Sinister Craftiness

Scaredy Sheep scissor fob by Shepherd’s Bush
Vintage Country Mocha Belfast linen (32ct)
Stitched with DMC and Weeks Dye Works

A little late for Halloween but here it is.  Thing Two is a big fan of Shaun the Sheep so he has been very excited about this scissor fob.  I like the scissor fob too, but I really geeked out at the display & costume shop when I saw the little pumpkin from ‘Tis Halloween:  “It’s the BBD pumpkin!”  Nobody else in the family knew what I was talking about, except for Thing Two.  We understand each other.

Over the Top/In the Tin 2009 series:  Spooky by Just Nan
Peoria Purple Weeks Dye Works linen (30ct)
Stitched with DMC

Hooray; the Spooky fabric arrived!  As you can see, this tin is different from the others.  Instead of a separate stitching accessory, the tin lid becomes a witch hat.  It was easier to assemble than I thought it would be, and after stitching up so many Blackbird Designs and Shepherd’s Bush Halloween projects in soft, muted shades it was a fun change to work with such a bright palette.

The last tin, Glow, will be released in November, and that’s the end of the two-year set of tins.  Next year’s series will be a set of four humbugs; Hootzi the owl is this year’s preview.  I’ve enjoyed the tins, but it will also be fun to move on to a new type of finish.

Jack O’Lantern, Trick or Treat, Candy Corn
from ‘Tis Halloween by Blackbird Designs
18th Century Brown R&R linen (30ct)
Stitched with:
Crescent Colours, Gentle Art Sampler Threads, Weeks Dye Works

I was afraid these Halloween stockings would prove too distracting to stick to the month-by-month patterns, and I was right.  Also, it doesn’t help when a four year-old taskmaster studies the booklet, chooses his favorites, and picks out a new stocking to stitch as soon as one is finished.  No UFOs allowed on his watch!  I think I can stop at just three, though …

It wouldn’t be Halloween without a few stocking “ghosts”:

Halloween treat bag by Shepherd’s Bush
Desert Sand Cashel linen (28ct)
Stitched with DMC

Harvest scissor fob by Shepherd’s Bush
Tumbleweed Belfast linen (32ct)
Stitched with DMC, WDW

Halloween needle roll by Shepherd’s Bush
Tobacco Cashel linen (28ct)
Stitched with DMC

Still waiting for my JN linen to arrive, so I’ve been stitching up a basket of Halloween smalls in the meantime.  These three are from the stash I bought at Shepherd’s Bush in July.  So cute, and they stitch up quickly;  what’s not to like about Shepherd’s Bush?  As if these were not enough, they have some darling new designs just in from the St. Charles market.  Thing Two hopes we will soon add the Scaredy Sheep fob to our basket.  I’ve also been working through the Blackbird Designs booklet, ‘Tis Halloween.  I’m going to limit myself to just a few of those stockings; Thing Two has been choosing his favorite designs out of the booklet for me to stitch.

Here’s my little helper in action.  We bought the mini pumpkins from the grocery store, picked up fallen leaves around our yard, and he had fun putting everything in the basket.

Halloween by La-D-Da
Just Cross Stitch 2009 Halloween Ornament Issue (September/October)
Natural linen (30ct)
Stitched with Crescent Colours Belle Soie

This little pillow ornament was a quick stitch — so quick, in fact, that I did it twice.  Why?

My LNS doesn’t carry the Belle Soie or WDW linen called for on the chart, so I ordered the kit for this ornament.  When it arrived, I thought the chestnut colored linen was too dark for the silks; I can barely see the stitched pumpkin.  Here’s a photo of the stitched-but-unstuffed pillow ornament.  The linen looks a lot lighter in the photo; actually kind of nice, but even so, the pumpkin doesn’t stand out as well as I would like.  And the linen is much darker in real life, trust me. I also had a difficult time stitching on the dark linen, so I made a few mistakes, and then when it was finished, I just wasn’t crazy about how it looked.  Have you ever had that happen with a project?

As I said, this ornament stitches up fast, and I have a bunch of extra 30 count natural linen with no project on which to use it, so I decided it was worth trying again. (The linen was on sale at my LNS and for good reason; it’s very stiff and scratchy.  Not very fun to work with, but perfect for this re-do, as it has the right sort of rustic charm.)

This time, I’m much happier with how it turned out.  My local fabric shop had just set out their autumn/Halloween fabrics, and I bought a few fat quarters to experiment with this ornament and the Blackbird Designs Halloween stockings.

In other Halloween stitching news:  Trick or Treat?  My Just Nan Spooky tin autoship arrived, but the linen is missing!  I called the shop and learned that they had run out of WDW Peoria Purple.  It’s backordered and they’ll send it to me when they receive more.  Hopefully I’ll be able to stitch up the tin lid before Halloween.  Like all the other Just Nan tins, it looks so cute (Spooky is an especially unique design) and I’m eager to get started on it.

March of the Daffodils by Blackbird Designs
Spring’s Arrival:  Korty’s Special Blend R&R linen (30ct)
Quaker Fragments:  Linen WDW linen (30ct)
Wild Clover:  Linen WDW linen (30ct)
Backing fabric:
At Water’s Edge by Blackbird Designs for Moda Fabrics
Stitched with:
Crescent Colours, Gentle Art Sampler Threads, Weeks Dye Works

April Showers by Blackbird Designs
April Showers:  Old Mill Java R&R linen (30ct)
Oh Sweet Pea:  Korty’s Special Blend R&R linen (30ct)
Spring Wreath:  Old Mill Java R&R linen (30ct)
Backing fabric:
At Water’s Edge by Blackbird Designs for Moda Fabrics
Stitched with:
Crescent Colours, Gentle Art Sampler Threads, Weeks Dye Works

Two more months of stockings done!  I backed these springtime stockings with the pastels from At Waters Edge.  Between this set and the darker Madeira colors, the year of stockings should be covered.  My favorite of this set is the April Showers stocking:  the color palette is so delicate and pretty, I like tulips, and rain is a part of life here.  (In fact, it was raining while I took these pictures.)  I haven’t received the June and July stockings from my autoship program yet, so once I finish the May set, I can pretend I’m caught up.

As if there weren’t enough cute stockings this year, the soon-to-be-released Blackbird Designs book, Tis Halloween, features 13 stockings in addition to other Halloween projects.  Other Halloween goodies on their way in the mail include Just Nan’s newest Charm Garden pin, Pumpkin Jack, and the next tin in this year’s series, Spooky.  Not sure when the BBD book will show up; I think the Just Nan things are arriving in shops August 24 … but have forgotten where I saw that tidbit.