Gwen: Potent Potions

Happy Halloween!!

Witch's Pantry

JC Stitch Halloween 2012

My Black Cat ornament for October. 

Lili's October Ornament: Black Cats

Hello!

My ornament for this month!

Designer: Primitive Acorns - It's Midnight

(Just Cross Stitch Halloween Collection Book 2016)

Fabric/Threads: 35 count flax linen, hand dyed by me / DMC

(My blog: Stitching Basket)

Happy Halloween!

Lili

Rita's Nov. 2016 Skeletons/Skulls theme

Next month will be pretty busy (in addition to Thanksgiving, I'll be traveling again) so I thought I'd try to get a bit ahead.

I've been seeing a lot of sugar skulls in the cross stitch world lately and thought I should get into the act.  It works out perfectly for November's theme.

This is in the 2015 JCS Halloween special issue.  It stitched up pretty quickly and was fun to stitch.

While I'm thinking of Halloween, I'd like to tell you a little story.  My sister was born when I was 16.  I can remember my mom sewing her pumpkin suit.  It was so cute, she hung onto it.  Fast forward to when my kids were of trick or treating age.  All 4 of them wore it when it fit them for Halloween.  Later, my bil took the individual pictures and merged them into one and made a shirt for me.  Here's the picture:

My mom didn't have any idea that pumpkin suit would get that much "mileage".  Fast forward to present time...my daughter who just gave us our first grandchild this year wants us to find the costume for her daughter to wear when she's a little older.

Noni's Black Cat

It's almost Halloween.... another year has rolled on by - is it just me or do the years seem to be going even more quickly than ever before??

Anyway... I am just in time for my October offering / posting....

The cute/scary black cat is part of the Halloween Portraits from Blue Ribbon Designs.  This series was published in the Just Cross Stitch Halloween 2015 issue.  I have now stitched 3 of them and plan to do a couple more at some point.  Still undecided what I will do with them... but I think they will make cute little pin cushions :o)

Hope everyone has a great Halloween!

Til next time, keep on spooky stitching!
Hugs xx

Cheryl's October Black Cat

I found this sweet kitty cat out in the pumpkin patch talking to his little crow friend.

This pattern is a freebie by DMC : you can find it here!

Black Cats Oct. 2016 Rita's

I had trouble finding something to stitch for Sept. but this month's theme was easier to choose a design...except for there being so many from which to choose.  This is a PS design:

Back on Track?

After failing to produce neither a July nor August Hallowe'en Ornie, I am back on track with my September ornie - my version of Bad Fairies.

Sorry, I am not at home at the moment so I cannot remember the name of the French book which I used as the basis of the design, but I will update this post when I am back home.

I found this theme to be a stretch but I must admit I am really thrilled with how well this turned out.  So, in the end I relished the challenge, thanks Jo.

hugs, Kaye

P.S. I am such a doofus, I was sure that I had posted this already but when I checked - no go! 

Off Theme

I didn't find a bad fairy to stitch this month. My Halloween ornament is a needlepoint candy corn. My candy corn is  stitched on 18ct canvas, using perle cotton, floss, Krenik cord and some beads.

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)