Halloween Special Issue 2022

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It’s one of my favorite days of the year! I’ve waited so long for this gem from Just Cross Stitch magazine to arrive! I have a new idea for this year… I am going to see how many items from this magazine I can make in a one year period. I think I will give myself time to go through the magazine and make a list of what fabrics, floss, and embellishments I will need to create these designs, and order whatever I don’t have. And then I will start stitching on October 31 and stitch through October 30 of 2023. I probably won’t stitch them all because there are a few designs that don’t appeal to me, and I don’t have anywhere to hang the really large designs. Plus I will want to stitch other things besides Halloween. But this will give me a great large assortment of smalls to display for Halloween next year. In the meantime, I should also try to finish off the Halloween smalls that I have stitched throughout the years that are just sitting in a box and have those ready for display for this Halloween.

All in all, I think the majority of the designs in this issue are right up my alley!

XXX
Carrie


Witches Brew

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Now that this is done I am very pleased with how it turned out, although I am a bit disappointed about there not being any purple in the design. But I’ve already found myself a new Halloween freebie to work on, a Durene Jones design that I think will look amazing on some linen I hand dyed purple a couple of years ago.

This design is a freebie from Cheryl McKinnon at Tiny Modernist.

XXX
Carrie



Witches Brew

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I started another new freebie from Tiny Modernist and got this far and just had to laugh. This sums up how I feel about spiders pretty well!

I adore this project but I wish it had some purple in it. If I had planned ahead better, I would have done the wording in purple because now the pumpkins and cauldron below need to be done in black. Oh well, it should still turn out cute.

XXX
Carrie


Trick or Treat (In November!)

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I forgot to take progress photos after completing the words Trick Or Treat, so this has been a work in progress for a while now. Working on this project has been so much fun and it was such an easy stitch for a change. I have tried taking the project into a dark room to check out the glow in the dark fabric but it is a pretty dim glow. I have no idea how long ago the fabric was made and if the glow aspect fades over time. So I am a bit disappointed with that, but if I ever want to stitch the other 3 designs in this series I wouldn’t have anything except plain white Aida to stitch them on, anyway.

My plan is to frame this in a wooden hoop that I paint either black or orange and then wrap ribbon of the opposite color around. I’m not sure if we have any of those plastic spider rings laying around the house, but it would be cute to finish it off with one of those!

This design was created by Emma Congdon and it can be found in the October 2019 issue of Cross Stitch Crazy magazine. (And while you’re reading the magazine, find mention of my mason jar tutorial on page 67!)

XXX
Carrie



A Sick Day

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Recently my daughter got sick and of course as soon as she was better I caught it. But she was only really sick for 2 days, and I am now on day 10. It started with a sore throat, sinus pain, and fatigue. Then after I got on antibiotics it turned into a cough, ear pain, and chest pain. Luckily no fever, loss of taste or smell, or other issues. But the overwhelming exhaustion is really kicking my butt. I started out in bed, then moved to the couch, and now am able to do a few things throughout the day like throwing a load of laundry in the washer and loading the dishwasher. But that’s about it. The TV has been my only companion, as I just can’t keep my eyes open enough to look at a chart or a needle.

Today I did manage to overcast the edges of two pieces of fabric on the sewing machine. I had two projects picked out before I got sick, Bent Creek’s “Santa’s Reindeer” and a Halloween design by Emma Congdon from one of the British magazines. I am not sure which magazine or which issue, but I am stitching mine from what I believe is the October 2020 issue of Вышивка крестиком, a Russian magazine. I know it was in the British magazines first, because I have the issue it was originally in somewhere. I think it was an issue of Cross Stitch Crazy, but I can’t be certain. When I wanted to stitch this design I couldn’t find the issue it was in, and the Russian version (which I subscribe to through Zinio) happened to have a clear photo of the designs on the cover.

The Bent Creek design will be (I believe) the first time I have cross stitched with pearl cotton. Why this company chooses to use pearl cotton instead of embroidery floss, I’m not sure. But it should be interesting and a pretty quick stitch, as the design is small and not many color changes. I love the addition of a peppermint button on Santa’s hat.

The Halloween design is something I have wanted to stitch for a good year now and never got around to it.

There are 4 designs but this one is my favorite. I even found the perfect piece of Aida that I didn’t even know I had in my stash… it is 14 count white but it is actually glow in the dark! I have no idea where I picked that up. It is only big enough for one design, unfortunately, but I am not sure I would ever stitch the other 3 designs anyway, as I have so many things I would love to do. I definitely can’t get this done in time for Halloween this year, but I love stitching all sorts of holiday designs all through the year. If we can have Christmas in July, why not Halloween in November?

