Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop 2017

Graphic from Princess Sassy Pants & Co website

Today is 31st October... and it's Halloween..... 
As you know (or may not know), Jo (Serendipitous Stitching) is hosting her annual Hallowe'en Blog Hop!

This blog hop is no different to any of the others that Jo does - all you need to do is visit each of the participating blogs in order (full list is on Jo's blog), jot down the letter displayed, then return to Jo's blog post at the end of the blog hop and leave a comment telling Jo the mystery word/phrase.

Now for my part of the blog hop.....  I need to show you something that I have stitched for Halloween (either new or old) and leave you with my letter of the mystery phrase.  So here goes!

This year my only Halloween stitching has been on Halloween Happiness, so you probably don't want to see that one again! Here's something I prepared earlier!!

"Eek" Lizzie Kate - stitched in 2015

"Trick or Treat" Pickle Barrel Designs - stitched in 2016

and now for my letter....

Ok.... its all up to you now - write down the letter "N" and hop on over to the next stop.... and say hi to Tiff. 👀😃

That's it from me..... til next time...
Happy Spooky Stitching
Hugs xx

Finishes Update for October

Graphic from Princess Sassy Pants & Co blog/website

Well hello there.... I thought it was time I got myself organised and posted an update on some of my recent stitching especially as I have a mini finish, a unexpected finish and one big finish earlier than originally planned!! Yee hah!! Happy Dances all round...

Ok.. so I guess I'd best get started!

First up... I didn't end up doing a Smalls post last month as I didn't really have anything new to show - I showed my only "smalls" finish for my GG post earlier in the month - link is here to the September GG post.  Note... yesterday should have been my posting for October's GG post but I forgot to take the photo yesterday of what I bought and started for my birthday (love getting money for my birthday - more stash enhancement!)  I will take a photo tonight and post it tomorrow - I promise!!

So... what can I show you today....

Halloween Happiness (Sandra Cozzolino)
Fabric: 28ct plain purple fabric
Threads: all DMC
Started: 1 January 2017
Finished: 1 October 2017

Yep! You are reading correctly... I have finished "Halloween Happiness"!  I had planned to finish this on Halloween night (ie put the very last stitch in / attach pumpkin button on the 31st October) but I was so close at the end of September that I just had to keep stitching....

I still need to work out if I am going to frame it or finish it as a flat fold... but I am happy to say it's done!  I really enjoyed stitching this piece and love so many different elements of it - the witch is still my favourite character though!

My next finish for October was a design that I started for the Zodiac SAL that is being hosted by Jo (Serendipitous Stitching).  Again I missed that posting date... the Zodiac SAL will follow the same posting regime as the Alphabet Club - ie the first Saturday of the month.  But I can never get myself organised these days to get the laptop out and post on time...

This design is one that I have wanted to stitch for a very long time... A number of years ago the Peekaboo Pals Zodiac series was published in the World of Cross Stitching magazine and I collected them all and filed them away with the plan to one day stitch them!  Jo's Zodiac SAL is the perfect excuse to start them... 😁

Peekaboo Pals Zodiac - Libra / October (Deborah Flynn)
Started: 25 Sept 2017
Finished: 8 Oct 2017
Fabric: 32ct Belfast "Fairy Tale" Colour Cascade Fabrics
Threads: DMC
Chart: World of Cross Stitching magazine, issue 141

Timing is also perfect for starting with Libra as I am a Libran... so it was really great fun stitching this during the astrological month of Libra.

I have no idea how I will finish all of them but they are cute... I now need to start the next one so that I can have another finish before the next posting date rolls around!

