Saturday 23 October 2010

A Halloween finish

It's been one of those weeks. You know, the ones where you run around a lot but don't seem to accomplish much! Yup, I'm exhausted but when I take a look around to see what I've done it doesn't look like much of anything. Maybe I'll catch up this weekend. Yeah, right!
On the stitching front however, I do have a finish to share with you. Ta da! It's Halloween Cove!

I knew there wasn't much left to this one but because it mostly involved stitching in the spider webs and the fence I left it until I could sit uninterrupted and give it my full attention. Otherwise I knew the frogs would be stopping by. I also had to give a bit more attention to the ship in this one. When I started stitching the rigging things just weren't adding up and it was because I had stitched in an extra row on the back end of the ship. So some frogging was involved and then I had to restitch the rigging which of course I just loved doing (not)! I'm so pleased with how this one looks and although I can't possibly have it framed in time for this Halloween, I know it will grace may walls for sure next year.
As far as the pumpkin challenge is concerned, I'm almost done with the stitching on another small which I'm hoping to finish as a cube. Halloween Sampler has been an easy and quick stitch which was a lot of fun to do. After it's finished I think I will concentrate on getting some more of my LHN Christmas ornaments stitched.

I have one other new start to share. It's designed by My Big Toe Designs and is called Cast All Your Cares . This one is being done for a friend who I sing with in the church choir. She has always admired my stitching and asked if I could do a piece for her for her new home. We originally picked another design but I wasn't really happy with it and thought this would make a nicer gift. I'll use it as a housewarming gift which will be a surprise to her since she is expecting to pay me for it. I just don't feel right about taking anything from her. She is a good friend and I'd rather do this for her as a gift. I'm stitching it on the recommended Jobelan lambswool and WDW floss. Not much to show yet as you can see.

I've had three unexpected surprises this week. The first was from one of my coworkers, Karen. She also enjoys cross stitching as well as her niece. However it appears that her niece is giving it up and was looking to find a good home for some of her supplies. Karen asked if I was interested in taking the following patterns and floss. There is a lovely Thistle kit, an M Designs piece and 2 samplers from Butternut Road - Summer Sampler and The Rose Sampler. As well there was an assortment of floss including some Caron threads and WDW. I was thrilled and gladly accepted them.











The second surprise was from my friend Trish. Trish and her husband own a local store and she does all the buying for the craft department. It seems she placed an order and when it showed up there was a Jim Shore piece which she didn't remember ordering and which she didn't think would sell well in their store. She asked if I wanted to purchase it from her at a reduced rate because she knew I was a big fan of both Halloween and Jim Shore. Did I? Looky, looky and feast your eyes on Jim Shore's Frightful Halloween Tree. It comes complete with all the ornaments shown. I love it!! I have to apologize for the quality of some of the pics. They're a little grainy. It seems my camera battery is getting low. The little pieces in the foreground did not come with it but did come from her store. Thanks very much Trish for thinking of me!







As for the third suprise, I was the winner of a Halloween draw by Carol. Follow the link to her blog at Stitching Dreams and you can get a peek at my winnings. I was thrilled!! It was a very generous giveaway and I can't wait until my gift arrives. The fabrics she chose look so yummy!

We had our first snowfall here last night. I looked out the window just before bedtime and it was coming down pretty good. Wasn't long before the rooftops were white. Fortunately the ground isn't frozen yet and the temperature was warm enough this morning that when I woke it had all disappeared. I took our boat over to the fairgrounds this morning for storage which is another sure sign that winter is almost here. I can't believe how quickly autumn is leaving us!

Many thanks to all of you who drop by my blog for a visit. I love reading your comments. Thanks!

18 comments:

  1. I would really prefer it if you didn't swear any more on your blog. It is not something I really want to hear about simply because we have to shovel it and have a really big driveway. THANK YOU! I love all of your finishes and the Frightful Tree is wonderful, but the winnings from Carols giveaway are amazing. Congratulations to you. Have a great $#^%* weekend and keep your shovel the best is yet to come.
    Be always in stitches.

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  2. I just finished Cast All Your Cares - not more than an hour ago! I changed the threads a little, but did use what was called for on the cross and greenery. Can't wait to see yours completed, as well. There's a good feeling with getting this verse said.

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  3. Great finish! I might have to get this chart, I just love it. And the jim shore tree is so cute!

