Haunted House by DC Designs

I had to stitch something just for me, something with a stitch guide, something on 13 mesh--I have been stranding and laying too much silk on 18 mesh canvas.  I went to my June market class stash and pulled out "Haunted House", canvas by DC designs, stitch guide by Cynthia Thomas.  Perfect!

Derek of DC Designs (he is Amanda Lawford's son) started his needlepoint canvas career with the mission of bringing fun, affordable canvases to market.  He has truly succeeded.

Cynthia Thomas is an expert at creating stitch guides and a wonderful teacher.  It was a delight to just let her guide my needle.

Since a stitch guide is a guide, I wanted to try some "new" threads and to substitute anything else for stranded silk.

I used the new glow-in-the-dark Neon Rays + for the skulls and bones.  I found it to be very flat on 13 mesh and in retrospect, would have used it for the moon with a basketweave stitch. I love that the thread is very white and sparkly and does glow in the dark.

I stitched the moon with Brown Paper Packages' Stardust in white.  Skeined, it looked very thin to me, but it was very fat on 13 mesh.  I would use it for the skulls and bones, if I were stitching this piece again.  This is another thread whose brightness and sparkle I appreciate.

In my attempt to take a vacation from stranded silk, I substituted Planet Earth Silk and Neon Rays for a couple of the silks.  I'm not a fan of Lorikeet, so I went with Gloriana silk floss for the grass, still staying in the Gloriana family.

For the icing on the cake, I added Swarovski hot fix crystals for the skulls' eyes.  JAB makes wonderful skull buttons in XL that look great if you stitch over the painted skulls.  Just be aware that the buttons are somewhat fragile--be careful sewing them on and don't use them on an item that will receive abuse (think pillow fights).

I'm not sure what I will be stitching next, but I feel as though I have had a very relaxing and fun break.