Halloween Ornaments Project, September 2024

Last month (and, um, part of the previous month as a head start...) I started work on this piece: 

Here's where I was on August 13:

I stitched and realized that I didn't want any of the other colors -- I liked the "scherenschnitte" feel of the piece.

Not sure why the colors are so different in the two photos; but it's closer to this purple/grey than the lighter image above!

I did decide to add glow-in-the-dark white for the eyeball, and I used half cross stitches for the smoke tendrils. And I LOVE it. 

The only question is what to do with it -- it's too big for an ornament. I have two other "monochrome" pieces I'd like to stitch up that are similarly sized, but I want to ice dye some Aida to stitch them on. Then perhaps next year I'll make them up into pillow covers to holidazzle my couch a little. Perhaps...

Now, what's next? Having taken a step back from just making ornaments for my Halloween trees, I am going to continue down that path for a bit. This is "Into the Woods" by Mill Hill: 

Three very cute black cats marching along in the moonlight. I've been making these 5x5 bead+stitch on perforated paper projects for a while and I always find them satisfying. This might not be finished by October 13, but I'll have a good start on it! (And it's a Christmas present, so I have PLENTY of time!).

Halloween Ornaments Project, July 2024

For my June check in I hadn't finished my ornaments. Shame! Shame! But I'm happy to report that I finished two ornaments from the Prairie Schooler "Boo to You" booklet: 

But that's JUNE. For July I made up another pattern from the 2023 Halloween special issue of Cross Stitch magazine: Midnight Meeting. 

I stitched the cats on white Aida -- as called for in the pattern -- and thought it looked a little bland: 

So then I overdyed it with the "ice dye" method -- so much nicer!

So I made it into what feels a little oversized as an ornament, but will definitely find a home on my Halloween tree: 

Next month I'm going to do something a little different -- I saw this "kit" at a local store and thought it seemed like a good addition to my tree: 

I plan on staining him black and adding a little silvery color. I know this won't take long, but it will be nice to have a little break, maybe?

I'll be back on August 13 to share my finished ornament and my next project pick.

Halloween Ornaments Project, June 2024

Well this is embarrassing. This is the first time in almost two years that I haven't completed the project I set out to do!

Having made two of the ornaments from this booklet (the ghost and the skeleton, of course) in May, I decided to make two more.  

But somehow I ran out of time and didn't complete them. The stitching is done, but I haven't actually "made them up". Here's the most shameful part: the hardest part about completing them will be getting to where I stored the felt I use on the back! 

Next month -- besides finishing these two ornaments! -- I plan on stitching another piece from the 2023 Halloween special issue. (Seriously, I look forward to the new edition each year.)

I didn't bring the issue with me, but here's a shot of the cover and I've circled the project I want to do -- it's called Midnight Meeting. 

You may recognize other projects I've done! (And now I'm thinking about that cute 3D witch's hat in the foreground...

I'll be back on July 13 to share my finished ornaments and my next project pick.

Halloween Ornaments Project, May 2024

In April I made a little cross-stitched ornament taken from a Prairie Schooler leaflet, Boo To You:

I was determined to make one, but ended up making two because they were really satisfying to stitch: 

Next month I plan on doing two more from this set: 

I think I'll do the cat and the witch as both of them make me smile. 

I'll be back on June 13 to share my finished ornament and my next project pick.

Halloween Ornaments Project, April 2024

I'd like to take a moment to say how much I enjoy these little projects. It's a nice break from larger projects like the ones I make in my stitch-a-long. These small ornaments that are highly portable and I can finish quickly are PERFECT. 

In March I made another little cross-stitched ornament taken from a pattern in an old Cross Stitcher Halloween issue: 

I stitched it on another bit of ice-dyed Aida from a couple of summers ago, and changed how I finished it. I also skipped the beads on the edge as I wanted a different look. I'm really happy with this one:

For my next project I'm going to start a series from this Prairie Schooler leaflet, Boo To You:

I plan to start with this friendly fella: 

I'll be back on May 13 to share my finished ornament and my next project pick.

Halloween Ornaments Project, March 2024

It's been another oddly busy month, but I did manage to make time to finish this month's ornament. 

In February I started work on another small cross-stitched ornament taken from a pattern in an old Cross Stitcher Halloween issue: 

I stitched it on another bit of ice-dyed Aida from a couple of summers ago, and used that for the back of the piece. Somehow I've done another terrible job of taking a picture, but I'm still happy with how the eye turned out: 

This month, to "finish up" the old ornament patters, I'm going to stitch this cute beaded cat ornament, again on some ice-dyed Aida. 

I'll be back on April 13 to share my finished ornament and my next project pick.

Halloween Ornaments Project, February 2024

I heard about a woman who celebrates a special holiday -- possibly called "My Bloody Valentine"?? -- halfway between Valentine's Day and Halloween.... but I can't find any info about it on t'Internet. Closest thing I discovered was a "Halfway to Halloween" idea that encourages you to eat Halloween candy. But me? I'm just making ornaments every month. 

