Coffee and Cross Stitch

Pay It Forward

This fall marked my 13th year as one of the marching instructors for my high school marching band.  13 years that flew right on by.  It started as a community service project for one of my seminar classes my junior year in college, and I just kept on teaching.

I'm kind of a band geek.

And guess what?  I'm totes ok with this.  I'm an athlete at my very core, and nothing makes me happier than holding a softball, even just to  imagine striking someone out one last time, but there's something about the arts, music especially, that just captivates me.

The staff has become some of my closest friends, and at this point, I honestly don't know what I'd do without my time with them 3 days a week during the season. 

This year has had its rough patches, and this fall, through the kindess of the music program, I was the recipient of a random act of kindness (RAK).  And guess what?  I've decided to pay that forward.

So here, today, I'm announcing a giveaway right here on this lil' ol' blog.  I'm forever grateful for all those who stop here, see what I create, get inspired, leave comments, etc.  I'm all over Instagram, snapping pics of what I do, bake, create, all of it, and I'm also constantly inspired by those creatives that I follow.   I LOVE seeing what everyone is stitching (I seriously need to get caught up on Plum Street Samplers' Christmas SAL....)

For the stitchers who follow me on Instagram (and if you don't, click on the insta link on the right and follow the insanity!!), you know I'm 16 shades of crazy, because I'm almost always stitching on 40 count fabric.  I know right.  Insane.

But I also know that there are other crazies out there, and if you love fabric as much as I do, you'll love what I'm offering.

These beautiful pieces of fabric ---

From left to right, they are: Sandcastle, Antique Gold (which looks green in this picture, but there is a gold twinge to it in person), Brandied Apples, and Buttercream.  Each piece measures 13" x 18".

All fabrics are from Silkweaver, and are AWESOME.  I've totally fallen in love with the quality fabric they have, and the dyes are amazing.

So, what do you have to do to be entered?  Simple - leave me a comment, and tell me what you're grateful for this fall, and for what you'd use the fabric.  A host of Christmas ornaments?  A bunch of Blackbird Designs smalls for your home decor?  A gift for a friend?!  The possibilites are endless :-)

This giveaway will be open through 30 November 13.  Tell your friends!  Share the wealth!  Pay it forward!!

Much love ~~~

 

Update on 1 December 2013 - this giveaway is now closed.  Thank you!!

I Heart NYC | Travel

I love New York City.  I love it. 

I love walking through the streets in the Fashion District, staring at all the bolts of fabric in the windows, and wandering aimlessly through mood. 

Seriously.  These rolls of fabric just go on for miles.....

And going into places like M&J Trimming and Tinsel Trading Company and just drooling over the unique trims and vintage embellishments you can use in your creative endeavors. 

Kinda makes me want to pretend I could actually make a living doing stuff with all that fabric. 

Oh, to dream.  But that's what NYC is all about, right?  So you can be a dreamer of dreams?

{sigh}

I do so much love going up there, though.  Being in Philly, it's a short train ride from Trenton to Penn Station, and I'm ready to take on the streets.  I went up to NYC one day over Labor Day weekend, and decided this trip that I wanted to wander around SoHo.  More specifically, I wanted to find this particular bakery ~

Gluten free.  Refined sugar free.  Vegan.  TO.DIE.FOR.  I got a chocolate chip cookie sandwich with mint filling, a pumpkin cupcake, a lemon cupcake, a samoa donut (YAH. SAMOA.), and a container filled with chocolate filled brownie bites.

Words cannot describe how good these were.

There's nothing like walking through Little Italy ~

And getting to see the Flatiron building for the first time was pretty awesome --

I love New York, and I can't wait to go back.

 

A Gift Wrap Idea

Yesterday, I took a trip to central jerz to see one of my besties from college for her son's 2nd bday.  H-Man is 2 already.  Can't friggin believe it.  

Side note: best part about being an aunt (besides having H-Man scream over the phone "BYE AUNT JACKI!!! BYE!!! I LOVE YOU!!! BYE AUNT JACKI!!!!" and actually be able to pronounce a "j" at 2....) is that I get to go to the children's section of Barnes and Noble, and go straight to Dr. Seuss.  I may or may not have a slight obsession with Dr. Seuss.....still....at 32....

...ahem....

Armed with four of the most important beginner Dr. Seuss books a kid can have (we'll get into the more advanced Dr. Seuss books like How The Grinch Stole Christmas and The Lorax at a later date) (aside from the one and only, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish) - There's a Wocket in my Pocket, The Cat in the Hat, Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now!!, and Oh, The Thinks You Can Think, I spread out on the dining room table to wrap them all up, only to remember that I have no baby/kid wrapping paper.

