Jo's November Finish - Skeletons

Continuing with October's design for Black Cats I have a finish for this month's Skeleton theme:

And here is the whole thing:

stitched on 28 count lilac linen

The design is Ghastly, Ghostly Ghouls by Just Nan, just one of my large collection of Spooky JN designs.  It will fit perfectly into a 6x6 box frame.

Those three little frogs along the top definitely brought their friends!  I frogged and stitched that top border three times and the two gourds at the bottom, trying to get the right dark orange.

Jo's October Finish - Black Cats

Better late than never!  I started this design at the very beginning of October because it had two black cats in it.  Unfortunately it took a little longer to stitch than I thought!

Here's the portion with the black cats:

stitched on 28 count lilac linen.

The cats are stitched over one.

If you want to see the rest of the design and find out what it is called, you'll have to look at my November post!

Jo's September Finish - Bad Fairies

This year I have been stitching a Just Nan band sampler called Counting Bats for our blog.   I have reached the final band which features some wings.  They may be bat wings, they may be spooky fairy wings but I doubt it!

stitched on 32 count lilac linen

And here is the finished piece:

It's very hard to get a good photo of it because it's so long and thin!  But you've seen all the individual bands throughout the year, so look back for close-ups.

Just in case the jury decide those aren't bad fairy wings, I thought I ought to have a back-up plan.  I looked everywhere for Bad Fairies and mostly found full-coverage pieces or Nora Corbett's Trick or Treat Fairy (which I have in my stash).  I wanted something little.  I found some nice Maleficent designs in that pixel style but I'm not really a Disney person.

So I decided to adapt an existing fairy by Lucie Heaton and make her Bad!

That's actually the same fabric as Counting Bats is stitched on but it looks more blue here.

Here's the original design so you can see the changes:

I used the silks from Counting Bats for her dress, tights, shoes, hair and hat.  DMC for her bat wings and Kreinik for her wand.  I sketched her on graph paper to get the wings right.

Jo's August Finish - Spooky Words

This year I have been stitching a Just Nan band sampler called Counting Bats for our blog.  I have reached the penultimate band this month.  It's much bigger than the previous bands and now there is just a bottom border to stitch.

This band completes the rhyme I have been stitching and also features a strange outhouse with a monster inside?  Any guesses?

And the whole piece so far:

stitched on 32 count lilac linen

Jo's July Finish - Witches' Accessories

This year I have been stitching a band a month on a Just Nan design called Counting Bats.  July's theme is Witches' Accessories so my band features something every good witch should have in her cottage - a bubbling cauldron:

You can also see a Dancing Skeleton charm.  The original kit would have come with the charm but as mine was a gift from someone who'd already stitched it she'd used the charm.  This silver one is something I had in my stash.  I'll attach him at the very end of the stitching.

Here is the whole piece so far, getting quite long now!

stitched on 32 count lilac linen

Jo's June Finish - Free Choice

I like to include a free choice half way through the year because there are always those designs which don't really fit into one particular category or are for a theme we haven't chosen this year but you still want to stitch.  Or maybe you had two choices for a previous theme and want to stitch both of them.  Or maybe you missed a month and are playing catch-up.

You can see from my band this month that it would have fitted into several themes - spiders, bats, crows and pumpkins.  So it fits nicely into the Free Choice bracket.

Here is my progress on the whole piece, growing nicely:

stitched on 32 count lilac linen

Jo's May Finish - Spiders

I am now over half way through my band sampler; 5 bands done, 4 to go!

Here is this month's band for the Spiders theme, seems like the spider that the ghost was scaring the froggie with last month has grown in size and turned on the ghosts!  Or maybe that's Mumma Spider come for her baby?

stitched on 32 count lilac linen

Here is the whole piece so far, along with my special spooky scissors and my new scissor charm:

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I did email everyone to tell them about a new blog party I discovered - the May Monster Madness on 28th May.  I'll be signing the group up for it and will write a blog post on the day featuring some of the monsters we have stitched over the last 2.5 years.  If you have a suitable photo you have never shown here, please email it to me and I'll include it too.  All photos will of course be credited to you as part of this group.

