BOO! Happy weekend! Only two weeks until Halloween now! EEK! Ghosts and witches are getting ready for trick or treating and fun! Yesterday we went to the pumpkin patch and picked out giant pumpkins for my husband to carve! He loves to do that part!! He's pretty good at it because he likes to do wood carving too. Can't wait to see what he makes! Before I start with today's post, I want to say thank you for the wonderful response to my last post on Thursday. You guys are so kind! I received lots of nice notes of encouragement and we have about 15 entries in our giveaway so far. Don't forget - each time email me - you can do more than one entry. THANK YOU!!!
I'm here today with another Halloween cross stitch project! It's been fun sharing this other hobby with you and I've learned that so many of you are also stitchers! Yay! I love Halloween and Christmas stitching the best. I finished up this piece and mailed it to it's recipient so now I can post it!! I made it for my friend Holly who shares my love of the season.... I thought she would like this one!! My hubs and I went to Salem when we were traveling New England on our honeymoon. It was a very cool historical place. You always hear about Salem in history class and in popular culture. And it was neat to be there in person. It was a good stop on our travels. And on a weird note, we had the best bagels of our lives there in Salem too! LOL.
The pattern I used is called Not All Witches Live In Salem and it's by The Witchy Stitcher. I bought the pattern on her Etsy store! (I have tons of her patterns!!) Please check her out on Etsy or Instagram! (The Witchy Stitcher) She has tons of retro and vintage Halloween patterns. I used 14 count Aida fabric and I'll talk more about my finishing as we go through my post. Here's the finished piece. For scale, that is a 7" hoop!
I used my own thread choices. The yellow/gold is a variegated thread from DMC. The threads are from the local craft store. The fabric was in my stash and I don't recall where it came from. It was a pretty fast stitch and the pattern was easy to follow. I finished the top with a broom (from Amazon), a bat charm (Tim Holtz) and some ribbon (my stash)!
I do really love the variegated threads - really cool effect. Try them on your next project!!
The little broom came from Amazon and it had a red string around it. I re-wrapped it with some black embroidery floss to match the project. I tied a double bow and attached the charm with a silver jump ring. The hoop was a plain wooden hoop. I used Black Soot Distress Ink and a water pen to 'paint' it lightly, like a black stain effect.
See the splotches and splashes on the fabric? Yep, Distress Ink again! (It's not just for paper LOL). I used Vintage Photo ink mixed with water and splashed it on the fabric. I also splashed on some gold paint. It looks old and cool!
I think that's all the details!! Here are some more photos.... (As you can tell, I had a really fun time with the staging and photos on this one!)
I took this photo in one of our favorite gift stores that we like to shop at! We went there on our wedding anniversary a couple weeks ago! SO fun!
That's it for today! And for this week! Whew - I told you I had a lot of stuff to share! Thanks for going on this creative journey with me - you make it fun and happy. Have a great weekend! Love you guys. XOXOXO
Always fun to see what you are up to! Almost makes me want to try cross stitch.
Posted by: Rosa M. Vasquez | 10/18/2022 at 06:37 PM
Your friend is going to LOVE this personal gift you made! LOVE the variagated thread...how cool is that!
Posted by: Christine Dol | 10/17/2022 at 04:44 AM
Great job! I love your attention to details. Your embellishments add a fun touch.
Posted by: RuthCM | 10/16/2022 at 07:04 AM
So great and she is going to love it, I'm sure. I love variegated yarns too. Halloween is approaching quickly! I adored this cat when you posted it before. However, I thought it belonged to you ... great job!
Posted by: Anne Sturgeon | 10/15/2022 at 08:51 AM
Charming design & love the verse…..the variegated thread is awesome.
Your staging & photography is fabulous. The overall design is wonderful.
Posted by: Geneva Null | 10/15/2022 at 08:23 AM
What a fun stitched piece!!! Love how you framed it! 🧙♀️
Posted by: Betty Sue | 10/15/2022 at 06:11 AM
Such a great stitch, Wanda! I'm sure your friend loved it. I like the variagated thread, too. It's neat to see how the colors change. Thanks for introducintg me to a new to me designer. I like all the details you added to enhance your stitch, too. You have a wonderful eye for design! Thanks for sharing. Happy stitching!
Posted by: Jeanne | 10/15/2022 at 04:09 AM