Coffee and Cross Stitch

Hello Fall | Cross Stitch

Hello fall!  I honestly wasn't sure the temperatures would ever cool off.  While I welcome the warmth of summer, I am grateful the temps finally dipped below 90 degrees.  I'm tired of sweating all the time.  I don't know how Texans do it.  Plus, I have new boots for fall that I'm exited to wear!  

While trying to summon in the cooler temps, I put down my patriotic and summer pieces for a minute and pulled out one for autumn - Hello Fall by Plum Street Samplers.

I used a remnant for this piece - this is 32 count Desert Sand...but by what maker I have zero clue.  I used the majority of this fabric for Autumn by Cricket Collection, which I stitched a few years ago.

There are many fun motifs in this pattern, but I think I love the white pumpkin best.

The acorns are also adorable!

Seriously so many vibrant colors in this piece - I wish these pictures did them justice!

I hope you all are enjoying the cooler temps (or warmer, depending on where you are in your corner of the stitching world!)!  May you all have a wonderful end to your week!!

Happy stitching!

November.

Did anyone else have the same reaction as I did when I turned my planner page this month?

"Wait.  What?!"  

That's what I said last Monday.  Aloud.  At my desk.  At work.  People stopped and stared.  As if Mondays aren't bad enough.

I mean, clearly, 1 November comes after 31 October, but this year for some reason, I thought my planner was playing silly planner games.  Like, no way was it already November.

No.freaking.way.

BUT.  You DO know what that means, right?  CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE!

I cannot even contain my excitement about Christmas.  Literally.cannot.even.  I listened to Christmas music today at work while writing a memo.  I did a chair dance when Mariah's "Oh, Santa!" came on shuffle.

Don't you get all judgy on me.  You know you do the same thing, every time.  Yup.  Every time.

In other news, I actually have a finish!  Score!  AND, it's Halloween-themed!  I was on a Halloween roll there for a while.  I'm over it now, though, because....Christmas.

Anyways.  Halloween!  Witches!  Snakes!  Pumpkins!  Bats!  They're all in this fun piece from Prairie Schooler -

Ooooo....spooky.....

 

Those skulls, tho!

 

BOO!!

The Master and The Macabre | Cross Stitch

Well, friends, it's officially fall, which means it's almost hibernation season.  It was downright windy and chilly last night, and I'm not happy about it.  The only thing good about fall is the clothes.  Well, and pumpkin spice bread.  And boots.  I wore my black boots on Friday for the first time since probably March, and it felt awesome.  

It's also time to start living in leggings and big, warm sweatshirts on weekends with a mug of mulled cider (which reminds me...I need to get more mulling spices.....).  I got a pair of leg warmers to help layer and keep me warm (don't you judge me - you know you want a pair...or five...), and oh my god do they work.  As someone who suffers from some degree of joint and muscle pain daily, these things are amazing at keeping my legs warm and from cramping.  They also may or may not make me sing, "FAME! I'M GONNA LIVE FOREVER!" to myself while I'm wearing them.

That may or may not happen.

More importantly, fall means I stitch fall things, and this one in particular was incredibly fun to stitch.

The Master and The Macabre.

HOW COOL IS THIS?????

OMG.  The fabric....just....I can't.

THAT INKWELL.  I want it.  I also want that raven - I'm pretty sure Poe borrowed him from Maleficent, and I love all things Maleficent (she's the best Disney villain, in my opinion), so, ergo, vis-a-vis, I love that raven and need him.

THIS HOUSE.  I want to stitch everything in the variegated silk that's in the roof.  I also want a door that looks like this one.  a) it's purple; 2) it has gold around the doorknob; and d) it's purple. 

And then, there's the moon, peering over the haunted house.  Just creepin' up there in the corner....lookin' at all his poems come to life....

GAH. 

Ok.  So, I've been promising to publish my color changes, and I make good on my promises.

