Vampires, Spools of Floss and Turkeys

Hello cross stitchers. I feel relaxed and refreshed after my short vacation. How was your Halloween, All Saints and All Souls? All was quiet, fun, and seasonal here. We actually had some chilly weather, so that was nice. Good amount of trick-or-treaters and plenty of leftover candy (I promise that I won't eat it all. Hah)

Vampires

In a questionable move (because I am a coward, I freely admit that) I checked out Dracula by Bram Stoker as an audiobook from the library. Unabridged and terrifying, it was read by Simon Vance. Glad he had a British accent. Somehow that makes audiobooks just a little bit better.

It'll be awhile before I throw the garbage out after sundown.

Spools of Floss

While out at Michaels, I stumbled across this amazing floss.

Floss? Are you sure it's not thread? After all it's on a spool? Nope, no mistake, it's definitley Anchor floss!

Lord Libidan has a wonderful article about the spools of floss. From the article:

"Recently the cross stitch world has been awash with opinions on Anchor Floss’ choice to move to spools in big box stores in North America, and away from the traditional skein. I’ve stayed away from talking about these in the past, as firstly, its North America only for now, and Anchor threads aren’t popular across the world (even if they scored highly in our roundup of the best cross stitch threads). In addition, you either love the idea, or hate it."

Read the whole thing.

Here's the link to the article.

Turkeys

Next up is the turkeys. But first, a final look back at this year's progress on Trick-or-Treat Moon.

So much fun. Can't wait for October of next year!

Now we move our focus to the next wip in the lineup. Naturally, it's going to be Turkey Bay. Here's where I'm starting from:

Well that's all I have for now. Enjoy your week and happy stitching!

Marisol

Comments

Jane Eyre, a Horse, and an Irish Harp

Paolo Chiabrando on Unsplash Happy Tuesday! It's a rainy, windy day here at the Castle. When the wind whistles past the windows, it makes me feel like I'm in Jane Eyre, looking out across a moor. Have you ever read Jane Eyre? It was required reading for me in High School. So, have you ever read a book that's so engrossing that you can't bring yourself to put it down? That's what Jane Eyre was like for me. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it! While we're still on this topic, here's a free Jane Eyre cross stitch chart that I found on one of my adventures in the magical land of Pinterest. Slow and steady wins the race, as the old saying goes. Here's my progress on Nikolai: Russian Hunting by Riolis I've reached the other side of the horse's neck and chest! That bit of yellow peeking out on the far left hand side is the background starting to appear again. I believe that black line is one of the horse's reins. Square by squar...

Hot Chocolate, a Horse Ear, and Bonbons

Rachael Gorjestani on Unsplash Happy Hot Chocolate Day! There's nothing quite like a hot, steaming mug of chocolate to brighten up a Winter day. And let me tell you, I need a hot drink here at the Castle. The weather has been absolutely freezing and very dark. Now, getting back to Hot Chocolate, here's a nice article I found that goes into the health benefits and history of that cheerful beverage. And if you're interested in really celebrating today, then here's a free Hot Chocolate PDF cross stitch chart that I designed a while back. The download is an ebook, so you'll get some other beverage themed freebie charts as well. Enjoy! Mind you, I haven't just been sipping mugs of Hot Chocolate and huddling over my heater (only some of the time). I've gotten in a good amount of stitching since my last post. Behold a horse ear: Russian Hunting by Riolis I'm looking forward to stitching the pinks, yellows, and blues of the sky again. In shop update news, ...

Meet Nikolai, and Eat Mississippi Pot Roast

Meet Nikolai Or at least, meet Nikolai's head. See that dark block of stitches in the middle? Yes, that is Nikolai's head. He has one of those warm Russian hats on, so he won't catch cold riding through this winter scene. I really like stitching in 10x10 squares, it's amazed me how much progress one can make when using this method. Russian hunting is absolutely stunning, but maybe it's time for a change soon. Here's my tentative plan: keep stitching on Russian Hunting until the end of January, then at the beginning of February put it away and start working on one of my other wips. We'll see. Mississippi Pot Roast If you've had this dish, you know it's heavenly. If you haven't had it, you're missing out. Simple as that! Beef, ranch dressing mix, pepperoncini peppers, and au jus. It sounds like a weird combo, but trust me- it is amazing. One of my all time favorite meals ever. The flavors mix together beautifully. There's r...

EmnEllie Cross Stitch Blog

Search This Blog