October WIPocalypse, Stitch from Stash and Pumpkin Pie

          

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi's Musings

Each month we have to share the projects we want to complete before the End Of The World.  Since 2011 I have chosen a number of projects to focus on that year, starting with my "11 in '11" and increasing to "21 in '21" for this year.  This month I stitched on just 2 of them and met 2 WIPGO Goals.   

8. Just Nan Scream House

20. CCN Halloween Village Cafe 

stitched on 32 count Murano in Charcoal Slate from Sparklies

The full list can be seen here - WIPocalypse and 21 in 21

Measi always gives us a topic to discuss too:

October – Do you prefer Halloween or Christmas stitching?

Well, I think that is pretty obvious, don't you?  If you take a look at my Happy Dance blog, the Christmas label has 45 entries and the Halloween label has 87.

This month's pie bears out what you can see above - it was a spooky Dark October:

I made the pie look more an actual pie this month as there were only two main projects stitched on!

Stitch from Stash saw the last of the Birthday presents being collected from my LNS.  I ordered the latest Just Nan spooky mouse which had arrived and while I was there I picked up a sweet little mini sampler from a designer called Full Circle Designs, copyright 2001.

Just Nan Stitchy Witchy Mouse

Full Circle Designs Moonshadow Mini "A Child's Dream"

Isn't this sweet?  It even comes with the little moon button

Finally, the annual Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop is now live, so get hopping around and try discover the Mystery Phrase.

Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop 2021

 

 Welcome to the spooky hallowe’en mystery phrase blog hop!

All you need to do is visit each of the following blogs in order, jot down the letter displayed with their Hallowe'en stitched picture then return here and leave a comment telling me the Mystery Phrase.

It'd be nice if you left a comment on their blog too, especially if it's new to you.

I have "moderate comments before publishing" enabled so no-one can copy anyone else!

So without further ado,

start the blog hop – enter if you dare…

A Patchwork of Crafts

Needle, Pen & Sword

Books, Crafts and Other Procrastinations

An Arizona Stitcher

Jocondine

Life Outside the Washing Basket

Mary's Thread

Wicked Stitcher

Aimetu's Stitching

Dragon Stitches & Stuff by Astrid

The Stitching Grandma

Tiffstitches a Blog

Count it *all* Joy

and then back to me for this letter:

Hope you've worked it out!

I don't have a new Hallowe'en finish this month, so here are some photos of my stitchy display corner:

Finally, don't forget, some of us are on different time zones so if you visit a blog and can't find a letter or picture yet, pop back later in the day.
The phrase will stay a mystery for one week then all comments will be shown from 7th November, 2021.

happy hunting!

        

all from Hyraea

October Smalls

       

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Mary's Thread

This year my Smalls will be the Stoney Creek 12 Days of Christmas 2019 Ornament series but as I've been stitching Dark October you will have to wait for next month to see Day Ten.

I did add October to my Tiny Modernist Calendar:

stitched on 32 count Summer Sky Belfast linen from Silkweavers

I continued with The Primitive Hare Celebrations series, stitching Samhain which is the end of the Harvest and the start of the Dark Half of the year and celebrated this weekend:

stitched on 35 count Cream Linen

Finally, there will be a Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop as usual this year. I have emailed all the participants today so if you signed up and haven't heard from me, check your spam and send me an email if you still can't find it.

Dark October Stitching

 October is the month when I focus on my Spooky Stitching for Hallowe'en.  This year I have chosen my CCN Main Street conversion and just one other piece which covers two goals on my WIPGO Board.

My focus project is Just Nan's Scream House.  Last year I completed the four internal walls and this year I have been working away on the external walls.

These are the first two:

And the next two:

I just have to add a broom to the first wall and then I can cross off a goal on my WIPGO Board.

I continued with the external roof pieces, they are useful for lunch break or bath-time stitching.  Although I do have to remember to leave spaces for the characters.

Once I have completed these four, I have the pumpkins on the internal roof pieces and the floor to stitch.  I looked at the floor chart today and it's a bit more stitching than I remembered!  So I may not complete that this October.  I do want to get this fully finished this year so I'll carry on next month even if something else has to take a backseat.

Finally, this is the last call for participants in this year's Trick or Treat Blog Hop.  I am sure you all know how it works but for those who need a reminder - here's a link to last year's

2020 Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop

If you want to take part, just leave a comment here or email me if you are a "no reply" person. I need an email address for you to take part in this hop.  I will be emailing everyone on Friday 29th October, so please be signed up by the end of Thursday 28th.

October IHSW

 

IHSW or International Hermit and Stitch Weekend always starts on the third Friday of the month.  It's a chance to lock yourself away and focus on your stitching for the weekend.  You can take part on your blog or via the Facebook page - IHSW on Facebook.

This weekend I worked on my Dark October focus project - Scream House by Just Nan.  I stitched a bit more of the roof om Friday as that was a work day and then started the third external wall on Saturday.

stitched on 28 count grey linen

Saturday and Sunday saw this tree stitched:

In the evenings I made a start on the next celebration from The Primitive Hare, this one will be for Samhain:

stitched on 35 count cream linen

Finally the next IHSW will be 19th - 21st November so make sure you note the date in your diary or come and join us in the Facebook Group - IHSW on Facebook.  If you don't do Facebook then you can check in here by leaving a comment on my post.