XXX
Carrie



Alice

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Several months ago I decided to start on the Alice in Wonderland SAL (stitch-a-long) from CrossStitcher magazine. The February 2020 issue included an outer framework with 12 rectangular shaped openings. Each month after, for the next year, a character would be added to the openings. I had other things on the go, so I did not get started right away at the beginning of the year. But in late spring I started on the framework. I got all 12 rectangles stitched and then started on the border, which was a lot of color changes and few stitches of each color. It is also a LOT of backstitch.

After a while I put it away to work on other things, and then I heard a “rumor” that CrossStitcher was going out of business, just like how Cross Stitch Crazy and Cross Stitch Gold stopped publication (due to COVID). This kind of freaked me out and I decided not to work on it any more, because I didn’t want to have a lot of time invested in something that would not be completed. I have just noticed that the November issue is available in my Zinio account, and this issue features one of the characters. There should be only two more issues left to complete the series, if my calculations are correct. So I think the rumors I heard were indeed just rumors. I am going to get back to working on this framework, although I am not sure when. I have found a few Halloween themed things I would like to stitch, and one is done on orange fabric all in black floss. That would be super easy to follow along and work on even while watching TV, and should stitch up quickly.

XXX
Carrie


It’s Almost Halloween

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It’s almost October, and that means it is time to start thinking about Halloween stitching. If you need a new project or two, just turn to the 2018 issue of Just Cross Stitch Halloween. It is packed with scary (and cute) projects of all sizes. Here is an inside peeks of just a few of the designs you’ll find!

                

You can purchase this book at my website: http://www.crossstitchers.com/shop/store.php?&view=JCS2018H-75

XXX
Carrie


Done!

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I’m so excited to finally have this sugar skull finished. Things had gotten so busy that I was unable to work on it for quite a while. And then one day the internet went out and I couldn’t work, so I decided to sit down and stitch for a while. The next morning the internet was still out, so I was able to finish this guy. And then I even got right into a free cover kit that had come with the latest issue of World of Cross Stitching. It was sitting on the coffee table and was so cute, I couldn’t resist jumping in. That little hedgehog card should be finished up in one more stitching session.

For the sugar skull, I think I will try to find a wooden frame that I can paint in a bright, bold color that matches one of the colors in the design. I think I would want to do it lime green, actually!

This was a fun and quick design (when I actually had time to sit down and stitch!) and can be found in the 2016 Halloween special issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine. It was actually charted to be solid black, but I used colors of DMC Color Variations that I hand picked. You can purchase the magazine here: crossstitchers.com

XXX
Carrie



Just Cross Stitch Halloween 2017

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I just received an email from my sales rep at Annie’s, letting me know the 2017 issue of Just Cross Stitch Halloween will be out soon. So far only the cover photo has been released:

2017halloween

As soon as I receive more photos I will post them here. Hearing this news, I decided to get out my copy of the 2016 issue and take a look at it again. When it came out, I had other things going on so I didn’t do much more than glance at it. Now, looking through it again, I found a project I really MUST stitch! It is a sugar skull and was designed by Breanne Jackson.

sugarskull

As soon as I saw this design, I knew exactly what fabric I wanted to use. I have had a piece of Aida in my stash for a few years, not knowing what it should be used for. It is a gorgeous lime green, and it needed just the right project. Now I just needed to find the prefect floss for it. The pattern calls for all black, but that’s not my style. I love colors! I got out my bin of silk floss and found something perfect. It’s called Ada’s Rainbow and it is from Gloriana. I have only used silk one other time, and never on Aida, so this should be interesting.

greenaida

I think the bright colors will really pop on this fabric, and I think they would make a wonderful sugar skull. I can’t wait to get started, but I am feeling guilty about all of the projects I have lined up. There’s the red haired mermaid, the bright butterflies, the primitive pincushions, and of course at least a dozen Egyptian designs. It’s already been a month since I received the magazine that had the mermaid in it, and I have made very little progress on my pyramids. Oh, why can’t there be more hours in the day?

XXX
Carrie


A Nice Find

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frames2Today our church was having a yard sale and I found what I have been looking for for months: square picture frames. There was a set of 4 wooden frames, painted brown, all with some pretty old needlework pieces inside. The yarn in hues of oranges, yellows, and greens make me think they were circa 1960. The needlepoint was actually coming undone from the frames, because they had been attached with masking tape, which had long since lost its stick.

