Stay Fucking Joyful

Things in our country are rough.  There is so much arguing and hate being slung around.  I have been really good about ignoring it and not watching the news, despite one of my friends who is constantly sending me links and inundating my messages with YouTube videos of people spouting opinions like they're facts and news.  "They're canceling elections!"  shit like that... makes it hard to protect one's peace and find the joy in everyday life.  

Julie Jackson over there at Subversive Cross Stitch releases patterns sometimes that feel like they are directed straight at me.  I know that's not the case- we don't know each other!  But I saw this one and found lots of joy stitching it up!

It can be hard to stay joyful, but we have to try.  xo

I started watching I Love the 90s, the VH1 series they made in the early 2000s. It’s okay. A lot of it is making fun of the 90s, or making jokes about stuff. They’re stupid jokes but also kind of funny. I really want to watch more of The Dark Side of the 90s, but that’s more for the weekends, I think, when we can binge a few episodes.

I’m kind of missing my Austin area peeps. It was nice to be able to hang out with witchy friends or just go to dinner with friends. Out here I don’t really have that. It’s not making me sad or anything, because I’m not a super social person, but it’s something I really do miss. When we have more Fridays free, I’ll probably go with my parents to Karaoke more often so that will let me get out more. There aren’t a lot of places for us to go that are vegan out here, so Allen and I don’t really go out much, and again, it’s okay, but I am missing having that to do now and then. Allen wants to dress up and go out soon but I don’t really know where we can go. Maybe we can do that on a Saturday night and find a place in Houston.  We shall see!

 

The Witchy Stitcher Cryptid Stitch-Along: The Kraken

 I finished another one from The Witchy Stitcher's Cryptid Stitch-along.  These little guys stitch up so fast!

I think most are familiar with The Kraken. My favorite rum is named after The Kraken…it is a colossal legendary sea monster said to dwell off the coasts of Norway and Greenland.  Sightings date back to the 12^th century.  Thought to be the scariest, most feared sea beast ever to inhabit our planet’s waters, the Kraken was said to be more than 100 feet long and weighed 4000 lbs. Tales of these creatures describe them as being giant cephalopods (like octopi) having giant tentacles that would envelope and capsize ships.  As the ships would sink to their demise, the beast was said to eat those on board or let them drown in the ship’s wake.  Studies by various sources deem it possible that the Kraken could have been early sightings of a colossal squid. - The Witchy Stitcher, Cryptid Wiki, The Conversation

How cute is this guy??

The painters have finished the house and it looks amazing! I had some great time off last week.  I went to Round Rock and stayed in a hotel for a few nights, and got some stuff done.  I got to hang out with friends and eat all the good food.  I ran the handfasting I wrote for Anja by her and John and got approval, and then grabbed Taco Bell and headed home!  It was nice to come back to my little husband.  I missed him!

Love Potion

I have had this pattern for a while.  It's by Haunted Frames.  I don't know why I was so intimidated by it, and then I started stitching it up and it's not really hard... I just kept messing it up.  I think the outline for some reason was tripping me up and I still think I may have messed it up.  The lighter pink thread that I have must be old or just not a very good quality (although it is DMC and I never have issues with their thread), because it kept snagging and fraying.  I finally finished this one, though.  It's on glittery aida, but I don't think it really picked up the sparkle in the picture.  

I bought this blue aida years ago and have barely used it.  I love the color but didn't really know what I wanted to use it for.  Then I was inspired.  I love this color combo.  The pattern is by CryBabyCrossStitch on Etsy.  I LOVE LOVE her patterns and have several in my dragon hoard of cross stitch patterns.

Right now, I don't have anywhere to put my finished pieces.  I thought about framing them all and putting them in some boxes.  I also thought about photographing them all.  Then I thought... I have all of these unfinished pieces I need to do something with and many of them will not fit into a frame.  Then it dawned on me... I need to get an art portfolio and that way I can put these in and they will be safe until I can frame them!  I just need to find one I like... 

