November GG ~ Secrets

Howdy, everyone!  It's such a busy time of year and I've been feeling under the weather for weeks now. Not sick, just exhausted and blah! They've finally harvested the fields around us so I could start the deep fall (winter?!) housecleaning. It normally would've been done months ago, but I didn't realize they would wait so long to harvest the soybeans (it was a terrible year for them here).  So, I've been hanging out our windows caulking gaps and scrubbing everything inside and out. That had to be put on hold as it turned cold and we've already had our first significant snow (very early for this area).  I'm hoping for a brief warmup so I can finish up the outside caulking!  Whew. I'm pretty sure I've unearthed enough fur to make another cat. How does it get everywhere?!  Maybe I should save it and spin it into yarn!

click for more info

Anyway, onto the Gifted Gorgeousness, the SAL where we work on gifts, gifts to be given or gifts received or gifts slid in by the magic of Shoehorn Power!

before

after

After getting back from Grandma's, I feel like all my crafting has taken a nosedive!  There's just a bit more on the last side of the MH3U cube for my husband.  I love that blue but we've seen the end of it in this piece, alas~  It's the giant tail left and then I really need to figure out how to actually finish-finish this piece into a cube without ruining it, eek!  I've been toying around with some ideas but I dunno if I can pull them off.  We'll see~

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I actually have some other work complete but it will have to wait for a somewhat large January GG post as they're going to be Christmas gifts!  Instead, here is another Flower of the Month huck towel completed.  This was one of the projects I took with me to my grandmother's house.  This is not GG unless it's a gift for myself for finally being done, hooray!

before

after

Technical Details

• "September: Aster" freebie pattern by Ellen Maurer-Stroh, found here.
• 2-over-1 on a 14-count ecru huck towel.
• Finished size: 4.5" x 4.5" (11,50cm x 11,50cm).
• Started October? ??, 2017, finished October ??, 2018, unknown hours.

I was not very good at keeping details for this stitch.  But sheesh, a year is too long for one of these.  I just wasn't into this particular flower for some reason.  October will be the calendula -- most readily known here as a marigold!  I tend to like yellow-y flowers so I hope it will go faster.  And as a bonus, it will count for GG as I will make use of the huck towel sent by Tiffany at Tiffstitches!  :D  I have yet to find the two remaining towels in any store, at least in the ecru color.  Even eBay is weirdly pricey for these.  JoAnn's still carries them online, so I will hopefully be able to make use of their free shipping and 40% coupon combo that usually happens this time of year.  Fingers crossed!

just three more!

Since it was another "third", here is where the completed collection now stands.  They all look so happy together!

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Lastly, here's another giveaway!  It's a little late for Christmas stitching this year (though I know a few of you are fast enough hah) but I hope you enjoy this piece.  The chart is clean and actually doesn't look like it's ever been used (this was a thrift store find!).

Prairie Schooler #109: Starry Night

I love the color scheme in this leaflet; it's so serene.  There are seven different designs depicting the Star of Bethlehem and the Nativity and they would make lovely ornaments.  I'll ship anywhere in the world~

Gifted Gorgeousness Giveaway Guidelines

1. Be a minion follower (upper right corner of my blog)!  Feedly, bloglovin', etc. do not count as there is no way to show it!  I am sorry; blame blogger for this one.
2. Comment and tell me you would like to be included in the drawing!
3. Open worldwide! 
4. Closing date: November 29th, 2018 23:59 CST.

Thanks for reading this edition of Ishkabibble Babble and good luck to anyone entering! \:D/

A Heartfelt Hallowe'en Blog Hop

Hello there, world!  It's time for the yearly magic of putting the apostrophe back in Hallowe'en ... Er, I mean the Hallowe'en Blog Hop!  If you've discovered this game from my blog, please go to Jo's blog first to start collecting letters that will spell out a mystery phrase!