Gifted Gorgeousness October Link-up Post

       

Welcome to the October Gifted Gorgeousness link-up.  The link-up date continues to be the 15th and I will keep the link-up open until the end of each month so you have plenty of time if you are late posting.

The format remains exactly the same, there is a list of rules on the main sign-up page if you want to check what is required but basically anything connected to the word "gift" is allowed, whether it was a gift TO you or is a gift FROM you.

In September I worked on the Bothy Threads 12 Days of Christmas kit which was a Christmas present:

stitched on 32 count grey-blue linen

Here are the first two Days completed:

stitched on 32 count grey-blue linen

This next project is stitched from charts which were Birthday gifts and on fabric which was a giveaway gift.  It is my spooky conversion of the CCN Main Street designs.  I started my fourth shop this week.  The turquoise Bakery has become a grey-blue shop:

stitched on 32 count Murano in Charcoal Slate from Sparklies

I originally started at the bottom of the shop but the shade I had chosen was too bright so I moved to the top to try out a different set of colours there.  I have gone for 930 and 932 for the walls which will be filled in next time.

My focus project for Dark October is Just Nan's Scream House.  I started the internal roof pieces in September:

stitched on 28 count Wood Violet linen from Permin

Then stitched on two of the outside walls at the start of October:

stitched on 28 count grey linen

I switched to the CCN Main Street conversion for WIPGO Weekend and just stitched the external roof pieces each evening:

stitched on 28 count grey linen

Now it is your turn to show us your Gifted Gorgeousness for the month. Please use your name or your blog name in the field and NOT the words "October Update" so I can easily see who has linked up this month. And link to the actual post, not just your blog. It is easier if you copy and paste the link, rather than typing freehand.

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Finally, there will be a Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop as usual this year. I am sure you all know how it works but for those who need a reminder - here's a link to last year's

2020 Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop

If you want to take part, just leave a comment here or email me if you are a "no reply" person. I need an email address for you to take part in this hop.

Finally Fully Finishing Fun for October

   

Hosted by Rachel the Ten Hour Stitcher

This SAL is designed to motivate us all to do something with that box of Finished pieces instead of just storing them under the bed.  We will all be linking up on Rachel's blog on or after the 10th of each month (10 Hour Stitcher - 10th of the month).

I decided to try get a headstart on myself this month and framed these two small pieces on the 14th September.

The first one is from 2014 and shows Frankenstein's Kitty and the Bride of Frankenstein's Kitty both by Carand88:

This one is from 2017 and is Spooky Night by Shepherd's Bush:

The spider's web is a scrapbook cutout to add a little something as the frame was a little bit big for the design.

Then I got a big one framed, this was my Summer SAL Sampler with the Just Nan Junkies - Follow the Needle:

I mounted this on a page from a Monet Calendar and put it in a box frame.  There was an extra Ornament design included in the chart and I want to finish that and pop it on the corner of the frame.

Back to Hallowe'en for a special Mouse House.  You all know I've been stitching the Just Nan Mice for a while now and looking for some way to display them all.  I bought this raw wood house on eBay and painted it black.

Here's how it came:

Then I printed off some tiles, bricks and floorboards:

Stuck them to the sides and floors:

Ready for the mice to move in!

I am considering adding some wallpaper.

Of course I am keeping up with my Primitive Hare Celebrations and here is Mabon:

Finally, there will be a Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop as usual this year. I am sure you all know how it works but for those who need a reminder - here's a link to last year's

2020 Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop

If you want to take part, just leave a comment here or email me if you are a "no reply" person. I need an email address for you to take part in this hop.

October TUSAL and my Stitching Library

    

It's TUSAL time!

Here is my TUSAL jar with my current focus piece, Just Nan's Scream House:

Here's the full picture.  This is going to be my focus piece for October:

stitched on 28 count grey linen

What's on my Shelf?

This is a new feature I'm going to include on my TUSAL post until I run out of books! I started a Page on my Happy Dance blog for my Stitching Library and realised what a huge task it was so decided to break it down to one book per month. For the next four years...

Unintentionally, it's another Joan Elliott book this month.  I chose this one because Green Goddess is featured in the book

Title: The Ultimate Joan Elliott Cross Stitch Collection
Author: Joan Elliott
Publisher: Future Publishing
ISBN: 9781858704012

This bookazine (a cross between a magazine and a book) came out as a Limited Edition and sold out very quickly.  Copies started to exchange hands for large sums of money.  Despite all the designs becoming available on Joan's website.  Joan had been asked numerous times if it will be reprinted and says it was not a good experience and it won't be happening.  She does offer all the charts herself and it's actually easier to stitch from her charts than the book as the spine tends to break if you press down too hard!

You can see from the Contents page just how varied the subject matter is.  Obviously there are elegant ladies but there are also oriental designs, Christmas designs, traditional pictures and some sweet cards.

The back cover features nine different designs:

As well as the Green Goddess I used this book to create a special card for a friend:

We'd been stitching Round Robins together and joking about doing one which wasn't just faces.  Someone had done Mermaid Tails and I suggested we do various feet for one!  That was a joke but I thought the hands from the four seasonal fairies would make a nice card.

It definitely took some planning to get the placement just right.   I never did stitch the feet...

Finally, there will be a Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop as usual this year. I am sure you all know how it works but for those who need a reminder - here's a link to last year's

2020 Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop

If you want to take part, just leave a comment here or email me if you are a "no reply" person. I need an email address for you to take part in this hop.