Halloween Ornaments Project, April 2024

I'd like to take a moment to say how much I enjoy these little projects. It's a nice break from larger projects like the ones I make in my stitch-a-long. These small ornaments that are highly portable and I can finish quickly are PERFECT. 

In March I made another little cross-stitched ornament taken from a pattern in an old Cross Stitcher Halloween issue: 

I stitched it on another bit of ice-dyed Aida from a couple of summers ago, and changed how I finished it. I also skipped the beads on the edge as I wanted a different look. I'm really happy with this one:

For my next project I'm going to start a series from this Prairie Schooler leaflet, Boo To You:

I plan to start with this friendly fella: 

I'll be back on May 13 to share my finished ornament and my next project pick.

Christmas Banners Stitch-a-Long, part 3

In this year when I'm going to try to go through my stash of vintage felt-and-sequin holiday kits, I'm THRILLED to announce that I have a finish! It's an unexpected happy dance!

Here's where I was last time:

And after a weekend where I didn't feel well so stayed in, I finished it!

Finishing this one gave me a little boost so I pulled the next kit at random out of the GIANT BOX OF STUFF in the basement: 

I should confess something here -- I already don't really like this design -- the beige color of the background doesn't seem very festive! It's also really big compared to the last piece, but has fewer sequins and more embroidery.  

But I settled in to do some of the applique -- which goes faster because in this project, all the sequins come LAST. This means the applique is much faster. So in a short period I attatched the bows and the "Christmas is Love" letters. And then -- and this I think was my favorite part -- I embroidered the pine boughs. Super duper satisfying!

For our next check-in on April 28 I hope to have the tree and Santa attached and be ready to start on the critters. 

The other stitchers in this stitch-a-long are always working on amazingly beautiful and diverse projects. Go check out their blogs and get inspired! Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, and Cindy.

Christmas Banners Stitch-a-Long, part 2

Hi everyone! I have been slowly working on my vintage felt-and-sequin Christmas banner. Here's where I was last time:

I didn't get as much done as I would have liked to, but I have both the mistletoe and the holly leaves attached: 

There are a lot of berries still to attach, then more gold trim and bells. I think that by the next check-in on April 7 I should have at least the berries done. Fingers crossed!

The other stitchers in this stitch-a-long are always working on amazingly beautiful and diverse projects. Go check out their blogs and get inspired! Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Helen, Mary Margaret, and Cindy.

Halloween Ornaments Project, March 2024

It's been another oddly busy month, but I did manage to make time to finish this month's ornament. 

In February I started work on another small cross-stitched ornament taken from a pattern in an old Cross Stitcher Halloween issue: 

I stitched it on another bit of ice-dyed Aida from a couple of summers ago, and used that for the back of the piece. Somehow I've done another terrible job of taking a picture, but I'm still happy with how the eye turned out: 

This month, to "finish up" the old ornament patters, I'm going to stitch this cute beaded cat ornament, again on some ice-dyed Aida. 

I'll be back on April 13 to share my finished ornament and my next project pick.

Christmas Banners Stitch-a-Long, part 1

Hi everyone! Last time I finished the stitching on my holly pillow and selected my new project: a vintage felt-and-sequin Christmas banner. Before I show my progress on the kit, I want to show off my finished pillow cover: 

apologies for the terrible photo!

I started on the first of the vintage Christmas kits this month. There's something I really love about building up the picture, layer upon layer, adding stitches and sequins and beads and layers of felt. Here's where I've gotten to so far: 

I've finished the central "ornament"; next up I will add the bow and start the holly and mistletoe wreath. There are a lot of tiny leaves to stitch and applique; this may take some time. Or maybe it will just move along!

The other stitchers in this stitch-a-long are always working on amazingly beautiful and diverse projects: Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Heidi, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Helen, Mary Margaret, and Cindy.

Halloween Ornaments Project, February 2024

I heard about a woman who celebrates a special holiday -- possibly called "My Bloody Valentine"?? -- halfway between Valentine's Day and Halloween.... but I can't find any info about it on t'Internet. Closest thing I discovered was a "Halfway to Halloween" idea that encourages you to eat Halloween candy. But me? I'm just making ornaments every month. 

In January I started work on a small cross-stitched ornament taken from a pattern in an old Cross Stitcher Halloween issue: 

I'm stitched it on some Aida I ice-dyed last summer, leaving the "white" area (behind the "Boo!") unstitched to take advantage of the pretty Aida. 

