Last Creepy finished

I just finished my last Creepy in the series (I finished the owl and the fraidy cat earlier).  It was such a pleasure to follow Robin King's stitch guide--it's like letting someone else drive so you can enjoy the scenery.

Another Creepy finished!

I'm starting the New Year in a rush--stitching Mehitabel the Witch from NeedleDeeva in less than 2 days. And I took plenty of time off for football and food!

I didn't have Lorikeet in Bright Orange on hand, but I did have it in Narcissus Dark, an overdye.  The result makes me smile--it's a reminder of my youngest daughter's latest (beautiful) hair coloring effect, called Ombre'.

Many stitchers hate using Lorikeet because it can be hard to separate the 9 strands of wool.  The trick is to start separating about 3/4 to 1" from the end, teasing the strands apart.  Then it's a simple matter of pulling each strand from the end.  Really!

Now, what about the name Mehitabel?  It is a Hebrew name meaning "God rejoices", but it is most well known as the name of a fictional cat.  Author Don Marquis started writing newspaper articles "ghost written" by a cockroach named Archy whose best friend is a cat named Mehitabel.  (Thank you Google.)

Happy New Year and Happy Stitching to All!

The Spider Queen

After my latest stocking was finished, I said I was working on lots of ornaments.  The Spider Queen was a Sunday afternoon project (I didn't say they were all Christmas).  Again, what's not to love about this series with stitch guides by Robin King?

Robin was so good about incorporating many threads in each piece and also making sure that these threads get used on multiple Creeps.

My favorite stitch is the Elliot Stitch.  Done in two shades of lavender, it gives a feminine touch that belies the fierce look of this black widow.

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.

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!

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!

Creeps from Needle Deeva

As many of you know, the first canvas in "The Creeps" series by Needle Deeva has arrived. I saw all the finished models at the Columbus market, fell in love and will (selfishly) be stitching the complete set for myself. I had intended to show this as a new canvas in progress, in my stitching rotation, but I had so much fun I finished it in no time at all. The extremely talented Robin King wrote the stitch guides that come with each canvas. Her guides are always very clearly written and illustrated and I always learn something new--a new thread, a new stitch or a combination of the two. My favorites from the Pumpkin were the two composite stitches. The best part about this 9 month club is that you can pick and choose your canvases without signing up for all of them. And of course, you can always go "back in time" if you change your mind and pick up an already released canvas.