Christmas Bookworm

Greetings Y'all! I hope you had a joyful Christmas!

Ours was a relaxed, low-key affair, Sean, Ana and myself (and the dogs, of course) went up to the mountains to my brother & sister-in-luv's house. It's become our Christmas tradition, and I don't think any of us would have it any other way. It's just so nice to be with people you not only love, but really like and want to be with. To let your hair down and just hang out. Since we're spread a good ways apart, the daily grind doesn't allow us to visit as often as we want to, so I really appreciate when we have a couple of days together. Even Especially if all we do is sit around Apryl's kitchen table and eat, drink and be merry. 

I got a few really great books for Christmas that I thought I'd like to share with you guys, I'm excited by these, they're so inspirational and really get the wheels turning!

Fa La La La Felt by Amanda Carestio. This book is wonderful! I'd never seen it before, but just a couple of pages in, and I'm in love. I think a lot of next years Christmas presents will come from this book. Such great ideas!

Lola & Butch are SO not impressed. They're annoyed. Sean is at a hockey game tonight and I've banished them from the couch. Look at Butchie... he's not giving me the cold shoulder, oh no, he's giving me the cold tookis. Sheesh...

Doodle Stitching - The Motif Collection by Amiee Ray  - I LOVE this book, it's great! There are so many cute doodles contained in here. This book is going to get a ton of use for many years. The best part is that it comes with a CD containing the entire collection. This makes transferring patterns as easy as, click, print, trace. I've already printed & traced several with my new light box. In fact I'm planning on a little stitching from this book as soon as I finish this post. Yay!!

*EDIT*

Here's the little bit of stitching I did last night. So stinking cute!

 Have I mentioned that I love Doodle Stitching?!?

Who doesn't love a mushroom cottage??

Love for Textiles from Ikea. Great photography, meant to inspire.

It does.

A very special gift from Ana (thanks baby!!) The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook!!

I'm so excited about this, and looking forward to trying a bunch of the recipes. Many of them are mentioned so often in the books that I feel like I should already know them...

Pumpkin Juice, yay!!!

Ana really hit a home run, look what else she surprised me with!

Slytherin House Blend Tea by Adiago. It's delish! I love it, even though the Sorting Hat said I was a Gryffindor. There was a witness, I'm sure she'll vouch for me.

This goodie was a prezzie I bought for myself. That's totally ok, right? 

The Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More Deluxe CD Set!!

Oh, you can't possibly imagine how much I love these guys.

Moody, romantic, power-folk! I love me some Mumfords.

Doesn't hurt that Marcus Mumford makes me weak in the knees either. Swoon.

I'd already bought this album from iTunes months ago, and I think it's so swell that I dropped another $25 on the deluxe CD set. Worth. Every. Penny.

I'm so thankful for all of the awesomeness I received, I love books. There is such great information online, and so many wonderful resources, but boy, I still love books. I think I always will.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't mention what I'm most thankful for on Christmas and everyday.

This guy right here.

My friend, my partner, my husband. Ten years ago on a cold Christmas morning in a tiny, little house, he asked me to be his wife. He's the gift that keeps on giving, I love you Sean ♥ ♥ ♥

 I hope you're all having a lovely holiday season, I'm extra lucky this year as I've taken a weeks vacation between Christmas & New Years. I've never done this before, and it's wonderful. I think I'll have to do it again next year.

If I don't have a chance to post again, I'd like to wish you all a 

Happy New Year!

Cheers!

Lisa 

Merry Christmas!

Seasons Greetings Lovelies,

From my house to yours, I'm wishing you a peaceful and plentiful

very merry, little Christmas!

I have enjoyed getting to know so many of you better this year, you bloggy buddies are the best. 

 Thank you for letting me share my bits of this and that with you,

Your advice, support and friendship have been invaluable.

You are wonderful!

I am so thankful to know so many amazing, creative, talented, funny women.

I love you, muchly!

(so does my sweet Butchie boy)

Have a marvelous day, my dears!  

oxoxoxoxo,

Lisa

A Cozy Christmas Cuppa

Ho~ho~ho!

