New clip on peacock from Labors of Love

Just a little something pretty to stitch as a reward for FINALLY finishing brother-in-law's stocking....

I love the way the blue breast feathers turned out.  I used the Diagonal Romanian stitch, combining YLI Shimmer Blend Ribbon Floss and the Painter's Thread version of the ribbon floss.  A little Painter's Thread goes a long way.

Creepy Frank finished

Look who just came off the rack ... er ... stretcher bars--Frankenstein from the Creeps series by Needledeeva.

My favorite things--Robin King's wonderful choice of composite stitches and the great way his sweater looks.  He's dressed perfectly for this fall weather.

Spooky times with Brenda Hart at the Bristly Thistle

We had a wonderful 3 days with Brenda in October. Strangely enough, there were more than a few Halloween canvases in the store!

Brenda will be visiting us next March 16-18 2012.

Creepy Devil

What a handsome devil we have here.  This is the latest release of "the Creeps" from Needle Deeva, with stitch guide by Robin King.

I only made one change--I stitched the stars in glow-in-the-dark Kreinik.  "The Creeps" are addictive!

Third Witch Hat

My new ghost magnet is celebrating the finish of my 3rd Kelly Clark witch hat.  I am using the stitch guide that is available for the hats, with a few twists of my own.

For the background, I used 2 strands of Splendor and 2 strands of Accentuate for a brick stitch on the hat and skip tent on the brim.  My favorite thing: using beading thread from The Collection to couch the Kreinik Hot Wire and braid.  Whether I pierced the couched thread or looped over it, you can't see the couching stitches.

Tip:  Place the crystals for the spider bodies (I used hot fix Swarovski crystals) before you bead the legs.  (Do as I say, not as I did.)

Creepy Hooty Owl finished

My Hooty Owl canvas is finished and will be back soon to hang on my Halloween tree.

Hooty and Robin King (and NeedleDeeva, of course) were featured in the most recent issue of Needlepoint Now.  You may have noticed that the current canvases differ in color from the one Robin stitched.  It's not uncommon for production canvases to vary from the pre-production canvases, causing bits (or more) of havoc for the stitch guide author.

I chose to follow the colors Robin used, especially for the background.  This meant that I had to use a full coverage stitch--basketweave.  I used Silk Lame' and needed a card plus part of another--so make sure you buy 2 10 yard skeins or cards if you decide to change the canvas background color.

I can't wait for the next "Creep" to arrive!

Kelly Clark Pumpkin Hat

I've been indulging myself by stitching both of the recently released "Creeps" from NeedleDeeva and the 6 witches' hats by Kelly Clark.

I had reached the last step in the stitch guide for the Pumpkin hat by Kelly and I felt I was all thumbs.  No matter what I tried, I couldn't combine 7mm ribbon, ruching and beads in a way that made me happy.  Many bad words were used.  In desperation, I drove OTB (Over the Bridge) to the nearest Michael's for an easier embellishment solution.  I searched the ribbon section, almost giving up, when I spotted 2 possibilities:  a 3/8" black gimp and a 5/8" black gimp with black velveteen ribbon running through it.  Not having had the foresight to bring the canvas, I bought both of them.  I ended up using them both--the narrower gimp on the hat brim and the wider gimp under the pumpkin...ghoulish couture realized.

While in Michael's I also gathered what I would need to make a black feather wreath like the one Robin King is shown holding in the latest issue of Needlepoint Now.  Having put a Styrofoam wreath form,  black spray paint, 6 black feather boas, extra bags of black feathers and silk ribbon for the hanger in my cart, I did some mental arithmetic.  Adding in the time spent not stitching, I decided I should look for a ready-made wreath.  To hedge my bets, I bought 2 boas (I can always wear them in the shop in October) and some extra black feathers in case the purchased wreath is skimpy.  When I arrived home, I went straight to the computer and found the perfect wreath.  From JoAnn Fabrics, it is 19" in diameter and 50-% off  I can't wait to decorate for the howlidays.