Poop and Painting

Well, it's March.  This year has gone by kind of fast in spite of the horrors!  

We are finally all moved out and we cleaned the house and painted the first coat on the walls.  It looks HORRIBLE... so we thought maybe another coat of primer and then paint.  Allen put some more primer on, and then we went to paint over that... it still looks like shit.  UGH.  Frustrated, we decided to get an estimate on house painters and we are going forward with that.  One of us will have to be there to let them in, but that's okay.  I feel like we have already sunk so much money into this move, and we wasted time and paint and money but... what else are we gonna do??  So that really lifted some stress off of me and Allen.

So, I'm taking some time off next week after we get the painters scheduled.  I'll go to Hutto, spend some time with friends, and then let the painters in and lock up after they're gone.  Then I can do some other stuff out there that needs to be done and come home Saturday.  I'm looking forward to hotel time and time with friends!!

I am super proud of myself- I got all my health stuff scheduled today! Dentist later this month, mammogram in April on a day I already took off, and then doctor in June. I'm glad I got that all taken care of because I didn't want to keep putting it off and then eventually wait too late.

I have been pretty good about keeping up on my Stitch-A-Day project.  I did something to my wrist and it hurt to stitch for about a week and so I had to to some mad catching up.  

I made one of these long ago for the bathroom at our house in Hutto, but I really like this simpler design, so I stitched it up for the bathroom here in Coldspring.  When I leave, it shall be my gift to the house!  This pattern is from EmbroideryByZeze on Etsy.

We Will Serve The Lord of the Rings

 Monday Monday...

I started working on this a couple of weeks ago, I think, but my wrist started hurting randomly and it hurt to cross stitch anything so I had to take a break and let me tell you how I was Jonesin' for doing something crafty... so I did diamond painting for a little while.  It didn't bother my wrist as much.  

But I got back on it and finished this lovely this past weekend!  I can't wait to frame this and put it in our new house when we get one!  Pattern is from TinyCatPatterns on Etsy.

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!

Back in Perler Action

 My wrist started randomly hurting and it was bothering me too much to do cross stitching.  I was like... well what the fuck am I gonna do with my hands?? 

I did a little diamond painting, but kind of wanted to get back into Perler Beads, so my sweet husband went to our storage space and brought me some of my Perler bead stuff like pegboards and tweezers!  Here are the froo-eets of my labor so far:

I found this on Pinterest and thought it was super cute, so I re-created it using mini beads.

And here are some random ones.  I have tons of designs and sometimes get overwhelmed and don't know what I wanna do, so this happens.  Just little random shit I don't even know what I'll do with!

Cemetery Visit

Last night, we went to Magnolia Cemetery near Cleveland. It's off of 2025. It's in a cool area, you go a few miles down a winding wooded road and it's a small cemetery on the left. Right across from it are two huge gorgeous houses and a huge pond. We decided to try to find some memorials requested on FindAGrave. I found two! I couldn't believe it. We couldn't find the other 7, sadly. Getting outside, walking around and spending time with Allen was just what I needed! I felt great last night. We came home and I made a really good grilled cheese sandwich and then I finished a couple of small diamond paintings while watching The Sopranos and The Office. I read more of my Israel Keyes book and I actually remember what I read last night!

Here is a cute headstone we saw last night... Goober and Peanut!

My wrist is still hurting but it's not hurting to type today like it was yesterday. I am gonna try to finish a cross stitch and then try to make up my Stitch A Day project. I have like 4 days to catch up on. If it starts to hurt, then I'll stop. But I really want to cross stitch. I may have to start back on diamond painting or perler beads until my wrist feels better.

The Witchy Stitcher Cryptid Stitch-Along: Dover Demon

 Friday at laaaast!  

I finished another cryptid from the Witchy Stitcher.  According to Wikipedia, The Dover Demon is a creature reportedly sighted on April 21–22, 1977 in Dover, MA.  17-year-old William "Bill" Bartlett claimed that while driving on April 21, 1977, he saw a creature "about 4 feet tall with glowing orange eyes and no nose or mouth in a watermelon-shaped head" on top of a broken stone wall on Farm Street in Dover.  15-year-old John Baxter reported seeing a similar creature on Miller Hill Road the same evening. Another 15-year-old, Abby Brabham, claimed to have seen the creature the following night on Springdale Avenue. It's believed that it may have actually been a snowy owl, which would have reflected in the yellow headlights of older cars as the peach color described by Bartlett. In addition, the "long spindly arms" and fingers of the supposed creature could be the partially opened wings and the splayed feathers at the wingtips of a snowy owl.

2-19-25

It's pretty cold today. It was 35 when I went up to Mom and Dad's and it's 31 now. It's grey and windy. I love it! We covered my plants last night and I'm hoping it was enough. I don't know how it is, but it worked last time so...

I have been working on a lot of cross stitching lately. It's like I finish one and pick up the next. I hope I don't burn myself out. I really shouldn't have packed up my knitting because that would be something cool to do while we are out here. I wish I could really knit, like using needles and stuff. I want to make stuff but I'm just not good at it. I am finishing up the Dover Demon Cryptid from the Witchy Stitcher SAL.

I am also on day 7 of my Stitch-A-Day project...can she keep this up??? Doubtful. But it's worth a shot, right??

Let's Talk About Love

 ... and nice things.  I'm actually feeling a bit better, on and off.  I find that staying off social media and away from the news helps.  

I gush about my husband a lot, but he really deserves it.  He is happy if I am happy.  He was happy in Hutto (but really did want to move from Texas because he hates Texas so much now), and he's not into cold weather like I am, but he was 100% happy and up for moving to Colorado.  He has done so much- looking for houses to get an idea of what we will be able to afford, researching good areas and areas to avoid, researching living in CO in general, and being there for me when I break down in an anxious mess.  I have done a Valentine's Cross Stitch piece for him for almost every year we have been together (2025 makes it 19 years total!), and he used to have a little wall of them at our old house.  He has created a wall in his new office of them, which I think is just the sweetest.

I have been seeing a lot of "Until we're ghosts" patterns, but some are so big and big ones take me FOREVER because I am easily distracted, so I created my own more simple one using ghosts from a pattern I purchased from AlliePaigeEmbroidery on Etsy.  I added the rest myself.  This is his 2025 Valentine's Stitch!    I took him to pick out the frame and I think it fits really well!  I dyed this fabric myself.

Does anyone know...?

Living in the woods has been so nice so far. It's quiet.  I see my parents every day almost.  It smells lovely.  And it's absolutely BEAUTIFUL out here.  It's very conducive to crafting.  It's really cozy and being cozy is my goal in life.  

This is how I have been feeling since November 5th, 2024, but ESPECIALLY since January 21st, 2025.  Like.. .WHAT THE FUCK is going on???  Is this real life?  Are these things really happening?  Did people really say these terrible things?  Are they really trying to do other horrible things?  Are people actually believing what is being said?  Did Elon Musk really do a nazi salute at the inauguration (yes he did, I saw it unfolding on national TV) and people are defending it???  LIKE WHAT IN THE GODDAMNED ACTUAL FUCK????  I created this pattern myself  and I dyed the fabric as well :)  Well, kind of.  The flowers are from another pattern I have and the alphabet is one I purchased a while back and I don't remember who created either of them.  I just put them together.

And now, I have to....

This pattern is from Alexsitchinstuff on Etsy.  Aida dyed by me!

A slightly new direction

Well, Happy Monday!

I have decided that along with craft things, I sort of need a place to get my thoughts out so that I don't explode, so this may be boring. I am feeling a wee bit homesick for Hutto. I kind of miss my old office. I like my office now here at the house in Coldspring- it has a nice window, it's bigger... but I do miss my other one. I miss being happy in our Hutto house, without a lot of concerns about what's going on in the country and about money (we are fine now, but will we be in Colorado??). I am trying to keep away from social media and news as much as I can but still sort of stay informed, but every day, something horrible is happening. I miss when I didn’t have to worry about things. I miss being proud to be Texan and loving it here. Those days are gone.  It's not the HOUSE we are trying to leave, it's life in this state. I was happy in the house, not happy in the city, not happy in the state. Right now, everything seems so chaotic and up in the air and I don't deal well with that.