I will say this - I had planned on making A LOT more changes, but as I started stitching, most of them didn't end up working out.  I think because the fabric I chose to stitch this piece on is so drastically different from the model in the picture on the graph, that the changes I wanted to make would have looked great on the suggested fabric, but not so much on this one.  

Changes are as follows:

Fabric used:  32 count Dusk by Picture This Plus

Fiber changes:
DMC 926 is changed to WDW Pewter for the lettering
DMC 3811 is changed to WDW Aqua
DMC 646 is changed to WDW Galvanized for the woman's hair (she's hanging out the window, all strung out) and in the inkwell
DMC 310/black is changed to WDW Mascara for the black in the raven, the inkwell, and the line under the house (special note about the raven: I originally planned on using CC Black Crow for the raven, because, duh, but it actually has too much blue in it.  Because this fabric is such a dark dyed blue, the Black Crow didn't show up as I stitched, so I made the switch to WDW Mascara, which has just enough of a variation to make it look like the sheen of a raven's feathers.)

Note that for all but one of my changes, I only made the change in certain areas, not every place that color is used.  

Again, the biggest reason I didn't make more drastic changes to the fibers is because the fabric I chose made most of the original colors punch you right in the face as you stitched.  No need for dramatic fibers when the fabric is stealing the show.  

It is also important to note that I used all of the Silk'n Colors called for in the graph.  If you decide that might not use the silks, I think that you could get away with the DMC alternative for all of them except two:  Desert Moss and Acorn Woods.  These are the variegated colors in the roof and in the shingles on the side of the house.  They're not variations of a solid color, they actually move between a few different colors (which you should be able to see in the pics above) as you stitch.  If you want the same effect in your roof and house, then I highly suggest you get these two silks, even if you decide not to get the others.

These color changes will be published on my Fabric and Floss page for easy reference, should you want to make the same changes in this piece as I did, and need a quick reference.  If you do, please link back or tag me in your Instagram shots (if you're on IG) so that I can see your progress!  I love seeing everything everyone does.  

Welcome September! | Cross Stitch

You guys!  September is upon us!  It's Africa hot out there....and I just choked on a cubic foot of humidity.  

But fear not - the stores are filled to the brim with pumpkins and witches and black cats and skulls, so cooler weather is on the horizon.  Well, hopefully.  At the very least, all this means that Halloween will be here before you know it.  

And then....CHRISTMAS.  Which, as you all know, is the season I live for every.single.year.

First though, let's have Halloween.  Because I do love pumpkin bread.  And pumpkin pancakes.  And pumpkin spiced anything.  And my Autumn Wreath Yankee candle....which I may or may not have been burning since 1 September....

ahem.

Let's also talk about my progress on The Master and The Macabre.

It's not exactly a Halloween piece...but it's E.A. Poe, so it's haunted and horrifying....so it fits....

I mean, how tormented is she?!  Her hair is a hot mess, and she's reaching for someone who's not there...

And, hello!  Spooky, faded, torn curtains.  Loveloveloving these silks.  I have a greater appreciation these days for silks - yeah, they're more expensive, but look at that variation!  The rotting roof!  The curtains!  I can't.  Totally worth the extra pennies.  Or dollars.  Or my left arm.  Whatever gets me that silk thread.  

I mean, that fabric though.  I literally can't even right now.

 

Happy Halloween!!

Well.  October flew by.

Before you know it, it'll be CHRISTMAS.

I know I know I know I know.  But I kinda can't wait.  

I finally did the finish work for Beggar's Night!  Just in time to put it out for one day, and then get out all my Thanksgiving stuff.  Eh.  Whatevs.  Better late than never.

Cute next to my wood inlay box from Sorrento, right?  (sigh) Now I wanna go back to Europe.  Tomorrow.

Happy Halloween, everyone!  Be safe!  

Sleepy Hollow | Cross Stitch

“There is nothing like the silence and loneliness of night to bring dark shadows over the brightest mind.” 
― Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories

Christmas is hands-down-without-a-doubt my favorite holiday ever, but Halloween is a close second.  The crisp air, the fallen leaves, the spooky effects.....I love it.  