Determined ...

... not to be scraping in by the skin of my teeth for my May ornament, I stitched like a crazy witch all day yesterday (1st May) to get the next band finished in Counting Bats by Just Nan for the theme of "Spiders".

(the fabbie is so much prettier than I can get my camera to show - it is a pretty lilac and blue)

Phew!  Feeling so good about my monthly goals right about now.

hugs, Kaye

By the skin of my teeth... ...

... I have finished my April Hallowe'en Ornament...

I really struggled to find a design which called to me for the April theme of ghosts but then I was rescued by the mailman, who brought me my order of some Just Nan patterns, including the wonderful Counting Bats.  The gorgeous Jo is stitching this for the SAL and so I am going to jump on her bandwagon and start with the ghost band and move around from there.  Thanks, dear Jo, for the inspiration.

So, at 11.09 pm on Saturday, 30th I finished my first band - Band 3.

32ct Evening Sky Belfast Linen

Mixture of called-for DMC threads and over-dyed floss from my stash

(it is actually a bit more lilac than this picture shows and the reason the top border is incomplete is that it is really part of Band 2 - which I will go back and stitch when I get the chance).

hugs, Kaye

Jo's April Finish - Ghosts

I am continuing with my progress on Counting Bats by Just Nan this month.  This little ghost is scaring the froggie with a spider on the end of his hand.  Because ghosts aren't scary enough on their own?

Here is the whole piece so far:

Jo's March Finish - Pumpkins

Pumpkins is always a popular theme for this blog and there are some great designs out there.

Here is my Pumpkin Patch:

It is part of a larger design by Just Nan called Counting Bats.  I love all the crazy faces on each of the pumpkins!  The beads in the bottom border are striped orange beads and I've just noticed the end one is wonky.  Have to fix that!

Here is the whole piece so far:

I don't think I've shown you the framed Thine is The Trick and The Treat I collected from my framers the other day?   

Close-up of one corner to show the frame:

This was actually finished last April but I've only just been able to afford to get it framed professionally with my Christmas vouchers.  Here's the post where I talked about my Happy Dance.

Jo's February Finish - Mummies and Monsters

This month's theme is Mummies and Monsters.  It could be anything from Dr. Frankenstein's Monster to a scary thing with tentacles.  I have gone for the traditional bandaged-wrapped mummy.

For the blog this year I am stitching a Just Nan band sampler called Counting Bats.  Each band ties in with the theme for each month and by September I will have a completed sampler ready for framing for Hallowe'en!

Here is the whole thing so far:

I am stitching it on a 32 count lilac linen using the recommended AVAS threads.

Jo's January Finish - Winged Creatures

This month's theme is Winged Creatures.  That could be Owls, Ravens, Crows or in this case - Bats.

I have stitched this month's design already!  Only 18 hours into the New Year and I had a piece to show.  This is actually the header from a Just Nan design called Counting Bats.  The whole piece is a rhyme a little like the magpies' One for Sorrow.  You will have to wait for each month to see what each  number means.  By a strange co-incidence each section of the design ties in perfectly with our monthly themes*

Because I seem to have altogether too much time on my hands today I have made a little collage using extracts from the main design and rotating them in Paintbox.

The design is stitched on 28 count lilac line, it's a much nicer colour than in the photos.  I'm using AVAS silks for the main design but switched to DMC for the over 1 words.  The AVAS seemed too "bouncy" and wasn't lying nicely.

So, I've set the example - what have you got lined up for this month?  Do you like the themes this year?  I've made them a little more open to interpretation this year.  eg Winged Creatures can cover a lot more than simply saying "Bats".

* of course it's a co-incidence, anyone would think I set the themes deliberately to fit in with this piece!

Jo's October Ornament

Just in case I run out of time this month to stitch a separate Ghostie ornie I am including this one!  It is Just Nan's Ghoulies and Ghosties so quite suitable:

That's the Ghostie part for this month!

