8/1/24

It's August at last! I have a love-hate relationship with August. I love that it's the last official month of summer. Kids are going back to school and I love seeing all the school supplies in the stores. But it's also the hottest month of the year, and I hate summer. I'm gonna be honest about this one. I'm not a big fan. I course, I framed it wonky. For some reason, things look straight when I frame them but later on, I realize they're crooked. The pattern itself is not the issue. It was easy to follow and I think it's a pretty image. The pattern was made by Perihaku. What I don't like is my framing job. I may see if I can find a slightly smaller one and try to re-frame it.

Coven Sweet Coven

SundownStitcher on Etsy has some really cute patterns. Go check them out!  Here is one framed up in true Jonesy fashion- Crooked AF. 

As Above, So Below

As above, so below. What does this mean? There are several interpretations of this, but the one I most resonnate with is whatever you do in the physical world will reflect itself in the spiritual realm. This one is from The Witchy Stitcher. I didn't have a piece of black aida big enough but I had this nice big piece of grey and I think it looks awesome. There is some kind of back stitch across it as well but I don't like backstitch and I thought it kind of took away from the piece, so I left it out. I really love this one, and I managed to get it framed somewhat straight!

Ghostly Cute

I recently finished these two cute ghost stitches from AlliePaigeEmbroidery!  I dyed both pieces of fabric myself!

Nae Numpties

Another Scottish phrase from sonofacrossstitch. 

Hysterectomy Stitches

On May 2nd, I had a hysterectomy. One of the best decisions of my life. The recovery is going well. I haven't been in a lot of pain. Here are a few pieces I did while I was on the mend! I got this one from a book called Enchanted Cross Stitch.

This one is from AlliePaigeEmbroidery on Etsy. I want to take this to my parents and hang it up in our old house. Those were the good old days.

I saw this one as a finished piece, so I copied it for myself. You can get mad about it or not, I'm not selling it to anyone and I'm not taking credit for the design.  Pattern by FilthyStitchbyKT on Etsy. 

Trouser Hams

Another surprise for my sweet husband! We are fans of many shows, and The IT Crowd is one of them. I think we've watched the series about 6 times. We like to put it on between longer shows when we are cooking or something. There is an episode where Roy gets a massage and something bizarre happens. He sues the masseur in the courtroom during the trial, and proclaims...

Allen now not only has a collage of Valentine's Day art from me, he has started a collage of cross stitches I have done in his office. It means a lot to me :)

We've had one, yes. What about second breakfast?

I love The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I read the books as a kid and in high school, and again as the movies came out. I dream of having a Hobbit-like home. I'm short and I have hairy toes. I love eating and relaxing and being generally comfortable without a lot of drama. I love to garden. I love staying at home. Therefore, I have concluded that I am, myself, a hobbit. I wish I had picked another color on which to do this one, and I am actually not super happy with the bright colors on it, because it should be more hobbit-y but oh well. I do like this piece and it's now hanging in my kitchen. I also love how, in the movie The Fellowship of the Ring, how Pippin smugly says to Aragorn, about breakfast,  "Yes, we've had one.  But what about SECOND breakfast?" I think he's my favorite hobbit.

Pattern by AlitonEmbroidery on Etsy.   

Black Aida Stitching

When I started doing cross stitch, I don't remember it being very difficult for me to stitch on black aida. I did a few pieces on black and then went on to white and other colors. When I went back to black, I was like "HOW DO PEOPLE DO THIS???" Well, it's easy- you have a light under you and strap a light onto your head, and you get with it. This is the first one I've done on black in AGES. I thought it was so cute and I love how the black really makes it pop. I'm from the forest, and I love foresty cottagey things, including acorns. Pattern by Mamawitchcrossstitch on Etsy.

Baba Yaga

Ever heard of Baba Yaga? She's a witch from Slavic folklore and she lives in the forest in a hut that stands and moves on chicken legs. She travels in a mortar with a pestle and sweeps away her tracks with a broom so you can't find her. She's a really cool character. I have hoarded a few Baba Yaga patterns and some are big and elaborate, and I will do them one day. However, I just wanted something quick to do, so I found this cute colorful Baba Yaga hut by StitchSprout.  I dyed the fabric myself.

Lots of Purple Going On

I usually take a break from stitching after Christmas. Sometimes it's a couple of months and sometimes it's half a year. This year, I started up again in April. Here are a couple I have done so far this year, and there is a lot of purple in them... I guess I'm in my purple era: TheSpicyStitcher on Etsy  I dyed the fabric myself.

This is a Moon tarot card pattern design by lagodargentoshop on Etsy but I didn't feel like doing the entire thing, so I just did the moon phases.

