Eek-stravaganza!!

Welcome to my 2nd annual Halloween party! Anybody who's followed me here in stitchy blog land knows I love Halloween 🎃👻

Grab some finger foods and let's celebrate!

Last year I had several Halloween FFOs, 8 of them. This year not so many. This was a weird year for stitching. I didn't have many spooky smalls to FFO!

Let's looks at them...

Here's Vintage Witch by The Little Stitcher on Etsy. She's an Italian designer...

She's on 32ct linen I believe, a mystery piece. I bought the frame from Hobby Lobby. I was going to paint the frame black but once I got her in there, I thought it looked nice. The design pops!

Next up is this pin pillow that I cannot remember who designed it!...

Or the name of it! It's on linen and I probably finished it a year or two ago. I tweaked the man's clothing to be a black dressing coat with tails and gray trousers. The pattern had him wearing what looked like a robe! That would not do! I added a black bat pin and a black button in the top left corner. They have reunited in the afterlife, aww❤️

Last but not least is Halloween...

From a JCS Halloween preview issue, she's a long one! Another finish that sat and sat and waited to be FFO'd. If you look closely, you'll see the orangey ric rac that I sewed in between in border and the top of the cotton fabric. That was horrifyingly stressful! I had forgotten how to sew ric rac onto a piece of fabric. I don't think there's any one way to do that though!😂 The backing fabric is the same as the front. 

There you have it! Just 3 FFOs but I'm happy just the same. If you'd like to know the details of which designer and which JCS issue those last 2 came from, let me know in comments 

I also had a spooky finish and that is Halloween Delivery by Plum Street Samplers...

Oops, looks like I forgot the small crow on on the back tire! I don't know how many times I posted a picture of this and forgetting that I needed to stitch the crow! Anyway! I used called for colors and a 36ct linen that I can't remember! The brain fog is alive and well! This is the 2nd stitching of this design, it's a favorite. I'll either frame it or turn it into a medium sized pillow.

I also have 2 WIPs that I worked on. It's Fall Frolic by the Scarlett House...

On 36ct Vintage Cedar Plank by Lakeside linen and called for floss except one, the white was supposed to be CCW Baby Chick. I didn't have it so I used DMC 3865. I almost made it because the end of the key is 3 or 4 stitches from the zigzag border. So much going on here. See the 4 stitch thingamajiggers strewn about, like that to the left of the moon? There were more! I'm leaving a few of those off. I marathon stitched this piece hoping to have another FFO for today but it'll be ready for next year🤞🏼🤞🏼

Onto a WIP that I picked up here and there....

Witch Hill by Ship's Manor. Last time I had the house and a few rows of the hill, may have had tops of a few gravestones. I'm now down to the pumpkin garden with all the oranges. 

That's it with stitching.

Onward with the party!

I have 2 poisonous plants growing in my yard. First one is Sacred Datura...

Isn't that pretty?! Blooms at night and then dies when the sun comes up. Perfect Halloween plant. Don't get too close though, the entire plant is poisonous. If you touch it anywhere, its toxins can be absorbed in to the skin. They are hallucinogenic and in larger doses, like eating it, can cause delirium, convulsions, and death. It's native to AZ and the Southwest. I read they will grow in the same spot, they really do, every year! I guess you can call them a perennial😳

The last BAD plant is the Silverleaf Nightshade...

A nasty weed, they grow in my yard every single summer. My yard man hates them because the stem is nearly as thick as a pencil. His weed wacker cord breaks everytime. Look at how pretty those flowers are! Ingesting the flowers or the seed pods (see bottom of plant for the pods, they are green) will cause gastrointestinal irritations and nervous system effects like trembling, labored breathing, and paralysis in both humans and livestock. It's also native to AZ and comes from the potato family!

How about some laughs? This one is my favorite!

🤣🤣🤣😂😂😆😆

And the party is over. Thanks for joining me! Please take some candy home with you. I have tonight off from work so I'm buying Chinese takeout later and watching an old Vincent Price horror movie and Hocus Pocus, both on DVD. We don't get trick or treaters on my street so it'll be peaceful and spooky!

Hope you get more treats than tricks!🎃

See you in November! Eek!

Long time no see

Hi all! It's been almost a month since the last time I posted. I'm stitching of course but pretty much only on 2 projects so that was all l had. Today I'm starting a new piece which I'll talk about below.

