Redwork Noel, part 1

Hi everybody, and welcome to Autumn! It's my favorite season, especially here in Seattle where we get a few weeks of gorgeous weather every late September - early October. And then, of course, it's Halloween and you know I adore the spooky season!

Last time I had just started the "Redwork Noel" pattern -- though in white on red rather than red on white.  

The idea was that this "thread only" project would be a better choice with my two boisterous and curious kittens. Well, let's just say that that are VERY INTERESTED in both thread and paper, so it's still a little rough. But sometimes I get some stitches in while I sit in the garden, or while they sleep. (All those zoomies tire a little fella out!)

I've stitched nearly 20 of the 120 rows and I like the way the white-on-red looks. There's a long way to go, but I like it so far! By our next check-in I hope to have gotten at least another 10 rows stitched.... again, assuming the kittens allow it... 

The other stitchers in this stitch-a-long are always working on amazingly beautiful and diverse projects. Go check out their blogs and get inspired: Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Cindy, and Helen.

See you in three weeks!

Halloween Ornaments Project, September 2024

Last month (and, um, part of the previous month as a head start...) I started work on this piece: 

Here's where I was on August 13:

I stitched and realized that I didn't want any of the other colors -- I liked the "scherenschnitte" feel of the piece.

Not sure why the colors are so different in the two photos; but it's closer to this purple/grey than the lighter image above!

I did decide to add glow-in-the-dark white for the eyeball, and I used half cross stitches for the smoke tendrils. And I LOVE it. 

The only question is what to do with it -- it's too big for an ornament. I have two other "monochrome" pieces I'd like to stitch up that are similarly sized, but I want to ice dye some Aida to stitch them on. Then perhaps next year I'll make them up into pillow covers to holidazzle my couch a little. Perhaps...

Now, what's next? Having taken a step back from just making ornaments for my Halloween trees, I am going to continue down that path for a bit. This is "Into the Woods" by Mill Hill: 

Three very cute black cats marching along in the moonlight. I've been making these 5x5 bead+stitch on perforated paper projects for a while and I always find them satisfying. This might not be finished by October 13, but I'll have a good start on it! (And it's a Christmas present, so I have PLENTY of time!).

Christmas Banners Stitch-a-Long, part 10

Hi everybody! So sorry for the late post -- I forgot about our check in, and it's a holiday weekend so I was out of town this weekend. More on that later!

Last time I had started this weird, new, "felt and sequins" GNOME kit. 

Here's where I got to last time: 

As many mentioned, it's "challenging" to stitch with new kittens in the house. It's hard enough just with floss, but add in little trays of beads and sequins, and, well, you can see it might be extra challenging. 

But we had some nice days so I sat in the garden and, well, IT'S HAPPY DANCE TIME!!!

For everyone else who, like me, wondered how this fella would end up "3D", well, he's more "2+D" -- just sorta stuffed and weighted, but really pretty flat. 

Still, I love all the detail of him, like these beautiful embroidered gloves!

I'm really happy how he turned out, and I'm thrilled to have him join our gnome family. 

Of course, the real question now is "what's next?"

I decided that something a little less involved is probably a good idea while the boys are so INTERESTED in everything. (I also know that this phase may last quite a while...)

So I found a pattern I purchased a long time ago and decided that a simple cross stitch project would be perfect. 

In theory "Redwork Noel" is worked in red floss on a white background. But as I have a bunch of white floss and some red Aida in my stash, I decided I would work on it "backwards" -- so where the pattern has a stitch, I leave it blank, and vice versa. 

It also has the benefit of being easy to transport -- which was useful for my weekend trip to the eastern half of my state. An iconic structure in the Pacific Northwest is the firewatch tower -- these towers built in the middle of nowhere and manned all summer long by solo "fire lookouts" -- people whose job is to, well, watch for fires in the surrounding forests, and, if spotted, radio them in. Jack Kerouac spent a couple of months at one, hoping to write, but didn't accomplish much. 

I had wanted to stay in a fire lookout tower for years, and finally managed to get a reservation for the Quartz Mountain Lookout near Spokane, Washington, over Labor Day weekend this year. It was glorious. A steep uphill hike carrying food and gear but so, so worth it: 

finally arriving at the lookout

the lookout tower

sunset from the lookout

sunrise from the lookout

My friend Jenny Hadfield calls things like this "earned views" -- you spend time hiking up, you have earned the view. So it was great to have a quiet weekend in this cozy tower and just watch the skies and read and relax. Perfect. 

By our next check-in I hope to have gotten more than a few stitches in my next piece -- kittens permitting, of course!

The other stitchers in this stitch-a-long are always working on amazingly beautiful and diverse projects. Go check out their blogs and get inspired: Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Cindy, and Helen.

See you in three weeks!