October Smalls

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Mary's Thread

Usually, I use the JBW 12 Days of Christmas for my Smalls, but this is October and that means only one thing:

I have a number of spooky smalls, mostly from this year's Just Cross Stitch Halloween Ornament Special.

Mosaic Halloween by Twisted Willow Design

Stitched on 32 count Platinum linen

Autumn Mouse Scissor Roll by Just Nan

stitched on 32 count Cognac linen and 32 count Vintage Country Mocha

Framed Fright by Barefoot Needleart

stitched over 1 on 28 count Moondust evenweave from Crafty Kitten

Happy Halloween by StitchyFish

stitched over 1 on 28 count linen from a Crafty Kitten grab bag

I have left this photo uncropped so you can see the narrowness of this scrap of fabric!  It was just too good to throw away.  The original design had a bat but I decided this was enough, it will make a nice header for a scrapbook page.

I used the same Victoria Motto Sampler Violet Grey for the letters and 310 for the spider and webs.

And now, something not spooky at all, some little Bubbles of Happiness from Lin Pulsion:

stitched over 1 on 25 count white evenweave

Finally, the annual Trick or Treat Hallowe'en Blog Hop starts tomorrow!  My post will go up in the morning (GMT) and the participants will be posting throughout the day depending on their time zone.  So remember to check back if a blog hasn't posted to start with.

October WIPocalypse What to Stitch Next?

  

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 "20 in '20" for this year.  This month I only stitched on 1 of them but I did have a finish!

October was always going to be a weak month for WIPocalypse because it's Dark October where I focus on my Spooky stitching.

Only one piece was on my 20 in '20 list and that was Just Nan's Autumn Mouse Scissor Roll.  I showed the piece rolled up and unrolled before, so here are a couple of close-up photos:

stitched on 32 count Vintage Country Mocha linen

I love each of the little scenes with the cute mice running around.

This photo shows the part which ends up inside the roll.

The phrase says

"Where pumpkins hide, scissors slide"

because the panel at the end becomes the scissor pocket.

The rest of the projects I have been stitching are not on my WIPocalypse list, but it's OK, they are still keeping the End of the World at bay!

The first one is Just Nan's Scream House.  I decided to stitch the internal walls first.  This is Netty Nightshade who is directing the decorating with her faithful cats at her side and her pet spider in her hand.

stitched on 28 count Wood Violet linen from Permin

The fabric is actually this colour:

At bathtime I have been stitching this little small on a scrap of fabric. This is Happy Halloween by StitchyFish Designs:

stitched over one on 28 count linen from a Crafty Kitten grab bag

This is a freebie I have been stitching whenever I have five minutes spare!  The title is  Bubbles of Happiness from Lin Pulsion:

stitched over 1 on 25 count white evenweave

I only have 6 more bubbles and I am caught up.  Then it's just one bubble per week which will be easy.

Measi always gives us a topic to discuss:

October – How do you choose what you’re going to stitch on next?

As most people know, I have my rotation which I set at the start of the year to make sure I stitch on my WIPocalypse projects.  This year it has been:

12 Days of Christmas

Scary Apothecary

Alice in Wonderland

Discworld

Project chosen by Tiny Decisions app

Except for Joan Elliott July and Dark October!

One of the things I decided back in 2015 was that I was going to stitch more gifted designs which was the start of the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL.  I was being given so many nice charts that I wanted to make them a priority  When I am planning my WIPocalypse lists I do give precedence to charts which have been a gift to me.

I also try not to have more than one design from each designer, with the exception of Just Nan!  I have been determined to stitch more of the chart collection I have so I have been choosing a different sampler every two months.  The lovely Leonore and I stitched Morning Meadow in the summer and we are about to stitch Snowfire Christmas starting in November.  If anyone would like to join us, please let me know!

I also work through my Just Nan Smalls that I stitch for Maynia, stitching on one until it is finished.

In between that, I see what is calling.  When the Just Cross Stitch Halloween Ornament Special arrived this year there were a lot of designs I really liked in it so I decided to stitch a few of them this October.

Making plans is fun, but sometimes you have to go off plan and stitch what you want!

Finally, last chance to sign up for the Hallowe'en 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

2019 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 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.

Once again, I worked on Friday so my weekend got off to a late start, bath-time to be exact!  This is Framed Fright by Barefoot Needleart from the Just Cross Stitch Hallowe'en Ornament Special:

stitched over 1 on 28 count Moondust evenweave from Crafty Kitten

I used a Victorian Motto Sampler thread called Violet Grey for the Castle, it is subtly variegated and was a gift from Beth in IL.  The tree and bat are DMC 310.  There is supposed to be an ornate frame all the way around it but I didn't fancy stitching all that yellowgold so I will use a scrapbook frame instead.

I finished that one on Saturday evening so I started a new bath-time stitch, another one of the designs from this year's Just Cross Stitch Hallowe'en Ornament Special.  This is Happy Halloween by StitchyFish Designs:

stitched over 1 on 28 count linen from a Crafty Kitten grab bag

Basically I am using up scraps of fabric and choosing designs that suit the fabric colour.

Saturday and Sunday daytime was dedicated to my Just Nan Autumn Mouse Scissor Roll and we have another finish!

Scissor Roll stitched on 32 count Vintage Country Mocha linen

Here are the four sides of the roll when it is all rolled up.  The lining wool is doubled over at the pumpkin end to make a little pocket for a pair of scissors.  These ones are a little bit too tall.

I am not really a fan of sewing but it didn't take too long to blanket stitch all the way around.  The whole piece is 10 inches long when unrolled.  There was the added incentive of my next new start when I finished it too!

This has been my Unicorn chart for many years (along with Mirabilia's Touching the Autumn Sky).  This was a Limited Edition for Silver Needle and I was lucky enough to be sent this chart by a destashing stitcher earlier this year.  It had to go to the top of the list!

stitched on 28 count Wood Violet linen from Permin

SCREAM HOUSE!!  Yes, I got the Scream House chart and finishing instructions!  The project is charted for 30 count linen from Weeks Dye Works which is incredibly difficult to find here.  I wanted to go slightly larger so you can see all the details so when I went off to the needlework shop to collect my Owls of October II, I had a rummage through the linens to see what I could find.  This is called Wood Violet and is more purple than it is showing.  It's a Permin linen which means it is stiffer than Zweigart but that's OK because stiff is better for 3D creations.  

The charts calls for DMC and some Weeks Dye Works threads.  Four of them have good substitutions in DMC but the 5th is for the borders so I dug out this silk by Stef Francis which appears to be called "49" and was a gift from Mouse.  It is mostly all purple and pink apart from that patch of yellowygreen in the middle.  It is nice to be using gifted threads.  I have 13 days left this month, let's see how much I can stitch by the 31st.

Finally, the next IHSW will be 20th - 22nd 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.