Halloween: Erie and Elegant

When it comes to Halloween canvases, there are a ton of styles and sizes to choose from.  I did a quick search this morning and picked the site below to show the huge variety of pieces available to stitch.  Many sites have even more Halloween canvases but they are spread over multiple pages and I wanted a place to show you just what a dilemma it can be to pick something to stitch if you want a Halloween canvas.  Look at all the styles, sizes and topics!
http://www.threadneedlestreet.com/NdptHalloween.html

Me, I like vampires and mummies for Halloween.  If you haven't visited Amy Bunger's Needlepoint Study Hall blog, go there now and admire the witch, vampire, werewolf, Frankenstein monster and skeletons that populate the Haunted House that she is teaching via mail order.  I love her Dr. Acula and can't wait until the Egyptian mummy's turn to be stitched.  But overall, most Halloween designs are rather cartoonish.  Not really my style.
http://needlepointstudyhall.blogspot.com/

Fortunately Leigh Designs has released some fascinating adult Halloween designs in the last few years. First there were the carved pumpkins, then the witches with fancy hats.
http://www.leighdesigns.com/Grp511x.html

http://www.leighdesigns.com/Grp512x.html

This year the Halloween series is called Ladies of the Night.  They are vampires, but what vampires!  They are slinky, dangerous, alluring and very bloodthirsty.
http://www.leighdesigns.com/Grp513x.html

I gotta stitch one of them!

Luckily Leigh agreed to let me stitch one for a model and for me to write a stitch guide for it.  Which one am I doing?  Well, I've been posting hints all week.  Here's a big one:  I'm not doing the Lady of the Night pictured above.  That's Remilia, wearing a Russian shawl around her hips and talking to her pet bats out in front of her haunted mansion.  Click on the photo to see details, like the incredible hair or the tulle sleeves.  Remilia was stitched by Beth Kindler Hendzlik of ThreadworX.  What you see above is the cover of the stitch guide Beth's written for her.  If your shop was at the St. Charles trade show, they probably saw Remilia in person.

You've heard me rave about Beth's Floozies stitch guides for  another Leigh series. (The Floozies are "ladies" bellying up to the bar to have their favorite adult beverage circa 1880.)  ThreadworX is partnering with Leigh Designs to offer a stitch guide/thread pack to stitch the Floozies.  I saw the Alehouse Annie kit at Waste Knot recently.  You get the stitch guide and a packet of at least 25 ThreadworX threads (and there were probably more as I didn't open the packet to get an accurate count) plus a selection of Sundance beads to stitch Alehouse Annie.  This was priced at $129 there plus tax, which is roughly the price you'll see in most stores I think.  Not too bad for all that thread plus a very professionally produced stitch guide.  The canvas is extra of course.
http://www.threadworx.com/floozies

ThreadworX is going to also sell a stitch guide/thread packet for Remilia and perhaps other Ladies of the Night.  However, her next stitching project is Floozie Sloe Gin Sadie.

I'm going to stitch one of the remaining seven designs.  Will it be the vampire carving her pumpkin with a wicked dagger?  Will it be the vampire in the frilly apron stirring her bubbling cauldron?  Will I attempt to do justice to the awesome rose decorated gown of the vampire with her pet spider and web?  Will I stitch the lady in the graveyard in a purple trimmed cloak?  Will I choose to stitch the vampire with the Evil Cat, or is the one lighting the skull candle more my speed due to the lovely jewelry she wears?  Or will I choose the Lady toasting us with a glass of red wine next to an incredible chandelier?  All will be revealed, but not today.

On another topic entirely, Gay Ann Rogers has posted photographs of some of her samplers and smaller pieces on her website.  It is rare to see so many of her designs in one place as she is a teacher.  It is hard to find her charts unless you happen to know someone who has taken one of her classes who is willing to share their old class material.  Some of these will be offered for sale when her E-Week sale starts October 12 but many will not.  She is just responding to requests to see her work from her cyber class students.  More photos will be posted each day, so bookmark this and return several times this week to see her incredible samplers and delicate small pieces.
http://www.gayannrogers.com/site_2/A_Gallery_of_My_Samplers.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Stars: A Final Glimpse of Deborah Kerr

I added beads to the Deborah Kerr block last night to liven up the black center star.  Since it is all black, the weaving of the oblique ovals that make up the star points isn't really visible, even in person, so I wanted to add a touch of color inside it to make it Pop! off the center.  I think these four little Sundance beads in a pink-peach do the job.  Compare this to yesterday's photo to see what I mean.

Here is the entire Stars for the New Millennium piece so far.  It has been a lot more fun to work than I expected.  I thought I would be grinding my teeth over the counting the entire time but only the last two blocks and the first one gave me enough trouble I had to rip out and restitch areas.

Sorry to have posted this late.  I had to wait until it got light enough to take a photograph of the entire piece and that wasn't until almost 8 a.m.!  Fall is definitely on the way with the dark mornings we've been having.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow