Tagged with Finishes

Halloween Stitching!

During the hottest days of summer all I can think about is the cool fall weather that is just around the corner. And with fall comes my favourite holiday–Halloween! (Of course, if you ask me in December, I’ll say my favourite holiday is Christmas, so…) I’ve been working on a ton of projects over the past few months, but these ones are my favourites.

Mill Hill Halloween Stitching!

First up is the two Mill Hill lanterns. They are from this year’s fall line. They are meant to be finished into magnets, but I haven’t decided yet if I will do that or use them as ornaments for my Halloween tree.

Moonstruck Manor Ornament and Taboo Kitty Ornament

Moonstruck Manor Ornament and Taboo Kitty Ornament

When I first bought them I thought they were the same shape, so I had planned to place them back to back. But, unfortunately, they are a little bit different from each other. That’s okay though! They are very cute, and I hope Mill Hill releases more lanterns for next fall’s lineup.

Tangled Web, designed by Mill Hill

The large piece is Tangled Web, a Buttons & Beads kit from back in 2012. It has been in my stash for a while, and as much as I don’t like spiders, I felt I needed to stitch it up this year. I’ve framed it in one of Mill Hill’s wooden frames, which is the perfect size and perfect colour for this piece.

What are you stitching now? Are you already getting ready for Halloween? How do you feel about spiders? Am I crazy for stitching one? 😉

Next up–another Halloween project and a small surprise from a previous sponsor.

Yarn Review: Lion Brand Go For Faux

As some of you know, I am a non-wooly knitter–I am very allergic to all kinds of animal fibres. I’m always on the lookout for cool new non-wooly yarns. So, when Yarn Canada reached out to me and asked if I wanted to review Lion Brand’s new Go For Faux yarn I jumped at the chance. A fur-like yarn that is completely animal free? Yes, please!

Go For Faux is Weight 6 (Super Bulky) faux fur yarn from Lion Brand. It comes in array of animal-like colours and pastels, and it knits and crochets beautiful. Both projects I made turned out super squishy. I almost can’t wait for the cold winter weather so I can wear them and be toasty warm. (Today is the hottest day of the year so far, so some winter weather would be super nice right now.)

Cheltenham Hat and Luxe and Lush Cowl

The yarn is 100% polyester, and it feels like the softest baby kitten belly fur that you’ve ever had the pleasure to rub. No, I’m totally serious. It is so soft.

Close-up of the underside of Go For Faux yarn

Go For Faux is a tape yarn with furry stands along one side of the tape. This construction (as opposed to being furry all the way around) makes it so much easier to knit and crochet with. (And, yep, your project will be furry on both sides! Don’t worry!) The yarn lies neatly on knitting needles, and it is easy to feel (yes, feel, not see) the stitches when crocheting. The finished product for both methods looks very similar, as you can see from the pictures below. I didn’t experience any shedding when either knitting or crocheting, although I understand some people say it has shed for them.

Close-up of crocheted Go For Faux yarn

The hat was knit using the Cheltenham Hat pattern from Lion Brand, and the cowl was crocheted using the Luxe and Lush Cowl pattern from Lion Brand. Both are in the colourway Grey Wolf.

Close-up of knit Go For Faux yarn

Go For Faux comes in eight different colours in 100g balls with 60m of yarn per ball. One ball is enough for a short cowl or a hat. The yarn is machine washable, so perfect for winter accessories.

I’ve still got one ball left to work with. I’m thinking of making some mittens with fabulous fur cuffs. What do you think? Does that sound like a good idea?

You can buy Go For Faux from Yarn Canada or your favourite yarn outlet.

Thanks again to Yarn Canada for sponsoring this post and providing me with the yarn.

Disclaimer: Yarn Canada provided me with the yarn for this review. All of the opinions in this review are completely my own.


 

I’m back! So much more to come!

Hello, stitchy friends! Yes, I am back. I know it has been a super long break. I had plans. So many plans. I was going to do a website renovation, I was going to photograph some tutorials, I was going to do so much. And, well, none of that happened. Instead, I got busy with life, went on vacation to Hong Kong (an absolutely amazing place that I can’t wait to go back to), and did a whole lot of crafting. I have tons of things to share, so look for lots of posts over the next little while.

I’m going to start things off slow with a little finish. This morning I finally attached the Mill Hill Treasures to my version of Portrait of Antique Vines, the chart from the Mirabila 25th Anniversary Celebration booklet.

Portrait of Antique Vines, designed by Mirabilia (Nora Corbett)

Yes, changed things up a lot! I had this beautiful piece of one-of-a-kind hand-dyed fabric from Enchanting Lair and I really wanted to feature it. (Unfortunately, I couldn’t get it to photography well. It is a lovely blue-green mottled colour.) So, I stitched only the silhouette and the frame using DMC 310 (just as it was charted), and I left out all of the other stitching. The beads are some random (sadly, unlabelled) Delicas from my stash, and then I used the same Treasures called for in the instructions.

Portrait of Antique Vines, designed by Mirabilia (Nora Corbett)

I think the result is a lovely, classic portrait. Now I just need to be on the lookout for the perfect frame. Such a noble looking lady requires something special, don’t you think?

Follow me on Instagram! @stitchinglotus

Are you on Instagram? I’ve started posting again! Please follow me at @stitchinglotus. I’m not going to promise lovely staged pictures. Instead, I’m sharing what I’m working on, just like it looks in real life. Bad lighting and all.

Are you on Instagram too? Leave a comment with your @ and I’ll give you a follow!

Check back tomorrow for a review of a super squishy, very special yarn.

Finish: Candy Cane Santa Stocking

Hello again, Stitchy Friends! Given that I wasn’t around much last year, you’d be forgiven for thinking I didn’t do much stitching. And, truth be told, I did do less than in some past years. (Believe it or not, my most productive year was the year my son was born. He is a January baby, and I pretty much spent the year with a baby asleep on my lap while I stitched to keep myself busy.) I didn’t have many finishes to show you in 2018, but there was one big project that did get done that I didn’t share.

Candy Cane Santa Stocking, designed by Dimensions

Yes! I finished up my husband’s Christmas stocking well before Christmas. The final stitches were put in some time in the middle of November or so and it was sewn up into a stocking right at the start of December.

Five Christmas stockings, all from Dimensions.

That’s nine years to stitch five stockings. I took a bit of break after stitching my son’s, but once I got going and got more and more of them done I couldn’t wait to see them all hanging on our fireplace.

And here they are after Santa paid a visit. The only drawback of these stockings is that they are a little on the slim side, so Santa needs to leave a few extra gifts outside of the stocking. (Also, that is indeed a squeaky unicorn toy. Doesn’t every family need one?)

I haven’t quite decided what I will focus on next. There are a lot of medium-sized projects I should get done, and a whole bunch of smalls too. Who knows what 2019 will bring.

 

Smalls SAL – September 2018 Check-In

Oh dear… Somehow it is October already and I missed the Smalls SAL check-in day again. I am so very, very sorry. I have no excuses other than I just forgot. My project was done and waiting to be photographed, but I just kept forgetting to do it. Please accept my apologies.

So, as what is seeming to become the normal, the Smalls SAL is late again. My hope is to not let you down like this again–October’s project is being stitched already and I’ll take a picture ASAP and get the post scheduled. I really appreciate those of you who have stuck with me through all of the nonsense this year.

That said, it is time to get to this month’s smalls! Since Halloween is just around the corner, I figured it would be a good time to stitch another Halloween designs. (I mean, all year is a good time to me, but you know. 😉 )

Hazel Fun Mouse, designed by Just Nan

This month (last month) I stitched Hazel Fun Mouse, the newest Halloween mouse from Just Nan. She is stitched with DMC thread on 32 count Stone Grey Belfast linen. I finished her as per the included instructions, using the super cute witch hat included in the kit. I love these adorable little mice and I can’t wait to stitch a couple more this year for Christmas.

What did you stitch this month? Are you in an autumn sort of mood (pumpkin spice everything!) or maybe spring if you’re down under? Have you been stitching up a storm for Halloween? Or are you already at work on Christmas? I can’t wait to see! Please head down near the bottom of this post and leave a link to your finished small. And remember: for everything month you share a finished project you get one entry into the end of the year draw.

The link list will remain open to new entries until approximately midnight Eastern time on October 9th.

Next Month

The next Smalls SAL check-in will (absolutely, 100%) take place on Friday, October 26th.

Thank you again, so much, for taking part in the Smalls SAL and for your patience.

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