Naturally.  Why would I check to see if I had any BEFORE I went out to get his gift?  Because, duh, that would make too much sense.

I do, however, have plain brown paper, which is easy to dress up and make pretty.  Also - 2-year-olds generally don't care about the paper - they just want to rip it off to get to the good stuff.

Mkay.  So, how did I end up making brown paper look cute?  Simple.

 

Fabric riboon and a cute tag.  My cousin wrapped our Christmas gifts similarly this past Christmas, and I thought it was a fantastic idea.  Simple and pretty.  So, for H-Man, I chose three jelly roll strips that I had in my stash - all coordinating, of course - wrapped two around the gift, and then used one to tie the bow.  The tag I made with a simple stamp I got at Paper Source, distressed the edges, and wrote the sentiment on the other side.  Before tying the bow with the yellow ribbon, I attached the tag with twine to the fabric, which was then hidden from view after I tied the yellow fabric ribbon.

So easy, yet still cute and polished.  You end up looking like you actually had it together when you wrapped this gift, even though if your friends could have seen you frantically running around the house trying to figure out how the hell you're going to wrap books with no wrapping paper, they'd wonder how you survive without wearing a helmet and elbow pads on a daily basis.

There you have it!  A cute and simple way to wrap gifts!  Don't have fabric remnants all over your house?  Use ribbon instead! Get a roll of wide ribbon, and do the same thing.  It looks just as awesome.  Trust :-)

Much love ~~~

October "Word Play" and a Giveaway!

Hello all my lovely followers!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend!  Here in the States, it was Labor Day weekend, so most people had the day off.  I hope you were all able to have a relaxing weekend, since this weekend unoffically marks the end of summer.  Time flies, that's for damn sure.  I feel like it was just the 4th of July.

Once I got rid of a migraine that sidelined me most of Friday and Saturday, I spent the weekend feverishly stitching.  Most of that time was spent on Rachel's wedding gift, but I was able to final stitches in my October "Word Play".  I think it turned out super cute on this fabric - Antique Almond by Silkweaver.  The muted browns & oranges for fall really mixed well with the dye of this fabric, and I love how it turned out!

October "Word Play" by With Thy Needle & Thread

Oh so cute!!!!

I just love that witch.  She's all cute with her pumpkin in her hand, but you know that cauldron will be used for a spell that's beyond awesome once the sun goes down....just sayin'....

I did manage to put down my needle & thread for long enough to take the train up to NYC for the day on Sunday.  It was an overcast & humid day, but not hot, so it was a perfect day to walk through the city.  I'd been wanting to visit this trim store called M&J Trimming since I'd seen pics on Holly Becker's blog,decor8.  She was teaching in NYC, and stopped in to M&J and snapped some pics.  Since then, I've been dying to get in there and see what was up.  (btdubs - Holly is a wonderful creative person to follow - she's got a great blog & takes awesome pics that she shares on Instagram)

Garment District in NYC!

This store was seriously insane with the amount of trim, ribbon, buttons...you name it, they had it.  I had a specific project in mind for trim that I wanted (which will be shown in a later post), but I found myself wanting almost everything I saw, so that I had it just in case.  I know you all know what I mean...

M&J Trimming

 Seriously.  Does not even hold a candle to how much stuff was in this store.  It was almost overwhelming.  I can't wait to go back...next time I'm going when the fabric stores are all open....like mood....yesssss.......

Ok.  So enough about walls and walls of trim and dreams of mood fabric.  You got this far, and now you're wondering where I hid this supposed giveaway, amiright?

Well, kids, here it is:

I'm giving away the stitched October "Word Play" pictured in the beginning of this post!!  We're all about to get ready to decorate for the fall, and this lil' guy would make a perfect addition to your decorations!  You can hang it on a doorknob, or have it sit out on a table, or hang it up on the wall!  Whatever! 

To win my stitched piece:

Follow me here at this blog and leave a comment telling me your favorite Halloween memory (embarrassing costume party stories are highly encouraged. ;-)).

For additional chances to win, you will get an extra entry for each of the following you complete:

1) Share this giveaway on your blog.  Come back here and leave a comment with a link to your post which shares the giveaway. 
2) Follow me on twitter, come back to this post and tell me that you did. 
3) Tweet this giveaway. Come back here and leave a comment telling me that you did.
4) Like my blog's page on facebook.  Come back to this post and leave a comment telling me you did. 
5) Share this post on facebook to your friends and/or followers.  Come back here and leave a comment telling me that you did.
6) Follow me on Instagram.  Comment on your favorite crafty pic that I've posted to date.  Come back here and leave a comment telling me you did.
7) Follow me on Google+.  Come back here and leave a comment telling me you did.

