Día de Muertos

 Much of my Día de Muertos handiwork was ruined last year by water and mold, so I made something new.

This was very loosely inspired by a project in Quilting Arts magazine from many years back, made using what I had on hand -- assorted milagros medals, cheap but all-wool flowers acquired from a big box store, two wool marigold flowers that I made for a craft fair booth, and, of course, lots of beads. All that's left to do is attach the panel to the backing with a blanket stitch (probably).

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

How did November Go by so Fast?

 I feel like I have nothing to show for it; my stitching has focused on two Christmas gifts, one of which I'm not entirely sure will be ready in time.

But I did do a little bit more. Like this sugar skull from Kiriki Press:

And these steampunk book charms that of course I had to turn into earrings:

It's Black Friday, and I'm out of black floss which I very much need for one of the gifts. But I don't know if I can bring myself to venture out into the rain and the crowds to get it. If only one could arrange for thread delivery like one can for pizza ...

Day of the Dead Necklace

All Saints Day and All Souls Day rushed by too quickly this year, but I did manage to make it to Mass, and I whipped up a charm necklace:

It started with a set of Tierra Cast Day of the Dead charms I had. Blueberry Cove Bead's DotD box had teal and marigold beads, which I picked up in a destash sale they held; I added a strand of purple beads. I had a collection of black glass beads with different colored lampwork flowers, so I used the orange, green, and purple ones. I also had tiny metal purple roses. A large painted skull bead, a smaller skull bead leftover from earrings I made a while back, and some ceramic bone-shaped beads I picked up who-knows-where completed the theme. While rooting around my stash, I found a Guatemalan worry doll all by his lonesome; his clothes matched the colors I was using, so I added him, too.

The necklace isn't quite done. I feel quite strongly that I need a yellow orange flower bead at either end of the charms, to more obviously represent marigolds. The marigold beads are round, though, and trying to weave them into a flower shape will look too clunky. I have glass flower beads that would be perfect, but they are just a bit too yellow. So I will wait for the perfect beads, and wear the necklace as is in the meantime.

Is it Even the Same Design Anymore?

I stitched a skull for All Souls Day and Dia de Muertos:

And here is the pattern I "followed":

Beware by Linda Medina, 2017 Just Cross Stitch Halloween

The first change came with the materials -- I didn't have pink fabric, so I chose teal, which meant tweaking the colors of the floss.  As I stitched the skull I added an extra row on the bottom for the jaw. Then I decided to emphasize the flowers at the top more, which eventually led to the lazy daisy and bullion stitches.  "Beware" no longer seemed like an appropriate caption, so I changed that. I liked the spiral, but that had to move.  I didn't forget about the little orange floral motif at the top, so those became Rhodes stitches in chartreuse.

I'm pleased with how it came out. Maybe if I ever get pink linen, I'll stitch the original (with no changes) for a companion piece.

All Souls

After the candy and fun of Halloween came Mass and prayers for the dead and still more crafting.  I set up a little altar on my mantle where I put various trinkets and icons, to which I added this skull:

It's a papier mache skull which I painted white, and onto which I glued beads, medals, floral doohickeys, and so on.

I had a pair of skull earrings I've worn for years, getting lots of compliments and even a few sales of duplicate pairs, but I finally lost one of them.

The lonely little guy

I found in my stash another identical skull (just one; wonder what happened to that guy's mate) and made a new pair for myself, with glass flower beads this time:

The floral motif is more obvious, but they are heavier, too.

I made white chocolate skulls for Beadboy2's class Halloween party:

Buying ready-made frosting flowers is so much easier than trying to decorate them myself with gels and icings!  I just used a dab of melted chocolate to attach them.  They were a big hit.

St. Gertrude's prayer for the souls in purgatory:

Eternal Father, I offer You the most Precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for all sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen. - See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/11/02/5-ways-to-pray-for-the-holy-souls-in-purgatory/#sthash.m7WWWxJF.dpuf

Eternal Father, I offer you the Most Precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for all sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

Eternal Father, I offer You the most Precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for all sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen. - See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/11/02/5-ways-to-pray-for-the-holy-souls-in-purgatory/#sthash.m7WWWxJF.dpuf

Eternal Father, I offer You the most Precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for all sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen. - See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/11/02/5-ways-to-pray-for-the-holy-souls-in-purgatory/#sthash.m7WWWxJF.dpuf

Eternal Father, I offer You the most Precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for all sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen. - See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/11/02/5-ways-to-pray-for-the-holy-souls-in-purgatory/#sthash.m7WWWxJF.dpuf

All Souls Day

It seemed appropriate to spend today putting in the last stitches of this:

While catching up on episodes of iZombie (soooo much better than the comic, by the way; Rose McIver in particular is brilliant, making a character that could be snarky and cynical instead be sad, thoughtful, and earnest).

