Come With Us Now on a Journey Through Time and Space!

Well, it's on!  We (I, actually) have started packing for our move!  I sort of like packing, and I sort of hate it.  I have also started organizing. So we have all these boxes in a storage shed, and in a bedroom here, and they are just numbered, and not really labeled, because we did a system where we had a list of what is in which box and the boxes had corresponding numbers.  So I am going through each box and listing what's in it, and putting where it's gonna go in the house, because we are hiring movers to put the boxes where they need to go.  I am kind of enjoying that bit.  

We don't have anything scheduled quite yet because we don't know when they will be done with all repairs but I'm figuring we will be moving between mid-September and mid-October.  That's a great time because it's hot as fuck here but it coincides with Autumn and they are actually going to be cooling down that time of year!  

I have still managed to get some stitching in!

We LOVE The Mighty Boosh!  I can't find many cross stitch patterns that I like, though.  There are tons of Old Gregg ones but they are super elaborate and I get bored with very stitch-heavy projects.  I did find this one by ShortAndLoudShop on Etsy.

This is a Stundew by Noctiflora Designs.  I have several of her patterns but this is the first one I've actually done.  I dyed this aida myself :)  I stitched it up pretty quickly and it's just the cutest!

We mustn't dwell... no, not today.

 I am Gen-X but sometimes I don't deserve my Gen-X card.  I never watched Empire Records in the 90s, mostly because I couldn't stand Liv Tyler (I've since come to terms with her) and I was too cool for "popular" movies.  

I guess it started garnering attention again about... 6-7 years ago because I kept seeing people saying "Happy Rex Manning Day" on April 8th.  I finally was like "WTF is this?" and people were downright SHOCKED I didn't know what they were talking about. 

Well, of course, it's from Empire Records.  So, I decided I needed to watch that movie and familiarize myself with this Rex Manning.  WHY did I wait so long?  That movie is the PERFECT amount of 90s cheesiness and nostalgia, and if anyone knows me, I am STUCK in the 90s and always wishing it was still the 90s, so I loved every second.  Liv Tyler wasn't even bad in the movie.  I loved it!  

I saw this pattern yesterday and purchased it, and while it's stitched up late, the spirit of the 90s, Rex Manning Day, and Empire Records is still strong!  The pattern is by Bitch Stitchery Crafts on Etsy.  

Tonight, Allen and I are going to Swartout Cemetery and then we will have to get everything together for the weekend. I’m sort of excited. I really wanna make Manicotti and I wanna make some oatmeal cookies next week too so I want to get some stuff at Whole Foods this weekend. We also want to go out for a date night. I want to go to Unicorniverse Sunday as well and then we will come home after our meeting with Adrienne. I thought for a split second about getting a room for another night and going to Value Day but I dunno...

The Rest of February's Stitches

I have been cross stitching like crazy, and also distracting myself with other things.  I've been hanging out with my parents a lot and then every damned weekend, we have been going back to Hutto (3 hours there and back driving) for something or another.  UGH.  I will be glad when we don't have to spend the weekends out there and can chill and have free weekends!

I love the show Ozark, and like most people, Ruthie Langmore is my favorite character.  She is so cute and fiesty and damn, the potty mouth on her... I love it because I also have a potty mouth.  I got this pattern on Etsy from Shirleysstitcheryco.  I like the weird designs on the top and bottom.  I stitched it on some horrible fabric that I will never buy again and I actually threw the rest away.  It's some aida from Amazon (probably a bad idea but in the middle of nowhere, there aren't a lot of options), and it's almost like a plastic canvas, but it's not.  It's horrible to stitch on. 

I memorialized my love for Judge Judy.  I have watched Judge Judy since she started in the 90s and now I watch her channel on Pluto all the time if I just need something in the background.  Judge Judy on demand... living on this timeline does have its teeny tiny privileges I guess.  Pattern partially by BusyNothingStitchery and by Me.  

I started a "Stitch a Day" project and I fully intend to do a tiny pattern every day.  We'll see how that goes.  This is my progress so far.  

So.. see ya in March!

That's What She Said

 Well!  It's been a minute but we are moved in and somewhat settled.  I think that it'll take a little while to get everything situated how we want.  But we already moved our great big TV in, of course we have our offices set up, and I have my craft stuff out, so we are set!

It's finally feeling like winter in Texas, and it's been so cozy stitching in front of the TV.  Here  is the first piece I've finished out here!  The pattern is by Jennyslittleartshop on Etsy.  

I have a feeling I will be getting A LOT of cross stitching done out here in the middle of the woods...

Happy New Year!

 I'm back at work after my holiday break.  Happy New Year!  