Ya know what I love about this time of year? It's cold! I don't swelter when I drink as much hot tea as I do... which is a lot. Recently I found myself poking around eBay for a new tea cozy, I have one already, but it's a wrap style and while it's super pretty, it's also very bulky and I'm always afraid it's going to tip over, taking 6 cups of scorching hot tea with it. I wanted a simple one that just rested over the teapot and didn't have to be wrapped & tied around the handle and spout like my other one. About this same time, bloggy friend and fellow tea enthusiast, Donna from My Cup Of Tea posted on facebook that she was now selling tea cozies on eBay, score! Well, I love supporting friends, especially when they're crafting things that I love and are totally functional. This was excellent!

I popped right over and found one that I liked, sew cute! A few days later, my tea was being kept hotter, longer. And much cuter, thanks Donna!!

Goes great with my new Mary Engelbreit cup! This was also a new score from eBay this season. I collect these tea cups and I've been after this particular one for years.

But wait, thats not all!! Donna also sent me a couple of really neat doodads!

Can you guess what they are?

Drip catchers!! These are sew clever. I've seen drip catchers before but they're usually cheapy disposable things. These ones are cotton and can be washed and used again and again. Much better, no?

I'm happy now, I can sit and stitch and keep my tea really hot for a long, long time.

Thanks Donna, I love it!

Pop on over and visit Donna and check out the really awesome tea parties she does, she's the nicest lady, you'll be glad you did.

Ok, I'm off - back to my cluttered little sewing desk to finish up my presents. I'm WAY behind. Yikes!

oxo,

Lisa

A Thing of Beauty

Hey Y'all~
I got the coolest early Christmas present yesterday and I'm so excited, I have to tell you about it straight away. It's a thing of beauty! Check it out... A few weeks ago, I asked my friend Arlen (He's an awesome crafty dude that made me this last year for Christmas) if he thought he could make me a light box for tracing embroidery patterns. They're wicked expensive, and I didn't want to fork over $100 for a nice big one. He said he thought he could, and for a lot less. I was thinking just in general terms, like you know, "someday".

Usually, I trace my patterns using the sunshine-thru-the-window method, but this time of year, when it gets dark before I even get off work, transferring patterns gets a little iffy.

Yesterday, when I went into work Arlen had surprised me - there it was, sitting on my desk! It's so much more than I expected, it's really big, it's bright, it's sturdy, it even has a toggle switch - it's awesome! Arlen rocks!

See how it glows!

My delima of tracing patterns after sundown is a thing of the past. I traced my first pattern using the light box tonight, worked like a charm!

Since I recently got the laptop, this space on my computer desk was freed up, it's a perfect spot for my beautiful new light box.

As a little Christmas treat to myself (teeheehee) I bought a pattern that I've wanted for a long, long time. The Cuckoo Clock from Wild Olive. This pattern was featured on Feeling Stitchy last week, did you guys see it over there?

OoOoh, I have plans for this pattern! It involves this fabric, squeeee!

Only two more days till Christmas, are y'all ready?

I'm not. I'm not sure if I'm going to make it this year, I'm struggling with ALL of my projects, argh!

Ok, time for nighty-night, I've got to get up early tomorrow morning and make a special batch of cookies to take to work for Arlen, he's worth a million cookies, don't you think?

oxo,

Lisa

My Christmas Bed

Who loves a big, comfy, cozy bed? I do, I do!

I've always wanted a Christmas bed, or rather to have my bed decked out in red & white for Christmas time. Inevitably, each year comes & goes and I get too busy or wrapped up in the hustle and bustle that comes with the holidays to make it happen... not this year!

A few weeks ago, while out shopping with Jill at Ikea, I found a this very pretty duvet set that totally fit the bill. And you won't believe the price... $14.99! Is that unheard of or what?? I thought the fabric would be of a rubbish quality for this price, but much to my delight, it's a thick cotton weight and after it was washed, it's very soft and feels terrific.

I also ran across a plain, red velvet pillow case  at Ikea for just $8. But I had a plan for it...

