Wednesday, 10 August 2011

Halloween in August

I've put my Christmas stitching to one side for the time being to concentrate on some Halloween goodies. My sister is a huge fan of Halloween and always whinges that I never stitch anything for her, despite teasing me about my 'granny-ish' hobby for years! It's her birthday this week (I can't believe I have a baby sister turning 33) so I decided to stitch her 'Something Wicked' by La D Da. I LOVE this chart - the colours, the verse, the spiders, the curly shoe, just EVERYTHING about it! And I love it even more now I've stitched it. Don't get me wrong, I didn't enjoy stitching row after row after row of black, black, black but I tried to mix it up a little by doing the verse one evening and black, black, black the next.


'Something Wicked' by La D Da
32ct Mocha Belfast Linen


I would have loved to frame it using the frame shown on the chart, but I find we're pretty limited here in the UK with framing (unless you want to pay an absolute fortune). Apologies for the rubbish photograph, the colours are so much brighter in reality but I find it so difficult to get a good shot without getting a reflection of myself in the glass!

I knew that once I had this little gem framed I would want to keep it for myself, so I got on with stitching another Halloween chart that I've wanted to stitch for a while - 'Uber Jack' by Bent Creek. This one I get to keep for myself. Below is a photo of how far I've got with it. I usually buy my overdyed threads from Patchwork Rabbit but unfortunately they were out of stock of WDW 'Sweet Potato'. It's on order now so it shouldn't take too long to finish this once the thread arrives.


'Uber Jack' by Bent Creek
32ct Natural Permin Linen


I have been busy with other stitching but as it is an exchange it has to be top secret for the time being.

We had a lovely few days down in London last week as it was my Father-in-Law's 60th birthday. Luckily the weather held out for his birthday B-B-Q. It was very strange being in our old neighbourhood. DH & I drove past our old house. I found it quite tough and even shed a little tear! I think I found it hard because we're not yet in our own home. We've been in limbo since May now and I'm itching to get into our new house. It looks like that will probably be happening on the 26th of this month...fingers crossed.

As I've often mentioned on my blog, I am a real book person, particularly children's books, in fact I have over 400 Enid Blyton books stored in our loft. Rachel (FIL's girlfriend) works in a library and she happened upon the book shown below. How amazing?! I was totally blown away when they gave it to us. I guess somebody else thinks that the names 'Iris & Isaac' go well together! The illustrations in this book are spectacular. As you can imagine Iris has asked for this book every bedtime since our return from London!



Ok, well I'll leave it there. I will be back with exchange stitching in the not-too-distant future and hopefully some news on our new house!

Regards,

Christina

16 comments:

  1. A gorgeous finish for your Sister. I'm sure she will be thrilled. Lovely progress on your halloween design - such a shame you ran out of thread. I'm just about to start my first exchange so look forward to seeing your when you are able. I also love Enid Blyton especially the Famous Five. Great book for your children.

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  2. Oh, wonderful!! I love both, and isn't Uber Jack great!? I'm looking forward to seeing him stitch up here. :D

    Personally I like stitching with black but I've not tried such a large fill area of it! I think your alternating idea is a good one.

    Gah, still no house!? :(

    I'm glad that you were able to enjoy a nice little family holiday but it is sure sad that seeing the old home only brought you down. Hang in there!

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  3. Love your Halloween finish and WIP! Hope you get sorted with the house soon. I have a bookshelf full of my old books and at least 2 shelves are Enid Blyton. I love that you have a book "named" after your children :)

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  4. I love the Halloween chart you stitched for your sister and the one your doing for yourself! I hope you get your threads soon. I know what you mean about stitching all black! It can make you crazy but it does look nice.
    I hope your house comes through for you soon and you can get settled in quickly.
    Nice to see a post from you :)
    Hugs

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  5. Love your Halloween stitches!!
    I do hope that you are able to get into your new home by the 26th. I'm sure it will feel so good when that day comes.

    Hugs!

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  6. Christina: Congratulations on almost being in your new home, Love the Uber Jack he is so cute.
    The Something Wicked is adorable you did a wonderful job on taking pictures the frame is lovely and just right.
    Catherine
    diamondc

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  7. Love your Halloween finish and your WIP! Both are in my to stitch pile and I hope to get to them soon.

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  8. Love your Halloween finish Christina. Jack is really cute too.
    Hope you are all settled in your new home by the end of the month.
    Enid Blyton was one of my childhood favourite authors, especially loved the Faraway Tree storys.

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  9. Your witch stitch is so cute, Christina--lucky sister! Maybe she'll stop teasing you about your "grannyish" hobby now :)

    How wonderful to find a book with your children's names in the title--perfect! I love children's books, too, and have saved most of my sons' from when they were little. I just can't part with them--they bring back so many lovely memories of times spent reading to them.

    Hope your move works out for you very soon :)

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  10. What a fantastic gift your sister. I bet she'll love it! Love your other Halloween finish too:)

    How lovely is that book?

    Hope you get moved into your house soon {{hugs}}

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  11. Oh, such great Halloween stitching. Both projects are really beautiful. And why not doing some Halloween stitching in August. So you will have finished it when Halloween approaches.

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  12. Love your halloween stitching - I am so pleased Autumn and Winter are round the corner x

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  13. Congratulations on your big Halloween finish. I have that one in my stash with a great piece of lime fabric but when I look at all that black - you know?
    I hope you get your missing thread soon and can finish your other Halloween start.

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  14. Lucky sister! I think it looks fantastic :o)

    Your Uber Pumpkin is coming along nicely.

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  15. Great Halloween finish! I think this is such a cute piece.

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  16. What a neat find in that book!! That is so cool. I loved Enid Blyton, too. I hadn't heard of her through my own library in the US, but my childhood best friend's parents are from Wales, and she'd go back every August to visit, returning with Enid Blyton books for me. I devoured them!

    Beautiful finish and WIP! I love Halloween stitching--your sister will love her present!

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