas and display him on an easel by next Hallowe'en.  I liked the ribbon they used on the model so I need to get some of that in the new year.

Speaking of the New Year, we will continue using this blog and I will just update the title of it to reflect the correct year.  So you don't need to do anything different, just keep posting!  Please could you label your posts as you do them with your name, the month and the designer's name too.

Light My Fire!

My last ornament for 2014 is Light my fire! from Sisters and Best Friends.  I left off the words, changed a few colors and just stitched Mr. Jack.

I was supposed to stitch him last year but Christmas stitching got in the way.  I thought about dumping him again this year for the same reason but my inner Grinch popped up, saving Jack from this sad fate.  And so for the first time (ever!) I stitched all 12 Halloweenie months.   Woohoo!  I'm grinning as big as Jack now .... except I have more teeth.

Themes for Next Year

Thank you so much for all your comments on the post about Plans for Next Year.  I am so pleased that so many of us want to continue and that we have some new members too,

We had two stitchers leave a comment saying they wanted to join but with no contact details.  So if Sylerkal and Judy are reading this, please contact me with an email address so I can send you an invitation.

We had some great suggestions for new themes for 2015 and it was quite hard to choose.  The favourites from this year are Witches, Owls, Black Cats, Pumpkins and Ghosts so they will all feature next year.  I have included two free months so you can stitch your choice even if it didn't make the list this year.

So here are the themes for 2015:

January - Witches

February - Skeletons

March - Owls

April - Tombstones

May - Pumpkins

June - Free Choice

July - Haunted Houses

August - Black Cats

September - Spooky Words

October - Ghosts

November - Creepy Trees

December - Free Choice

You can be imaginative with your choices, the theme doesn't have to be the main feature of the ornie as long as it is in there somewhere!

We also had a couple of requests to post any other Hallowe'en stitching we are working on.  I think that would be fine with everyone, especially if it is a larger piece you would like to share your progress photos with us.  You could also share photos of a piece you have stitched in the past which fits the monthly theme along with your current piece.

I know several of us belong to the Pumpkin Seed Stitchers group on Facebook which gives a free chart from a different designer each month.  It would be nice to see any of those designs you may have stitched too.

You can't have a post with a photo, so here is my progress picture of this month's theme.  This is Jack-A-Rachnid by Tempting Tangles from JCS Sep/Oct 2013:

I have completed all the black and now need to do the "colouring in".  This is stitched on a piece of random 32 count linen from a Crafty Kitten grab bag,

Attack of the spiders

As soon as I saw the subject for November way back when, I knew I had to stitch this one.

This cute little gingerbread house with it's pink window curtain .... under creepy attack!  Too funny ... I love it!

BTW, my photo assistant, snoozing on the back of the couch is Willow, my 12 y.o. beagle.

My Halloween stitching 2014...so far

I started one by The Primitive Needle but probably won't get done until sometime next year.

I also worked on one by La D Da...probably will finish next year too:

My Halloween Display!

★ ★

October Treats

I just stopped by to see all of the October entries and realised my post didn't show up. I managed to get three ornaments stitched. They are mainly Treats not Tricks.

Behind the Gate

Blue Ribbon Designs

Plans for Next Year

We've had all the excitement of Hallowe'en's Evening this year.  Here is a photo of some of my spooky stitching on display:

L-R Carand 88 Spooky Kitties, Blackbird Designs Spell of the Moon, Acorn House Designs Drac-in-the Box, Primitive Hare Spooky Countdown, Mill Hill Hallowe'en

Plus you can just see the bottom of Just Nan Autumn Haze on the wall behind.

San Man Spooky SAL

Just Nan Frightful

Primitive Needle By The Light of the Moon

One of the parenting groups I belong to had an online pumpkin carving competition but as we don't do that I decided to submit some of my pumpkin stitching instead!  It was very well received and got plenty of "likes" but not as many as the Ninja Mutant Turtle carved out of a water melon by the woman who couldn't find a pumpkin!

It would be lovely to see your Hallowe'en decorations too, so please feel free to post some photos.

And now on to the Big Question - do you want this blog to continue next year?

It doesn't matter whether you have made a post every month or just once or twice.  The important thing is that you love seeing the spooky stitching!

And if you would like the blog to continue, what themes would you like to see next year?  What were your favourites this year you'd like included and are there any new ones you would like to see?

Please leave a comment so I can start planning for 2015!

Jo's October Ornament

Val's Stuff - Trick or Treat

I chose this design from the JCS Sept/Oct 2010 issue of the magazine because I am rather fond of Val's Stuff designs.  She seems to design predominantly for the magazine and on the CDs I have there are several of her cute Hallowe'en and Christmas designs.  This is the third one I have stitched.  I used the same blue evenweave as I used for Boo and Boo Moon.

This post is also part of my Hallowe'en Blog Hop this year

and the letter for the Trick or Treat Blog Hop is

T

Now please return to my blog for the final letter and the chance to guess the Mystery Phrase!

Serendipitous Stitching

Tricks or treats

I picked Tricks or Treats from the 2010 JCS Halloween edition for my October ornament.  I had a little piece of a 28ct in my stash and decided to dye it purple.  The piece was too big for the one ornament alone but too small to trim it down for 2.  So I decided to make a little banner sampler with 3 ornaments stacked.  I'm not finished with it and probably won't get it done before month's end but the tricks or treats part is done now:

Happy Halloween!