The very night I bought it, I popped it into a hoop and embroidered our last name initial on it. This picture really doesn't do it justice. The embroidery stands up so nicely off of the velvet. It's very pretty if I do say so myself, much prettier than this picture. Looks expensive too!

(so yeah... I can't seem to get the hoop marks out of the fabric... any pointers?)

Another great little find I came across by accident was this great, quilty yo-yo garland.

I picked this up at Kmart, for just around $4!! I think it's adorable! I could have made it myself, I suppose, but it would have taken me forever, and there's no way I could have done it for $4. Handmade is awesome, but sometimes store bought is awesome-r!

All the rest, I already had,  my favorite cotton, flannel sheets - and I just have to ask - aren't flannel sheets the best in winter?? I'd avoided them for years and finally bought a couple of sets last winter, heaven! Also added to the foot of the bed are two of my favorite throw blankets. These are both down throws, which I love because they're so puffy and warm. I don't remember where I got the red one on top (Target maybe?) it's been a few years, but it was a cheapy - definitely wasn't more than $10. The one on the bottom is from the Martha Stewart collection from Macy's. Several years ago, I bought myself and my friend each one for Christmas. It's a brushed cotton that almost feels like silk, and it is hands down the best blankie in the world! It's bigger than most throw blankets, which I love because I'm tall and short blankies make for cold feetsies! Do you have a favorite go-to blankie?

Lastly two small toss pillows, one rustic and stitchy, and the other quite sparkly and beaded, totally contrasting. I like things best when they aren't to matchy-matchy.

I've been so happy the last few weeks with my "Christmas" bed, so happy, that I've actually been making the bed every morning just to see it made up when I get home, so silly... ♥ ♥

Do you do a "Christmas" bed? I'd love to hear all about it.

oxo,

Lisa

Ta-done!

Hello there my friends! Jingle, jingle, jingle! Only a little less than a week until Christmas! How are you all holding up, have you finished all of your projects & gifts? I have not. Oh dear... it's going to be a race to the finish line again this year. Didn't I swear last year that I was going to start early? Ah well, it's a part of the hustle and bustle I guess. At least I'm not out there with all the crazy shoppers :o)

Sew guess what?? I finally finished quilt my first quilt! You know, the one I started back in... hehe... July? Oh boy! I didn't think it was going to take that long. Actually, each of the steps making the quilt went pretty quickly, it was the span in between each of those steps where I stalled out.

I've wanted to show you guys the finished quilt for a while, but we've had such dreary weather the last few weekends, I haven't been able to snap any decent pictures. It's totally dark by the time I get home from work every night, so the weekends are about the only time I can try for good pictures. This weekend was very cold & stormy, but for a few brief moments on Saturday, the hard rain softened into a misty drizzle and although the light wasn't great, I made a break for it.

A simple quilt. 4 inch blocks, quilted every other row (the plain rows), diagonally.

I love the colors of this quilt. Soft and pretty...

Here's my label, quilted right in to the design. I thought I'd made a mistake here, but the ladies at the quilt shop disagreed and insisted they should be incorporated this way, that way they can't come off and get lost in the years to come. I hadn't thought about it that way, so I guess I'm glad about this particular mistake.

The last step, as I'm sure you quilters know, is the binding. Gah! The binding!!

I don't know if I mentioned it here, but I took a class at a local quilting shop to learn binding application. I wanted/needed to learn to do it myself, and although there are a lot of terrific resources on the web, for me, there are just some things that have to be learned in person.

Taking the class was definitely worth the $25 tuition, but I have to admit, I wasn't exactly thrilled when I'd left the class. I really wanted to learn how to apply the binding entirely by machine. My instructor however, felt differently and would not show me the machine method. She said that the proper way to do the binding is to sew it first by machine to the front, then sew it by hand to the back. She wouldn't say why, just that that's the way its done. Hmph! I understand that machine application might not be the most professional way to finish a quilt... but I'm not a professional. I just want to make and enjoy these things, not enter them in shows. I was so put off by this, that after the class, my nearly finished quilt sat, untouched for probably a month. I'm such a brat.