Forgive the terrible picture, but I feel I also didn't do a great job of finishing the piece. But I still like the stitching and I think it will look cute on my tree. 

For the next month, I'm going to work on a companion piece, from the same issue of Cross Stitcher Halloween:

I'll stitch it on the same ice-dyed Aida (which I'll use on the back). 

I'll be back on March 13 to share my finished ornament and my next project pick.

Christmas Holly Stitch-a-Long, part 11

Hi everyone! Last time I had managed to get a lot of stitching done over the 6 weeks between check-ins. I always stitch more in winter because I tend to be home more. 

Here's where I was last time: 

Well, we had planned to be away for a long weekend ... but the blizzard warning and very cold temperatures (4 degrees Fahrenheit, -15 degrees Celsius) meant that we stayed home and indoors. So it's time for a happy dance!

I plan to edge this with some gold ribbon and surround that with black velvet and make a cover for my other pillows. I started doing this for my friend Rebecca several years back -- making her Christmas covers for her existing cushions so she didn't have to store whole pillows. I have some other sewing projects coming up and, well, I don't have a permanent place for my sewing machine so I'll wait and bundle it with those. 

So what's next? While we were on a trip to the eastern part of Washington last year, we stopped into a big thrift store and I found a TREASURE TROVE of vintage kits. I managed not to buy them all, but I did buy more than any sane person would. (FIVE of them. FIVE!) Long-time readers of the blog will be familiar with some of the other felt-and-sequin banner kits I completed; this is my next one:

I don't know that I'll spend the whole year working on Christmas things, but I do enjoy them and think they're fun to display. So we'll see. 

The other stitchers in this stitch-a-long are always working on amazingly beautiful and diverse projects: Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Heidi, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Helen, Mary Margaret, and Cindy.

Christmas Holly Stitch-a-Long, part 10

Hi everyone! Happy new year! It's been six weeks since our last check in and I've managed to get a lot done.

Here's where I was last time: 

And here's where I am now: 

I'm working on filling in those juicy berries in the lower right, and there's a bit of filling in on those leaves, too. There's another leaf in the top right that I am saving until last because I'm pretty sure my count is off on that top edge... so I'll base the placement on the berries below for the right edge. I'm super pleased with all the work so far, but I don't think I'm pre-happy dancing quite yet. 

I'm writing this a few days ahead of time as we're planning to be away for the long MLK weekend -- camping in a cozy cabin. Of course, there's a blizzard warning between now and when we expect to leave, so perhaps I'll be home on the couch stitching instead!

Did you set a 2024 goal to craft more? Check out the amazing projects my fellow stitchers are working on and you're sure to be inspired: Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Heidi, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Helen, Mary Margaret, and Cindy.

Halloween Ornaments Project: January 2024

It's January -- is it too early to start thinking about Halloween? Of course not!

In December I made a simple ornament that still makes me smile. It looks pretty simple -- erm, allowing for the fact that I put it into a hoop that's just slightly too small...:

But (assuming you have exposed it to light for a while), turn off the lights and...

GLOW IN THE DARK SKELETON!!!  Seriously, how cute is that?

This month I'm going to make another ornament from a pattern in an old Cross Stitcher Halloween issue: 

I'm going to stitch it on some Aida I ice-dyed last summer. I might leave the "white" area (behind the "Boo!") unstitched to take advantage of the pretty Aida. I'm already itching for warmer weather so I can dye more fabric outside.

I'll be back on February 13 to share my finished ornament and my next project pick.

Halloween Ornaments Project: December 2023

This is the second installment of this year's Halloween Ornaments Project. I enjoyed my 13x13 project so much that I couldn't bear to stop making ornaments!

In November I made one of the "vintage" ornaments from a Bucilla felt-and-sequins kit. I had made two other ornaments previously, and I suspect I'll make the other three over the course of this year. This time I made the very cute pumpkin -- and because I didn't take my Halloween tree down until after Thanksgiving, was able to hang it up this year: 

This month I'm going to work on a cute, simple little ornament. I don't know if I still have the magazine it came from, but I do have a photocopy of the pattern: 

I'm excited about this one because he has a little secret... but I'll be back on January 13 to share the finished ornament. (And the secret surprise!)