This year, we didn't really do much for New Year's, because we are packing our final things to move to Coldspring.  This decision has been extremely difficult for me.  I am deeply connected to our home in Hutto.  I have put so much magic and energy into this space and I feel very attached.  I have cried almost daily having to say goodbye, and honestly, sometimes I doubt our decision to do this.  But on the other hand, we feel like a move to a state that isn't so.... REPUBLICAN... is a good move.  I think we will be happy.  And we will also have seasons!  I am sick to death of wearing shorts in December!

Anyway, here are my final stitches of 2024!

I found this pattern ages ago, I think on the now defunct Feeling Stitchy blog.  My dear friend Haylan has a book of people's art she's collected over the years.  I did a horrible self-portrait in it almost 20 years ago, and she asked me to do another page, so I stitched this up and added it!!  She absolutely loved it.

I am a huge Smiths fan and the end of last year was rough for me.  I stitched this one up in hopes of good times... for a change.  I got this pattern from Follow the White Bunny.

I am a huge fan of The Office, and I really need more cross stitch pieces from that show.  

I love this one by ShirleyStitcheryCo.

And finally, this one.  I had no plans for it, and my friend Cristina asked me how much I'd sell it for.  Well, I normally wouldn't sell it and I'd have just sent it, but since we're moving... I gave her a good price and this is her picture of it after she got it. 

Here's to a happy and prosperous 2025!

Don't Let The Muggles Get You Down

 I am in a mood today... not a great one.  I am having a hard time dealing with everything going on in the country and I'm honestly a little scared about what's gonna happen.  Will we even have another election?  I'm afraid to say anything in case it puts me on a list or something... and I'm trying to stay positive and kind of just live my life the best that I can.  

So this helps... don't let those Muggles get you down!  I finished this one on Saturday.  

Pattern by ThatDarnNeedle on Etsy.  

Update date to our life upheaval- we have decided we will be moving to Colorado next year after we sell our house.  For now, we will be moving in to my parents' old house.  They moved into my grandparents' old house last year, so the house I grew up in is free and fully furnished.  So, they have graciously agreed to let us stay there, rent-free, for as long as we need.  I am beyond grateful for my parents.  They are sad that we are moving, but are supporting us as much as they can.  Luckily we work remotely so we will still be employed, and we are going to pay some bills, but as the house is paid off completely, there will be no rent due.

I'm actually really excited in a way, because I LOVE spending time with my parents.  They are so much fun.  So I'm looking forward to many tex-mex and karaoke nights, coffee by a fire outside every morning, and just being back home for a while.  It's quiet, it's not crowded, and I'm looking forward to being a forest witch again for a while!  We are moving in late January.  

Anyway... thinking about all of that makes me really happy, so I think I will continue with it and... not let the Muggles get me down!

Stitches from the Past

I can't even think of any updates to make this interesting... So here are some newer pieces I've done. This is a Subsversive Cross Stitch piece I did for my BFF from high school. The day I gave it to her (Xmas 2023) was the last time I saw her. She disappears now and then and will resurface. I hope she resurfaces again, at least.

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 :)

Chopping Mall Stitch Along

There is a movie that was made in the 80s called Chopping Mall. It was about rogue security robots going wild in a mall and killing people. The Witchy Stitcher created a horror-themed stitch along and named it after the movie. And as always, I have only done a few of the patterns. But that's okay. Here they are! Til Death- Bride of Chucky- I know I posted this before but it really belongs here.  I dyed the aida for all of these myself!

Costume Shop- Leatherface and Michael Myers

Sleep Store- Freddie

Portlandia

I found this pattern on a site that I refer to as Iotacons. The artist makes pixel art of different people, and since I love Portlandia, I made it long ago, and then a friend of mine said she wanted me to make her one, so I just gave her this one. It's Fred and Carrie. I may have to make myself one now that I see this one!

Horror Whore

Horror movies have been a huge part of my life. I grew up watching horror movies, because my mom is a horror fanatic. I also read a lot of horror novels (most of them probably NOT being what I needed to be reading that age). I love talking about them, discovering them, sharing them, and especially watching them while I do craft stuff.

I have hoarded many horror themed patterns, but here are some of the ones I’ve actually done, and I’ll credit the designer where I can.

“Sometimes, Dead is Better”- Pet Sematary- StarKissedJade on Etsy

Freddie Krueger- A Nightmare on Elm Street (one of my favorite horror franchises)

Jason Voorhees- Friday the 13th- Pattern from Iotacons

May Zombies Destroy this House Last- JackTheStitcher on Etsy

We All Float Down Here- Stephen King’s IT- Found this one on Pinterest

I have many more, but I need to save them for another day.

To The World...

To say I am obsessed with Good Omens is an understatement... I had this pattern custom made aby PixelsInStitches on Etsy. This is from the first series and it captures the Angel Aziraphale with his flaming sword (that was "flaming like anything") and the Demon Crowley with the window handle to his 1928 Bentley, as they go to stop Armageddon (Spoiler, not sorry).