The ugly stitched pieces
The ugly stitched pieces

I will be throwing away the stitched pieces (sorry, whomever stitched these!) and repainting the frames. I got out my box of finished pieces and found 6 items that all needed a square frame of this exact same size. So I picked out 4 of them and can’t wait to get painting and framing! 3 of the pieces are Halloween themed, and the other is a pink heart. I think I might paint the Halloween frames all the same, even though the patterns are all from different designers and the fabrics are different colors. I better get going on that, since September is just around the corner!

XXX
Carrie



Halloween Hedgehog – Finished!

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hedgehog4The whole family has been sick lately, and my daughter was home sick from school today. I wasn’t feeling well either, so I managed to get this hedgehog done while on the couch with her, watching episode after episode of  The Magic Schoolbus and Curious George.

The backstitch on the web and hedgehog were hard to follow, because they didn’t follow any kind of path. But I’m happy with the finished result. Happy Halloween!

*Cough*Sneeze*
Carrie


Halloween Hedgehog

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I started this hedgehog Halloween project several weeks ago but lost interest. After finishing my punch needle project, I decided to work on it again and it is finally starting to take shape. The design is by Rhona Norrie and was in issue 207 of The World of Cross Stitch magazine.

hedgehog2

I absolutely adore hedgehogs. I will probably never get to see one in real life, so cross stitching them will have to do!

XXX
Carrie


Just Cross Stitch 2013 Special Christmas Issue

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2013ornamentsThe 2013 special issue of Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments is out! I know, it’s only September. But I am excited to get some Christmas stitching done. I would like to stitch an ornament for each of my son’s 4th grade teachers this year (he has two; one for reading and writing and one for math and science). I love the Be Jolly Santa from Angel Stitchin and the Snowman from Needle Bling Designs. Both are featured on the cover. They look like fun and quick projects.

I don’t have this issue in stock yet but it should arrive next week. The price is $9.99 and it features 76 projects, on 115 pages. But for now I have my subscription copy and can get stitching. Well, after the two Halloween projects I have on my to-do list, that is! Tonight the kids will spend the night at grandma’s house which is a treat for them but for me as well. I can go to bed whenever I want, which means I get some STITCHING TIME! I know exactly what I am going to work on – a hedgehog Halloween design by Margaret Sherry. I just can’t get enough of her cute little hedgehogs. The design is from the current issue of World of Cross Stitch.

XXX
Carrie



Trick or Treat

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My newest project is coming along nicely. I love working on small projects! I should have been doing this for the last few years instead of trying to tackle larger ones. It is so easy to pick up a project like this even if you only have two or three minutes to stitch at a time, which is often the case for me.

XXX
Carrie


Second Halloween Project

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The next project I am stitching from the JCS Halloween Special is called Trick Or Treat, by Barb Cooley of Plum Pudding NeedleArt. This is a small design which is stitched using only DMC floss, so it should be quick and easy. I really like when designers stick with basic supplies for their projects. So many designers nowadays are using overdyed threads which, while creating an interesting effect, can be costly. Many of the designs in JCS magazine in the last couple of years use Weeks Dye Works, Crescent Colors, Gloriana Silks, Gentle Art Sampler Threads, and The Thread Gatherer Silks, along with custom dyed fabric from Polstitches. Being a shop owner, I know that many stitchers cannot afford these items, and some simply don’t want to try using them. So I am glad to see some designers sticking with the basics, like in this design.

Another thing that bothers me about the designers who use primarily overdyed floss is that if you look at the charts themselves, they are extremely simply. Designers who use only DMC floss need to be able to create charts that are full of shadowing and movement. When using overdyed or variegated floss, the design can be very simple because the floss does the work for the designer. A snowman no longer has to have different colors of white in him to create depth. Flowers are the same way – one color of pink overdyed floss gives enough shading to eliminate the work of figuring out what DMC colors to use and where the shadows need to go. I am amazed at some of the designs that the magazines publish; they look like a 5 year old created them. This seems to be strictly an American thing; the British magazines generally use DMC or Anchor floss and either Aida or linen (sometimes dyed, but often not). The stitcher is not required to drop an entire paycheck to pay for threads, and the designers are actual artists who know how to create heirloom charts. I will stitch what I can out of this Halloween issue and the Christmas one that will soon arrive. But I am hoping that in the future the designs get back to “normal”.

XXX
Carrie


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