Noni's September Finish

Hi there!  Here I am back with my September finish just in time....

I couldn't find a wicked fairy to stitch this month so I extended the theme out to wicked witches and/or queens and came up with a Black Hearted Queen!

I found this design by doing an internet search which landed me on the Sub Rosa blog.  She has a number of great freebies on her blog - link to the blog is here

The fabric is from Stitches and Spice and is called Lime Ghost Gum.  Unfortunately I struggled to get a true colour of the fabric when taking a photo but believe me it is a stunning colour and looks great with the black thread.

So that's it for me... up to date again!

Til next time... happy Halloween stitching!
Hugs xx

Lili's September Ornament

Hello!
This is my stitching piece for this month.
I know that don't fit well on the month theme, but I made a mistake on my notes for this month.

Designer: Nikyscreations – Witch Needlebook (JCS Halloween Collection Book 2015)
Fabric/Threads: 35 count flax linen / DMC

Thanks for visiting!
Happy stitching,
Lili

Noni's Spooky Words...

I'm late... but I did manage last night to put the final stitch in my spooky words piece for August

Double Double - Lizzie*Kate
Just Cross Stitch Halloween 2013

Now it's time to find a bad fairy.... looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up for Sept's theme!  So far I haven't managed to find anything that fits the brief but I will keep looking.

Til next time, happy spooky stitchings
Hugs xx

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.

N is for Necromancy, Night and Newts

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 continue the 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.

N is for Necromancy from A Dark Alphabet designed by Julie and Becky's Note of Friendship blog.  Necromancy is the art of communicating with the dead via magic, either summoning their spirit or raising them bodily.  The hope would be that they could predict the future, reveal secrets of hidden knowledge or just be used as an undead soldier!

Here's a fun stitch from Son of a Cross Stitch on Etsy:

N is for Night, the time when the witches and ghosts come out.  

Happy Hallowe'en Night by Jardin Prive

Out to ride without your head:

Wicked Night by Primitive Hare

Or out with your pals:

Fright Night Friends - Stoney Creek

And here come the Girls:

Another Girls' Night Out - Just Nan

The "girls" have their frogs' toes in their little cauldrons so all they need now is some eye of Newt

Witches Brew - Pine Mountain Designs

Got Newt? - Bent Creek

Or maybe you could just stitch with a newt?

Newt green silk by Thread Gatherers

August's Spooky Words

My spooky words for August:

This is the back of the scissor keep from Creepy Crawly.

Another one

Last night I finished up a wip that would work for this month (if only it was an ornament) and thought y'all would like to see it.  It's Wicked Witch by La D Da.

(Sorry for the crooked picture.)

Rita's August 2016 Spooky Words

Despite being absent from here for a while, I haven't fallen off the surface of the earth.  I have, however, been doing a lot of traveling lately.  Since our first grandbaby was born in mid-March, I've been to CA 3 times to visit and help with her (staying about 2 weeks each time), San Diego once with DH on a work trip, HI (to visit with my brother's and sister's families and help out with summer day care for my niece and nephew) for almost 3 weeks, and a quick trip with my DS (who was visiting from Denmark) to OH to visit with my parents.  It's been a lot of fun but it's good to be home.

While gone I either didn't have the time, energy, or good lighting to do much stitching so I've been making up for lost time since coming home.  I've been working on a big sampler and also started and finished my August ornament this weekend while watching the Olympics.

Here's Trick or Treat by Plum Pudding NeedleArt that can be found in the 2013 JCS Halloween Collector's Issue.

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

M is for Mummy, Monster and Moonlight

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 continue the 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.

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

Mummification is the method the Ancient Egyptians used to preserve their ancestors, removing their internal body parts, placing them into jars and embalming the bodies then wrapping them in bandages to keep them safe during their journey to the next world.  The British Museum has some interesting facts and information about Egypt and mummies here.

Mummies were allowed to rest in peace in their sarcophagi until the 19th Century when Egypt became the fashionable fad of the Victorians.  Following the publication of a book simply called The Mummy in 1821 the stage was set for the mummy to become the newest monster.  Even Louisa May Alcott of Little Women fame got in on the act with a book about a mummy's curse.  More information on mummies in the Hallowe'en story can be found here on Things in the Basement, a great website for all kinds of spooky things.

Teresa Wenztler - Egyptian Sampler

Just Another Button Company - Boys are Back in Town

Of course that JABC design features our second M - Monster.  We showcased a whole lot of Monster designs back in May for this post May Monster Madness Ball including several Frankenstein's Monster.

So here's a rather cuter set of monsters:

Pinoy Stitch - Monster Flower Power Minis

Pixel Power - Classic Movie Monsters

And this one is probably my favourite, you can stitch it in full colour or in silhouette:

Glendon Place - Monster March

Our final M features in many designs in the background, after all most spookiness happens after dark under the light of the moon.