Anglophile

I’m a huge Anglophile. I love a lot of things about the UK. Their snacks, their accents, their sayings, their funny little ways.. and probably most of all, their TV.

Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge character has a special place in my heart. I think he’s so funny, so when I found this cross stitch pattern by 8bitNorthStitch, I knew I had to do it.

Another good British show that I could watch over and over again is Broadchurch. David Tenant is just… perfect, and so is Olivia Coleman. Oh, and Jodi Whittaker. I love them all, and that series was gut-wrenching and perfectly cast and acted. David Tenant plays Alec Hardy, a cranky asshole Scottish detective who obviously hates life. He has a few kind of funny lines, although the show is a crime drama and not a comedy, but one that stood out to me was “BLOODY TWITTAH!” Not because it’s funny, but because the way he said it was funny. I was making a cross stitch dude, I can't remember why, maybe I was trying to make Allen, but I realized  I’d accidentally made Alec Hardy.  I thought "Oh, this is happening!" and added “Bloody Twittah!” under it.  Also, since Twitter was purchased by a lunatic, and he renamed it, this one contains a bit of history too.

Finally, my two favorite alcoholic drug users- Pasty and Eddie from Absolutely Fabulous. I discovered this show in the mid-nineties, I think on Comedy Central. My idiot boyfriend at the time (who can't allow himself the most fleeting moment of joy, and good, because he's a miserable fuck anyway) told me it "glorifies drug use". If he had watched it, he would understand it was meant to make fun of rich, shallow drug users, and that it did not AT ALL glamorize or glorify drug and alcohol abuse. I still love it.

These are not all of my British TV cross stitch pieces, and I have a lot in the pipeline too...

More Snarky Gifts

I made this one for my friend Karen, who is kind of a Karen. I found the pattern and copied it and since I was broke at the time and I didn't sell it, I didn't see the harm. Maybe that makes me a piece of shit. Whatever, bitches.

I got this one from Etsy and made it for my Granny. She was sparkly, so I put it in a sparkly frame. She has since passed away, and my parents moved into my grandparents' old house, and my mom, who is not a cross stitch aesthetic kind of lady, has kept it in the kitchen, which means the world to me. Pattern by Andwabisabi.

I found the Bill and Ted pattern on Pinterest and then I created the quote from an alphabet pattern I have. I didn't get a picture of it before I gifted it, and I also didn't iron it (obviously!), and this is the only picture I have of it. I can't get another because the person I made it for and I are no longer friends. I made her a few pieces, and I often wonder if she threw them out when we "broke up"... I hope not but if so, I get it. I'd rather have had them back but... whatever, bitches.

This is a quote from 30 Rock and it's accurate AF.  This was a gift to myself.  Pattern by BananyaStand.

Standard Nerds!

We are huge fans of the show The IT Crowd.  I have cross stitch patterns for Roy, Jen and Moss but had to search far and wide for some to translate for Mr. Renholm and Richmond.  I found one and purchased it, and made this using mini beads!

Mr. Renholm, Roy, Jen, Moss, Richmond

Recent Perler Art

 Here are some more Perler bead pieces I have made over the past week.

Here is one I found on Pinterest.  I'd like to do a little cross stitch of this one too.

Here's the moon in mini beads.

Here is a lily pad I did from Plants V. Zombies. I did it with mini beads.

And here is one I did for Schrute Farms. Not sure what that discoloration is on the top there because it's not on the actual piece. IYKYK...

I don't have low self-esteem. I have low esteem for everyone else.

More Daria Love!  I made these using the mini beads and Mounted them in these frames.  I can't put glass in, because the beads are too thick, so let's hope they stay put!

Some Perler Art of Late

 Here are a few more Perler bead pieces I've done recently...

Misfits Logo

I made this as a coaster using mini beads.

This was gonna be a coaster but I used regular sized beads and it's huge.  It's the carpet from the Overlook Hotel from The Shining.  

More to come, trust me.  I can't stop making these!

The worst thing about prison was the Dementors

 I love The Office so much.  One of my favorite episodes is when the employees say that prison sounds better than work, so Michael decides to teach them a lesson.  They do a play on "Scared Straight", where an inmate comes and gives a speech about how horrible being locked up is.  It backfired...

Pattern by KnotsAndCrossesCraft

Simpson, Homer Simpson

 My sister is a massive Simpsons fan, and she has passed that love on to my nephew.  I really wanted to make him something cool, so I made this Homer Simpson bursting through the wall.  It didn't really take super long to make him it's a large piece and so ironing it was a little hard.  I'm not great at ironing big projects, and some of the beads didn't quite melt and I had to re-add them and ugh.

But I love how he came out.  I hope my nephew will like it...