Seasonal Stitch-a-Long, part 2

 Hi everyone! I hope you're all happy and healthy.

Last time I had decided to take a break from my tiger needlepoint and work on these skull ornament kits from Mill Hill:

You may recall that I couldn't decide between the colors, so of course I bought all six. (I know I am a bit of an idiot...) I also didn't have a sense for how long each kit would take. 

When I started, the stitching felt easy, and I thought I would wrap them up very quickly. But the beading took longer than the floss stitching ... and not just because threading the beading needles was so difficult!

I haven't finished any of them, though I have the stitching and beading complete on four, and nearly complete on the fifth. In theory I can get all six done before Halloween!

I like that each is distinctly different, not just in color, but in design: 

And each time I start a new kit, I get the stitching done and think, "that went quickly!" and then realize the real time is in the beading.  Here's the one I'm working on, which has over half of the beads done, and a lot still left to add:

And compare that to an earlier one, with all the beading complete: 

My next steps are to finish the last two designs, cut them out, stitch them back to back, and hang them on my little Halloween tree. Even if they don't get much display time this year, they'll look great for years to come!

Our next check in is on November 14. I think I might shift over to -- dare I say it? Christmas-themed projects! We'll see how I feel. Till then, check out all the great projects that the other stitchers in this stitch-a-long are working on:

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Hayley, Megan, Deborah, Mary Margaret, Renee, Carmela, Sharon, Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, and Helen.