Last weekend's stitching

I didn't get as much stitching done this past weekend as I had hoped too, but I did manage to finish one of my small projects, "By the Full Moon" by Tracy Horner of Ink Circles from the September/October 2010 issue of Just Cross Stitch. I stitched it on some hand-dyed Silkweaver fabric.



I also started another design from the same issue - "Perched on a Pumpkin" from Blue Ribbon Designs, also on some Silkweaver fabric.

Halloween Fairy Finished!

I can't believe how long I dragged out the completion of this design. I've decided that I really dislike doing lots of long stitches (the metallics of the webs and vines) and I think that's why it took me so long when I was so close to finishing. Now I need to wash and frame it, which will no doubt take another two years.

Yesterday I discovered something I don't think I had previously realized - going to a craft store without knowing exactly what you need is just as bad as going to the grocery store hungry. I ended up with several things that I probably didn't need, but I'm a sucker for kitty cat Christmas ornaments (especially when they are 50% off). And organizer tools (especially when they are 30% off). And several other things what were various percentages off. :)

I'm going to finish a couple of small things and then get started on my next big design - Sleepy Hollow by Glendon Place. As has happened a couple of times, I had a hand-dyed fabric that I wasn't sure what I was going to use it for, and then found the perfect design (the fabric is "Raging Storm" by Silkweaver)!

Small finish from last weekend

Last weekend I got the bug to start doing some final finishing on some of the smaller designs I've stitched, which mostly meant that I ended up looking through all the craft store sales fliers and then wandering the aisles looking for inspiration. The ornament below is the only one that I ended up finishing over the weekend, and it didn't come out as good as some other ornaments that I did a couple of years ago. I think part of the problem was the oval shape and that I didn't clip the bunched-up fabric enough so the two halves didn't stick together very well (thankfully I had really thick cording to fill the gap). I was proud of myself for finding something to make the oval shape though - I was originally looking for an oval stencil in the art supplies, but didn't have any luck (they just had circles and they were really expensive). So I wandered over to the wood crafts and found an oval cut-out (for painting and putting on furniture, picture frames, etc.) that was just the right size and only 29 cents. Score!



The design is from the Just Cross Stitch ornaments issue from a few years back. I've called it "Who Tree" because it makes me think of the trees in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". :)

I did more on the remaining metallics on Halloween Fairy (which I will hopefully finish this weekend) and I started on a small ornament from this year's JCS Halloween issue. I like to have a small design that I can stitch on while I'm sitting in bed watching TV later in the evening and don't want to mess with a big design (even though I have a great lap frame). More pics this weekend!

Halloween Fairy is almost done!

I took this photo earlier in the day yesterday while the light was still good (Tropical Storm Hermine was approaching with lots of clouds), so I've actually gotten even closer to finishing than when I took this photo. Apologies for the weird shadow on the left side.