A Ghostly Valentine

Posted on March 1, 2025 by Heather

Hello, my wonderful crafty friends! I didn’t expect to disappear for so long again, but February was a difficult month. I don’t do well in the cold and dark, and with world events being what they are, I sort of just hibernated, crafted, and read books.

Speaking of which, here is my lovely little ghost from Living On The Rainbow’s A Year With Ghosts.

February Ghost from A Year With Ghosts

So, that’s two ghosts down (and two months of 2025 over with!).

A Year With Ghosts January and February

I think these little ghost are just adorable. But, I do need to be more careful when stitching. I accidentally stitched the February ghost in white because I was sure I knew what colour he was. Of course the ghosts are actually off white. I had to pick him out, which is quite difficult on black fabric. I’m using a magnifier and light, and there is a white sofa just behind my frame that helps me see the holes, but it was still a challenge.

I was clearly in a ghostly mood in February as I made these cards to a Valentine Tarot card exchange.

Ghoul-entine Cards

I used an image from Creative Fabrica for the ghost and edited it a little bit in Cricut Design Space and then cut the ghosts from thick vellum using my Cricut Maker 3. Aren’t they cute?

March will hopefully be a much happier month. If I’m lucky, I will be visiting Sajou in Versailles shortly! I’d love to buy a pair of scissors there, but the Euro to Canadian dollars exchange rate is not good. We shall see, I suppose.

2 Comments | Posted in Card Making, Cross Stitch | Tagged , ,

Embroidered Rose

Posted on January 28, 2025 by Heather

Hello, crafty friends! I think that my love of counted needlework is very well known by anyone who stops by my blog. I love cross stitch and canvaswork, and I’ve even been known to do needlepoint once in a blue moon. I love having a clear pattern and a little grid to follow, but every once in a while it is good to get out of your comfort zone.

Embroidered rose necklace

Embroidered rose necklace

The other day I dove into this little embroidery kit and stitched up this cute necklace. It look about 30 minutes to complete the stitching. It’s just simple satin stitch and woven wheel roses. I changed out the french knots for colonial knots, but they look the same.

The kit came from Amazon (a gift) and the quality of it was fine. The included thread feels silky, but it developed a fuzzy halo very quickly.

Finishing up this quick project almost makes me want to tackle a larger embroidery project again… almost, but not quite. lol!

1 Comment | Posted in Hand Embroidery | Tagged ,

Antique Skulls

Posted on January 22, 2025 by Heather

Hello, my crafty friends! Boy, this year is off to an interesting start, isn’t it? I’m Canadian, but I know that what affects a neighbour can soon affect you… Like many (most?) people, my mental health is taking a bit of a beating. I’m so grateful the comfort I find in my stitching, podcasts, games, and books.

A Study in Skulls cross stitch design on purple fabric.

A Study in Skulls, designed by The Stitch Crypt

I completed A Study in Skulls from The Stitch Crypt last week. The designer was kind enough to chart out a 13-hour clock for me so I could add just a hint of the Haunted Mansion to the design. (Sorry for the small image size. Click to embiggen. I haven’t update my blog theme in many years, but it’s in the works!)

I otherwise stitched the design as charted, but the dye from the purple fabric ran and discoloured all the light coloured threads. I tried all the tricks, but nothing was able to remove the dye. Ultimately, it is okay because it has given the piece an antique-y look that doesn’t change the design significantly.

This is the first time I’ve ever had a piece of hand-dyed fabric run so badly. I purchased this piece about a decade ago, from someone who’s fabric I love and use all the time. This was a misdyed piece, so I’m wondering if the final setting set was accidentally forgotten.

More stitching and more cards to come! But no politics here. While I’m aware of what is happening in the world and I’ll be doing what I can in my small corner of the world to ensure everyone stays safe and protected, my blog is a sanctuary away from that. We all need small places to rest our mind quietly before returning to the fray.

3 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged , ,

A Year with Ghosts

Posted on January 16, 2025 by Heather

Every year I tell myself that I am going to focus on stitching things for myself. I’m not get involved with another mystery SAL that I may not like once it is done. And, just about every year I stitch another SAL… What can I say, FOMO is real even in the stitching world. This year is going to be different! I’m doing a solo SAL, just for me, from a pattern that is already complete.

A portion of a cross stitch design featuring a ghost wearing a hat and scarf putting a carrot nose on a snowman.

January from A Year with Ghosts, designed by Living on the Rainbow

Each month this year I’ll be stitching a section of A Year with Ghosts from Living on the Rainbow. I’m using 27 count black Linda evenweave (it was on sale…) with DMC and Kreinik #4 braid as charted. There is a chance I’ll replace some of the #4 braid with Petite Treasure Braid, as I’d like to use what I’ve got in my stash if possible.

Surprisingly, I’m not having a difficult time stitching on black fabric. I’ve switched to using a Daylight Company floor stand instead of stitching in hand. (My old shoulder injury combined with hand pain from aging and a newer elbow issue means stitching in hand isn’t very comfortable anymore.) I also use a Daylight Company light with a magnifier, which has made the process much easier on my eyes. I think there may be a few more projects on black fabric in my future.