Well anyway, one day a few weeks ago I decided to heck with it! I know how to sew by hand (you sort of get the hang of that when you're learning decorative embroidery...) but I don't have the patience to sit and sew a straight line (the whole goal of which is to never be seen), for hours and hours by hand. If I'm going to spend hours sewing by hand, it's going to be something pretty, like embroidery, not the fracking blind hem stitch, yuck! Oh jeez, I really do sound like a brat.

But it's truuuuueww... Ok, now I just sound whiney.

So one day I grabbed that quilt, pinned down the binding and stuck that sucker under my machine! Thirty minutes later, viola, I'm done! It's not perfect, but it's done. And in this case, I'll take completion over perfection.

So... question? Why aren't you supposed to sew the binding on by machine? Is it really so bad? I haven't received a good answer on that, but I don't know any quilters in real life. How do you guys do it? I know a lot of you are experienced quilters, so please, please tell me. Was I wrong? Do I just need to work on my patience and sew these bindings by hand? 

Overall, I really enjoyed the quilting process, and want to do more of this sort of thing (in fact I've already started two more quilts) but I don't want to get hung up on that last step which literally ties the entire thing together, and feeling like I'm doing it wrong.

Give it to me girls, I can take it.

oxo,

Lisa

And The Winners Are...

Hello Good People of Bloglandia!

Thank you for being so patient in waiting for this announcement (you have been on the edge of your seats, right?) I ended the Fabulous Mystery Giveaway last Sunday, and I didn't have a chance to pick a winner until this weekend. I enlisted Sean's help. I was afraid that subconsciously, I would somehow reach into the Jadeite bowl and magically draw out the names of my friends, so I made Sean do it for me. I love my husband.

I think he was pretty happy to help, wouldn't you say?

Reason number #301 why I love Sean: He's as big a goofball as me.

Here's Sean making sure to mix well.

Getting a little crazy with the cheese whiz...

Alright Sean, enough mixing already, pick a winner!

Ladies & germs, drum roll please...

Winner #1

Kamisha!!

Winner #2

Katevet!!

Winner #3

Melissa!!!

Disclaimer: Yay, Sean managed to grab the name of one of my very best friends after all! I can vouch, this was totally legit, there was much mixing (and giggling, he cracks me up with his silly faces) in between each grab. Melissa, coincidentally just started her very own blog, pop over and welcome her to Blogland when you have a sec. She's rad and she's on a journey.

So yeah, there we are!!

Ooook, confession time. I haven't quite finished the fabulous giveaway prizes yet... yipes!

Can I use the excuse that it's December and I'm making all my Christmas gifts again this year and time seems to be disappearing faster than usual?

           Aww man, I suck. Actually, I don't have much left to do, but they're not 100% yet. Pictures to follow soon, pinkie swear! (and drat this grey, gloomy weather, it's horrid for picture taking!)

Winners, I'll be emailing you for your snail mail directions, 'cept for you, Mel. I already know where you live seeing as how we're BFF's and all :o)~

To the rest of you THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART for playing along.

You are the best, really you are.

oxo,

Lisa

All Good Things Must Come To An End

(My friendly, front yard tree, going out in a blaze of glory.)

So it goes with our favorite season, so it goes with my Fabulous Mystery Giveaway.

Tomorrow after dinner, I'll be pulling the names of the winners, d'oh!

Did you see what I did there?

That's right,  I said winners, there'll be more than one! So, if you haven't already thrown your name in my big, virtual, Jadeite bowl, pop on over and leave me a comment here.

Whoa!

 As I'm sitting here, hurriedly making this post to you (because I'm really supposed to be showered and out of the house already) my front yard is being swarmed by do-gooders!!

No less than 20 teenage girls, are ascending down my block, giggling and armed with rakes and smiles! In a matter of about one minute, they raked my entire front yard which was blanketed, two inches deep, in golden, fallen leaves.

I had to act quick, this girls are fast! Here they are making their way back up the street.

Wow. Thank you Cavalry Bible Church Youth Group!

Those girls just made my day.

Random. Acts. Of. Kindness.

Pass it on.

Love to you all.

oxo,

Lisa

Sneaky~peaky!

