Some spooky stitching and a cautionary tale

A frosty good morning to all! We dipped down near the freezing mark this morning in western Pennsylvania after an unseasonably warm October. I am so not ready for the upcoming winter cold, are you? The older I get, the more I seem to hate the snow and ice and layers of clothes I have to heap on to just to keep the chill off. But, unless I move south, I guess I'm stuck with all of this, aren't I? 

So, how has your month been going so far? I've been doing some stitching, but not a lot and only have a couple of smaller finishes to share with you today. Most of you will recognize "J Is For Jack-O-Lantern" from Prairie Schooler's J-K-L book #105. I stitched just the bottom portion of it for a cute, quick addition to my Halloween pillows. My go-to fabric of 40 ct. country mocha Newcastle linen and the suggested DMC threads were used in this latest finish. That black cat is kind of crazy looking, isn't he? But, you long-time readers know what a fan I am of black cats and it's hard for me to resist charts that feature them!

J Is For Jack-O-Lantern

The little pillow combines two different fabrics and a thin handmade cording (I only used two lengths of DMC to create it rather than my usual three or four). At the very top I popped a black pin into the corded bow. I really love the tiny brown and black paisley fabric used on the lower half--wish I could find more. It is perfect for smaller projects like this one.

Another pillow for my Halloween display!

My next "spooky" finish is a Drawn Thread design with the charming name of "Tangled Up In Boo!" In fact, that is why I chose to stitch it as an anniversary gift for my son and daughter-in-law. Can you believe they will celebrate their one year anniversary on Sunday? What a joyous day that was as we welcomed a girl (finally!!) into our family. (If any of my new blog followers would like to read about and see photos of their special wedding day you can click right here).

"Tangled Up In Boo" by the Drawn Thread

Don't you love the expression on the skeleton's face as the winding vines of that giant pumpkin encircle his legs?  And can you spot the wee black buttons that make up the spider bodies? Luckily, I had three buttons in my stash that fit perfectly. The gingham fabric in the background is cut from a kitchen towel and the black frame is one I found in the clearance aisle at Target for $3.00! Nothing fancy, but I think it fits the design perfectly. This piece is stitched on 30 ct. dirty linen using the suggested Dinky Dyes silks. I'm happy to report that my son and daughter-in-law love their very first Halloween decoration and I hope they'll think of me each year when they display it. I wish them a first anniversary as joy-filled as their wedding day was... And, a very Happy Birthday to my sweet daughter-in-law who celebrates today!

BOO!

An honor from Just Cross Stitch Magazine... I was so surprised to get an email from Brooke Smith, managing editor at Just Cross Stitch Magazine, who asked if they could feature my version of "My Christmas Song" on their Facebook page on October 8th.  She went on to say that they loved how I "switched it up a bit" and what a "beautiful job" I did with it. (Can you see me blushing?)! Anyway, below is the posting of it next to the original so you can see my version of this pretty design. Who knew that the folks at Just Cross Stitch read my blog? I'm truly honored--thank you!

My version of the "My Christmas Song" ornament featured on Just Cross Stitch Magazine's Facebook page

I do have a new start to share with you... Any guesses as to what I might be stitching? Here's a hint--it's an autumn design with some leaves... Ha ha--not very helpful, am I?

Any guesses as to what I am stitching?

Chart giveaway... I haven't had a giveaway in a while and I thought one of you might enjoy stitching these twelve kitty themed seasonal charts. There is one design for each month that features the same kitty doing everything from building a snowman to gardening to celebrating Halloween. You could make them to hang individually in a wreath (as suggested by the photo below) or fill a basket or bowl with all of them. If you are interested in giving these charts a new home, just let me know in your comments and please be a follower of my blog. This giveaway is for three pages torn from an old Leisure Arts magazine--not the whole magazine. If more than one person wants them, I will do a drawing.  PLEASE, PLEASE make sure to include your email in with your comment--I won't be trying to track anyone down if they haven't included their email address... Also, please be aware that I will be folding up the pages and mailing them in a legal sized envelope to save on postage. I'll announce the winner the next time I post...

I'm giving away these cute seasonal cat charts

A cautionary tale... So, who knew that eggs could be dangerous? Certainly not me--or my dear daughter-in-law. She and I decided to share her story of what could have resulted in a very unhappy ending so more people don't suffer a similar trauma. It all began with a hard-boiled egg--a seemingly harmless nugget of white and yellow protein, right? Well, the trouble started when my daughter-in-law put her cold, shelled hard-boiled egg into the microwave for a bit to take off the chill. This was something she had done many times before... But, this time was very different. This time when she bit into the egg, it literally exploded in her month and sent boiling bits of egg everywhere. Her lips and inside of her mouth were injured along with a spot on her face. Thank goodness she had worn her glasses to work that day or her eyes could have been burned also. In the Emergency Room of the nearest hospital she was examined and told she was suffering from second-degree burns! All from an egg--who knew?! 

Apparently this has happened to lots of other people (there are many vidoes and accounts online) who have suffered everything from corneal damage to severe  scarring from the blistering burns. The eggs  explode due to the  rapid heating in the microwave oven which causes steam to build up under the yolk membrane faster than it can escape. I'm happy to say that my daughter-in-law fully recovered with just a bit of a scar visible on her face which will probably fade away with time. And from now on, I imagine she'll be sticking to cold hard-boiled eggs!

The first half of October has passed in a blur...  At the beginning of the month, I was very busy with the return of my youngest son from Panama. He spent five days with us to retrieve all of his worldly possessions which had been "living" in our basement for the six months he was away. It was such fun to spoil him a bit and treat him to his favorite cookies, pot roast, turkey meatballs, and other goodies. He is now happily settled in his new condo near Washington, DC and we hope to visit soon!  The rest of the month has found me driving back and forth to New York to visit my mom who has had some worrisome health problems. I'm going up again on Saturday to stay with her for six days. But, before that, I will be heading off to a mini stitching-retreat today with four friends up in Erie. We rented an Airbnb right on the lake this year rather than stay in the usual Bed & Breakfast (which we thought was "fading" a bit--a nice way of putting it!). Last year, we weren't able to get together so it will be fun to see them and catch up over our stitching for a couple of days.

Thank you all for your comments on my previous post and I apologize for not getting back to some of you. I truly appreciate each of you who takes the time to say "hello!" And I want to welcome my new followers--always happy to have more of  you along for the ride! Please make sure to include your email address if you have a question for me or if you want to enter the giveaway above; otherwise, I have no way of getting back to you. Hope you all enjoy this last  half of October! Bye for now...

Fall baking has begun!