Stitching Christmas

I love to make cross stitch gifts for Christmas.  I have a few friends who really appreciate them, and so they get these from me.  

I made this one for my friend Leslie.  She is amazing AND... she loves her margaritas.  So I thought this was appropriate.  It was really fun to stitch up.  I can't wait to give it to her!

Pattern by StephXStitch on Etsy.

I did this one for one of my witchy friends.  Stitches are a little wonky but... oh well.  Pattern by MiNiceStitch on Etsy.

This one is for my friend who is a huge Swiftie.  Pattern by mirrorballxstitches.

I made this one for my absolutely magical friend Donna.  Pattern is by CrybabyCrossStitch on Etsy.  I love the fabric- I dyed it myself!

This one's for another witchy friend.  Pattern is by The Embroidery Place AU. 

And as it's Thanksgiving and I finished my stitches at my parents' house, here is the charcuterie board I put together, and I don't even eat meat and cheese! I'm quite proud of this.  We had a LOVELY Thanksgiving.  Lots of food, my sister's BFF from high school was there, I got to see my silly nephew, and it was just nice to not think about everything that is stressing me out and making me sad.  I was too busy to be sad, with the stitching, cooking, eating, and hanging out with friends and family.  

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!

Busy busy!

 Hello!  

I have been kind of busy of late.  Doing what...?  I can't really tell you. It just seems like I have not had a lot of time to blog.  There are a lot of things going on that I don't want to get into because this is a craft blog and not a political or sadness blog.  

That being said, we are taking steps to move up north.  We have actually been doing that, but now it's more urgent.  We are getting estimates to fix both gates and our driveway, and then we will start taking things off of the walls and patching holes and then I guess we'll need to paint but we can do that after we move stuff.  We want to really spruce the place up so we can sell for a decent price.  Not that it's in bad shape, but under all this pretty stuff are a bunch of holes in the wall!

We plan to move to Coldspring until we are able to find a place up north, and that will give us the space to save money if we need to save for a new place (depending on what we can get for this place) and also pay off some debt.  I'm excited, a little nervous, and very sad.  It's like a house break-up and it's painful for me because we have worked so hard to make this home perfect.  But... sometimes things happen and you have to move on.  

I'm also a bit sad that I won't be decorating for Christmas.  We will be packing so there is really no point.  

ANYWAY so that is what we have been doing.   Cross stitching and embroidery bring me peace and happiness so I have been concentrating on that as much as I can.  I did this one, because I am feeling quite angry about things.  It's a pattern from VanCityStitchCo on Etsy that I've had for a while and it was time to do it. 

I have also decided I am no longer doing cross stitch by request for free.  So many people want me to do these and it takes time.  I LOVE doing them, but dang, I gotta get paid too!  So I have opened up commissions.  I doubt I'll get any (because when I open commissions around the holidays, I never get any but the rest of the time, I get people asking me to do stuff), but that's okay.  The option is there for people.  I will still do some for gifts for people, but no longer will I do requests for free.  

Anyway, I'm working on a great piece now, and hope to finish soon, and I'll post it.  I have started a list because I always think "I'm gonna do this one next" and get distracted and start another one and then before I know it, it's months or years before I do the one I had planned.  

The Witchy Stitcher Cryptid Stitch-Along: The Yeti

I think we all know what the Yeti is!  Also known as the Abominable Snowman, the Yeti is an Asian Bigfoot found in the Himalayas.  Inhabiting Nepal, Tibet, Russia and India, the Yeti is probably the closest living relative to Gigantopithecus, a prehistoric ape that lived in Asia 300,000 years ago.  The Yeti is said to be a muscular bipedal creature covered in white, grey, or reddish-brown  hair and weighs between 200 and 400 lbs.  Though shit is the most common form, reported Yetis have come in a variety of shapes.  They have been sighted in the Himalayas from the 6^th Century to the present.- The Witchy Stitcher, Cryptid Wiki, Live Science

I usually hate doing backstitching, because I don't think I'm very good at it, but I did a pretty good job on this one!

New Stitches

Hello there!  It's been a while since I have written.  I went on vacation to Savannah with my sister and Mom, and then had another week off, so I got a lot of stitching done.  Plus, there was Halloween merriment to be had!  I went to Randy's for Scary-oke and dressed as a bearded lady.  We had a blast!

Savannah exceeded my expectations.  We went on a ghost tour, a few cemeteries, a plantation, and we went to a museum of oddities that had weird taxidermy, freakshow stuff, an Anton LaVey room, a room of cult stuff, and there was a little Ed Gein and John Wayne Gacy tour/talk they did.  It was my favorite part.  We ate lots of good food and walked a TON.  We had brunch on a river boat.  I was TIRED when we got home but I had a blast and I'm so glad we got to spend that time together!  

Then I came home and just did a bunch of relaxing and I got a few embroidery and cross stitch pieces done.  And now I don't know what I want to do next.  I'm usually into holiday stitching but I think since it's still summer outside, I don't feel much like the holidays.  I think I will do the Witchy Stitcher Yeti from the Cryptid Stitch-A-Long tonight.  

I finished this cutie on Halloween!  I got the pattern years ago from Andrea Zuill/BadBird.  

Weekend in Coldspring

Happy Monday!  I have a short week this week since I will be going on vacation and then I have all of next week off!  I haven't decided if I'm going to take some embroidery to do with me on vacation or not... I may take at least one project.

  

Friday I'm in Love...

 ... with this Tara McPherson/Sublime Stitching collaboration!!  

I stitched this up back in 2009, I think (If you care to go back that far, you'll see it) and gave it away and decided I wanted to make one for myself when I saw that one, so I did!  

I did this one much larger than the first one and put it in a 10" hoop. I'm very happy with it.  

This weekend, we're going to my parents' house.  I have a half day today, and then we will get there kind of early.  Right now, I'm not in the best mood, and I'm tired and also a little mad at myself and embarrassed that I slept in and didn't get off my fat ass and go for my walk today.  I don't know why I didn't, I just didn't feel like it.  I've been in a really weird mood lately, like sad sometimes and just completely fed up other times.  Maybe the weekend in the woods will help make me feel better.  

Tomorrow there is a car show at Wolf Creek Park and I don't care about car shows but my sister wants to go and get a bunch of pics of us dressed up like pinups so I'm all for that.  

We were supposed to be doing a mini class reunion this weekend, with homecoming being tonight and all, but no one has mentioned anything else, even after a bunch of us have been questioning it, so I guess it's not happening.  But that's okay, more family time for us!

I have a couple more Sublime Stitching patterns I want to do and a Badbird jackolantern girl I have all ready to stitch up this weekend!  I just wish it would actually get cold again.  It's not gonna be hot, but it's still not fall weather here, which I think also may be part of my weird mood lately. I'm very disappointed that it's not autumn yet, and that we're gonna be in the 90s again next week, at the end of October.  That is unacceptable to me.  But I can't do anything about it, so I shouldn't be mad, but I can't help but be very disappointed.  

But anyway... what can ya do?  Sit in the house and stitch, I guess!  

Happy Tuesday

Hello there, and happy Tuesday!  

I am having a hard time deciding which embroidery piece to do next.  I printed some Christmas ones out for tiny ornaments but I will probably start working on those when I am off the week after next, since I have a whole week and a half off work. 

I started this one yesterday after work, and then Eric and Haylan came for a visit, so I finished on my lunch break today.  It's another of the Japanese embroidery patterns from that book I got years ago, and if you have seen older posts, you may recognize it as one I also put onto a onesie.

I can't remember if I mentioned this or not, but I had a huge amount of leftovers from when I stopped selling at Moxie.  That was not a good experience.  The lady who owned the shop had absolutely no idea what she was doing.  She didn't want to market or advertise, because she wanted it to be a "word- of mouth store that only the cool people know about", which is the one of the worst business models I can imagine.  I never made much money, and I don't do this for money but it sure would be cool to be able to make a little on the side whenever I want to do some pieces.  I have made more from commissions here and there than I ever did selling there, or even selling on Etsy.  Also, she didn't want us taking inventory (I found that very strange and I eventually insisted on doing my own because I didn't want people taking stuff from my booth and not paying).  That was a huge red flag.  

I ended that arrangement right before the store closed, and I can't really remember when that was.  Maybe 2010 or 2011?  It was kind of a relief, honestly.  I kept trying to sell on Etsy but wasn't very successful.  I think there was a lot of competition out there and since it's not my only source of income, I didn't do a lot of marketing or advertising either.  Also, someone stole my shop name and Etsy did nothing about it, and their fees got high and when I did sell something, I wasn't making much money in the end, and it was so much hassle for nothing so I eventually pulled everything off Etsy too.  I learned that making your hobby something you are obligated to do may not be the best idea.  

Anyway, the point of that long babbling bitch session is to say I had a bunch of embroidered pieces, onesies, and little t-shirts left over from Moxie and Etsy, and I had them in a pink milk crate thing that I think my friend Rebecca gave to me.  I remember distinctly having it in this house, but I have not been able to find it anywhere.  I am hoping I didn't have a moment of insanity and donate it all, but I am afraid I may have.  I would love to have some of those little ones back.  Oh well, I guess I'll just have to redo them.  I think I may work on a Tara McPherson/Sublime Stitching one next.  

Stitchy Weekend

Happy Monday!  I had a great weekend.  I spent the ENTIRE day on Saturday (except for lunch at Usta Kababgy with my cute lil hubby) drinking coffee, watching horror movies/true crime documentaries, and doing embroidery!  I also spent half of Sunday stitching, and the rest out with a friend.  

Here are the fruits of my labor.  

This one is a Cate Anevski illustration.  I did it a long time ago on a hot pad for a friend, and decided I need one for myself!

Pimp Stitch

 I used to LOVE the Pimp Stitch group back in the day.  They had a blog and featured embroidery designers, and also provided free (and some for sale) patterns that were just SO CUTE!! 

 

I’m taking you on a stroll with me… I was looking for my Kawaii Fruits embroidery pattern, because I discovered that I needed a password to access it.  I reached out to the shop owner and she no longer had the pattern or the password.  But I went down a rabbit hole that led me to my very old email address and there it was! 

I downloaded it to my computer and named it with the password as well because you can’t access it at all without the password.  I’m so happy to have it back!! Now if I could only get the goddamned printer to work…

Anyway, I was going through some of my old embroidery patterns that I have saved on my laptop, and I found one for a Holy Cupcake… by Pimp Stitch!  So I was like “OH RIGHT! I remember them!” I got so many free cute patterns from them back in the day when I first started embroidery in 2009.  Well, they have a Flickr page where people used to post their pictures. 

I haven’t been able to find another community like the ones back then.  Feeling Stitchy and Pimp Stitch were two of my favorite places to find patterns and inspiration.  The blogs are no longer active, sadly, but the archives are there!

And now I’ll leave you while I go down a rabbit hole of my own. 

R.I.P., Pimp Stitch.

Final Facebroidery (For Now)

 This is the last of the Facebroideries for now.  Green is my favorite color and I thought this piece of green fabric would be great for a green Facebroidery!

The Stick N Stitch is good for some things, but I think I may give it a rest for now and go back to tracing, and maybe just use Stick N Stitch for pieces with long straight lines or circles (you know, the things I can't trace worth a shit), because if I'm using a dark color over the lines, I can't really see how straight the stitches are.  Or maybe I can use it and just not do dark colors.  

Another issue is that I can't get the wrinkles out of the fabric after rinsing.  Anyway, I do think this one is pretty cute.   I chose to not fill in the eyes on this one. I like how they look a little hollow.  I also used some more etoile thread but as usual, the sparkles are not showing up in the photo.  It sure is pretty in real life, though!  

Recent Facebroideries

I have finished a few more Facebroideries, and I have one more to go and then I think I will have done most of the ones I really like. These will go in the giant collage that's in our bathroom.

I have really gotten the embroidery bug again, and I think it's due to reading over my old posts. I started that one in my early 30s and since I'm now in my late 40s so of course, I have grown in a lot of ways. I think back when I started this blog, I was trying to mimic other popular bloggers. Now, that's not at all important to me, and no one even reads this blog I'm sure, but I'm no longer doing it for others. I'm doing it for myself and if people happen upon it, that's great and if they don't, that's not a problem. Since embroidery and cross stitch are such a huge part of my life, I just like to have them to look back on, and to read what was going through my mind at the time I completed them. I have learned a lot since I started the blog. I try not to critique myself too harshly anymore, because who cares? It's something I do for fun. It's not a competition and I don't sell my pieces anymore. So what if there is a stitch out of place? I may, now and then, say something like "Oh the stitches are wonky" etc but... sometimes I may not! I try not to critique, I said. 

I feel like this one is just about perfect. I am happy about the colors I chose. This is the fabric I was talking about in my last entry, over which I probably narrowly avoided getting my ass kicked.

Stick N Stitch

I think I have talked about this before, but if you don't know, they make this stuff called Stick N Stitch. You can use your printer to make stick-on embroidery patterns, which eliminates having to trace them. It's a really cool thing. The only issue I have with it is that after I wash it off, some of my stitches are loose, as you can see in the picture below.  

The Witchy Stitcher Cryptid Stitch-Along: Jackalope

I finished this cutie from The Witchy Stitcher's Cryptid stitch-along. 

During the days of the Old West in Wyoming USA, when cowboys gathered by the campfires singing at night, Jackalopes (or Frankenstein Rabbits) could often be heard mimicking their voices.  It is said that they may be caught by putting a flask of whiskey out at night.  The Jackalope is described as a jackrabbit with antelope/pronghorn horns or deer antlers and sometimes a pheasant’s tail.  Scientists suspect that people who saw these horned rabbits actually saw creatures that were affected by a papilloma virus that causes horn-like bumps to grow from their heads.  – The Witchy Stitcher, Cryptid Wiki, All That’s Interesting

I found these great 4x6 frames at Hobby Lobby that fit these perfectly and I have been using them to frame each one of these. The only thing is that they are not meant to hang on the wall so when I hang them, they sometimes fall a little crooked. I may have to just glue hangers on these to hang them. There is a cute song about the Jackalope by Shonen Knife I wanted to post but I can't get the link to show up... if you wanna listen, just look up "Jackalope" by Shonen Knife. It's worth it. G'bye!

Weekend Stitches

Friday night, I stitched up two more ornaments from Wild Olive. I traced these, again, so the circles are wonky and I may actually do another one of each, because I can print it on Stick N Stitch and not have to worry about crappy lines and bad circles. On the little reindeer, I put teeny tiny white beads to look kind of like snowflakes and I like how they look!  

The C Word

I love "the C word"- Cunt, not the other one that kills people. I don't know why people are so offended by it. It's just another curse word. But it sure feels good to say it. I say it a lot. In Scotland, it's a term of endearment... kind of sometimes. Why do we hate it so much? ;) Of course, there are people who I will not say it in front of- children, my parents, old people, people who have told me specifically they find offense. But it's just a word... I dunno the big deal. I found this one online and copied it because I couldn't find the actual pattern to purchase.

Wild Olive Christmas Ornaments

 I have been working on my Christmas stitching and trying to get back into embroidery again, and I found these cute cute patterns from Wild Olive, so thought I'd give them a go.  I traced these rather than use Stick and Stitch so this is what I get. 

I'm not sure what I'll do with these because they're a little big to hang on a tree.  I'll figure something out!

I used some tiny beads for the snow on this one so it's extra special!  I may start adding beads on other ones for a little razzle dazzle.

Creepy Cute Stitches

In the spirit of the first day of October, I am posting creepy embroidery from back in the day. This one is from Wild Olive.  These are not really her style but I really love them!  I honestly don't remember when I did this one because I didn't take a pic of it for some reason until recently.  I remember doing it in the smaller apartment we lived in, in the Chevy Chase apartments in Austin, so I would estimate I did this one in 2010 or possibly 2011.  

The Witchy Stitcher Cryptid Stitch-Along: Frogman

 The Loveland Frogmen, also known as the Loveland Lizards, derive their name from the area they inhabit, which is Loveland, OH.  The amphibious anomalies have shocked and terrified kids, businessmen, farmers, and police officers.  Sightings began in 1955 and as recently as 2016.  They are bipedal frogs as made evident due to their leathery skin as well as their webbed hands and feet.  They have frog-like heads with wrinkly skin on tope of them.  They are reported to have the ability to use sticks like tools.  However, they also have another ability to use those sticks to emit sparks like a wand.  - The Witchy Stitcher, Cryptid Wiki, Charleston Terrors

Crybaby Cross Stitch

Sometimes I see a cross stitch piece that's only for sale in a kit or as a finished piece. I don't do the kits because I waste too much floss and stuff doing them, and I don't buy completed pieces because part of the joy of a cross stitch piece is knowing that I completed it myself. So I often find myself copying the piece and stitching it up for myself. I never sell them and I always give credit where credit is due. Sometimes I don't even post them. Crybaby crossstitch on Etsy has some great patterns. I think these are the first of hers I did. This one is a finished piece she is selling, but I wanted to stitch it up for myself. I was actually experimenting with marking the aida before doing the cross stitching and seeing if it would show through or not, so I grabbed a scrap piece of glittery aida and stitched it up. Then I decided well, I can't just leave it unfinished, but I couldn't find a hoop or frame that fit it, so I made a frame from Perler beads.

I purchased this pattern from Crybaby Cross stitch. I have several in queue to work on. I love the fabric. I purchased it at Needlewerkes in Copperas Cove years ago, but it was a smaller piece and I while I loved the color, it was kind of pricey and I was saving it for the perfect project. This was it.

More Spookies!

Here are some pieces I did last year. I did this one for my friend Lynn. I worked really hard on it, and she still hasn't framed it, which annoys me, because I feel like it's just gonna sit somewhere and not get framed but oh well.  Pattern by Night Spirit Studio

Wheel of the Year

I normally don't have the focus to work on something that is (or that I consider) stitch heavy.  I get bored easily and then put it off and since my brain won't usually allow me to start on a project before I finish the current one, I get in a stitch stop.  This one was a bit different, because I could set very clear goals on where to start and stop.  

This is the Wheel of the Year.  It's the 8 Pagan holidays celebrated each year.  I decided I really wanted to do a Wheel of the Year piece, and this one by The Witchy Stitcher is just beautiful!  So I said I would start one sabbat/holiday and aim to finish it by the time that sabbat/holiday rolled around.  The only one I didn't finish before was Ostara, that purple rabbit, and I actually started and finished it ON Ostara, so it counts!  SO it was basically 8 mini projects, plus the pentagram in the middle.  It took me less than a year to finish, because I started on Samhain around mid-October and finished Lughnasadh, the last one, in August.  So I guess technically that is the one I didn't finish on time but whatever.  It's done, and I really love how it came out.  

Very demure...

I am not up to date on all the memes and quotes people talk about, because I have my mind on other stuff and I don't always catch them. There was something going around about "Very demure, very mindful" that I still don't understand, and everyone is saying it. "See how I did blah blah? Very demure, very mindful." "See how I didn't scream at you before I had my coffee? Very demure, very mindful." Some of them are kind of funny. Julie Jackson of Subversive Cross Stitch came through again, and created this pattern. I have never stitched an alphabet like this. I think it looks really cool!

More Cate Anevski Love

Y'all know how much I love Cate Anevski's art, and how much I love to embroider it, and then how much I love to gush about how cute it is. Here are some more of her illustrations I have embroidered in tha past. These are just illustrations I got from her blog ages ago. I thought they were so cute, and she didn't sell them as a pattern, but I stitched them up for myself.

Sanrio San-x Bead Sprites

 I have found myself in a rabbit hole on Pinterest for Perler Bead stuff.  I found this guy.  I don't know who he is, but he's awfully cute.  He's a Sanrio San-X character but I don't know his name.  I made him in 8 different colors just because. I can't remember when I did this, but I wanted to memorialize them in my craft blog anyway. 

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.

Live Laugh UGH.

Pattern by Perikahu on Etsy.  Fabric dyed by me.

Weekend Finishes

I finished two cool cross stitches this weekend! I used variegated floss for this one and I love how it came out! The pattern is by lagodargentoshop on Etsy and I dyed the fabric myself.  I like that little pink dot that somehow appeared during the dying process!

This one really spoke to me. I had a piece of green aida that was perfect for it! Pattern by BitchStitcheryCrafts.

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!