Oh yes, the time is drawing near for the Fabulous Mystery Giveaway! I've been making very cute things for the lucky winner! Would you like a little sneaky~peaky??

Hardy, har, har! I know, I'm a regular comedian. This was my attempt at blending paint to make a color I don't have. I was going for a light aqua... mmm, yeah. Not so much. I know, I know. Color fail.

Here's a real sneaky~peaky.

Oooh, what could it be?

I have other tricks up my sleeves too (rubbing hands conspiratorially).

There's still plenty of time to enter, pop over and leave me a comment here.

This is so exciting, I love all the comments y'all have been giving me. Giveaways are fun! I'm going to have to think up some other reasons for having them, I feel like Santa!

And speaking of Santa... did you guys notice that the calendar flipped the other day? By crikey, it's December already!! Eeek, I'm no where near finished making all my Christmas gifts. I need to get busier. Has anybody figured out how to pause time yet? If so, please, do tell.

oxo,

Lisa 

Blackwork & A Dark Mark

Boy, that title sounds rather grim, no? Lol, I crack me up sometimes. Nothing like a good play on words. But this post isn't dark, I promise.

Remember a while back when I mentioned a trip to the Renaissance Faire for Mom's birthday? Yes, yes. Good times all around. This year I decided to take some embroidery along for the day. I didn't want to take just any project though (I was working on the Halloween Pin Up Girl at the time), I wanted to take something that would be accurate to the time period in case the queen happened to peek over my shoulder... as if!

I've wanted to try blackwork for some time, it's gorgeous, and nobody does it better than the always inspiring, Beefranck, and this was the perfect opportunity. I found a simple pattern online, got it on the hoop and packed up a small embroidery kit to take along. I worked on my little piece through out the day. I thoroughly enjoyed stitching in one of my favorite atmospheres whilst laughing with mom (hello, Taming Of The Shrew), and knocking back a good strong cider. Huzzah!

Mom did catch a few snapshots of me stitching at the faire, but after viewing them on the computer screen, which is a whole lot bigger & clearer than the screen on my camera... I vetoed them. Too much boobage, ahem... cleavage, ahem...decolletage. Hey, those corsets are tight! So, sorry -- no pictures from that day. But I can share the outcome of my first experiment with blackwork!

Not too shabby! I love the simple, yet striking graphics of this type of embroidery.

At another Ren Faire, a few weeks later, I met a woman who was working on her own piece, it was also blackwork. She referred me to a couple of books to get me started, and I wasted no time seeking them out on Amazon. Lookie~lookie!

I'm really looking forward to digging into these books, I think I will after the Christmas making/stitching/sewing rush is over. Now... I just have to learn that double running stitch so this stuff looks good from both sides.

And in other news...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!!!

Have you seen it already?

Whad'ya think? Whad'ya think??

I loved it, major big time!! I got to tag along with Jill and her friend last weekend when they surprised me and popped in to a craft fair I was working at. Yay, suprise visits!!

You guys know that I'm a completely unabashed Harry Potter fan, right? Jill is too, thank goodness (She named her dog Hagrid, isn't that great?!?) but I think I might have scared her friend. My Potter love/knowledge/obsession runs deep. It may be too much for some people... I get that.

Hello, my name is Lisa and I'm a Potter-head. Hehe, there ought to be a 12 step program.

Anyway... my niece Alex is a Potter-head too, and in my attempt to hand-make all my Christmas gifts again this year, she is getting what will hopefully be, some pretty awesome Potter related stitchery! Since she doesn't read this blog, I can share a peek at what I'm making for her.

(sorry for the poor picture quality, these all came from my phone...)

For those of you who don't know, this is a Dark Mark, you can read more here if you're so inclined. Basically, it's a sign of the baddies in the books/films. Alex doesn't necessarily like the baddies, but she's in the US Army, so I'm not exactly going to stitch her up some cute little Pygmy Puffs to hang on her wall. She'd get laughed out of the barracks. This is much more suited to life in the armed forces, wouldn't you say? Hooah!

I love this pattern, I bought it from Kristy Kizzee's Etsy store, Bombastitch. I've only been able to work on this about three times for a couple hours each (I'm slow and not very good at counted cross stitch, in fact it makes me cross eyed and a little insane, so I have to stitch this in small doses). I've missed a few stitches already, but I don't think it'll be too noticeable overall. The cool part about this piece, which doesn't stand out just yet, is that the floss I'm using to stitch the Dark Mark is glow-in-the-dark!! I can't wait to see it finished & glowing in its frame! Alex is going to bug out! I'm going to bug out and not going to want to give this away... I do that a lot.

Ok, well before you bug out, I better wrap this post up, it's getting a little long in the tooth. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend! Tomorrow it's back to work! Boo!

 oxo,

Lisa

p.s. There's still a week left until the Fabulous Mystery Giveaway! Don't forget to pop over and leave a comment on this post for a chance to win some really coooool stuff!

Abundant Thanksgiving Wishes

Thank you all so much for your comments on the Fabulous Mystery Giveaway, I've loved reading what it is you all love about the most beautiful season of the year! Great minds think alike, we love many of the same things! I'm excited about the giveaway, I've got good things planned, good things!! And WELCOME to the 7 new friends who've joined in!! I'm so glad you're here.

Tomorrow is the very best day of Autumn, Thanksgiving! Do you all have big plans? Are you up late this evening preparing the big meal? I love Thanksgiving dinner, I look forward to it all year. Want to know my very most favorite thing?? Coffee & pumpkin pie with cool whip for breakfast!! Yeehaw!! And I don't even feel guilty about it... not on T-Day!

I'm sorry that I've been such a boring blogger the last two weeks, as always it's been busy around these parts. Seems like it's been baby season in my neck o' the woods, too. There have been FOUR babies born to my friends and family, just in November! So exciting to meet these new little ones. So much to be thankful for.

♥ ♥ ♥

I'm sending a big bear hug to each and every one of you for a happy, healthy, abundant and joyful Thanksgiving.

Gobble~gobble!

Lisa

p.s. There's still loads of time to enter for a chance at the Fabulous Mystery Giveaway, if you haven't already, pop over and leave a comment here.

p.p.s. Thank you Graphics Fairy!

Fabulous Mystery Giveaway!

It's time for a super fabulous mystery giveaway!

Why? Because YOU'RE rad! Yes, you!!

Since starting this little blog-o-mine, I've met some of the sweetest, most creative and generous people on the planet. Some of us met here, some on Swap-bot and some on Flickr. And I want you to know, I think you all rock! Some of us have become friends, and I treasure that. Having friends who share a passion for creating and who are so encouraging is priceless! I've loved sharing my little creative bits with you guys and your comments and advice are so appreciated and always make me smile. Each and every one is a gift.

Having reached 100 (woo! 104!!!) new friends (not followers, that's just weird) I think it's time to thank you guys, to celebrate and to gift a little something back, ooooh yeah!

(This is one of my favorite ME prints, not actually part of the giveaway, just pretty to look at)

Let's see... (thoughtfully tapping chin) me thinks this giveaway will consist of several goodies!

♥ Something stitchy, naturally. ♥

♥ Something tea-lightful, of course. ♥

♥ Something tasty, yum-yum! ♥

And whatever else strikes my fancy! I promise, you will not be disappointed!



What, no pictures you ask? Well then it wouldn't be a mystery, silly!

Since I'm easy-peasy, no fuss, no muss kinda gal, I'm going to keep this simple. All you need to do to enter is to leave a comment on this post. If you want, you can tell me what your favorite thing about fall is (just cuz that's my favorite season, and because I'm a nosy little bugger).

And hey, if you're new here it's cool, welcome aboard!! Please feel free to join in the fun! Jump right in and leave me a comment, I love new friends! If you want to click that little button over there and follow along, that's cool too. I do my best to try to keep things interesting around here!

I'm going to leave this giveaway open til December 5th, then I'll draw a name out of my great big Jadeite bowl and announce the winner here on the blog. Lots of time to tell your friends and neighbors and maybe even your own followers if you'd like, the more the merrier!

