A Ghost of Holidays Past

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Heather

I know Christmas is right around the corner, but I can’t help it when the spirit moves me to stitch something Halloween-ish. (Ha! A pun!)

Candy Corn Fun from Mill Hill

Candy Corn Fun from Mill Hill

This is from a Mill Hill kit called Candy Corn Fun. I believe the line was called Treasured Totes, and each kit came with a bag made out of thin corrugated paper. I thought that the finished product would be much more useful as an ornament for my Halloween tree. (I’ll be adding a green and black cord and backing it with orange fabric.) I do apologize for the poor quality picture. We get about 30 minutes of good sunlight a day, and if I miss it then my pictures look awful. I’m working on a solution to get me through the winter and spring.

I made a few minor changes, mostly not stitching the purple star that was in the centre of the ghost. I think it looked silly. I also put the pumpkin treasure in the bottom right corner rather than in the ghost’s right hand, which I think balances out the design a little better.

And speaking of ornaments: Are you interested in an ornament SAL in 2013? If so, stop by this post and let me know. You can stitch one ornament a month (or more!) for any holiday at all.

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Castle Sampler

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Heather

I thought I would share another one of the needlework pieces I have collected. My love of Teresa Wenzter’s designs is so well known that even my knitting friends know about it!

Teresa Wentzler’s Castle Sampler

That is a finished Castle Sampler that a very lovely lady sent to me. It was stitched by her mother. But, this lady was moving back to South America and wasn’t able to take a lot of things with her. She knew, though, that this piece would find a very loving home with me.

I just adore this moon!

I haven’t yet got it frame because I don’t have the wall space for it right now. And, I figured it would be easier to keep it safe if it wasn’t in a frame. I can’t wait for the day that I can put it on my wall! (I’d love to have a castle-y craft room one day. Full of my TW designs and other pieces like the Medieval Sampler from X’s and Oh’s.)

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Ornament of the Month Redux

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Heather

I’m sure you are all pretty aware that my attempt to stitch a small TW design every month didn’t work out so well. 2012 turned out to be a much busier year than I was expecting, and I flitted from project to project as the mood struck me.

Now, I will admit that it is pretty fun to go crazy and stitch whatever I’d like. And I did even manage to finish some really great designs, but overall I ended up with a whole lot of half-finish or just-started projects that are now driving me crazy!! (It looks like I started 15 new projects, including classes, that I haven’t finished.)

S0, 2013… what to do? I’ve already got a lot on the go, and lots of things I want to finish. There are things I know I need more of (Halloween ornaments for one), and things I don’t need at all (big pictures for my walls that no longer have any free space). And there are things I know I love to stitch (ornaments, dragons, Christmas-themed things). Well, taking that all under consideration, what could I do but decided to stitch a Christmas ornament a month, focusing on designs by Jennifer Aikman-Smith of Dragon Dreams. The best place to find a bunch of those is, of course, the Just Cross Stitch ornament issues.

In no particular order, the list of ornaments I plan to stitch are:

  1. O Holey Knight by Dragon Dreams (2000)
  2. Holiday Keepsake Bellpull by Dragon Dreams (1999)
  3. St. George’s Gift by Dragon Dreams (1998?)
  4. Not a Creature was Stirring by Dragon Dreams (2001)
  5. Never Too Big by Dragon Dreams (2004)
  6. Snowflake of Hope by Dragon Dreams (2011)
  7. Peace on Earth Dragon by Dragon Dreams (2003?)
  8. Paws Off by Dragon Dreams (2005)
  9. Spend Time Together by Dragon Dreams (2009)
  10. Joy Snowflake by Dragon Dreams (2012 Creativ Festival class)
  11. whatever 2013’s JCS Dragon Dreams ornament is!
  12. ??? Maybe something from the 2013 Creativ Festival?

And, of course, I’ll also try to work on all the 12 dragonlets Jennifer is planning to release before Christmas. The first three have been added to the Dragon Dreams Facebook page.

So, is anyone interested in joining me in a monthly ornament SAL? You don’t have to stitch the same ornaments, just one ornament (for any holiday) every month. Let me know in the comments, and if there is enough interest I’ll organize something! There may be prizes!

How about some inspiration? Here’s the Dragon Dreams ornament from the 2012 Just Cross Stitch ornament issue.