All links to my social media sites (twitter/facebook/google+/etc) can be found in the right sidebar of my blog.

Again, you will get one entry for each of the comments you leave.  If you leave anonymous comments, please include your email address in your comment so that I can contact you if you win.  Otherwise, please ensure your contact information is included in your profile so I can contact you if you win.  

Giveaway closes at 11:59 PM EST 19 September 2012.  Winner will be chosen at random.  

Thank you all for following me and my crazy stiching and crafting!  I love sharing all my ideas and projects here with each and every one of you!  

Go forth and be crafty...and GOOD LUCK!!!!  :-)

More Sewing Fun

Well.  I survived.

I survived a 1st birthday party with more kids in one house than I thought could actually fit.

For those of you who don't know, me and small children aren't really friends.  Now, my high school band kids?  They rock.  Small children that scream for no reason whatsoever?  Not cool.

BUT.  This was for my T-girl, the daughter of one of my good friends from high school.  She turned 1 last Friday, and her party was on Saturday.  

There is one good thing about shopping for babies:  babygap.  Oh, yes.  babygap.  Here's a fun tidbit to know and tell:  I once worked for Gapkids/babygap.  Yep.  I was the denim/khaki specialist, and could make those walls and walls of denim and khakis just look perfect and pristine.  I was that crazy person with a cart and piles and piles of denim stacked around me, folding away like Rainman.  Touch my perfect wall of denim and you lost a hand.  Sometimes I'd be nice and I'd let you get away with only losing a few fingers.

I digress.

babygap.  T-girl. 

Another fantastic place to be when you're shopping for baby gifts:  Pottery Barn Kids.  Oh man.  At one point, they had The Grinch sheets.  GRINCH.  SHEETS.  If you are unaware with my complete and total obsession with Dr. Seuss, particularly The Grinch That Stole Christmas, go to this post where I freak out only slightly about fabric I bought.

Ok.  So, my shopping consisted of one item from babygap (because omg i couldn't resist) and one item from Pottery Barn Kids.  Again, couldn't resist.  I wanted to get her something else, but nothing was hitting me.

Then, I thought to myself, "Self.  Why buy something when you can MAKE something????"  

I mean, really.  

I have the tools, an amazing craft room, and a sewing machine.  I'm totes making something.

I remembered I have leftover fabric from the apron I made for my sister for her birthday, and I thought this would make a perfect pillow sham,  much like this one that I made for myself last week.

I switched it up a bit, and I decided that nothing said "baby" like a cute quilted pattern.  

OOOOOMG.  How adorbs is this????!??!!!?!  This turned out so daggone cute!!  

OK!!!  I did the same type of sham back covering, so Katie can take the pillow out and wash it every so often, along with the cover itself.

So.  Darn.  C-U-T-E.  Cricut owners:  you can cut fabric with your Cricut!!!  The possibilities are endless when you have a die cutter that can cut your fabric into shapes!!! 

Once I figure out the precise combination of speed and pressure, it'll be wonderful, that is.  This time around, I couldn't get it to make clean cuts on the fabric, so I cut paper and traced it on the fabric.

Moving on....since you're all supposed to believe that I'm absolutely perfect at everything....

This is the birthday card I made for the occasion --

Cute, amiright??  I love that birthday cake.  It's so...slanted....and it looks delicious.  Actually, now that I think about it, I think I showed you guys this pic already.  Wow.  I'm losing my damn mind.  Huh.  Well, there's the card.  Again.  ("Yeah, thanks, Jack.  We saw this already.  Aren't you doing anything new and innovative in your craft room???  Sheesh.")

Patience, peeps. There is much going on in my craft room, I just can't show you all the deets yet.  Somewhere aroundabout 23 April I should be able to show you more.  But not before then.  Well, not anything that I've been feverishly working on, anyways. 

Until tomorrow...or the weekend....whenever I have something supercool to show you (like the chipboard album I made last night -- keep an eye on that Instagram feed on the top left of my blog -- you'll find pics there that don't always make it to the blog right away....and it updates almost once a day....just sayin'......).  