Are you taking part in any SALs this year? I mean, I don’t need another one but I but I’d still love to hear about them. (Do I need another one? Maybe…)

I also wanted to mention that I’ve moved from Instagram to Bluesky. You can find me at stitchinglotus.bsky.social.

5 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged ,

Craft Roulette #249

Posted on January 15, 2025 by Heather

Hello again, crafty friends! It’s going to take me a little while to get back into the habit of regular posts since it hasn’t been part of my routine for so long. But, I’m working on it! (I’ve also been a little under the weather, as per usual for me in the winter…)

Today I wanted to share one of my favourite new hobbies: card making! I started card making back in 2019, though I took a big pause for the disaster that was most of 2020. In early 2023 I discovered a funn (two n) YouTube game show called Craft Roulette, hosted by Mary Gunn. It’s “the ultimate paper crafting, card making, game show challenge”, where Mary spins a wheel to choose four creative parameters for making a card. She and a guest create their projects live, and viewers (nicknamed the Chatter Box) are invited to participate and submit their own cards to the Craft Roulette website.

A zoyfold greeting card featuring a green and grey haunted house on a background for green and grey.

Entry for Craft Roulette 249

This is the card I created for Episode 249. The parameters were:
Project – zoyfold card
Colours – elegant
Element – front door
Random – three circles

This is far from the best card I’ve ever made, but I really enjoy the challenge of ruminating on the required parameters and searching through my stash to see what I have that will work. For this challenge, I made a Halloween card using a stamp set from Scrapbook.com and paper from Michaels. I snuck in the three circles by using pearl embellishments.

I know needleworkers aren’t always keen on looking at papercrafts, but I do promise to share lots cross stitch soon. I love to keep busy making things, and I also have a large backlog of things to share.

2 Comments | Posted in Card Making | Tagged ,

Happy 2025!

Posted on January 1, 2025 by Heather

Hello, my stitchy friends. Happy New Year! And may 2025 be full of good health, happiness, and peace for all of you.

Happy New Year

It has been far too long, and there is just too much to catch you up on. The short and sweet version is I’ve travelled; I’ve stitched, knitted, crochet, and sewed; I’ve done more card making and scrapbooking; I’ve built miniature room kits; I’ve worked on raising my son into a wonderful teenager; and I’ve worked on trying to better myself. But now I miss my blog and I miss all of you. I don’t know who is still around or who still reads blogs, but that is okay. I can pretend I’m still talking to all the wonderful people I used to know.

A cross stitched picture of antique Santa ornaments hanging on a feather tree, framed in a gold picture frame.

Antique Santa Tree (modified), designed by Dimensions

Let’s ease back into this blogging thing slow. Today I’d like to share my two most recent finishes. The first is a modified version of Antique Santa Tree from Dimensions, a design I have a very long history with. My first attempt to finish it was back during university, over twenty years ago. I had so many issues with the kit’s floss that I became completely frustrated and threw it all away. It meant to be a gift for my mom, and it weighed on my mind for all these years. A little while ago I came across another kit for the same design and I decided to make it my focus piece for 2024. I finished in November and framed it two days before Christmas. She was nearly in tears when she opened it. It was such a special moment.

A cross stitched and bead picture of a lighthouse in front of a sunset, frame in a blue picture frame.

Lighthouse, designed by Mill Hill

I stitched Lighthouse from Mill Hill for my dad for Christmas. I had completely forgotten that I had this kit, so I spent most of my stitching time in December working on it. Fathers (especially older ones) can sometimes be sparing with their words, but I could tell that he loved it.

That’s all for today, my stitchy friends! If you’d like to see more of what I’ve been doing, please check out my Instagram BlueSky account. I’d also love to reconnect with the stitchy blogging community, so please consider leaving a comment with a link to your blog or Instagram.

4 Comments | Posted in Crafts, Cross Stitch, My Life, Site News | Tagged , , , ,

A Fond Farewell to TW

Posted on August 2, 2023 by Heather

If you are fan of older cross stitch designers, you may have heard that Teresa Wentzler is deleting her current websites on August 14th. She has also said “certain of my designs will continue to be available at PatternsOnLine.com” and that she will still answer needlework questions via email. I feel so much sadness at this. Cross stitch is experiencing a new boom in interest, and to me Teresa Wentzler is one of the most talented cross stitch designers I’ve ever stitched. I know that she has some health challenges now, but it makes me sad that it will me more difficult for new stitchers to find her fabulous designs. But so it goes, and at least I have a complete collection of her designs to keep me happily stitching for years.

Teresa has created a new website just for her art. You can find it at TeresaWentzlerArt.com.

If you want to get any of her freebies, they are still on her website. You can also find the old removed dragon freebies hidden here: Tempest, Futurecast, Stretch, and Dragon Rampant.

And here is a slideshow of some of my older TW finishes. I’ve been so lacks about posting anything on this blog for so long that it will take me a while to sort through projects and pictures to update it.

 

5 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged ,