Belated Crafty Halloween Post

I was so busy finishing up some crafts, helping my kids prep for Halloween, and the usual ridiculous drudgery I never got a chance to show off what I made in October.

Those cheapo witch's hats you see in stores this time of year are too small to fit my giant head, so clearly the solution was to make one of my own:

The pattern is the Twisted Witch Hat by Stephanie Pokorny. I used two strands of black worsted weight yarn (I have GOT to stop picking patterns with multiple strands of black), and counted on both Stephanie's instructions to go up a hook size at a certain point and my own loose stitching to get the right circumference. And because of said loose stitching, I eliminated a few rows in the crown and brim (also, I ran out of yarn). The curl at the tip is maintained with 16-gauge floral wire. And to make it pretty (we need more beauty in the world) I crocheted some flowers, using the patterns here and here.

Earrings!

I've seen variations of the adorable floral ghost earrings for a couple of years now, so I finally made a pair for myself. The two skull pairs of earrings are part of my ongoing effort to create the perfect calaverita/sugar skull earrings. I'll get there someday.

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

This was a fun little project, although not quite done. The cross stitch design is Oddpothecary by Noctiflora Designs, from the Just Cross Stitch Halloween issue from 2024. I did redesign two of them, changing bat wing to wool and frog bones to toes to better fit the quotation from MacBeth.

Meanwhile, A Somerset Halloween featured a cute project from Patty Thurlby, using altered Altoid tins to hold fun little Halloween treats. The tins were supposed to be covered in gold leaf, but that was a fiasco -- neither my local craft store nor Michaels had real gold leaf, so I used a fake version from the latter. I then tried applying it with double-sided tape, tacky glue, and the glue recommended for gold foil, but each failed in a different way 🙄. I eventually painted the lids in black and the rest in a metallic copper. I backed the cross stitch with heavy-duty fusible interfacing and trimmed them (I should have made a template first), then glued them to the lids. I then glued a bit of yarn around the edges of the fabric. Maybe I'll add a second cord around the top. Or dimensional paint; that could be cute.

 

The insides of the tins are unaltered; I want to decoupage some spooky paper images, but my paper craft stuff is stored away at the moment. I shredded bits of yarn for the wool and found a package of eye cabochons for the eyes, but  I haven't yet come up with a thing to be the frog toes.

It's not quite the look I was envisioning, but overall I'm pleased.

Ain't that Just the Way

 Have you watched Over the Garden Wall? It's a wonderful series of cartoons telling the story of Wirt and Greg as they try to make their way through a scary forest. Gentle enough for all but the youngest kids, it's also witty and poignant enough to appeal to adults (it doesn't hurt that Wirt and Greg remind me of my youngest two sons). It's not just the story, though; the art and autumnal vibe are perfect. I liked the imagery so much I felt the need to memorialize it in thread and fabric.

I'm really proud of this. I used a mix of embroidery and wool and cotton applique I'm especially enamored of Enoch, the pumpkin guy at the top. For him I used long and short stitch which is normally too fussy for impatient me, but a messier, more impressionistic approach worked. The Beast (at the bottom center) was made with turkey stitch and was a total pain, but it was the best way to get the fringe effect. The glow of the Woodman's lantern is a mother of pearl disc bead; I bought a strand of them because I needed one to make a moon but they've turned up in other projects. Adelaide's stork scissors were intended for a cross stitch pattern I bought ages ago. I will need to hunt down another charm when I do stitch it, but that's Future Beadgirl's problem. 

Over the Garden Wall is brilliant, and that's a rock fact!

Spooky, but Make it Cute

 

Turns out, black felt is hard to photograph properly

 

This little bat was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest. The image linked to a long-gone etsy store so I can't give credit where credit is due, however.

I like the interplay of spooky images and pretty florals; I had hoped this October I could make something with Woolly Petal's Ghost Party pattern (using pink and orange scraps for the background), but alas, life intervened (as it so often does for me). Next year!

Trick or Treat Blog Hop 2023

 Welcome, and happy Halloween! I haven't been able to do as much blogging this year, but I always enjoy participating in Jo's blog hops. 

I did get a little stitching done. Rosewood Manor's Blackbirds on a Pumpkin, which I started a couple of years ago, finished up quickly (I only had two colors left to do):

I stitched two designs from XStitch the Rainbow's Autumn Garden collaboration, Ardith Design's Autumn Floral Urn:

and Bendy Stitchy Designs' Autumn Colors (my favorite):

But the stitching I'm most excited about is the first two of Wild Violet's Primitive Tarot trio:

 I think I might push myself to stitch the third before I get started on any Christmas ornaments. I guess I did more stitching than I realized!

In any event, you are all here for a letter:

(It's an I, and part of my ongoing alphabet series; in my head, the letter I is white.)

You're also here for the link to the next blog, which is Jeremiah's Mom. Happy hopping!

Trick or Treat Blog Hop

 Happy Halloween to those of you coming from Jo's blog! Your letter is:

It's been kind of a terrible year, so I have gotten very little stitching done. I decided to focus on an old pattern I started decades ago (while I was in law school, I think) but never finished -- Liz Turner Diehl's Cider House Garden. I didn't manage to finish it this year, either, but I made good progress, stitching the house, one of the maple trees, and six of the apple trees:

 

I think I might finally be able to finish it next year.

I also started Wild Violet's primitive tarot set, but didn't get very far:

I dyed the aida myself, using black tea with a little baking soda to (I hope) cut down the acidity.

On to the next blog: http://guavagems.blogspot.com/  Have fun!

Earrings, Earrings, Earrings!

 I've been on a jewelry kick again.

The pair on the left started out as just the large faceted bead; I got them long ago as a subtle earring to wear when the rest of my jewelry stands out, but they were too boring. I added a glass bead under each one, and then for fun added smaller faceted beads to the ear wires. Still subtle, by my standards.

The second pair have gorgeous crystal skulls, which I got from a Halloween kit by Candie Cooper. In keeping with both the autumnal palette and the Dia de Muertos theme, I added two different gold vermeil flower beads. I absolutely love them.

The last pair have czech skull beads from yet another Candie Cooper kit. I didn't intend to make more skull earrings (I have three pairs already, including the crystal ones above), but I couldn't resist the kooky details on those beads.

 

These took longer to make; I'd been meaning to try brick-stitching seed beads around a ring, and this seed bead mix (also from the Halloween kit) gave me the opportunity. As you can see, I need more practice, but I've got all sorts of ideas percolating now.

There are lots more fun beads from the kit, but as the needs of my family go up, my crafting time goes down, so I doubt I'll be able to make much more before Halloween.

Halloween Trick or Treat Blog Hop

 Boo! It's time for Jo's annual Halloween blog hop, and I'm here to give you the letter 

 

I didn't actually get a whole lot of cross stitching done this October (you can see what I finished in previous posts), because I decided to do the talented A.J. Pritchett's Stitchtober challenge on Instagram. I did mine as all one piece, with a fairy tale theme:

Some close-ups: 

"Summoning"

"Cursed"

"Astray"

"Overgrown" and "Concealed" (a twofer!)

"Lore"

"Influence"

"Creeping"

"Sorcery"

"Foresight"

"Brewing"

"Crowned"

"A Dark Power"

This was a fun exercise in creativity, and it was nice to do a little embroidery for a change.

On to the next stop! Which is An Arizona Stitcher. Happy Halloween!

13 Days of Halloween

 Is finally done!

That tiny one-over-one lettering took forever. I'm not crazy about those clay buttons popular for some projects, so I stitched all the motifs (with a few beads for good measure. One can never have enough beads). I also had to omit the surrounding lettering because a needle minder from a company that shall go nameless left a giant rust spot on the fabric. I tried all sorts of removers and home remedies, to no avail. Oh well, less stitching to do.

The design is by Praiseworthy Stitches, as you may recognize from the idiosyncratic lettering; I actually ended up modifying the As, Ns, and Rs to make them a bit more legible. 

Love it.

A Cross-Stitch Witch

 Third in the Prairie Schooler Halloween series:

 

I say "series," but really it's my own little series that I've created from the designs in the Just Cross Stitch Halloween issues; the first one (the owl) had a checkered border around it, so I added that to the subsequent designs and made some thread changes to match.

 Only, now that I see the three together, apparently I used the wrong orange for the witch. Aaaargh!

Primitive Pumpkin!

 

This little guy is from a design by the Primitive Hare, in the Just Cross Stitch 2016 Halloween special issue.  The entire design wasn't my style, but this face kept catching my eye, so finally I stitched him. And he fits perfectly in a 3-inch hoop!

More Squash Squad!

 Knuckehead Pumpkin:

Big Moon:

Mellow Yellow and Painted Purple:

Remote schooling sucks. That is all.

Trick or Treat Blog Hop

 It’s Halloween, so once again it’s time for Jo’s blog hop! 

I’ve got a few new finishes this year, including this little freebie design from the Caron Collection that I stitched more than two decades ago (gosh, I'm old) but only finished this year.

This is Miss Witch by Satsuma Street. I can't get enough of her designs, and I have to restrain myself from buying them all.

Persian Pumpkin is from Mill Hill, and will go well with my Crazy Pumpkin wall-hanging, based on Mill Hill's somewhat larger Paisley Pumpkin.

And finally, Downdraft by Turquoise Graphics and Design, from this year's Halloween special issue by Just Cross Stitch.

Now it's time for the letter you are all here for!

 

Head on over to The Alchemyst's Study to get the next letter, and have a happy (and healthy) Halloween!

Squash Squad II

 The next in Sue Spargo’s stitch-along. Blue Hubbard:

Queensland Blue:

Baby Boo:

Four more to go!

Spooky Skulls

 I've been more focused on stitching than beading lately, but I did pick up a couple of kits from Candie Cooper to make some seasonal jewelry.

A pendant:

This was super fun to make. The skull is quite heavy and needed a sizeable tassel, which I made from silk sari strips, copper chain, beads, and various copper charms, using the toggle part of a clasp to suspend it all under the skull. I love the colors in this kit -- fun but not so overtly Halloweenish that I can't wear it at other times.

Skull and key earrings:

These skulls have a more rustic look than my Day of the Dead earrings, which pairs nicely with the vintage-looking keys and bits of sparkle.

(The other pair of earrings were made with leftover beads from the pendant kit.)

Pumpkin Patch

 These were super easy to make; the base is a styrofoam ball, with a bit of the top and bottom cut off and a hole dug into the top. Then place on a fat quarter of fabric (I used recycled sari silk) and fold it up around the ball and shove the edges in the hole. I used small pins to keep the fabric in place for extra security. Glue on a pumpkin stem (painted, perhaps) and you're done! The idea came from one of those holiday decor mags, but I don't remember the name of the person who came up with it (sorry, Ma'am!).

 One I sent to my mom, and the other joined my Pumpkin Row:

 

Have I mentioned I love fall?