Much love to all of you, my crazy crafting & stitching friends!

~~~ J

My sewing machine and I are bff's.

It was a dark and stormy night...

Well, not really...but it was a dreary Saturday, Sunday morning and afternoon until the sun came out.  This also equates to a 3-day headache.  Friday was gorrrggggg outside (i had to weed, people.  weed my garden.  unacceptable for march.), and then the storms came.  Such drastic changes in the weather usually mean certain headaches arrive.

And they did.

No migraine, thank goodness, but a bad enough headache to sideline me for most of the weekend.  When I was able to function for a bit, I decided to do bond with my sewing machine, something I haven't done in a while.  Quite possibly since I made my sister's apron.  That was a long time ago, peeps.

So, I grabbed one of the most recent tutorials from the Moda Bake Shop, which uses jelly roll strips.  This is called a Strippy Pillow, and I thought it was just so cute and it looked super simple, that I decided to give it a whirl.  I have many leftover jelly roll strips from when I made myself a nook cover, so I figured this was a perfect way to use up some of the strips.

This is SO easy.  SO EASY.  Seriously.  If I can do this, so can you.  It only took 2.5 hours, and that includes cutting the fabric, ironing, and pinning each strip.  Start to finish - 2.5 hours.  I was on a time-crunch, too -- GCB was starting at 10p, and I had to make the start of the show.  I so did.  Annie Potts + Kristen Chenowith = pure gold.

OK!!  Adorbs!!  This would make a fabulous gift for a teen girl for her bday or Christmas or whatevs!  It's a sham, if you will...note the back --

This fits a 16" square pillow (which i don't have at the moment, but i'm sure i can scrounge one up at joann's with my 40% off coup - gotta love coups), and it totes washable, so you don't have to worry about it getting dirty!  You can just throw it in the wash with the dark delicates, and viola!  All clean!

I haven't quite decided where this will finally make its home, but rest assured it'll be in a place where everyone can see it :-)

That's my craftyness for today!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Go forth and be crafty :-)

Much love :-)

~ ~ ~ J

February.

I said it before, I'll say it again...holy crap on a cracker. (bonus points to the follower who can cite where i got my new favorite saying)  February is almost over.  I still can't believe it.  Easter will soon be here.  How do I know that?  Well, it's not because the weather is getting warmer -- it never really got all that cold here in Philly.  I'm not complaining because I cannot stand winter, but it kinda freaks me out.  Not gonna lie.  We've hovered in the high 40's low 50's almost all winter.  Weird.  

But back to my question - how do I know Easter is almost here?  Today is Fat Tuesday, which means tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, which means today I should have made a gluten-free version of all these fantastic cakes I keep seeing pics of to celebrate Mardis Gras.  But then I'd have to schedule in baking time between putting laundry into the washer, and walking up the steps.  Not enough time.

I seriously need a time-turner.  

In all this time I've been absent from the blogosphere, I've been doing some stitching, doing a lot of papercrafting/scrapbooking/cardmaking (go here to see the "Save the Dates" I made for my sister in case you missed them), and trying to keep it all straight.  Oh, and I got a cold in there somewhere, so I was out of commission for a few days, but I'm back in the saddle.  I'm still a little congested, but I'm hoping tomorrow I'll be back in my workout routine.

Today I'm going to share a recent finish I did from the "Word Play" series by Brenda over at With Thy Needle and Thread.   I'll be honest - I didn't expect to like this series.  At all.  In fact, I thought this was another prim design series that I just wouldn't be able to stand; however, I really, really like this series.  Like, a lot a lot.  I have all of them so far (October through February - March isn't out just yet), and can't wait to get started on the next one.  

I've been collecting a bunch of "smalls" that I've been working on, since I want to make a cutie little basket for display in my living room.  I plan on using this series as part of the display so I can have a theme of sorts, and I can switch up the other "smalls" in the basket to accompany the month as it applies.  You know, have Easter-themed "smalls" during March and April, maybe throw a St. Patty's Day "small" in there, too (remember this???); flags during the summer for all the Americana holidays; Halloween ones during October...I think you get the picture.  I'll take one once I can get my act together and create this wonderful basket of stitched goodies.  Ha!

OK so finalllllyyyyyyyy.....here is the pic of my finished "February" --

I haven't stuffed it yet, nor have I put the piping around the edges like I want (clearly), but at least I sewed the backing fabric on!  That's quite the accomplishment.  Trust me!  Also - a word to the wise - see that teeny tiny opening at the bottom right?  The one not much wider than the width of my pinky finger?  Leave yourself a little more room than that for turning the piece inside-out.  Jusssst wanted to throw that out there...

Like I said before, I really like this series.  This February isn't too Valentine-y, not all red, and very earthy.  Like I was just telling one of my dear stitching friends, I find my tastes in cross stitch patterns are changing, and I find myself drawn to these more earthy, primitive designs. 

Faboo!!  Something about those keys really draws me in.  I'm kinda obsessed with this old theme of keys.  Not sure why.  But I am.  I feel a pattern in the making.

Seriously though, peeps, love this pattern and all the rest of them that have been released.

Here's a shocker for you all -- I didn't change any of the floss colors this time.  I know, right.  As I wait for all my friends to pick themselves up off the floor, I'll explain - I didn't want it to lose its primitive feel.  So, I felt that the Crescent Color earth tones that Brenda chose were appropriate (although, i'll admit, it was really, REALLY hard for me to leave the word "february" blue.  i almost changed it to a shade of red.), and therefore, I kept them all.

I did change the fabric, though, which is almost a given at this point.  I chose 40 count "Cider" by Silkweaver.  Awesome.  Also brings my giant stash down to 36 lifetimes v. 42 lifetimes' worth.  Gotta keep pluggin' away at that 40 count stash.   The finished stitched area ends up at 4" high x 6.25" wide if you use 40 count.

Before I go, I want to leave you with a small aside - I'm working on a big project at the moment, but unfortunately cannot reveal any sneak peeks or any details other than this --

I hope to be able to post other little projects I'm also working on in between completing chunks of this, but for now, this picture is all I can reveal.  I know some of you are hating right now, but you'll just have to wait until I have the finished product framed :-)

Until next time...

Love and stiches ~ ~ ~

Winter is coming...

Any "Game of Thrones" fans out there???  I CANNOT wait for the new season to begin.  Cannot wait.  I love my HBO series......but I do not love that they make you wait a full friggin year for the new season of your favorite shows.  Makes me angry.  "Boardwalk Empire" just ended, now I gotta wait till April for GOT.  Not happy.  I need something to keep me going these cold winter nights.

Well.  Once it actually GETS cold.  I'm not complaining....but I'm kinda freaked out.  64 degrees today in Philly.  Way weird.  

Anyhooter.  I have pics of a WIP I got goin' on in my den.  It's fitting for the time of year despite the fact that it's not actually cold out.  Yet.

I have a few Prairie Schooler patterns, but I haven't done any of them...until now.  I found this one in my stash - "Winter" - and thought it was appropriate to do now that Christmas is behind us (anyone else feel like it was for serious a month ago already???  how does that happen??  the week after Christmas and I already think it's been behind us for months.).

So...I went through my fabric stash (which these days, is a bit ridiculous.  i signed up for the fabric of the month in 2011 with Shakespeare's Peddler, and i'm now the proud owner of 12 (yes, 12) fat halves of 40 count fabric.  i'll let you ponder that for a moment, and you can all gasp in astonishment and slight horror when you realize how long after i'm dead this fabric will last.  a small hint:  a long, long time.), and picked out a very pretty piece of "Autumn Blush" from Silkweaver.  I wanted something light so you could see the contrasting dark DMC colors once it's stitched.  

It's turning out rather nicely, if I do say so myself...even if it's taking me foreverandafreakingday since it's TINY.  Seriously.  I do not know what I was thinking when I got so much of this count fabric.  I mean....so much.  I'm swimming in 40 count.  

(sigh)

Pretty, huh?!  :-)  I put my scissors next to it so you could see just how tiny this comes out when you're stitching it on 40 count fabric.  Itsy bitsy teeny weeny (yellow polka dot bikini!).  No fiber changes on this one - I'm stitching it using the same DMC that the sample was stiched in.

I also have been spending some QT in my craft room doing some scrapbooking.  I have pictures from the shore from this past summer, but not enough to fill a big 12x12 book, so I decided to give these mini albums a whirl.  I've been seeing them all over the place, and finally gave it a go.

Let me tell you - these mini albums are GREAT!  I  used a book I already had, but I plan on doing a chipboard album soon so I can try some different stuff.  I don't know what the theme will be, but I'm def doing it!  Here's a peek at a few of the pages I did for the shore pics I took (sadly, I'm not in a single pic....):

Aren't they fun?!  I have to go back and add some embellishments to some of the pages, but for the most part, it's complete.  For those of you who do scrapbooking in addition to your needlework, I suggest you try a mini album!  They're super cute and tons of fun!  I also find they're a little less work than the big books, so you have (almost) instant gratification!

