Halloween Ornaments Project - November 2023

I enjoyed last year's 13x13 Halloween Ornaments project so much that I didn't want to give it up. Besides, I had so many more ornaments to make! So I'm committing to another year. 

The first project was from a Just Cross Stitch Halloween magazine from 2018. I tweaked the pattern, using beads I had (leftover from other Halloween projects!) and some Aida I ice dyed a while back. I took it along on our last vacation, and finished it before Halloween. And it's BEAUTIFUL, if I do say so myself.

However, I didn't really think about it when I changed the size of the Aida... tI thought the finished piece would be, I dunno, 3 inches or so? Nope. 

That's a "Tootsie Roll Midgee" -- one of my favorite Halloween candies -- a small candy that's just over an inch long. It was surprisingly difficult to stitch it all together, but so very worth it. 

Next month I'm going to revisit another old project -- one of the other "vintage" ornaments from that Bucilla felt-and-sequins kit. 

I'll be back on December 13 to share the finished ornament. 

Christmas Holly Stitch-a-Long, part 7

Hi everyone! After not managing to get much work done on this project before the last check-in, I decided to really put time into it. That, combined with a renewed effort to actually take a break at lunch, meant that I got quite a lot done. 

Here's where I was last time: 

And here's where I am now: 

It's always thrilling to stitch the berries and see how they pop on this dark blue fabric and against the green leaves. 

I work from home for a company that is based in New York. Most of my colleagues are in different time zones, so our natural lunch times never match up. As a result, I often rush back to meetings or projects after grabbing a quick lunch in my kitchen rather than actually stopping to take a break. This past two weeks I've tried to make a point of sitting down to do 15 minutes of stitching, take a walk around the block, or just relax at lunchtime. I think it's helped me feel less stressed out, and it's certainly reflected in the amount of stitching I have done!

For our next check-in I hope to finish that leaf in the upper right that I've started, and then move down to fill in that leaf in the bottom center. There's also a bunch of bright red berries nearly in the middle (you can almost see where they'll go in the negative space at the side of those central leaves). By that check in we will truly be in the midst of the festive time -- maybe that will inspire me to keep moving. Or, who knows, maybe I'll have put this aside to work on some holiday 2023 projects. 

My fellow stitchers are always working on amazing projects -- please have a look and see them all! Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Heidi, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Helen, and Mary Margaret.