12 Days of Christmas (Plum Street Samplers)
Fabric: 28ct Jobelan "Gold Digger" - Colour Cascade Fabrics
Threads: Jodyri Designs (Wuthering Heights, Sense & Sensibility, The Olde Curiousity Shoppe, Midnight Hour)

Ninth Day
Started: 2 January 2017
Finish: 15 October 2017

Another one bites the dust!  Day 9 is late... but is now finished!  Can't believe that there are only three more squares left to go with this one now!  I am going to a stitching retreat at the end of the month so plan to take this WIP with me in an attempt to try and get Day 10 finished!

That's all the finishes up to date for now... I have a couple of starts that I haven't shown you so I will try and come back over the next couple of days to update you on them.

Til next time, happy stitching
Hugs xx

WIPocalypse September 2017 Update

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi's Musings

WIPocalypse is run by Melissa over at Measi's Musings and is now in it's 6th year (amazing!).  The object of the WIPocalypse is to stitch on projects that you want to complete before the end of the world! 

At the beginning of January I picked out 17 WIPocalypse projects to work on in 2017.  The full list of my 17 projects can be found on my WIPocalypse 2017 page.

Well here we go again... late as usual for my update.... 😌

12 Days of Christmas (Plum Street Samplers)

Fabric: 28ct Jobelan "Gold Digger" - Colour Cascade Fabrics
Threads: Jodyri Designs (Wuthering Heights, Sense & Sensibility, The Olde Curiousity Shoppe, Midnight Hour)

Day 9 has been started but that's all... still have 7 ladies to stitch before month end!

Halloween Happiness (Sandra Cozzolino)

Fabric: 28ct plain purple fabric
Threads: all DMC

The spooky words have been started... I stitched on this last night and finished another word and started on the "Happy" but haven't taken a photo so that might have to be for next time otherwise this post will never get done!

Christmas Eve Couriers - Comet (Nora Corbett)

Fabric: 32ct Belfast "Arabian Nights" - Stitches and Spice
Threads: as charted

Last time you saw "Comet" was back in October 2016 and he was looking a bit sad then...

and now he still looks sad but there is some progress!  The ribbon is all done now as well as the white spots on his body.  I have started adding the Caron Waterlilies to the tree and then it's onto the border and scattered snow (or should I say beads!)

This month's question is:

Which floss (or color of floss) do you absolutely adore and want to stash constantly?
Goodness me how hard is that to answer....

I love the variegated threads from Jodyri Designs and have slowly been building up a collection of them.  I also love silks.... and have recently purchased a grab bag from Silks 4 U which I am looking forward to trying out.  I have some NPI silks that I bought for my Chatelaines and they are beautiful to stitch with but so expensive to buy!  Some of the other over-dyed threads are gorgeous as well but my collection of those so far is meagre and needs to be increased dramatically!

My favourite DMC colour is hard to pick... I love the hot pinks and bright purples but then I see the gorgeous soft pinks and greens that I am stitching Queen of Peace with and I love them....  I absolutely adore seeing orange and purple together which is probably why I am drawn to Halloween designs so much 😋

So that's it for this update! The next check in is on Sunday 29th October 2017. If you want to see what everyone else has posted for September drop into Measi's blog and check out the September link up page.

Til next time, happy stitching!

Hugs xx

Gifted Gorgeousness September 2017

Doesn't the 15th of each month roll around very quickly?  I very nearly didn't have anything to post for the month... but a quick finish has saved me!!  Although it has now taken me nearly 2 weeks to post my GG finish!!

HMS Ted (Free Gift - Cross Stitcher Magazine)
Designer: Debbie Cripps
Started: 26 August 2017
Finished: 15 September 2017

Not only did I finish the stitching... but seeing as he came with his own printed card I decided to put the card together as well.  He is now all already to send when I need a quick birthday card for a nephew (maybe!)

So that's it for today - I still have to come back and do my WIPocalypse post (overdue) and my Smalls post (due on Friday).  I will also try and do an update on my September stitching as I had another new start this month which I haven't showcased yet!