In January I started work on a small cross-stitched ornament taken from a pattern in an old Cross Stitcher Halloween issue: 

I'm stitched it on some Aida I ice-dyed last summer, leaving the "white" area (behind the "Boo!") unstitched to take advantage of the pretty Aida. 

Forgive the terrible picture, but I feel I also didn't do a great job of finishing the piece. But I still like the stitching and I think it will look cute on my tree. 

For the next month, I'm going to work on a companion piece, from the same issue of Cross Stitcher Halloween:

I'll stitch it on the same ice-dyed Aida (which I'll use on the back). 

I'll be back on March 13 to share my finished ornament and my next project pick.

Halloween Ornaments Project: January 2024

It's January -- is it too early to start thinking about Halloween? Of course not!

In December I made a simple ornament that still makes me smile. It looks pretty simple -- erm, allowing for the fact that I put it into a hoop that's just slightly too small...:

But (assuming you have exposed it to light for a while), turn off the lights and...

GLOW IN THE DARK SKELETON!!!  Seriously, how cute is that?

This month I'm going to make another ornament from a pattern in an old Cross Stitcher Halloween issue: 

I'm going to stitch it on some Aida I ice-dyed last summer. I might leave the "white" area (behind the "Boo!") unstitched to take advantage of the pretty Aida. I'm already itching for warmer weather so I can dye more fabric outside.

I'll be back on February 13 to share my finished ornament and my next project pick.

Halloween Ornaments Project: December 2023

This is the second installment of this year's Halloween Ornaments Project. I enjoyed my 13x13 project so much that I couldn't bear to stop making ornaments!

In November I made one of the "vintage" ornaments from a Bucilla felt-and-sequins kit. I had made two other ornaments previously, and I suspect I'll make the other three over the course of this year. This time I made the very cute pumpkin -- and because I didn't take my Halloween tree down until after Thanksgiving, was able to hang it up this year: 

This month I'm going to work on a cute, simple little ornament. I don't know if I still have the magazine it came from, but I do have a photocopy of the pattern: 

I'm excited about this one because he has a little secret... but I'll be back on January 13 to share the finished ornament. (And the secret surprise!)

Halloween Ornaments Project - November 2023

I enjoyed last year's 13x13 Halloween Ornaments project so much that I didn't want to give it up. Besides, I had so many more ornaments to make! So I'm committing to another year. 

The first project was from a Just Cross Stitch Halloween magazine from 2018. I tweaked the pattern, using beads I had (leftover from other Halloween projects!) and some Aida I ice dyed a while back. I took it along on our last vacation, and finished it before Halloween. And it's BEAUTIFUL, if I do say so myself.

However, I didn't really think about it when I changed the size of the Aida... tI thought the finished piece would be, I dunno, 3 inches or so? Nope. 

That's a "Tootsie Roll Midgee" -- one of my favorite Halloween candies -- a small candy that's just over an inch long. It was surprisingly difficult to stitch it all together, but so very worth it. 

Next month I'm going to revisit another old project -- one of the other "vintage" ornaments from that Bucilla felt-and-sequins kit. 

I'll be back on December 13 to share the finished ornament. 

13x13, October edition!

Can you believe it?!? It's been a busy year and I made 13 Halloween ornaments. First and foremost, here's my October 2023 project, RIP by Satsuma Street: 

I do love her designs, especially her use of color. And I also really enjoy stitching on perforated paper. 

Last weekend I pulled all the ornaments and glass pumpkins out of the basement and set them up. I love seeing them all together!

Here's a recap of the individual ornaments:

October 2022: Nevermore by Satsuma Street

November 2022: Ravens Mosaic Ornaments Kit by Northern Whimsy

December 2022: Moonlight Ghost by Mill Hill

January 2023: Autumn Pumpkin by Mill Hill

February 2023: Persian Pumpkin by Mill Hill

March 2023: Glowing Pumpkin by Mill Hill

April 2023: Enchanted Moon by Mill Hill

May 2023: Vintage Halloween by Bucilla 

June 2023: 'Til Death by Satsuma Street

July 2023: Dark Shadows by Sue Hillis Designs

August 2023: Eyeball Martini by Mill Hill

September 2023: Spooky Cage by Mill Hill

Here there are, all together on the tree: 

I should say "all", because I think one of my ornaments managed to find its way into the Christmas decorations, so it may not appear on this year's Halloween tree. 

Because I've enjoyed this project so much -- having something small and finite to stitch outside of my larger projects -- I've decided to continue until at least next October. I'm still planning on posting updates on the 13th of every month, but now I'm just going to call the project "Every Day is Halloween".

For the "November" project I'm going to stitch up something I saved from an old Cross Stitch Halloween magazine. I'll be back on November 13 to share the finished ornament!