Boo!

Picked up the October issue of Just Cross Stitch. The designs usually aren't to my taste, so I rarely buy it. I do get the annual Christmas ornament issue, which some years is better than others. Halloween is the theme of the October issue, not surprisingly. But this is the first time they are featuring Halloween ornaments. There all quite cute, but my favorites are Mosey 'N Me's Trick or Treat Bee (a cat dressed as a bee); Monster Bubbles' Batty (a cute bat); Brittercup's Trick or Kitty Treat (a cat perched on a pumpkin eyeing a spider); Raise the Roof's Boo Whoo? (a fun owl); Jeannette Douglas Designs Halloween Pumpkin Ornament (Jeannette's characteristic specialty stitches with a row of spiders); and Prairie Schooler's Night Owl (obviously, an owl).

As cute as all of these are, I probably will not stitch them any time soon. I also bought October Spooks, a pillow sham from Pine Mountain Designs. These designs stitch up quickly and are fun to work on. The fact that it's a finished pillow is a bonus. So this will be my Halloween piece for this year. I'm also in the mood for stitching a Christmas design. I think I'll "shop" in my stash to see what hits me. I have quite a few Prairie Schooler charts that appeal to me but maybe there's a forgotten chart that will strike my fancy.

Here are photos of my framed "Once Upon a Time." This is one of the first pieces I ever stitched. I brought it with me on a trip to France in 1997, and stitched on it at the Medici Fountain in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris, among other places.


I was such a novice to stitching on linen at the time, that I used a role of Charles Craft natural linen I bought at Michael's! I also had no clue about determining the fabric dimensions to make sure it was big enough for framing. And I bound off the edges with masking tape! (Ack!!) Luckily, Don from WVAS is a fabulous framer and had no problem dealing with it. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Now, I need to decide the best place to hang it.