Google-y Oogley

I was actually a little worried I wouldn't be able to participate in the hop this year due to traveling.  Turns out, going to grandma's house for a couple of weeks without much Internet access means Lots of Crafting Time so I got my piece finished in record time (although not with enough time to finish-finish upon returning), along with a plethora (for me) of other projects.

Cuore di Halloween

Tada!  I think I first saw this piece on our Hostess with the Hallowe'en Mostest's blog.  I loved it and have had it saved to my computer since then knowing that someday would come.  Well, someday is here which is kind of amazing in the stitching world!

yay!

I made quite a few modifications.  First, this was stitched on fabric I dyed myself! (:D!!!!)  I wanted an orange Hallowe'eny piece but I can never seem to find colored fabrics other than white, ecru, and red out here in the boonies.  Dyeing didn't look too difficult so I picked up a bottle of Rit in tangerine and dove in (or rather, the fabric did :D) with some of my older Aida pieces.  Because the color of the fabric was quite similar to the called-for orange in the pattern, I changed that to bright purple for contrast.

it glows!

I also modified various bits of the skeleton, ghouls, and cat.  Basically nothing was safe from me this time.   All of the white became the glorious Glow-in-the-Dark DMC thread.  I thought the cat looked more like a vicious sort of bunny (no Monty Python killer rabbits here) but I couldn't get a reconfiguration of ears to suit me... so the cat got a hat hah.  Then I added a few more little Hallowe'en buttons I had in my stash instead of some of the smaller hearts.  Since I think they're cute, I added a third ghoul instead of more swooping purple lines.  Lastly, I went totally insane and added beads instead of the single stitches by robbing old Mill Hill kits.   I really had a lot of fun with this project!  I'm still not sure how I'll finish-finish it as it's quite large to be an ornament.

Technical Details

• "Cuore di Halloween" freebie pattern by Isabelle Vautier can be found here.
• 2-over-1 on 14-count white Aida, dyed orange by me!
• Finished size: 5.5 x 6" (14 x 15.2 cm)
• Started October 23, 2018, finished October 28, 2018; unknown hours.

I am guessing my copy of this freebie is old enough to not have links to where it could be found (it was just a series of four small images).  So, double thanks to our hostess's Happy Dance blog with the relevant info!

🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃

found via Google

And here's the letter you've all been waiting for -- the letter F!  Your next stop is jocondine so go knock on her door for your next treat!

I've scheduled this post to appear in the wee hours of the morning here for you over-puddlers! 

October GG ~ Progress is Progress

Howdy again, world~  Here is this month's Gifted Gorgeousness where I astound(?) you all with my progress(?) on various gifted items.

click for more info

First up, a bit more progress on the last side of the Husband Cube.

before

after

Once I finally fixed all the errors I made previously, progress has happened.  He's got his flippers now.  All that's left is his gigantic tail and a bit of belly(?) decoration.

all better

Next up, I made some repairs to the house slippers I made for my husband three years ago!  It's the gift that keeps on giving. :D  The soles on his slippers were worn through and the foam wouldn't stay put any longer.  So, I made another set of soles and this time, wised up and ATTACHED THE FOAM instead of just stuffing it in there.  Now it shouldn't migrate all over the shoe whenever they're washed.  I also tacked down the cuff a bit more firmly this time too.  It did somewhat change the aesthetic of them since I had to attach the sole to the already existing shoe part instead of making the shoe on top of the sole.  But, it wasn't so drastic that they look terrible.  They're now ready for another season of toasty toes!

well-worn

I still have to repair my own slippers but that's not GG territory unless I count my feet being warm a gift to myself!  Since I didn't take a picture of the bottom of his slippers pre-repair, this was the state of mine.  As bad as they are, they are no where near as bad as his were! These pictures are kind of dark and a bit blurry... Fall weather is nice but also lots of overcast days.

vintage-inspired coasters

Lastly, I finished up some delightful little coasters for Leonore's wedding!  Unfortunately, I made the silly error of assuming post to Germany would get there as quickly as it does to the UK.  So they did not make it in time to provide table decoration for her wedding, buu. 