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  4. It sounds like you had a good week, I love the Jim Shore tree and you did a great job on Halloween Cove. Cant wait to see the one you are working on for your friemd. I will check back and have a good night. NO MORE SNOW!!

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  5. Goodness, you have been busy! I really like your new Halloween start...that cat cracks me UP! Super-huge congratulations on finishing Halloween Cove! It looks fabulous in spite of those dratted frogs. OMG your new tree looks neat ~ how fun is that?

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  6. I really love Halloween Cove. I am glad that i have iy in my stash. Your Jim Shore piece is really cool. I hadn't seen that one before.

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  7. Lovely finish and starts , and great stash too . A good week for crafty things.

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  8. Wow, you have had a lovely crafty week! Congrats on winning the giveaway and I love the Hallowe'en tree, it's so ornate. I can't wait to see more progress on your latest WIP. Happy stitching to you.

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  9. Congratulations on your finish! It's a cool design - I like the ship and the two houses look positively cozy!

    That Jim Shore piece is awful cute too!

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  10. Congratulations, Lynn. What a beautiful finish this is. I love By The Bay charts and bought my first recently.
    Your new Halloween piece looks great so far.

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  11. Love Halloween cove, and the tree is very cute also. Stay warm!

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  12. Oh, Lynn! I absolutely love Halloween Cove--I really need to put that on my list for next year!

    Your Jim Shore tree is delightful. I've just discovered those pieces and may become hooked on them myself--we obviously have the same taste :)

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  13. Halloween Cove looks terrific! I love the spiderwebs on it. They really do stand out.

    I've never seen Cast All Your Cares before. I think it's a lovely piece. Your friend would love it.

    Your pictures are fine. I enjoyed looking at your Jim Shore's Frightful Halloween Tree. Cute!

    Last but not least, Congratulations on winning the Giveaway!

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  14. Lynn you lucky duck! I love your finish. I have two of the cove charts kitted up that I have been procrastinating over . You are an inspiration . I hate those weeks where you run like mad but don't seem to have much to show for it. The Jim Shore tree is fabulous. Have never seen that one . Sorry about the weather( I won't say the bad word)

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  15. Halloween Cove looks awesome! Congrats.
    The Jim Shore tree is so cool.

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  16. Hi Lynn,

    Congratulations on your finish of
    Halloween Cover. It really looks
    amazing and seeing it done makes
    me really, really want to stitch
    it too. Love that pumpkin with
    the eye patch, and the ghosts
    floating around above the houses.
    Are you thinking of stitching any
    of the other seasonal designs in
    this series???

    That Kat on Halloween Sampler is
    so funny looking! It sort of
    looks as if he is wearing green
    glasses. Very pretty colors
    which show off the candy corn
    really well.

    Your start on Cast All Your
    Cares is looking great and will
    be a wonderful house warming
    gift/surprise for your friend.
    I love My Big Toe Designs and
    have a few of them kitted up
    ready to go. I keep wondering
    where they got their design name
    from?? It always makes me smile
    when I see their logo on a chart.

    You received some really pretty
    charts from your friend's niece,
    although it's too bad that she's
    giving up on stitching. The
    summer chart is especially lovely
    with all those flowers and butter
    flies on it.

    I can't imagine why your friend
    would think that a Jim Shore
    Halloween piece wouldn't sell
    in her store. I love it!!! It
    is soooo cute and unusual.
    I adore that little cat sitting
    at the top of the tree, and all
    those dangling ornaments are
    just wonderful. Lucky you to
    score this at a reduced price.

    We haven't had any snow here
    yet, but there was some just
    north of here judging by a few
    cars that passed us on our way
    to work with the white stuff
    clinging to their roofs and
    other surfaces. It's always
    exciting to see the first snow
    fall of the year (well, I think
    so anyways).

    I'm having fun stitching on
    Quaker Halloween, although
    it's slow progress. Hope
    I'll have enough stitched
    to show off on my next blog
    post.

    Cheers!

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  17. What gorgeous finishes, Lynn! And nice new stash, too. :) I love that Jim Shore tree! I've never seen that before, I guess I just know him from the Christmas stuff that he does. It is too cute! I hope you have a good Halloween!

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  18. Congratulations on finishing Halloween Cove it looks great. There are somenice charts there and well done on winning the give away.

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