When we have gone back to the house in Hutto to work on getting it ready to sell, I have gotten really sad and cried every time except for this past weekend. I don’t know why… maybe I’m finally getting better. I will miss that place so much, but I know we will find another place we love too. We just have to get out of Texas. Will I be happier in CO? I don’t know, but we have to try. I have wanted to live there my whole life... so I am cautiously optimistic right now.

Anyway, good things... Friday, I went to karaoke with my parents. None of their friends were there and there seemed to be some sort of issue with the karaoke machine because the song I was doing kept messing up and the beat was way off and you could barely hear it. So they just played a bunch of shitty country music and everyone was line dancing. I can't really join in on that and so I was just kind of sitting there, so luckily I took my car and I was able to just leave. I took the car because I wanted to go but I didn’t wanna stay all night. I needed to get up early on Saturday to go to Hutto. 

I have a lovely witch friend group back in Central Texas and we have been trying to get together when we can, since we are moving, and also my friends Jennifer and Steven, who are part of the group, are ALSO moving to CO (whaaaaaat??? They will be in Denver for a while so we plan to get together when we can!) It was lovely to see my witchy friends and to spend time with them.

We stayed over at the Hutto house on Saturday Allen did a great job spackling the million little holes in the walls.

I went outside in the back and saw that despite the cold, my hyacinths have returned!!

We also brought some more stuff that we didn't really have a place for when we moved our stuff to Coldspring. We came home on Sunday and I finished a cross stitch piece, which I will post in a separate post.

I am enjoying living in the house I grew up in again it so far overall. I do miss my friends, but I am really enjoying the quiet out here. There isn’t a ton of crazy traffic every time I want to go somewhere. There aren’t dogs barking all night, people shouting, or our neighbors' idiot son revving his motorcycle at all hours of the night. I haven’t yet hung out on the patio out here but I think it will be nice to do some cross stitching out there at some point. I think my plants are okay out there, I guess we’ll see how they hold up. I have unpacked enough things to make it really feel a bit more like home.  

The Witchy Stitcher Cryptid Stitch-Along: Nessie

A cryptid that needs no introduction… The Loch Ness Monster, or as her friends call her, Nessie.  I don’t think she’s a monster at all.   Nessie is my FAVORITE cryptid other than Sasquatch.  In 2023, when the world wasn't as scary and I was a happier person (that will change, I know, but right now... I'm honestly barely holding it together some days), we went to Scotland for our wedding anniversary and we went to the Loch Ness Center, where we did a little tour narrated by David Tenant about the legends, history, and hoaxes of The Loch Ness Monster.  That was the trip of a lifetime, and it was so cool to see some of the history.  Sidenote:  Scotland, to me, is a faerie tale dream world and I didn’t wanted to leave.  I have never been anywhere so beautiful.

 

Nessie is said to inhabit Loch Ness, the biggest lake in Scotland, located in the Scottish Highlands.  She was first reported on August 22, 564.  She was reportedly seen in Drumnadrochit by a hotel manager in the 1930s, and that’s when all the fanfare happened.  There are groups in Scotland dedicated to finding her and proving she exists.  She is an animal with sleek, rubbery black skin, about 20 feet long.  She may be a very old Plesiosaurus.  I often wonder if there has been more than one of her over the years. 

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...

The Witchy Stitcher Cryptid Stitch-Along: Ahool

We moved out to Coldspring this weekend.  My parents are so fucking amazing, I can't even tell you.  They were such a huge help in getting us loaded and moved, and partially unloaded.  I hate moving and do not want to do this again.  Well, I DO want to do it again because I want to move to CO, but ugghhh not looking forward to it.