When I saw the Cricket Collection piece, Sleepy Hollow, I knew I had to stitch it.  Now, the graph calls for it to be stitched in three panels so it's a 3-D piece when you're done.  No thanks.  That takes too much effort.  

So I took it and stitched it all as one giant piece.

Like so.

I. Love. This.

The trees.  The fallen leaves.  

The fountain.  The Headless Horseman.  Ichabod Crane.  I can't.

 

I'm in love with these pumpkins, and THAT TREE.  I want that in front of my house.  Stat.

Now.  The roof of that house is obsenely large.  The thread used is a WDW color...which escapes me at the moment.....but know this: the designer doesn't tell you how many skeins you need - plan on getting AT LEAST 6 skeins.  You need them all from the same dye lot to have the right effect.  I got lucky, and when I went back to get more, the dye lots were pretty close.  I can see where I started with a skein from a different dye lot, but hopefully I'm the only one who notices.  Same goes for the church - that is stitched in WDW Pewter, and you need AT LEAST 5 skeins.  It's not quite as large as the roof of the house, but again, you need them from the same dye lot. 

Another thing: I stitched this on Blue Moon Java, which is what the pattern calls for.  Rumor on the street is that this is tough to get these days, if you can get it at all.  I would suggest using something wicked cool from Picture this Plus fabrics like Cauldron, Dusk, Echo, Haunted (which is what I used for Skeleton Crew), Nocturne, or whatever floats your boat.

(Please note that I do not get anything from PTP for suggesting their fabrics.  I'm a huge fan of their product, and am simply making suggestions for alternatives in the absence of Blue Moon Java.)

I absolutely loved stitching this, and the framing turned out beautifully, as usual.  Lise at my LNS does absolutely phenomenal work.  Thank you, Lise!!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 

Goodbye Summer. | Cross Stitch

How is the summer over already??  HOW???  I feel like we just got out of that horren winter (side note: i heard through the grapevine that the jet stream moved, and we're in for winters like that ALL THE TIME NOW??????? i'm moving to costa rica.), and here we are on the cusp of fall.  Le sigh.

I had this post all ready and waiting for a few final touches, and then I got sick.  Really sick.  Sick like I don't normally get until say, late October or even March.  Three weeks of congestion and coughing is not fun, and I don't recommend it.  Also, steriod antibiotics and me do NOT get along.

Ugh.  Anyway.

So much of what I had written is like, so two weeks ago, so I'll instead give you a snip of what I've been stitching.  I have some super-secret-on-the-down-low projects going (I know...again...), so the big reveal of that shiz will be soonish. 

Until then, it's all about Halloween/fall stitching.

I went rooting through my stash the other day, and picked out this lovely piece from Plum Street Samplers:

It's called "Halloween Delivery" and is very reminiscent of something out of an E.A. Poe poem...perhaps it's the gigantic raven drawing the carriage....or the little one on the wheel.  I can't know.  I do know that all that black does get boring, so the pumpkins were a welcome change when I got to stitch in color.

I am kinda obsessed with this carriage for some reason.  That purple valence just kinda adds to the creepiness, doesn't it?! 

What are you guys working on?  Have you done any fall/Halloween stitching or craft projects yet?!  

Speaking of which, I need to decorate for fall....

 

Non-traditional Halloween Smalls | Cross Stitch

Plum Street Samplers is quickly becoming one of my favorite designers.  Paulette has been coming up with some super cute designs recently, and I've had to grab every single one of them.

One of her graphs which came out last year (but I didn't get it until this year) is called "Stranded Jacks".  It's five different Halloween smalls, which can be stitched as one piece all in a row, or each individually as smalls.  I chose to do them each individually.

They're not your typical Halloween graphs, that's for sure, but they are super cute.

They're not named individually, so I've been naming them as I go.

This one I just called "31 October", but I feel like it needs something more...

(I'm semi-obsessed with that anchor, btdubs....)

This one I named "The Pumpkin Sails at Midnight"...