Til then, have a great stitchy week... and
Happy stitching

Jo from Serendipitous Stitching hosts the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL.  The GG SAL is about stitching charts/kits or using fabrics & threads that we have received as gifts, won in giveaways or anything that is intended be a gift or giveaway prize... or anything else that you can loosely use the word "gift" for!!  If you wish to sign up for this SAL, click on link here, or the button on my sidebar and you will be re-directed to Jo's blog.

The Red & Black

Another Saturday in September and another new start.... I think I have September Start-itis!

This week's start was "Eiffel Quaker" by Jardin Privé.  I have been wanting to start this one for ages... it has seriously been burning a hole in my stash pile!

Eiffel Quaker - Jardin Prive
123 Stitch image

So on Saturday I decided to start it... now originally my plan for this piece was all about Coco Chanel. I am a Chanel girl, perfume wise anyway (Coco is my perfume!!), so I thought that I could use a variation on a theme for the Eiffel Quaker. Subtle but glamorous!  I picked out the perfect fabric - Pink Champagne by Colour Cascade Fabrics - opal with pink and grey mottling...

web image

I was channeling the little Pink Coco Chanel suit for this one - so the plan was to use Jodyri Designs threads of the pink and grey/black variety especially the one called "Parisian Chic".

But... someone decided to put a spanner in the wheels of my plan!

Hubby came into the craft room while I was pulling the threads and getting ready to kit up and asked what I was doing... I showed him and he was like no.... wrong fabric, wrong threads! 😒

What the... NO.. right fabric, right threads!!

He then disappeared and come back with my V&A Marie Antoinette cushion and said Versailles!  So we got out the book we bought when we went to Versailles a couple of years ago and drooled over all the opulence of that most glorious place for some inspiration.... (note: I should add that we are both addicted to the TV series Versailles!)

Image from Chateau De Versailles website

Into the fabric stash I went... luckily I had a piece of antique ivory linen (32ct) that would work... then we started to do the thread picking.

Of course hubby then said "No, wait! I have a better idea!...what about using the Les Miserables song "Red & Black" as inspiration".  Yes, that could work!

Ok.... now for the purists amongst us the Eiffel Tower wasn't built til 1889 and Les Mis is set between 1815 & 1832... but there is a hint of romance throughout the Les Mis story and romance is synonymous with Paris and the Eiffel Tower! And, the Eiffel Tower was built to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the French Revolution... So we are drawing a slightly long bow with this one...

Anyway enough rabbit trails... on with the story...
So now we have gone from glamorous and chic, to opulence and over-indulgence and then to a story about poverty, romance and the French spirit!

I decided to keep the fabric the same - plain and simple background... but it was out with the floss box again - Jodyri Designs were put back into their box as they are too highly variegated for this new idea.... DMC black came out of the box... then I remembered that I had a WDW Liberty left over from stitching the L*K Paw Prints design.... bright red!

So the red and the black are sorted.... what next...
How about some blue for the third colour and some white for accents - blue, white and red to signify the French Tricolour flag maybe?

The WDW Sky is a nice light to medium blue variation - not too dark, and then B5200 for the white accents for some extra brightness.  I did think about a darker blue but I didn't want the blue and black to be too similar.

I am still thinking of adding a tiny bit of gold here and there for the opulence and glamour of Paris but that's a long way off yet!  For the time being my little bit of glamour is the pink glitzy poodle needle minder!  I do have an Eiffel Tower needle minder on another project which I will find and add to this one next time.... always good to try and be matchy matchy!! 😏

I managed to get a good start on the first motif over the weekend.

I am loving the look of this so far.... It is going to be hard to not pick this up again tonight and continue on with the first motif!  Maybe I might adjust my rotation slightly for this week so that I can finish that motif!

So that's 2 starts for September so far.... there are 3 more weekends to come and I have at least one more start planned so I may be back next Monday again!

I must remember to take some progress photo's of my other WIPs as well.... oh well... that's for another day!

Til next time. happy stitching!
Hugs xx