For My Dear Brother

My brother asked me to create a sewing kit for him. He uses large needles and does repairs on fishing nets and things. He wanted a place to put his stuff in the garage so when he needs them, things were be handy. I don't think he had any idea where I would go with the idea. I used tins that I had around the house. The large purple tin started out as a Father's Day Card that 'Chelle found and gave to me. I used it to create this wonder for my brother. It was fun.

A Christmas Song

This cute design was in this year's Just Cross Stitch ornament issue. I did the finishing just the other day.

Flowers too

This one is very pretty. I used beads for the centers of the flowers. This pattern was taken from a larger project and just used the little bit of it.

The stitching just keeps rolling along

We had temperatures in the 50s today but I do believe that at some point we will see snow. This little guy is ready to go. Actually I think it is a snow woman. LOL. This candle covers are going great.

One More Time

I consider this one simple and sweet. This pattern was taken from a Lizzie Kate Christmas Sampler. Some times less is more.

The just keep coming - -

I took this design from Prairie Grove Peddler's Believe chart with the stockings. I would love to use the stockings but they are a bit too tall for this application. The lettering I had to move a bit closer for this size candle. I wanted something simple.

Christmas is almost here - - stitch faster

The white will look more white when I put the interfacing behind it. This chart was a freebie(?) in a magazine from Leisure Arts. It was called Winter Sampler. I used just a part of it to stitch this couple bringing home the the Christmas tree. The monochrome look is great and makes for a quick stitch.

Christmas is coming - -

I am making (what I call) candle covers. This particular design is from Little House Needleworks and was part of a design called Pine tree Lodge. I am using banding. I will finish with an interface to back it. The edges will be turned under with a bit of velcro to close the ends and I am done.

Halloween must take a back seat - -

The color doesn't look right to me. The purple is the true color. I have all the cross stitch done for this project. I am guessing that I have about 30 hours of finishing to do. For now, this will be put away and Christmas will be my main focus for now.

More Inside walls

There are lots of ghosts in there. The two will guard scissors, I believe. The other guy appears to have garland fo the stars with the spiders!!!!! It is all fun.

Meet Netty

Meet Netty Nightshade. She is pictured here as she will be inside the house. The inside walls are purple and that is part of the reason I fell in love with this. Netty has two very faithful cats helping her as she over sees the ghosts doing their decorating. Notice her pet spider. Ewwww. I guess I could have pulled the away knot before I took the photo - - darn.

My Little (?) Black Box

Today I received a surprise in the mail. It was a small box that was filled with all kinds of things. I will attempt to explain a bit. My sister (I love her!) sells hand made things on Etsy, a web based store. That site sponsors Black Boxes. My sister contributes things to go in the boxes and the public can purchase these boxes. You get a variety of things from many, many different artisans. I will try to list many of the items. Each comes with a card from the artisan and most (if not all) have a discount code so you can purchase more of their products. This was a birthday present and I love it. Let's see there is fudge, lavender creamy goats milk soap, two pairs of very pretty beaded earrings, 2 small cloth Christmas gift bags, a purple glass star with copper wire, beaded pony tail holder, several stationary things, a wooden bell ornament, catnip toys for my cat (?), several artistic photos, an iron on decal decoration thing from a quilting group, more earrings, a artistic quilted card to send, a super cool magnet decorated (I can use this for stitching), old fashioned bar soap "Holiday Essence", a gift card envelope (very pretty) I think more soap, candles, Sugar Scrub Sample/Caramel, and Chistmas "Winter frost" tea with a peppermint wreath.

What a wealth of goodies!!!! It is all fun. I now will dig in and really open all the little packages. Check out Etsy for Christmas shopping and perhaps a Black Box might be a wonderful gift for someone that is difficult to buy for. Just an idea. I love it.

The Exterior

Here it is. The exterior of the Scream House. I can now set this fabric aside and work on the inside pieces. This is certainly a very busy project.

Autumn and the Scream House Bottom

The tree is in my front yard. It was a vivid yellow and quite pretty. Today those leaves started falling down. My yard is awash of yellow right now. The other photo is the outside bottom of the Scream house. There is a lot of stitching in that outside border. It is pretty but lots of work.

The back yard - -

Check it out. There is one ghost in the tree and another trying to scare off the crow over the grave. Hey, check out the grave. It is hard to read. Ida Mae is gone. I. M. Gone. There is something living in the tree with weird looking eyes. Throw in a goblin and trust me the back yard is spooky.

Another side of the Scream House

This is the side with a skeleton and goblin looking out the windows. The ghosts are hanging the spooky garland as we watch. Remember the pumpkin beads will be put on the fence when it is all done. There is a bat hanging upside down and a pumpkin watching on from the upstairs window. This little house is so much fun.

Happy Birthday

Yes, it is my birthday. Yippee Skippy and lots of fun. DH brought home the flowers on Friday night. We have been enjoying them all weekend. I expect to get my new Mighty Bright LCD Lamp today and I am excited about that. Lunch is planned with the girls. Stitching is planned for later today.

I came home today to find the roses. I picked up a few gifts during the day and the little cake is just too perfect.

Scream House by Just Nan

The photo is of the front door and the mummy window. One of the best parts of stitching a Just Nan design is the commentary she has with some of her designs.

Front Door: Netty Nightshade is the witch that has left her broom outside. The door greeter ghost just floats through the front door waving his green hands to scare or greet visitors. There are red eyes peeking out through the fanlight over the door. There is a monster in the attic. The spiders just make it spooky. Nan's spiders are the best.

Mummy Window: The mummy has his green hands showing through as his wrappings are falling apart. Check out the cobweb curtains. The pumpkin upstairs window has his favorite purple mask. He is also making sure no one missing the mummy. The decorations have already been hung on this side of the house.

I still need to put the orange bead garland on the fence posts but I will wait to add beads later.