That's it for me for the moment.  I know you've all been so patient waiting for me to post pics of stuff I've been working on, and I appreciate you all hanging in there until I finally get around to posting them!

Much love ~

 

EEK!!

I'm finally able to post these and have them be seasonally appropriate! 

These are from Lizzie Kate and the chart is called "Eek Boo Hiss!" 

I finished "Eek" and "Boo" on 28 count Monster Mash from Picture this Plus.  It's a GREAT Halloween green, and with the bright colors that Linda uses in her pieces, they just pop off the fabric!

Look at the tiny white buttons for eyes!  Love!

More spooky eyes!!  Love it! (That witch isn't all that scary, though, is she?  She kinda looks like the witch from Looney Tunes, the one whose house Bugs ends up at trick-or-treating, and she wants to throw him into a stew...and I think there's one with her and Sylvester....please tell me I'm not the only one who remembers these!! View this photo) 

Ok now this one might be my favorite.  Reasons?  1) I'm partial to purple, and this has it all over the place, including in the fabric a little.  I chose 28 count Stormy Grey for this, and I love how it turned out.  All of the colors just jump off at you!  2) This is my cat.  I'm serious.  Ok not really, but it sure as heckfire could be!  This is the look my slick black cat gives me as I'm walking through the living room, the dining room, MY bedroom...just about anywhere that she thinks I should be avoiding because she's there.  Pain.  In.  The.  Rear.

This is right before she jumped LITERALLY straight up into the air, landed on all fours, back arched, tail puffed, and instead of scaring ME, scared herself, and ran into the other part of the third floor.

Please ignore the hideous 80's carpet and purple and yellow sponge paint on the walls that hurts my entire face.  I have the previous owners to thank for that shenanigans.

Ahem.

Moving on.

That's pretty much all the Halloweeny I have going on in Philly at the moment.  I have a few things I'll be working on as the days go by and the nights start getting cooler and longer, so keep an eye out for some more Halloween/fall things to pop up around here!

Love and stitches :-)

Ok...so this is turning out pretty cool...

Hellooooooo everyone!!  Just a snippity snap of a post here in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.  I've been working almost non-stop on "16 Men on a Dead Man's Ship" by Cricket Collection, and, I gotta say, the color changes I made have been turning out super duper so far.

If you click on the link of the name of the graph, you'll see a picture of the stitched sample done for the graph...which includes what is, in my opinion, some of the ickiest fabric ever.  Why, WHY would you do a fanfreakingtastic spooky Halloween graph on pea soup green fabric???  Boggles my mind.  BUT, this also allows me to go, "Ah,  no." and pick my own color :-)  For those of you who've been following my progress with this project, you'll know that I picked one of the coolest colors out there for Halloween:  Haunted by Picture this Plus.  So awesome.  Comes second only to PTP's Echo.  For realz.  (for those of you who may be new to my blog, I have a slight love affair with Picture this Plus and Silkweaver fabrics.  Stay tuned for that never ending soap opera.  Well, until abc cancels it, and deems it only worthy for Internet viewers to ensure the failure and eventual forever cancellation.  I digress........)

Ok.  So.  Here's what you've all been waiting for......my progress!

How.cool.is.this!!?!?! 

I changed the fiber for the words -- I used Weeks Dye Works "Beehive" instead of drab grey.   Way, way better.  I mean, it's Halloween!  And it's a ghost ship!  This needs to be spooky and creepy!  Not pea soup and kinda spooky.

Yes, my friends.  This is pretty awesome.  The ghost ship is floating on Weeks Dye Works "Aqua" instead of ick green.  I mean, the sea can be green, as noted by Crayola's color, Sea Green, but theirs is way prettier than the pea soup sea green chosen to go along with the ick green fabric.  

I just realized I've been slamming the designer's choice of fabric and fibers through this whole post!  I obviously think this is a really cool design, HOWEVER, since it's a Halloween piece, I think she could have made just a few slight changes to make this a truly spooky piece.  BUT, since she didn't, that means my right brain was able to jump into action and think of alternatives :-)

I mean, come on.  This is pretty daggone cool :-)

That's all I have for the moment, folks, but don't change that dial, because this week will also bring you house updates (yes, I've been doing some changes around here....check out my post from a few months back about the horrors of previous owners and how to restore the aesthetic appeal of your home), gluten-free eats, and maybe some more cross stitch or sewing awesomeness.

Thanks for checking in, everyone!  I read each and every comment, and cherish every one!  Remember to do something creative today!  :-)