Truth be told, I've been a little under the weather. Although I live in AZ, I still get the seasonal blues. I'm also stressing on a few things. All I'm doing is stitching and not doing what I should. I mean, I go to work but on the weekends I get very lazy. 

I finally FFO'd a couple things yesterday after getting after myself! However, I can't show them because they're Halloween pieces. I have a few more to do before Halloween.

So let's take a look at my stitching:

Since the last post, I've only stitched on 2 projects- Disturbed Women and a new start after putting down Women. I think I showed the new on Instagram. Here's Disturbed Women with a few more stitches...

I need to finish the 2 borders and the rest of the words. This is kinda big and it's on 36ct! It'll be framed and hung near the door of my future craft room.

After looking at kitted (trying not to kit still!) projects, I started Halloween Delivery by PSS, the before picture....

and after...

This is the 2nd time I've stitched this and for some reason it feels and looks small! It's on 36ct🤷🏻‍♀️ I think I used a 30 or 32ct fabric for my 1st Halloween Delivery. As you can see, I've done a lot to it. I'm pretty sure I can finish this by Halloween. 

Buuut, I'm starting a new piece today, something I've also stitched once before! A couple weeks ago, my daughter was over to grab junk to haul to the dump. We were inside talking and she saw my FFO from the last post, the Santa's Ride cube. I left it on the shelving after I took its picture. She wants one!! Same colors, same final finish. So off I went to the PN&PM magazine's website to purchase a digital copy. I bought another piece of 36ct PTP Ale and 2 flosses I was missing at 123stitch. I still need more straight pins and a hard styrofoam form to use. I hope I can have it done by the last week of November. Here it is again...

I feel that when your kid asks for something stitched, you gotta drop everything to start it!

I'm lucky she likes my stitching❤️

Also happening soon is my Halloween party here on the blog. I FFO'd 2 Halloween finishes yesterday, can't show them, and have about 3 more to do. Two pieces, and 1 is the Vintage Witch I showed my last post, may get framed in black ornate oval frames. Off to Hobby Lobby to look for oval frames. I figure if I can't find them black, I'll paint or spray paint them black. I found 2 but after getting home, 1 is not going to work. The frame for the Vintage Witch works but needs painting....

While there, I walked through the needle arts section looking for mat board because I want to finish some things as flat ornaments. Look at what I found....

See the mat board and how curved it is? Big no for me. I was thinking if I cut down from the long side as it's pictured, I may avoid the curving opposed to cutting down from the shorter side after turning it a quarter turn. I didn't buy it.

Then I realized I needed foam board for the back of my laced pieces, my first time lacing, btw. I went to the framing section and found a big sheet but it was over $11! Not in my budget. Asked the clerk about smaller pieces and he says no. I'll figure something out. Got any tips, Carol? 😉

That is it for my stitching.

It's Jingle Ball ticket time this coming Friday! Anybody going? I am and I'll be taking Liz Mathews class for the snow globes. I also have to have the Stacy Nash Gingerbread House PDF that's being released at the Ball. I'm looking forward to that! 

What other things have I been doing?

We dealt with the remnants of Hurricane Priscilla. It began raining last Thursday and stopped early Saturday morning. The sun came out yesterday! It was a nice rain but some areas were flooded. I haven't heard of any losses or deaths though. And that's good.

I bribed my daughter again to go watch the last movie of Downton Abbey. They said to bring tissues and I'm glad I did. The ending parts will get you😂

So last post I ended it with an announcement. I am moving! Possibly around the beginning of November. Have I begun to pack? Nope! The procrastination is large and in charge! I'm moving 45 minutes away. I won't have to deal with scraping iced up windshields or sketchy driving on snowy roads. Where I'm going it gets almost as hot as Phoenix during the summer though. I'm worried about that. It hit 110 a couple times in July and August. I am welcoming the change. Probate on this house I'm in will have to wait. I need to sit down with the paralegal and have him walk me through the paperwork. Last October the probate was declined for various reasons and I have to do it all over again, ugh.

I think this is it! I'm parked in the library's lot typing this out using their free Wi-Fi. It's a good place. I'm starting Santa's Ride as soon as I get home.

It was good to visit with you all. Be sure to drop in on Halloween Day to see my Eek-stravaganza!

Stay safe and I'll see you soon😊