Happy Halloween~

It's the end of October, that means it's time for Halloween!!! One thing I love about this holiday is to see all kinds of creative decorations people have at their houses. You can really find some amazing lantern designs just by walking around the neighborhood~

I didn't get a chance to make a Jack-O-Lantern this year, so I'll just have to show you the ones we made last year. I used a traditional design on my lantern, and my hubby Sam was actually quite creative by carving his last name on the pumpkin~ Thank god his last name is not very complicated or it would have been a pain carving it!! LOL

I hope everyone is having a good time enjoying this festive day~

Snow Zone

Didn't have too much time to stitch this week, so I only managed to finish stitching Snow Zone of Lizzie Kate's design. For some reason, it turned out a bit narrower then I've expected, but I still love this cute little penguin, especially the colors of his green scarf~ It is still missing a white pom-pom on its hat, though, I will have to go visit the craft store again soon.

Pattern: Lizzie Kate "Tiny Tidings XII - Snow Zone"
Thread: DMC cotton floss
Fabric: 32ct Belgium linen
Size: 3.5" x 3.5"
Completion Date: 10-27-2008

I think I will go on to stitching the other designs first, and come back to finishing them all at the same time in a later date. This way I can add or change it up a little bit if I feel like it.

Mom will be leaving tomorrow, and she has already filled my fridge with all kinds of delicious food. I think I won't need to cook for the next few days..... I truly will miss her when she leaves tomorrow....

I'm Still Here.....

I know it has been a week since I last post. I'm still here, just been busy - not at stitching, though.... My mom came to visit us so I was cleaning the house before she came, and now she is here, we spent lots of time doing things I hardly have down time to stitch!!! Not that I'm complaining or anything, I love it when she is here cause that means there will be delicious homemade food to eat~~ Mom's cooking is always the best!!!

I did managed to finish one of the Lizzie Kate Christmas designs, and although I struggled with the fabric I used, I love how it turned out. It is so interesting that by just adding an extra blue color with the traditional red and green, the mood of the entire design can be changed. Lizzie Kate just has impeccable taste in her color selections!!!!

Pattern: Lizzie Kate "Tiny Tidings XII - Joy"
Thread: DMC cotton floss
Fabric: 32ct Belgium linen
Size: 3.5" x 3.5"
Completion Date: 10-18-2008

I also worked on the Heart and Hand design a little bit. I finished the little prince in this pattern and now they look so cute with each other~ The color variation on the border is also very interesting. I hope I will have some time to stitch it more this week.....

Making Progress...

I had a lot going on this weekend and didn't get as much stitching done as I've liked, but here is my progress on the Lizzie Kate Christmas and Heart and Hand projects I've been working on~

The Christmas one is going well now that I'm used to the fabric, and I just love how the Heart and Hand one turned out~ This girl reminds me of Cinderella or someone just out of the fairy tales!! She is just gorgeous~ I'm so excited now to see it come together!!

Thank you for your great advise on using linen and hand dyed floss, it helped me a lot!! Now I'm going back to more stitching!!

A Few New Starts

I've started some new projects today. One is Heart and Hand from Willow Hill Samplings and the others are some Christmas designs from Lizzie Kate.

I debated awhile on the choices of fabrics and finally decided to use a 32ct Belgium linen on the Lizzie Kate designs and a 28ct DMC linen on the Heart and Hand project. This is my first time stitching on linen fabrics (can you believe that?!) and so far the DMC one gave me no trouble but the Belgium linen was a bit of a challenge. I realized that the weaves of this fabric is kind of uneven so it is harder for me to find the right spot to stitch in. It takes a while to get use to, but I do like it with all the floss colors I chose.

As for the Hear and Hand design, I used the recommended flosses. This is also my first time using hand dyed floss and I'm not sure if I know how to handle it right. Can anyone tell me if I can wash the stitched piece after I finish? I'm worried that the colors will run since hand dyed flosses are usually not colorfast...  If I can't wash it, can I at least iron it to get the wrinkles out? I really don't want to ruin it after all the hard work.....

Nevertheless, hand dyed threads do have their charm, and I look forward to see how it will turn out when I am done~

BOO!!

October is all about Halloween, so I chose this cute little design from Barbara Ana to stitch. I just love her work cause it is always so much fun~

Pattern: Barbara Ana "Halloween Snail"
Thread: DMC cotton floss
Fabric: 18ct oatmeal aida by Regency Mills
Size: 2.5" x 3.75"
Completion Date: 10-06-2008
Finishing Date: 10-08-2008

I chose an orange shiny fabric as backing and I think it matched up pretty good~

This is also my first time trying to make an ornament, and I think it turned out ok. Next time I'll remember to leave more fabric along the edge, though, cause I barley had enough this time to cover the edge and one side of the ornament is not pretty..... Here is a nice instruction on how to make ornaments~

 

This is the good side...... ;-)

I remembered that as a kid I just love Halloween, not only because we got to play different parts each time, but also that it's a time when we were actually allowed to ask for candies and stored them up for the whole year. Now that I think of it, my sister and I had been a snail once~

This was actually a dance costume from dancing class. I guess my parents weren't really the creative type... LOL. You can see that there was a robot in the background that was way cooler then what we had~

I appreciate all of your kind comments, and thank you all for stepping by~

All Kited Up!!

Ok. I think I'm all set for my Christmas projects now. My order of fabrics and threads has just arrived and I've also paid an extra trip to Jo Ann Fabrics during the weekend. All I have to do now is stitch stitch stitch!!

This is my first time using hand dyed threads and I'm excited to see how the finish product will turn out. I just love these colors!! Aren't them yummy?

I found these Christmas fabrics on sale at Jo Ann Fabrics and I just couldn't resist to bring some home. There were a whole bunch of cute designs and I had a really hard time just picking three... I also found these trims on sale, I think they are perfect with the colors I planned on for my Christmas ornaments~

Although I seemed to have all the thing needed for my Christmas projects,  I'm sure I'll think of something else and come up with an excuse to go to the craft stores again soon.... I just love shopping at crafts stores~ LOL

Happy stitching everyone~

Pumpkin Keeper

I took this one on my trip with me and I'm glad that I did, cause this gave me something to do when I was on the plane. I love the colors and how it turned out~

Pattern: The Drawn Thread "Pumpkin Keeper"
Thread: DMC cotton floss
Fabric: 18ct oatmeal aida by Regency Mills
Stitch Size: 3"x3"
Completion Date: 09-29-2008
Finishing Date: 09-30-2008

I actually encountered some problems when I came to the yellow stitches, which was the very last part that I did. There is a reason the instructions called for using over 2 threads of fabric, because that's the only way to stitch eyelets when it comes down to it.... Since I used over one, I can't make the eyelets as it instructed, so I switched it out and made Smyrna crosses instead. I think it turned out ok, but I'm sure the eyelets would have looked much better~

It seemed that the temperature difference really got me.... I'm having a running nose and not feeling too good since I got back from MI...... I hope it won't get worse so I can get back to my old self again. You all take care and stay healthy~~

It's October!!

I can't believe it's October already!!! Which means we are undeniably entering fall. There's no obvious seasonal changes here in Texas yet besides the cooler temperature at night, but it was a total different story in Michigan. The leaves are starting to turn yellow and orange and you can just sense the fall atmosphere in the air~

We went apple picking with my sister and I just love it there!! There are rows and rows of apple trees and it goes on forever!!! We tried all kinds of apples, Jonagold, Gala, Fuji, Empire, Honeycrisp.....just to name a few. When tasting them all at once, you can really tell the difference!!! Honeycrisp is my favorite so far, and I can't believe that I've never tried it before this day!! We picked four full bags of apples, plus the ones which were already in our stomach~ We were all so full when we walked out of the orchard....

This Schwallier's Country Basket Farm is really a fun place to come. They nor only have apples, but also have a pumpkin patch as well. We didn't pick any pumpkins, but it is a fun place to take pictures~

They also have a cow train ride for kids~ It is soooo cute!! And the kids loved it, too!!

Their shop is really nice as well. There are all kinds of fruit products, of course, and they make really good apple cider!! I especially loved their craft corner, all the stuff here were so cute~ I had to contain myself not to bring all of them home.....

I really missed the seasonal changes up north. It was great to see my family again. I wish I can come visit more often~