Year of the Dragon by Dragon Dreams

Year of the Dragon by Dragon Dreams

The fabric is some sort of natural linen, 32 count. I used HDF in Old Maid of the Forest for the dark green and Dragon Heart for the red. The light green is from a Dinky Dyes Oops Pack, and the gold is a PTB.

7 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch |

Nightmare Bib

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Heather

What do you stitch for a pregnant lady who loves Nightmare Before Christmas? This:

Jack Bib

The pattern is by Krissay20 and is available here on Deviant Art. It is stitched on a Charles Craft bib using black DMC. I’m going to wash it a few times just to make sure that the thread doesn’t run. Cross your fingers for me!

I’m also considering stitching up this chart of Jack on a onesie. And I might make this design of Zero and turn it into a birth sampler. What do you think?

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Our Little Tree

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Heather

I’ve been a bit slow in getting the Christmas decorations up. Before we left for our vacation at the end of November I did make sure to have all my Christmas cards written and about 90% of my Christmas shopping done. But, I felt that the middle of November was far too early to put up the Christmas tree.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas! But I love it because it is such a short, sweet time. If Christmas lasted two months or more, I think it wouldn’t feel as special. That is why I hate it when Christmas decorations show up in shops in September and when stores start playing Christmas music right after Halloween. The holidays are special because they are so fleeting. Just think how boring your birthday would be if you celebrated it for a whole month, or if New Year’s celebrations went on for a week!

Anyway, a week late but still before Christmas, the tree is finally up.

Little man and a Christmas tree.

The little man helped me out this year (and took breaks to play Minecraft). The tree looks a bit different every year, given that I have (without exaggeration) enough ornaments for at least three trees. Last year I used all of our Hallmark ornaments, my little Hello Kitty ornaments, and even some from Cars. This year, I dug out the Victorian-esque paper ornaments that I haven’t used in many years. And I was even brave enough to put on my favourite glass ornaments.

Our tree also has lots and lots on cross stitched ornaments, some stitched by me and some by stitchy friends. Here are a few of my favourites.

3D Castle Ornament from Dragon Dreams. Stitched by me in 2009.

A lovely green Santa that I received in an ornament exchange way back in 199 from “RS”. (Does anyone know who RS is?) And a burnt out bulb…

A snowman stitched by Erica of Erica’s Places.

Thanks for stopping by! I look forward to seeing your Christmas trees on your blog, too.

 

2 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch, My Life | Tagged ,

Weighty Issue

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Heather

What can you do with a piece you love but don’t know how to finish? How about a frame weight?

Bargello Basics as a frame weight.

That’s just what I did with Teresa Wentzler’s Bargello Basics. I sewed a border around the design to make it a wee bit larger (the finished size is about XXX), and the sewed on a back leaving an opening. I then made a plain broadcloth “pillow” for inside about the same size, and then filled that with two containers of BBs (just like these). I then stuck the broadcloth BB pillow inside the pillow, added a bit of normal stuffing to make it soft, and then I sewed it all up.

My TW frame weight in action.

The result is a heavy, yet flexible, frame weight featuring my favourite designer. I couldn’t be happier!

Another idea for a frame weight is to take a small stuffed animal, remove the stuffing from the body (leave it in the head and limbs), and then fill the body with either BBs or heavy, decorative pebbles. Sew up the seam again, and you have a little friend to help you keep your work still.

2 Comments | Posted in Crafts, Cross Stitch | Tagged , ,

Knitting on the Seas

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Heather

As I mentioned yesterday, I did manage to get a bit of knitting done while I was away.

Salto sock

This is the first of what I hope will be a pair of Salto Socks. They are from Spring 2008 edition of Knitty and were designed by Rebekkah Kerner. The yarn is Blue Mountain Fiber Arts Sock Candy in colourway Dusty Blue. It was a nice yarn to knit with, but my small 50g ball had two knots, which I feel is one knot too many for something being sold as first quality.

Top view!

The pattern itself is great, but produces a really long sock. I left out one small repeat at the top, and still ended up with a sock that goes nearly halfway up my leg. (Of course, I am pretty short…)

The other project I worked on (and also isn’t finished) was a Christmas gift, so I won’t be able to share it for a little while. 😉

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