Cheryl's November Creepy Tree Ornament

"Little Owl Sampler"

by Knotted Tree NeedleArt

Pattern was featured in the 2012 Just Cross Stitch Halloween Special Issue. Stitched on a scrap of 14 count "something or other" with leftover bits of floss.  Just for fun, I used a lighter shade of purple for the letters that appear in my name.

 

Themes for 2016

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 you're enjoying the blog.

We had some great suggestions for new themes for 2016 and as ever it was quite hard to choose.  The favourites from this year are Black Cats, Pumpkins and Ghosts so they will all feature next year.  I also amalgamated some categories into one (Bats and Owls have become Winged Creatures).  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 2016:

January - Winged Creatures
(Bats, Owls, Crows and Ravens etc)

February - Mummies and Monsters

March - Pumpkins

April - Ghosts

May - Spiders and Bugs

June - Free Choice

July - Witches' Accessories
(things like brooms, hats, boots, cauldrons etc)

August - Spooky Words

September - Bad Fairies and Wicked Queens

October - Black Cats

November - Skeletons and Skulls
(including Sugar Skulls and Day of the Dead themes)

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!

I also have a larger piece which features many of the themes so I'll be showing that too.

Lisa had a great idea of theming the months according to the alphabet.  We thought this would fit in very well with The Alphabet Club posts.  I have done A-D so far and December's will be E.  So if you have any spooky stitching which fits in with the letter E please email me a picture before the 1st December.  It could be a designer beginning with E or a design title beginning with E or an E feautured in the design (Spooky Elephant anyone?).

Just to finish off a wordy post, here is Trixie The Hallowe'en Witch from Brooke's Books looking very elegant:

November - Creepy Trees.

Halloween Tree: Spook.

the Trilogy

★ ★

Jo's November Ornament

It's a little one but I have big plans for it!  This Creepy Tree is by Blue Ribbon Designs from the latest Just Cross Stitch Hallowe'en magazine.

There is a series of 8 small designs, each one only 27x27 stitches.  I'm planning to stitch all of them on this piece of random 32 count blue linen and make them into something.  Watch this space!

Some of the other designs:

Thanks for all your suggestions for themes for next year.  I'll be going through the emails and comments and making the final list soon.

Plans for 2016

Thanks to everyone who replied to the email with your suggestions for themes for next year.  Here's another chance to have a think.  Also for those people who follow the blog but haven't signed up to contribute yet - you can leave a suggestion too.

As a little reminder, the SAL has been running for three years now.  The first year was at a different address then it moved here in 2014.  Here's a recap of the themes for those years:

2013

JANUARY - PUMPKINS

FEBRUARY - BLACK CATS

MARCH - HAUNTED HOUSE

APRIL - OWN CHOICE

MAY - GHOSTS

JUNE - MUMMY/TOMBS

JULY - SPIDERS/BATS

AUGUST - OWN CHOICE

SEPTEMBER - HALLOWEEN WORDS

OCTOBER - OWLS

NOVEMBER - CANDY CORN

DECEMBER - OWN CHOICE

2014

January - Free Choice

February - Vampire

March - Witches

April - Owl

May - Monster

June - Freebie Patterns

July - Pumpkins

August - Ghosts

September - Black Cats

October - Trick or Treat

November - Bugs, Insects or Spiders

December - Free Choice

2015

January - Witches

February - Skeletons

March - Owls and Birds

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 see that some of those categories feature every year and some only make the occasional appearance.  There will always be a couple of Free Choice months too so you can stitch the designs which simply don't fit into a category.

And just to include a picture to brighten up the post, here's Trixie the Hallowe'en Witch from Brooke's Books ready to be assembled this week:

D is for Devil, Death and Dressing Up - Revisited

When we first started this blog I made a series of posts beginning with each letter of the alphabet starting with A.  Unfortunately, they ground to a halt after L.  So in honour of The Alphabet Club hosted by Chiara I have decided to resurrect the original posts and link up each month with the rest of the Alphabet Club posters.  To learn more about this SAL follow the Alphabet Club link to Chiara's blog.

D is for Devil from A Dark Alphabet designed by Julie and Becky's Note of Friendship blog.  So you might be wondering why there is a monkey in this picture?  In Dutch samplers the stitchers would often use a Spinning Monkey to represent the Devil rather than tempt bad luck by stitching Old Nick himself.  The monkey stood for folly, laziness, lechery and vanity and his punishment was to be turned into thread.

I wonder if we get a bit of "monkey thread" sometimes, you know where it knots and twists and won't lay neatly no matter what you do?

If you like your devils on the cute side, Ellen Maurer-Stroh has a series of stitching devils, this one has a bobbin (ready to tangle?) and there is one with a pincushion and a sweet pair playing with a sewing machine.

Onto Death, that's a gloomy subject for stitching?  

Witchykitt Designs - Black Grim

So here's a more cheerful Death, from Terry Prachett's Discworld series:

Lyndisfarne Cross Stitch Designs - Death and Kittens

So where do we get these images of Death from?  In England, Death is often called The Grim Reaper and from the 15th Century onwards is shown as a skeletal figure cloaked in hooded black  and carrying a large scythe.  In the Bible there is also a reference to "The Angel of Death" who reaps the firstborn sons of the people of Eygpt.

Probably the most common image for Death in cross stitching is the gravestone (but I'm saving those for G!) or some of the verses stitched on antique samplers.  For example this piece by Amy Ball which includes the couplet "When I am dead and in my Grave, my Friend's in Hand my work may have":

Scarlet Letter - Amy Ball

These samplers were often stitched by very young girls and it makes you realise how close to death people were in those days.  Many women would have given birth to several children only to see three or four survive into adulthood.

And onto something more modern and cheerful!!  Dressing-up.  Why do we dress up for Hallowe'en?  This tradition goes back to Celtic times when people believed that evil spirits walked the land on Hallowe'en.  The best way to fool these spirits was to disguise yourself as someone else.  In early 20th Century America Trick or Treating was referred to as "guising" before the actual term Trick or Treat came into use.

Here's a cute pair dressed up ready to go Trick or Treating:

Ursula Michaels - Trick or Treat Kids

So what's your favourite dressing up costume?  Do you enjoy dressing up or do the words "Fancy Dress Party" strike dread into your heart?  Being rock fans has always made dressing up for Hallowe'en easy for me and my friends.  We already have wardrobes full of black velvet and lace, long wild hair and leather coats.  Just add a white hair streak, some extra eyeliner to the black lipstick, nail varnish and the jet jewellery and you have the perfect Vampire.  In fact, at one party in our local pub, my friend brought his new girlfriend to meet us all for the first time.  I admired her outfit and hair only to be told she hadn't realised it was Fancy-Dress and that was how she dressed all the time!

Witchykitt Designs - Vampire

This would definitely make a great Fancy Dress outfit!

Patty's June Ornament

The September 2014 chart by Nicole Dostal of Northern Expressions Needlework for Pumpkin Seed Stitchers.

Patty's May Ornament

I'm a bit behind, but here is my May 2015 ornament:

Design by Jamie Kile of Knotted Tree Needlearts. Pattern on page 42 of Just Cross Stitch, September/October 2009.

Ghostly Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone!!

I actually finished my Ghost stitching earlier this month but I decided to wait until Halloween to post.... seems so much more like Halloween to post on the day!!

My "Ghost" is actually another square on The Trilogy's Halloween Sneak Peek that I have been been stitching for quite some time now...

Here he is all in his ghostly glory:

The whole piece looks like this at the moment:

I have one more square to stitch once I have finished the pumpkin and then it will just be the black border left to do!

Before I go I have one more pic to show you.... Jo asked us to show pics of any Halloween decorating that we do.  I generally don't decorate for Halloween but this year I did do something....

I decorated my Meerkats (this is an on-going Meerkat competition that I have going with a friend at work - we have started to decorate our Meerkats for various events and sharing the pics)

However you celebrate Halloween, have a great time.... and don't forget Jo's Halloween Blog Hop... my post is up showing my letter of the mystery phrase.

September and October Ornies....

Hi fellow Spooktacular Stitchers,

I actually have two Hallowe'en finishes for you today.  The first is my September "Ornie"  for "Words" and I use the term "ornie" carefully as it is probably too big to actually be an ornie but when I saw this design stitched on someone else's blog, I knew I just had to stitch it!

Moon and Cider Apple Cider

Needlework Press

28 ct overdyed fabric

Floss: as per designer

My October ornie for "Ghosts" is from this years JCS Hallowe'en Ornie Mag.  Again, when I saw this cute row of tipsy houses, I just knew that I had to stitch this one, too!

Bump in the Night

Tempting Tangles Designs

JCS Hallowe'en Ornie Mag 2015

28 ct overdyed blue fabric

Floss: I chose my own overdyed threads from my stash

I must admit that I am thrilled with both of these finished pieces - each have their own special brand of spookiness.

Now, Jo, I have a confession to make, despite having some lovely Hallowe'en pieces finished now, I have not decorated for Hallowe'en!   Aaagghh!

Why, you may ask?  Well, I have been super busy both at work and at home.  Work has been crazy busy with me having two prepare and present TWO full Business Cases for new projects in Eight weeks (you normally have about three months to prepare one!) and then my social life has been super busy because of my birthday this month - lots of fun outings and weeekends away and we are going away this coming (Hallowe'en) weekend, too - lovely!

So, there you have it, Jo, and everyone, my confession!  If I get a chance tonight I will try to pull out my Hallowe'en ornies and take a pic for you all.

Off to work now, 

love to you all, 

Kaye

Cheryl's October Ghost Ornament

OoooOoooOooo!  Look out!  I might put a spell on you!

This cute little ghost witch was stitched on 14 ct plastic canvas, backed with felt and embellished with a paper flower and polka dot button.

Freebie chart found here:  http://www.jessica-tromp.nl

I'm saving photos of my Halloween display for Jo's Halloween Blog Hop (there's still time to sign up).

Making lemonade out of lemons

It was a gorgeous weekend but the ragweed pollen was so high that I was stuck indoors.  I took advantage of my misfortune by stitching these 2 PS's Halloween pieces.  The batty one is from the Bump in the Night leaflet and the other is from Trick or Treat.

They don't fit our sal themes but I'd been wanting to stitch these:

Halloween Month is Here!

Here's my stitch for October.  This is also an ornament I've been wanting to stitch for a while, and if you look closely, there's actually a wee ghost hanging off the hat!  It's from the JCS Halloween Collection book.  Stitched on 28ct flash linen, DMC, purchased trim and beads.

And here's my Halloween tree.  I'm going to have to get a revolving stand to enjoy all the ornaments!

August Black Cat

Sorry to be the weakest link on this blog :(

Things have been busy.. but I'm happy to complete a small this month (although I believe it is supposed to be in August checked in). Oops :x

here it is:

(Mill Hill ~Autumn Harvest 1991, counted glass beads ornament kit)

Stitched in perforated paper

And for my Halloween corner.. 

Decorated with crocheted and stitching items.

Ghoul Tidings to you.

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.

October - Ghosts and Halloween in my bedroom.

Halloween Cross Stitch

design by Lorraine Niestyo

★ ★

Rita's October Ghost

My choice came from the JCS 2012 Halloween special issue.  I had planned to use beads for the stars and the cat's eyes but didn't have the right colors at home (and I was too lazy to go out for some at the time).  I changed the color from orange to yellow for the stars.

Since I can't post a picture on a response to Jo's post about black cats, I thought I'd post a picture of my favorite black cat design that I've stitched.  As I stated in the response, my mom made a pumpkin costume for my sister one year and all 4 of my kids have worn it too.  (I've since sent the costume to my sister for her kids.)  Little did Mom know when she made that costume just how many kids would use it.  My BIL put together pics of all 5 of them wearing the costume.

BOAF Halloween Cat

I think Jo also asked about our Halloween decorations.  One thing I like to do for holidays is to frame into holiday frames pictures of our kids during a particular holiday and set them out with the holiday decorations.  I wish I could say I thought of that idea on my own but I "stole" it from a friend of mine.

C is for Coven, Cauldron and Cats - Revisited

When we first started this blog I made a series of posts beginning with each letter of the alphabet starting with A.  Unfortunately, they ground to a halt after L.  So in honour of The Alphabet Club hosted by Chiara I have decided to resurrect the original posts and link up each month with the rest of the Alphabet Club posters.  To learn more about this SAL follow the Alphabet Club link to Chiara's blog.

C is for Coven from A Dark Alphabet designed by Julie and Becky's Note of Friendship blog.

A coven is a group of witches of any number from three to thirteen.  Once the coven grows larger than thirteen it will split into two smaller covens to keep the number manageable.  One of the most famous covens is the trio of witches that Macbeth encounters on the heath who give him the prophesies that ultimately lead to his downfall.

And what does a coven of witches need to cast their spell?  A cauldron, of course!  A cauldron is simply a cast iron pot found in many homes in the past, used for cooking or maybe boiling up herbs and potions.  Like the broom and the cat a cauldron could be used as "evidence" by the Witch Finders that an innocent old woman was in fact a Witch!

I found lots of lovely cauldron patterns online:

The Stitcherhood

White Willow Stitching

And onto cats, our third C.  Black cats obviously as it is Hallowe'en!  In England black cats are seen as lucky animals as they are in Japan too.  However other areas are not so enlightened and view them as very bad luck.  To the extent that they are often left in cat shelters long after their multi-coloured friends have been adopted.  I have owned a black cat myself, named Spook who was very timid and shy.  We also adopted a stray for a while until she wandered away.  Here she is in a pot!

Many superstitious people believe that black cats can turn into other animals or even that the witch can take the place of her cat to spy on her neighbours.  Often, just owning a black cat would be grounds for accusing a woman of witchcraft.  So it is not surprising to find many designs featuring black cats (with or without accompanying witches!)

Fence Cat by Jaunty Fox Designs

JBW Hallowe'en Cat from JCS Hallowe'en Special 2012

And another:

Imaginating

So now it's over to you.  When you comment on this post please could you include a link to your favourite Black Cat cross stitch design.