First Halloween Finish

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Here is the first project I have completed from the new Just Cross Stitch Halloween special. It is still wrinkled… I will have to iron and finish it when I have the time.

I like the color variation in the Weeks Dye Works floss but I will not use pearl cotton on linen again. The cotton was just too thick for this fine of a fabric. If only I had the entire line of WDW embroidery floss… Oh well, a girl can dream, can’t she?

XXX
Carrie



Halloween WIP

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Here is my progress on Lizzie*Kate’s chart from the new Halloween special issue of Just Cross Stitch.

The pattern calls for Weeks Dye Works floss, which I don’t have. I do, however, have a huge assortment of WDW pearl cotton #5. I can’t recall where it came from, and I have never used it before. I had the colors needed so I decided to give it a try. Not a good idea. At least, not with the fabric I picked out, which I believe is 30 count. This type of cotton is just too thick to be used on such a small count of linen, even over two. I am going to keep with it, but it is hard to stitch with. It almost looks like I have created all of the stitches using french knots.

XXX
Carrie


Halloween Stitching

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The new Just Cross Stitch Halloween 2013 Special Collector’s Issue is out! This magazine is jam packed full of fun and spooky charts.

Normally I don’t decorate much for Halloween, nor do I do much Halloween stitching. It’s not that I don’t like Halloween, I just don’t have time. Hopefully once the kids get a bit older I will have time to go all out. I do have loads of autumn decorations packed away. I found have several things I really want to stitch from this magazine. I think shipping orders lately has gotten me in the mood for this time of year. Lately I have had to ship a lot of floss orders, and I can kind of guess what projects people have planned based on what they buy. Lately it has been lots of greys, browns, and oranges.

Flipping through this issue, I think it is about time to start a new project that will be really fast to stitch. I never did get to start on my Egyptian project; we were away for 6 weeks this summer and I did not do ANY stitching! Shocking, I know! But the lighting wasn’t the greatest and I didn’t have my stitching “spot” like I do at home. So I did lots of reading instead. I still have the Egyptian project ready to go, but I think for now I will do a few quickies. First up will be Double Double by Lizzie*Kate. I have never stitched a Lizzie*Kate design before (I know, another shocker! Who hasn’t stitched anything Lizzie*Kate before?!) I could actually finish it this weekend if the kids give me some time to myself. There’s also a great Edgar Allen Poe chart that features the verse “Once upon a midnight dreary” and a pictuer of a cemetery complete with Lenore’s grave and, of course, a raven. But it is a huge project so will have to be moved to my “some day” list. I also like Silver Creek Samplers’ Happy Halloween design and a great project from Ink Circles (a mandala design, of course!)  Another quickie would be the Goody Trask 1692 design which is sort of a primitve sampler, but pretty simple and fast to stitch. I’ve read The Crucible many times and love anything to do with the Salem Witch Trials. Elizabeth Talledo has a one-color design in the magazine, and I would love to stitch it, as all of her designs are so interesting. And lastly, there is a really neat design that utilizes an Altoids tin to make a little keepsake box. The stitching covers not only the outside but the inside as well. I better get stitching!

XXX
Carrie