Here is the Black Cats part used for August:

And here is the whole thing:

stitched on 32 count tan evenweave

There are so many nice little details in this design, from the witch's face to the goofy pumpkin including Nan's signature smyrna stitch spiders.

Jo's August Ornament

Black cats is always a great theme, there are black cats everywhere around the internet.  But do you find sometimes that too much choice makes it harder to choose instead of easier?

I was looking through my Just Nan Hallowe'en chart collection and found one called Ghoulies and Ghosties.  It's bigger than an ornie so I just stitched the bottom part for this month and will do the rest another time.  Hopefully before Hallowe'en this year.

stitched on 28 count tan evenweave.

There's a lot of detail in this for a small piece - cats, pumpkin, toad, ghosts and spiders!  You can see the full design on Just Nan's website here - JN180 Ghoulies and Ghosties

Pumpkins Galore!

This was a very Serendipitous finish for the month, Just Nan's Haunted Pumpkins Tree.  I received the chart from Mouse and the fabric from Shebafudge for my Birthday last year and started the design in October 2014.  I picked it up again for one day in the DUCJC this January and then worked it on fairly solidly though May, finishing it at the weekend.

Stitched on 28 count Chocolate Orange evenweave from Crafty Kitten.

Heart Charm supplied with chart,

Jo's May Ornament

Will you look at this, only the 1st of May and I have a finish already!  This is such a quick stitch, I ran it up this afternoon in just a couple of hours.

This is Just Nan's Poor Jack, one of her complimentary designs.  I think I downloaded it from the JCS website but I'm not 100% sure!  I stitched it on 32 count Lavender evenweave to match the other Just Nan spooky smalls.

(I have no idea why the spiders are wearing little orange top hats!)

And here's a bonus finish for last month's Tombstones.  This one is by Stitchers Anon and is based on Charles Dicken's book A Christmas Carol.  She also does the three Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.

Stitched over 1 on 28 count Platinum Cashel linen.

Jo's March Ornament

I decided to stitch one of Just Nan's trio of Crowjackers for this month's choice.  This is Gasper Ghost riding his crow:

And because I had a little extra time I decided to stitch his two companions:

Beulah Witch

Jockey Jack

and all three together:

The plan is to make these into ornies along with the three Moonriders I stitched last year:





 
 

Jo's August Ornament

This is the second in the Just Nan set of Moon Riders, a little ghostie Nan called Jasper:

I used a piece of my favourite 32 count lavender evenweave for this and the recommended DMC, except for the moon which I changed to DMC 4090, a variegated thread and the green in the scarf.  The charted colour didn't show very well so I used the darker green from Jack's waistcoat.  I also changed the plain border to a stripy one.

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For those of you on Facebook, there are two different Hallowe'en groups you might like to join in with.  The first was set up last year and is simply called Halloween Cross Stitching and is a group which showcases Hallowe'en stitching of any kind.  People have also shared their spooky decorations and recipes.

The second group is a brand new one called Pumpkin Seed Stitchers.  Each month there will be an exclusive freebie by a different designer.  There are some familiar names on the list and some new to me.  Here is the link to the full list. This should be an exciting year!  It would be a nice co-incidence if any of the free designs matched our themes.  This month's does have a little ghost in it so feel free to stitch it for August.

Jo's July Ornament

Nice to see a few Pumpkin finishes being posted.  Please feel free to post any finishes from previous months too, no-one is keeping track of how late they are!

I chose a sweet little Just Nan design for my pumpkin.  It's one of a set of three called Moon Riders.  The other two designs are a witch and a ghost, both sitting on moons.

Moon Rider Jack

I used a piece of my favourite 32 count lavender evenweave for this and the recommended DMC, except for the moon which I changed to DMC 4090, a variegated thread.  I also changed the plain border to a stripy one.

The fabric is big enough to stitch all three in a row although I haven't decided how I will finish them