We are in the house I grew up in, which is both very cozy and very weird.  Allen's office is in my old bedroom.  My office is in the laundry/computer room.  I am really looking forward to spending all the time with my parents and seeing my sister more often before we move 13 hours away to Colorado.  

Anyway, on with the cross stitch.  I finished this one last Thursday.  It's the last cross stitch I did in our house in Hutto, which makes me a little sad when I think about it, so I won't think about it.  This is my latest installment of The Witchy Stitcher's Cryptid Stitch-Along.  I must have bought this Stitch-Along two or three years ago.  I rarely keep up with them because I just may not be in the mood to stitch a specific thing when they come out.  I also have her Supernatural one that I will start on after I get through these.  I'm thinking I may do a few of them on one piece of Aida rather than do them all separately.  You're meant to do the entire Stitch-Along on one piece of Aida but... I don't like stitching the big frame because one stitch off and you're fucked and I cant' handle that.  LOL Anyway, here is the Ahool.  

The Ahool is "a flying cryptid, supposedly a giant bat, or by other accounts, a living pterosaur or flying primate.  Named for its distinctive call A-hool (other sources render it ahOOOooool), it is said to live in the deepest rainforests of Java. It is described as having a monkey/ape-like head with large dark eyes, large claws on its forearms (approximately the size of an infant), and a body covered in gray fur. Possibly the most intriguing and astounding feature is that it is said to have a wingspan of 3 m (10 ft). This is almost twice as long as the largest (known) bat in the world, the common flying fox."

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!

Ornament Action Shots

 I can't remember if I have posted these, but I can't find them, so if I did, you get reminded of them!  

I love how my friend Heidi added my snowflake one to her Yule altar.

This pattern is from Stitch_X_Love on Etsy.  I made it for my sister.  

And everyone's favorite (Again for my sister)- Ernamernts!  Pattern by Steotch

DNHTNS

 I do love cross stitching on colored fabric.  I got this aida on Amazon, and have had it sitting just waiting for the right pattern.  I found it!  I think I'm gonna take this one as my "white elephant" gift for our Yule ritual!  

Pattern is by CryBabyCrossStitches on Etsy. I love love this color of aida.  I think I got it from Amazon.  

Our house is a mess right now and it's making me crazy.  But at least I have all my Christmas shopping and stuff done.  I wasn't able to do as much this year as we normally do, since we're moving and now trying to save money for a move, but I was able to do enough :)  I'm really looking forward to going out to Coldspring and spending some time with my family.  I feel like I'm really gonna be needing them over the next year with how stressful everything may be.  I'm very lucky to have them in my life!  

Anyway... post again soon!

Come and Get It!

I don't really have a lot to write about right now, but I am happy to have finished this cute little piece for my 50s aesthetic friend Anja!

I believe this is from a vintage pattern I found online.  

I'm getting both excited, anxious, and really sad for Christmas and our move.  I love Christmas and I'm really sad that this year, I don't have a tree up, and I didn't even decorate.  I haven't felt like it's Christmastime at all.  It's unseasonably warm, and I haven't seen a bunch of Christmas ads on TV.  I have only seen my favorite one a couple of times and it seems like I've seen one version that's updated and not the same.  It's the one with the Hershey's kisses where they ring the kisses like bells to the tune of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  It's my favorite Christmas commercial and has been since I was a kid.  I love that it's one of the older ones they still air.  I really like Christmas commercials (although by the middle of January, it's time to retire them, folks...).  It's almost as if the world is "Meh" about Christmas this year.  And that makes me sad, but in the US, I get it because we're scared of what's gonna happen when what's gonna happen on January 21st happens.  I can't even speak it's name.  

Another reason I haven't decorated, of course, is that we are packing up our house to move, and so there is really no place to put a tree or decorations.  But I'm really looking forward to seeing the tree and Mom and Dad's, and they also have a tree at the "old house", which is sweet.  So, I'll have a tree at some point at least anyway, and then next year, I am confident we will have a home and I can put up decorations and my tree again in 2025!

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!