The moon is connected with many strange forms of behaviours from werewolves to lunatics (the word even comes from Lunar or Moon).  On parenting forums it is a question asked in all seriousness "do your child's behavioural problems get worse at full moon?"  This article looks at some of the more common myths and tries to find the science behind them - Live Science - Moon Myths

Time for Stitch - Harvest Moon

Imaginating - Full Moon

I have this next one in my stash and love it.

Ink Circles - Masquerade

Just to finish off, here's an older finish of mine.  Not really Hallowe'en themed but very Moonlight!

Bucilla - Max's Moon

July Ornament

My July Ornament is a witch's cauldron. 

The Cauldron

Embellishing Bits

My winged creature (Jan's theme) is a bat. 

                                             

Creepy Crawly

Scissor Keep Front

Blue Ribbon Designs

Lili's July ornament

Hi!!

My little ornie for this month!

Design: Barbara Ana Designs - Halloween, The Moon Laughs (small part of the design)

Fabric / Threads: 36 count Flax Linen / DMC

Thanks for looking!

Happy Summer!

Lili

(my Blog: Stitching Basket)

Stitching Witch - July 2016

Witches' Accessories.... what a great theme idea! So many designs to choose from - hats, broomsticks, cauldrons to say the least!  I did however spot a design that I just had to stitch the instance I saw it in the Just Cross Stitch magazine!

The design is called "Stitching Witch" and is designed by Maria Warmke from The Stitcherhood.  How perfect is this design... hat, cauldron - tick... and then needle and scissors!!  It was published in the October 2014 issue of the Just Cross Stitch magazine.

I stitched this on a piece of fabric from Colour Cascades Fabric - no name as it was in a cardmakers pack - just love the colours!  The thread I used was "Nevermore" from Jodyri Designs.  The design called for all black thread but I decided to try something different for a change!!

Hope you like it as much as I do!  See you next month!
Hugs xx

Rita's Update

Sorry I've been awol for a while.  I've had a great time traveling a lot more than I've ever done starting in March when our first grandchild was born.  I've gone to visit her in CA twice already, Ohio to visit my parents with my son who was visiting from Denmark, to San Diego with DH while he was there for a conference, and I just returned from almost 3 weeks in HI visiting my sister, brother, and their families and helping my sister with some summer day care for her 7 and 11 year olds.  I've got another trip coming up soon (helping DD with day care when she goes back to work before her day care slot opens up) and maybe another with DH before my wings will be clipped for a while.

Needless to say, my stitching time has been much diminished (although I did teach my niece how to stitch) and I'm very behind on my ornament stitching.  I came home to a new model to stitch but hope to get back to ornament stitching as soon as I finish that and stay home long enough.

I've enjoyed seeing everyone's ornaments here.

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

May and July Ornaments

I am afraid I am a bit behind on my ornament SALs, but I finally have a few finishes to share...

(The patterns for both ornaments were designed by Durene Jones for The World of Cross Stitching magazine.)

May's Ornament...

(theme spiders/bugs)

 A tiny, purple spider!

July's Ornament...

(theme witches' accessories)

A cute and colorful witches' hat!

Now, to figure out what to do for my "free choice" from June...

Hope everyone has a week full of stitching!

Carrie

My late June Ornie.....

Well, I have to say, getting my ornie stitched for June this time around proved a little problematic, to say the least.

For some unknown reason, my planned stitching project, another band of 'Counting Bats' by Just Nan (our dear Jo kindly let me piggyback on her stitching idea) somehow disappeared into the black hole that is my Girl's Nest! I searched high and low for days and days but to no avail, although, Jo, you will be happy to know that I finally found it late last night.  Phew!

So,  change of plans and here we finally have my June ornament!

"Crow on a Pumpkin"

Samplers Not Forgotten

JCS Halloween 2015 magazine

Using a mixture of my own choice of GAST, CC and WDW floss

I love the fact that the pumpkin is not orange!  And I am thrilled with my use of CC Queen Bee for the border on the right instead of GAST Gold Leaf - it looks quite unusual.

Happy, Happy Happy!

Off on a little holiday to the back of beyond in Queensland next Saturday, so getting all my stitching planned as there is going to be a lot of downtime on flights and long car trips.  

I have two little pieces I want to stitch for this month's themes of Witches' Accessories, both should not take too long, so hopefully, when I get back I will have my July update ready to show you.

hugs, Kaye

Loretta's June Ornie

Here is what I chose for June:

Witchy Owl by Breanne Jackson from the 2014 JCS Halloween Issue

I think he is so cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for looking!!!

Loretta

L is for Lightning Bird, Lantern and Leaves - 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.

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