Noni's Missing Updates!!

Hi there!  I know I have been very re-miss with my monthly updates.... if you follow my blog you will see I have been MIA a bit from there as well!  Life has been very, very busy since the middle of the year with a change in my work that has severely curtailed my stitching hours since June. But enough of that, time to show some stitching progress.....

I do actually have a Halloween styled WIP to show you all!  I went through a bit of a thought process before I started stitching this one.  I have explained my train of thought on a post on my blog if you want to pop over and have a read.... Fireflies & Cats in the Garden

I am still behind in this SAL, but by choosing "Witch and Friends" as my free choice design, this one does sort of help me get back on track... all I have to do is finish it!!!

So here it is... my latest Halloween WIP - June's free choice.... plus July's Pumpkins and September's Black Cats:

"Witch and Friends" - designed by Donna Giampa  

I know you can't see the pumpkin yet, but one cat is on show and the pumpkin is coming....

This design was published in the 2013 JCS Halloween magazine.  You can see the finished version of the design on the front cover of the magazine below.  I have wanted to stitch this one since I first bought the magazine.  It is such a lovely design.

I can't promise you that this will be finished by the end of October.... so I might just have to start another one for the "Trick or Treat" update!!

Til next time, happy Halloween Stitching...

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet . . .

October's "ornament" I finished into a stand-up over the weekend so I could take it into the office for the month.  It's a Stoney Creek pattern stitched with DMC on ivory 28 ct Jobelan.

Hiss

Here's my black cat ornament for September.  It's a Lizzie*Kate stitched with DMC on mushroom evenweave.  I used a much lighter fabric than illustrated in the pattern.  I just love Lizzie*Kate!

Lili's September Ornament

 

Hello!!

My September ornament!

Model from NikysCreations - Petite Halloween Sampler.
Design is from the magazine Just Cross Stitch - Halloween Collection Book 2014.

Stitched on 32 count natural Linen.
With DMC floss.
Tassel was made using DMC Perlé 8, colour 922.

Happy weekend!
Lili

(my blog: Stitching Basket)

A row of Kitty Cats and my very late June finish.....

... I actually managed to finish my September Halloween Ornament on time!

This is a row of cats from JCS 2014.

... and this is June's freebie chart pick but I am not sure where I picked it up from, sorry.

... and here they are together.

... and I have actually started on a Trick or Treat design.

hugs, 

Jo's September Ornament

There were so many different Black Cats to choose from this month it really was difficult to pick just one.

I searched through all my downloaded charts and my JCS issues, paper and digital and finally decided on this companion piece to Boo who is our logo this year.

The design is by Val's Stuff and comes from JCS Sept/Oct 2009.  I don't know too much about Val but she does cute designs.

I stitched this on the same 32count evenweave as Boo and changed the border colours to co-ordinate with Boo too.  I found the perfect button for the star but couldn't find a blue moon so I made a beaded moon instead.

Now I just have to decide how to finish these two.  Here they are together:

My black cats are done !

Woohoo!  I'm early this month.  I finished Yeow from Prairie Schooler already.  Isn't he creepy?

And, since this one has a black cat also, I thought I'd share it.  Wicked, a freebie from
http://e-subrosa.blogspot.com/2012/10/halloween-free.html

Love that creepy castle.

BoooOOOOoooOOooOooOOoo

Happy September everyone!  I'm a little late for August--had the ornament stitched and finished but didn't get around to taking a picture of it in the right light.  This little cutie is from the new JSC Halloween issue.  I stitched them over 1 on 25 count black Jobelan with DMC glow in the dark floss. Finished them into a ghost shape.  Enjoy!

L is for Lightning Bird, Lantern and Leaves

L is for Lightning Bird from A Dark Alphabet designed by Julie and Becky's Note of Friendship blog.

A mythological creature in South Africa the Lightning Bird is the size of a human, black and white in colouring and it summons thunder and lightning with its wings and talons.  It is associated with witchcraft and has quite an appetite for blood.  Sometimes it takes on the image of a young man to seduce women. 

Another name for this bird is the hamerkop.  This bird is known to decorate its nest with anything from handkerchiefs to bicycle tires!  In the Zulu culture someone who spends much time in front of a mirror is called thekwane, their name for the hamerkop, because they are like the bird that is found to spend hours beside the water's edge looking at their reflection. 

I couldn't find any other cross stitch designs of a lightning bird but I did find these sweet little buttons which are available in a book:

MaMagasin

L is also for Lantern which we make from pumpkins on Hallowe'en.  We had some of these designs for J for Jack O'Lantern and here are some more!

Elizabeth Designs - Jack O Lantern

Vickery Collection - Laughing Pumpkins

(laughing being another L word)

I've been using one particular sampler to help me find the words for this alphabet, the Lizzie*Kate Hallowe'en ABC

Lizzie*Kate - Halloween ABC

And now I have another one!

Cottage Garden Samplings - Halloween Sampler

I'm taking the final L for Lizzie*Kate's ABC which gives us Leaf.  Of course leaves are more of an Autumn thing than specific to Hallowe'en but they do make lovely cross stitches.

DMC - Falling Leaves freebie

Stitching Hearts - Autumn Leaves

(one of a series of four)

Country Garden Stitchery - Pumpkin Topiary

Joan Elliott - Autumn Goddess