Diamond Painting Out of the Box

I got into diamond painting kind of in 2021.  I started a huge project and eventually abandoned it, but then I finished it in 2023.  I learned my limits, and I just don't have the attention span to do a massive project.  

A company called Paint Gem came across my feed, and I decided to check them out.  They sell sets of very small projects to, and the kits include everything you need- the canvas, the little pen you use to pick up each tiny gem, the sticky stuff for it, etc.  I decided to check them out.  

I got a Halloween set, a tattoo set, a witchy set, and a mystery set was free with I think the tattoo one.  I have finished SEVERAL, but really don't know what to do with them, so they are sitting in the little boxes they came in.  

Then I saw someone had mounted a smaller piece on fabric, as if it was a cross stitch piece.  I thought that was a great idea, so I thought I'd try it.  I think it looks pretty cute!  This is from the witchy set.  I think I'll go back and mount some more of these on fabric!  

The Witchy Stitcher Cryptid Stitch-Along: Hopkinsville Goblin

The Hopkins Goblins are a reported real-world alien species and cryptid.  The first sighting was in 1955 near the towns of Kelly and Hopkinsville, KY.  They were reported to be small humanoids with goblin-like appearances, hence the name given to them.  They are described as either grey or green in color and have many superhuman abilities such as levitation and rapid speed.  - The Witchy Stitcher, Cryptid Wiki, Aliens Fandom, Kentucky Alliance

My Favorite Murder

I listen to several true crime podcasts, and My Favorite Murder is a classic. They have such great quotes, and they make such great cross stitch pieces. This pattern is by heartbakerdesigns on Etsy. It's the only one I am posting today.  I was supposed to give this to a friend but that never happened and now they moved so I kept it. 

Perler Art for the Queen of Halloween

 My good friend Haylan is the queen of Halloween.  She knows everything about the holiday.  She used to work at a Haunted House and Halloween museum.  Her costumes are always Hollywood-quality.  Her house is always decorated for Halloween but not in a chintzy cheesy way... I love it! 

Her birthday was recently and she had a tea party in celebration and forbade anyone to buy her gifts.  Okay... so I made her a gift!  It's sort of like a wreath but not really... I dunno.  I found all of these cool perler bead patterns on Pinterest and made them with my mini beads!  I found a big round wooden thing and painted it, and glued these little guys on with E-600 craft glue.  

I thought it came out really cute and it was so fun to make all these little things!

Snark is Good for the Soul

WillowburyOriginals

There is a cute little book by Rob Temple with this title. I created this pattern. I think...

I found this online but it wasn't available as a pattern, only as a finished piece and I wanted to do it myself, so I copied it like the asshole I am.

VanCityStitchCo

Favorite Bitch No More...

I had a BFF for a long time.  We met working in the mall in 1998 and were friends up until 2022.  I don't want to say anything negative, but we had a falling out and are at different places in life.  I wish no ill upon her, and I really do miss her, but the relationship became toxic and I can't invite that back into my peaceful life anymore.  

I made this for her.  I made quite a few cross stitches for her, actually and I always wonder what happened to them... 

She was my favorite bitch to bitch about bitches with... :(

Tattoo Perlers

When I was trying to decide what kind of perler bead thing to make my friend for her birthday celebration, I briefly thought about doing some tattoo flash and posting it on a canvas to look like they do in the tattoo shops.  Then I realized... she's not really a tattoo girl.  She has some but she's not super into them, so that wasn't the best idea.  However, I thought it may be fun to do for myself! I purchased a tattoo cross stitch patten from Stitchrovia on Etsy and I did these from the mini beads.  I'm not sure what I'll do with them, but these are fun to do, so who cares?? 

2024!!

It's Feb already! And I haven't posted all year! Well, to kick off 2024's sporadic blogging, here are some older cross stitches I've done! 

Pattern by VanCityStitchCo and I used the DMC Charles Craft printed aida in the orange color they make.

I made this pattern! It's a popular Scottish saying.

This one is by Beast or God.  I dyed the aida myself.  You can't really see the color differences in this one very well, because the grey came out a little lighter than I had hoped, but that's not really a bad thing. 

And this is from Crybaby Cross Stitch on Etsy.

She stole by broccoli. Casserole recipe. 8 years ago &. Claimed it wa hers.

My sister introduced me to Lubalin, who takes random internet drama and turns into songs and it's hysterical. I was THRILLED to happen upon this cross stitch from one of his songs... Check the song out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWyOrbpGCpE&list=PL5kcMJeMq5L3cLvhALY22yR_ee67_Oj7e&index=2

 Pattern by CrossStitchWithArt.