I'm really excited about this you guys, let the comments begin!!

oxo,

Lisa

p.s. Jill, I totally borrowed the name "Fabulous Mystery Giveaway" from you. That was just too cute, and I couldn't help myself. oxo!

**EDIT ~~ COMMENTING IS NOW CLOSED FOR THIS GIVEAWAY ~~ THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR WONDERFUL COMMENTS! THE WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON.**

Witching You A Happy Halloween

Greetings Ghoulfriends~

Are you all ready for little trick or treaters? Only one more day til the hordes ascend your doorstep!

I have a little seasonal witchery-stitchery to share with you today! This is the very last of my Swap-bot swaps for the season. As much as I love them, I gots to get to work on "C" gifts... I can't bring myself to say the word just yet, but y'all know what I mean...

Do you guys remember the Pin Up Swap I did a while back? (refresher link here) That was a good bit of fun, so when I saw that Snifferooski was hosting a Round 2, I signed up straight away. Seeing as how the send to date was coming close to Halloween, I knew immediately that I wanted to do a witch. A sexy, pin up witch, meow!

I loved seeing all the pin up girls that were swapped during the first round, and there was one that I was especially smitten with. It was given to Katy at Sew Lovely Embroidery and it was made by Carrie, who makes LOTS of cute stuff, and is one heck of an embroideress! You can see her Flickr Photostream here, and her blog here. I mean seriously, look at the detail! It's amazing! Very inspiring indeed, so I set off looking for the perfect witch to stitch!

As luck would have it... guess who my "send to" partner was for this swap? That's right, Carrie!! Ack, the pressure was on! This had to be good, after all, it was her piece that inspired mine - in a round about way.

My witch had to have stockings, not the orange & black striped kind (which are remarkable similar to those on my feet right this very instant), she needed some va-va-va-voom stockings!

Let's get to it, shall we?

Firstly, I gave her some seriously hot shoes, then I added the stockings. I used sheer ribbon.

Stitched down, then carefully snipped away with very sharp, very pointy scissors.

Next, I did the broom.

I padded the broom with a lot of different length stitches to get it to look like a real straw broom.

Moving on to her dress...

I cut the dress shape from velvet ribbon and stitched down. I love the result, but I'd use a different fabric next time. Velvet sheds so much once it's cut into that it almost melts away at the edges. It had me nervous, the piece of ribbon that comprised the dress was so small it wouldn't have taken much for it to shed enough around the edges to loose its shape.

Then I started her hair

I used two colors of brown, a light and a dark. I started with the light, the "highlights", then filled in all over the place with tiny stem stitches, two strands of floss.

Seems to me that I remember the hair taking a looong time.

Lastly I stitched on her hat and the bright swath of orange under the brim of that pointy hat. And lastly, I stitched her face.

Oy-vey, that face! Sure it looks nice now. What you don't see is the 3 or 4 times I snipped it out, blotted the water pen off of the fabric, let it dry, then tried again. These two little eyes, a nose and lips took an entire evening... ugh. Faces aren't my strong suit.

Almost ready to ship!  But first, I needed to finish the back.

I stitched my name, and the year on the back of some left over black fabric.

After carefully removing the extra fabric from the hoop (with an Exacto knife), I hot glued orange ribbon down over the back of the hoop.

I added some ribbon to hang the piece from, and viola!

She's ready to fly away to her new home in Oregon.

Carrie sent me a very sweet email when she received it. Apparently her boss thought it ought to become an "office" decoration, even had the perfect spot to hang her so "everyone could enjoy it" but Carrie is fast on her feet, and she snatched this little witch up and took her home... good for you, Carrie!! I would have too!

Carrie was also, very sweet and patient about getting her piece. I'm embarrassed to say that I was shockingly late on getting this piece in the mail... like almost 3 weeks late. (Eee-gads, talk about scary!)

So there you are my friends, a sexy, Pin Up, witchy-pooh!

Have you guys done any Halloween or fall sewing or embroidery? This is the time that weather cools down and I feel more like sitting down and stitching... good times!

Wishing you all 

A VERY HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

oxo,

Lisa