Boy, do I have a lot to share with you today - October was not only a good month for my sewing, thanks to my retreat, but it was also a great stitching month! Let's jump right in.
I finished four projects this month and I am happy to share them. Two of the four have been underway for a while and it is nice to get them finished up. Let's start with the oldest one - Graveyard Goblins. I started this piece back in February and stitching on it a little here and there but without much dedicated stitching at any time. The threads in this one are a mix of DMC, Threadworx, and Kreinik. I am glad that I thought to stitch the tree in vertical rows instead of the normal horizontal rows that I do.
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| Graveyard Goblins by The Nutmeg Needle |
I think it makes it look much more tree-ish. The lower section of this one has rows of specialty stitches, most of which I hadn't stitched before. It was fun to learn them and try to perfect them! I really love those spider webs.
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| Specialty Stitches up close |
The top is finished off with a bat button. The pattern called for a few other buttons, but I didn't care for them and think the bat is just the nice complement. This piece is stitched on a mystery fabric that I picked up at a stitcher's sale - it is a 28 count Taupe and it was lovely to stitch on. I think this piece will look best framed, so I will keep my eye out for a pre-made frame or a sale on framing to get the right one for this.
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| The bat flying across the moon! |
My second oldest finish is Love Lives Here, a chart by Country Cottage Needleworks. I stitched this one with the called for Classic Colorworks threads on a 32 count Cream linen as a shop sample for my LNS. I will be headed to the stores soon to look for the perfect finishing piece for this - I am thinking it will be mounted on some fabric and then on a board, but we'll see what I find. I will need to get going on this one so that it can be displayed at the shop.
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| Love Lives Here by Country Cottage Needleworks |
Next up is Circle of Flowers, which was my birthday start back in August. I loved this simple floral pattern and really enjoyed stitching it - each flower was like a little finish. I stitching this one on 28 count Monaco with the called for DMC threads and plan to finish it in a fabric-wrapped hoop.
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| Circle of Flowers by AuryTM |
Last up for finishes is the the biggest but also the newest - I joined Jamie and Terri at Cornhusker State Stitchers for SAL (stitch-a-long) on this one in August and September. With my travel in September, I didn't keep up with their schedule, but I was glad to get back to this once I was home. I really like the look of this one on 28 count Havana by Colour and Cotton, my first time stitching on their linen (it won't be the last, I loved it!). I won this fabric in a giveaway and was glad to find a pattern to use it with. This one is also stitched with called-for DMC threads. I have plans to finish this one as a wall hanging, no rush to get to right away as Halloween has passed, but I hope to get it out and finished before next Halloween!
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| This Is Halloween by Primrose Cottage Stitches |
In addition to four stitching finishes, I fully finished two projects. The first one is for the Spooky Smalls Swap that I participated in with a small group of flosstubers. We all received the name of a person to stitch for and a few things they like for fall/Halloween. I decided to stitch the new Heart in Hand Pocket Crow for Kea Bee, the recipient of my piece. I stitched it on an 18 count over 2 with DMC Perle Cotton and it was really fun to use a different linen and a different thread. The legs and tail were stitched with a piece of wool thread I had in my stash from some project long ago (no memory of why I have it, but it worked great here). I finished it as a round ornament and used a wooden disc to wrap it around, then finished it with felt on the back and a label, cording to match the stitching, and a bright orange ribbon. It arrived safely to Kea in early October and I hope she enjoyed it all month!
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| Pocket Crow made for Kea |
In the same swap, I received the neatest pillow from Evelyn. She stitched this from one of the Just Cross Stitch Halloween issues on a lovely green linen (it really didn't photograph well). I just love the group of black cats and the pillow is a great fit in my fall/Halloween basket.
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| Broomstick Brigade made by Evelyn for me |
My last FFO for the month was made as a result of the fabric challenge that my group hosts at our fall quilt retreat. I showed a picture of all the projects in my last post, but here's a closeup of mine. I used the challenge fabric behind the stitching. This piece is Happy Halloween by Silver Creek Samplers. My pattern came from a magazine years ago, but I think this is available as a pattern now. It is stitched with called for colors (I think mostly Weeks Dye Works if I remember correctly) and I have no idea what linen it is stitched on, because it was stitched in 2018, before I thought to record that type of information! I looked back and found the post where I finished it and said I would look for a nice black frame for it - I don't think I knew many different options at the time, but love what I've wound up with - it is mounted on mat board, layered on a second piece of mat board, and then mounted on foam core (to make it stand out a bit) in a metal cauldron. I picked up this piece at the Target Dollar Spot last year and it was perfect for this piece. I finished it off with just a big of trim between the two pieces of matboard - some Bean Sprout chenille. I am really pleased with the finish and enjoyed having it out over the month.
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| Happy Halloween by Silver Creek Samplers |
Last up for the month is my stash and stitching time reporting. I had a great month for both in October, fueled by less travel and my retreat.
Stitching Time - linking up with Kate at Life in Pieces - 28/31 days with at least 15 minutes of crafting for 90% success. 26 of those days included stitching, 11 included quilting, and 2 included crochet, as I started a new project in October (I will share that as I make some progress).
Stash Report - linking up with Donna at quiltpaintcreate -
Fabric used this month: 6 5/8 yards
Fabric added year to date: 11 7/8 yards
Fabric used year to date: 32 3/4 yards
Net fabric used: 20 7/8 yards
It's always hard to resist new fabric in a town with two quilt shops in walking distance, but I think I did pretty well - glad to use several yards on the tops I put together at retreat - and the backs will use some too when I get to them!
Overall, the month was quite nice. Fall is my favorite season and I always enjoy the cooler days, changing leaves, and crisp air at night. See you all again soon!
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Enjoy your November ♥