Finally – FALL! An Update

I didn’t think Autumn would ever get here – this summer was hot! Don’t get me wrong, it’s still hot out there, and yesterday was the first rain we’ve had in at least 2 weeks, but the cool nights and blue-sky-forever days are coming (assuming we don’t segue right into winter). My favorite time of year! And you know what that means – Halloween! MAN I wish the boys were still  little – Home Depot has a zillion animatronic skeletal creatures – they even have a horse! I really want the howling wolf, but that would be sure to have three neurotic dogs digging their way into the floorboards 🙁

Mission Accomplished - I planted the sunflower bed specifically to attract & feed the goldfinches :)
Mission Accomplished – I planted the sunflower bed specifically to attract & feed the goldfinches 🙂

In stitching news, apparently my rotation took a powder at some point along the way. And then Thread Gatherer posted a contest on FB to stitch some JBW Halloween/Autumn pieces in their threads – so I did! And also did some in some Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe threads from Nancy’s Sleepy Hollow Collection that I had to have. And THEN I found this really cool Halloween Tree at JoAnns, which then got purple LED fairy lights (Amazon), and THEN I had to make a tree skirt for the new tree – DH’s suggestion, just so you know who made me go buy MORE FABRIC! And well, here it is so far, with 4 of the ornies finished:

TA-DA! Ewwww, spooky!
TA-DA! Ewwww, spooky! 

I gotta show you this bit, though – the best Halloween Fabric EVER – it GLOWS IN THE DARK! So on the back of my tiny over-1 Ghost, I have a GITD Paisley ghostie 🙂 Because, why wouldn’t you?

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I will put all of the finished pieces up in my Flickr 2016 finishes album w/details, rather than blow up WordPress with them all. Because I have other stuff to add. Such as:

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Other pieces I’ve touched that weren’t JBW include a bit more on my Save the Stitches Blackwork Journey, which I worked on at August PINS? A Thursday IHOP? I have no idea now. Anyway, finished the 2nd part, am starting the 3rd:

Save the Stitches by Elizabeth Almond of Blackwork Journey. On 28ct white lugana, using DMC & Glisson Gloss metallics.
Save the Stitches by Elizabeth Almond of Blackwork Journey. On 28ct white lugana, using DMC & Glisson Gloss metallics.

And I skipped the Randomizer and went directly to Desert Mandala, because it’s been hollering at me! I am working on Part 5, the Desert Hare and another landscape panel. I didn’t get a lot done this past week, with all this other stuff going on, but I’m glad I’ve gotten back to this:

Chatelaine Desert Landscape Mandala - on 28ct Desert Sky from Silkweaver, using silks, DMC, metallic and beads. Part 5 in progress.
Chatelaine Desert Landscape Mandala – on 28ct Desert Sky from Silkweaver, using silks, DMC, metallic and beads. Part 5 in progress.

And lastly, I finished the Dragonflies, finally! And not only did I finish them, I also have them framed and up on the wall already, thanks to my friend Tricia, who had the PERFECT white frame lying around that she brought for me to try out:

Dragonflies, by Mike Vickery, on 32ct Jazlyn Silkweaver solo (I will never use Jazlyn again - those holes are soooo small!) using DMC and an assortment of metallics for the dragonflies - because they have to be sparkly, don't they? Framed & hanging on my kitchen Dragonfly wall!
Dragonflies, by Mike Vickery, on 32ct Jazlyn Silkweaver solo (I will never use Jazlyn again – those holes are soooo small!) using DMC and an assortment of metallics for the dragonflies – because they have to be sparkly, don’t they? Framed & hanging on my kitchen Dragonfly wall!

And since I apparently was on a roll, I framed 3 other pieces – 2 more Chats finally get to get hung up (somewhere) and my AAN Christmas Tree is waiting for December:

AAN's 2014 Christmas Tree on Vatican Red, using white Gloriana silk, silver PTB, and crystal beads.
AAN’s 2014 Christmas Tree on Vatican Red, using white Gloriana silk, silver PTB, and crystal beads.
Chatelaine Beaded Dragonfly Tile
Chatelaine Beaded Dragonfly Tile
Chatelaine Minin Mystery Mandala 03, Companion to Medieval Town Mandala.
Chatelaine Mini Mystery Mandala 03, Companion to Medieval Town Mandala.

Okay, I’m done now. But i have lots more finishing to do, and a fall exchange this coming weekend, so the next update will have some more completions in it, I hope 🙂 I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted! I think I need to go stitch for a bit! Until next time, Happy Stitching everyone, and HAPPY FALL!

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4 thoughts on “Finally – FALL! An Update”

  1. The Halloween tree will get full, I’m sure! It looks great with those lights and tree skirt. My MIL took back her sewing machine (even though she can’t use it) so I have to wait for Christmas to see if I get one to do any finishing that requires sewing! All your framed pieces look great. The gold really sets the Chats off. Nice finishing all around!

  2. Woweee! You have been busy! I love your framing choices and they complement your beautiful stitching perfectly. I am so glad the sunflower bird feeding farm was a success. Happy Fall!

  3. Love the Halloween decorations! And I was right— an new pattern on my wish list: I LOVE the Desert Mandala. Chatelaine has ALWAYS intimidated me (the size, cost). But they are so pretty!!!

    1. Chatelaines are BIG – but if you get one that is broken down into 12 parts (like Desert is), they are easily managed 🙂 As to the cost, you can 1) buy silks on sale (I don’t pay full price for anything, if I can avoid it), or do conversions to cottons to save some money. My Desert, I actually converted most of the silks to HDF silks, which were cheaper. Unfortunately, HDF doesn’t exist anymore. But conversions are still a good way to go – maybe splurge on one or two of the silks. It’s much easier to do the conversion if you have an actual store you can visit, of course – which I don’t, so when I convert, it’s a bit of a leap of faith 🙂 And I reallllyyyy dislike NPI silks (they feel & look great, I just seem to shred them – and they are too expensive for a solid color), so I convert almost all of those to DMC.

      Try a little one – she sells several mini pieces, and also has several freebies, to help you learn her charting & instruction style…

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