First I did get October from Hands on Designs A Year of Celebrations stitched...
32 ct linen I painted last year ... a scrap just big enough... used my choice of DMC threads... now to fully finish it.
And I started on the Little Bits of Halloween by The Drawn Thread...
not much of a start, but something... I found this linen in my stash too ... neon green and lemon yellow and tangerine... thought about added some splotches of purple but then decided to leave well enough alone. Notice last week I said I was leaning toward the square or the horizontal orientation and this is going to be the vertical one... yeah... decision making can be hard!! I decided on this one as it uses all of the little design bits and I thought it would be nice to have something vertical for my displays... now this chart is quite interesting... the square version is totally charted as one page ... then there are several other pages giving you several little design bits and cute cute cute frames and two alphabet arrangements of the word "Halloween"... you have to follow her instructions for how to get the arrangement for the vertical and horizontal pieces... they aren't charted out for you, but it doesn't appear difficult to figure out... now the little bits would made terrific ornaments if you do a Halloween tree... on 32 ct they finish a little less than 2.5" square...
However perusing this chart and starting to stitch the vertical one lead me to thinking about putting this on hold a minute and first stitching one of the alphabet arrangements of the word Halloween... it would be quick (well quicker than this vertical version) and it has hit me squarely between the eyes that Tuesday is already October 1... acckkk... where did September go??? I have a couple of Halloween pieces that are stitched but need to be fully finished and I want them done before I get out my other Halloween decorations... which I want to do this week... say Wednesday...so much to do!!!
And then I spent some time trying to decide whether I should go ahead with Halloween stuff or move on to Thanksgiving and Christmas... I have that November piece from Prairie Schooler and I only put a few stitches into it last week... and there is an adorable Prairie Schooler turkey ..its small... that I'd like to do and a little Pineberry Lane piece... and along with The Drawn Thread Little Bits of Christmas I found 2 new to me charts from Madame Chantilly that I'd love to do...
Advent Calendar...
Celebrate Christmas...
And I know that Brenda Gervais of With Thy Needle & Thread will have something new coming out... and while I have no clue what it looks like I will probably HAVE to HAVE it...
On the quilting front I did get all the blocks sewn for the Cherry Fizz quilt... although I think I'm going to call it Fresh Air Fizz, since that was the name of the fabric collection...
now I can see in this picture that I sewed one block together wrong... gotta fix that... and sew all the rows together ...and get a back... and send it off to be quilted...
As for the Christmas Quilty Stars I got nothing done... well, I did fold some of the fabric back up... but I haven't got anything more cut or sewn...and I formally committed myself to having this one done by the beginning of November so I can have it back by the end of November and on my bed for December.... and we aren't going to discuss the QAL for the Down Grapevine Lane's pattern Backyard Chicks... you can check it out here... I have the PERFECT background for this pattern...
this is by Lori Holt... its CHICKEN FEET!!! LOL... and I'm going to pair it with some of my American Jane fabrics...
it will be cute cute cute... there are chicks on orange and red in this pull... and yes that is a rubber chicken purse... I've had it for years... I even carried it for a while... don't judge me... its not the kind of crazy you can be commited for... at the moment... at least that's what my lawyer son tells me.... LOL
I did have a semi busy week last week... I babysat on Tuesday for my grandson...the cutest baby in the whole wide world... and went to dinner and the theater Tuesday night... saw the play Come From Away... if you get a chance to see it, do it... it is set in Gander, Newfoundland on Sept. 11 and the days after that horrible tragedy... it is based on true events... you will laugh and you will cry... one act, no intermission... really really good!! And I had a play day with my friend's 3 daughters who are crafty... I helped one frame a cross stitch piece, helped another get 3 stitched pieces sewn up to be little pillows and helped another get the binding on a quilt... a very productive day for them... this week looks pretty open... but then I always think that... I'm babysitting on Tuesday and have dinner plans on Thursday and there is an appointment for my son on Thursday too... so if I buckle down and FOCUS maybe I can get something accomplished...
Which will have to occur in between moving the darn sprinklers... grrr... I know I complain
So I'll link up with Kathy Quilts today and then I have to go out and move the sprinklers... AGAIN...hope you and I both have a productive week -
happy stitching-
carol fun
I truly enjoy seeing all you are stitching on. I am awed at your painting the background fabric and have not yet tried it myself. You have such great vignettes of holiday stitcheries. I tend to do much more quilting projects. But I recently was gifted a few to do myself. Hmmm. Decisions...decisions. Will be curious to see if you get the the vertical layout.
ReplyDeleteYou do have my sympathy!! Your weather has been terrible. I look at Nashville and Birmingham everyday because my son and his family live between those two cities. It has been 95 plus most days! UG! We are very Fall like. In fact, almost winter today. There has been snow on the high peaks of the Olympic Mountains. Where is moderation in the weather? However, I much prefer the cold to the hot. Love the little stitched piece. I am having the same thoughts as you. Maybe I need to get started on Christmas as I have 2 gifts to make and one is not really small. Each year I stitch an ornament for little Hannah so I do need to get going. I hope you have a good week and Fall finally comes your way!
ReplyDeleteYou have some lovely cross stitch projects on the go or about to be on the go! I like your painted fabric background. What paint do you use I wonder? Not sure I'm brave enough to do that to my precious linen!
ReplyDeleteYour stitching is awesome. I always love seeing the lovely things you create. I hear ya with the sprinkler. We have managed to somehow keep ours alive, a light steady pulse, but by no means full of green. It's a sort of brown/green/tan sort of thing going on. Where exactly is Fall? Hope you have a great day. :)
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