And then this one, I named "Merwitch Floats Over Pumpkins"...

Wicked, cute, right???  They all have traditional Halloween elements, but then that flair of the open sea.  Who knew this could be so cute & clever?!  

I have two more to stitch up, then I'll finish them as smalls and display them....somewhere....no idea where....

(PS - Paulette is having a Christmas stitch-a-long, if you're interested in joining!  Click on the link for her blog above!)

Wedding Shower Goodies

We all spend so much time with our coworkers, so it's only right that you have some fun during the day.

In our office, we sometimes have too much fun, but when you become good friends with your coworkers, it's bound to happen.

Last week, we were able to celebrate our friends Angela & Joe's pending nuptuals (they got married this past Saturday - yay!) with a combined work bride/groom shower.  Yes, Ang & Joe both work in our office.  In fact, Joe works on my team and Ang works on my sister's team.

Ang is my baking buddy - she worked at a bakery during college, and makes crazy amazing cakes like this one that she did for another coworker's baby shower.  A.MAY.ZING.  We always seem to find ourselves chatting about opening a bakery one day.   

Oh, to dream.

Anyways.

My sister was in charge of most everything, but a bunch of us chipped in to help out with decorations and baking and buying gifts.

I put my Cricut to work, and made this banner for the event --

Her colors were champagne and black, so I did a cream-ish color with the black background and lettering.

As for baking, I made these little maple cakelettes ---

I didn't make these gluten free (I decided to back off the baked goods...I'd inhaled an entire orange spice pumpkin loaf earlier in the week....), but they were gone in no time, so I'm assuming they were fabulous :-)

Erin brought in these cupcakes for the event --

Wicked cute, amiright?!  

Since we were doing a combo bride/groom shower, we had to have a few things that were more manly, so my sister made these a-freaking-dorable cupcakes ---

OK!!!  And they were chocolate with some sort of Irish cream icing with beer batter or somethingorother.  I don't know.  They looked and smelled beyond delish.  

Here's the dessert table in all its glory -

There were also pumpkin oreo bites which somehow didn't make it into the picture, but they also looked devine.  I'm obsessed with pumpkin this time of year, so I was drooling all over the place when they walked into the door.  

Ahem.

No shower is complete without gifts!  We had a table set up with all the gifts, wrapped all nice and pretty from Bed Bath and Beyond for them both to open --

Yes, that one gift is wrapped in dish towels.  Eco friendly, and a great idea!

It was a team effort, led by my sis & Erin.  We had a great time, and Ang & Joe were extremely grateful.

Now they're in Hawaii, relaxing and drinking passion fruit smoothies.  Heavy on the rum.  And I'm totally jealous.

Ang & Joe - love you guys - I hope your honeymoon is off to a fantastic start!  Enjoy every second :-)  

Much love ~~~

Halloween Eve | Cross Stitch

I know I keep saying it, but I just can't believe it's fall already.  Yesterday was the official first day of autumn, and I celebrated by burning my Autumn Wreath candle all day (yes, all day. i'm obsessed with that candle.), and finally, finally finishing the framing for one of my favorite Halloween pieces: Halloween Eve.

Pretty cool, right????  OMG.  I'm serious - this was one of my favorite pieces to stitch, a close second to my Quaker Christmas II.  The patchwork pumpkin is pretty damn cool.

The frame is by Priscilla's Pocket - each one of their frames is hand finished, which is perfect for this piece to give it that rustic feel.

Here's the bottom corner detail ~~

I mean, you can see the brushstrokes and everything.  LOVE.

I just lovelovelove this frame.  It's so unique and fits this piece perfectly.

If you have this graph in your stash, you probably noticed something different about the entire top of this piece - I cut out the sampler portion of it, and used the letters to stitch my initials instead.  I talked about all the changes I made and other fun stuff in this post here, and you can find the info on my fabric choice on my Fabric & Floss page. 

Now I just gotta find a place to hang this.  Decisions, decisions.....

Happy Monday!  Create something beautiful today!!