Then I made soul cakes, the original treat for trick-or-treating:

These were delicious, not too sweet even with the powdered sugar.  The only change I would make to the recipe would be to add a little salt, to enhance the flavors.  Amusingly, I got the recipe from a Catholic blogger, but apparently it originates from a pagan site.

 I know far too many people who have died recently, including my dear, dear cousin.

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

El dia de los muertos

A monsterbubbles design, from Just Cross Stitch's 2010 Halloween issue:
I made a few changes, however. For one, it was to be stitched on metal mesh, but that process is so slow and painful I switched it to linen. I also made a thread color change, since I misplaced the original color, and while I was at it, I slightly re-designed the swirls on the chin. Once the cross stitching was done I appliqued it onto wool felt, and used a running stitch to attach it to a second piece of felt for stability.

Are you kidding me?

It's getting kind of laughable, the things that keep me from taking time for myself. Most recently it was TWO plumbing emergencies in TWO days, caused by my damn wiener kids first shoving toys down the tub's drain and next trying to flush a washcloth.

I did manage to stitch two more squares on the Stitching Along project, which at this point I should re-title "A Year in Stitches" (I wonder if I am the only one still working on it).

A jack-o'-lantern, for Halloween:
Stitched after a very tiring trick-or-treat outing, a stiff drink, and take-out. It is entirely in french knots, and I blended two shades of orange for the pumpkin and very dark gray and very dark brown for the features. The squished right eye makes him look like he is winking, and is probably the fault of that stiff drink.

A sugar skull for All Souls Day:
I was initially going to use the turquoise for some little design on the cheeks, but the background looked so empty I tried to make it fancy, kind of like stipple-quilting.

If I ever get to make anything ever again, I will make the last few squares I need for the advent calendar.

Another Commission

Yet another friend of mine saw the calaveras earrings I made for myself a few years ago:
and thought they'd be perfect for her brother's girlfriend. So I made these for her:
The picture's not great, but the earrings came out better than the first pair, in my opinion. I think I'll make another for the etsy store -- skulls are trendy right now.

Miscellaneous crafts

I've finally had some time to finish, or at least work on, crafts I started a while back.

For Halloween this year I decided to cover some fake pumpkins in glitter; an idea that is not at all common. I bought cheapo plastic pumpkins and painted them black, because I wanted to go for the black/charcoal/silvery look I saw in a Martha Stewart magazine. I then covered one with fine black glitter and one with silver. The black one came out pretty well (except for some smudges here and there):
It looks especially nice with the dried leaves and foliage. The silver pumpkin, on the other hand, did not come out so well:
The glitter dried splotchily, leaving some areas more silvery than others, partly I think because of the glue I used -- M.S.'s instructions said to use craft glue, which I found to be very thick. I think next time I'll use watered down glue or Modge Podge. In the mean time, I suppose I could reapply some glitter to even out the tone, but then the whole thing will end up looking like a disco pumpkin, which . . . not the look I was going for. I also may try to coat the pumpkins lightly with spray adhesive, to see if that prevents glitter shedding.

Right after Halloween is the Day of the Dead. Ever since my father died on All Souls Day I have been interested in the iconography of Day of the Dead (even though my father was Puerto Rican). Two years ago I made calaverita earrings:
Last year, inspired by Alicia Policia's felt skulls (one of which I bought) I decided to make a two-dimensional one myself. I finished the facial features, but then stalled on how to finish it until a few days ago:
The edge needed something, so after experimenting with colored lace I decided the rickrack worked best, especially as it is a marigold color, a flower often associated with Day of the Dead imagery. It then took me another half an hour to pick green perle cotton to hold the rickrack in place with french knots (sometimes I can be too picky about color). Once it is done, I will back it with another layer of felt. I'm also working on the brightly colored skeleton kits from Mill Hill.

Finally, inspired by my success with the Hungry Caterpillar quilt, I decided to get going on the Brown Bear quilt for Beadboy2. Behold the center of the top:
So much faster to put together than the odd pieces of the first one. I think I will add another border using the people fabric.

It feels good to work with my hands again.