She asked for shades of green so I started making them in the dark green.  Then I just happened to find myself in Michael's one day (funny how that happens) and saw the pretty mint green.  So, why not both?

four each

I have to say -- I LOVE this pattern. There were a few minor issues with the pattern that I worked out in a test piece but after that, each was such a wonderful project to work on. They turn out so dainty and sweet.  I may wind up making some more for us that I would have to hide away from a certain small-item-stealing kitty (not naming names, Oreo).


Technical Details

• "Vintage Coasters" freebie pattern by Anabelia Handmade on ravelry.
• Hook: 1.65mm.
• Thread: Aunt Lydia's Crochet Classic Crochet (Size 10) in white and mint green.  American Thread Company Puritan Crochet Cotton
• My ravelry project page here.
• Started: ??  Finished: September 18, 2018, unknown hours.

Okay, that's all I got this time!  See you next time, probably for the Hallowe'en Blog Hop~ :D

September Smalls ~ The Return of the Microkit

Howdy, y'all~ A timely and actually stitched Smalls piece from me this month! Whatever is the world coming to?  Better weather, that's for sure.  Right now it's a beautiful 54°F (12°C) and some fog rolling in the valleys and on the rivers.  It finally feels like fall!

I've ended the giveaway a little bit early due to picking such a popular design that several people have already haha~  So, Leonore, you are the winner and I already have your address.  It has been sent on its merry way across the puddle~  :D

click for info!

Halloween stitching is quite fun and I decided to stitch another of the little microkits I found on carand88's blog (search by tag: cat) years ago.  Today's featurette is the spooky(?) ghost microkit with bonus glow-in-the-dark thread.  A year is apparently long enough to forget how "fuzzy" glow-in-the-dark floss is!  Such a weird one to work with.   Ghostie joins Witchy Kitty and Mr and Mrs Frankenstein in the completion pile, woo!

to you

Technical Details

• "Ghost Microkit" freebie pattern by Carolyn at carand88.
• 2-over-1 on 14 count black perforated plastic..
• Started: September 21, 2018; Finished: September 25, 2018; unknown hours.

So what's up with that bit of floss still attached if it's finished? Well, I'm not sure if I like the "boo" placement/existence. It felt like there was a large amount of empty space in the upper right.   Maybe I need to shift it up a little more?  I don't want it extending out past the stitching though.  Any opinions on the matter?

witchy kitty is with the Halloween stuff!

This was also the first experience I can recall where I've broken a (brand new!) needle while stitching (#22... I think).  Perhaps the perforated plastic was just too thick for it and I switched to a fatter #18.

Kind of sparse post!  There's still time before Halloween to stitch another of these little guys but I dunno if I will or not.  I'm feeling kind of whimsical about stitching since it got cooler.  I keep having the urge to bury myself in yarn!  This is becoming a regular autumn feeling.....

September GG ~ Stash Enhancements, Hats, and a Just Jo SAL!

Hello, world~  It's time for our monthly installment of Gifted Gorgeousness!  Are you curious about the Just Jo SAL?  I'll get there eventually~  There hasn't been any progress on the last side of the MH3U husband cube as I've been a bit busy with other things that can't yet be shown to the public eye.

click for more info

I got an awesome package in the mail last week -- a nice pile of new-to-me knitting and crochet magazines!  A friend was clearing out some of her stash and asked if I needed wanted any.  Of course!  I took all she offered and anything that doesn't entirely tickle my fancy, I'll take with me to our local "yarn and yak" group.  Thank you, Awesome Friend! :D

yay!

I adore the Jane Austen Knits magazine!  I'll eventually update my ravelry patterns page with the ones I'll be keeping.  I'm getting quite the collection on there but it makes it so much easier to not wind up with duplicates~

In the spirit of giving instead of hoarding receiving, I made another "flowering hat", this time for my husband's grandmother's birthday. She's in the Red Hat Society and I thought this might work for some of her gatherings. The flower is again removable and she's already mentioned using it as a pin on a dress! How nice to hear a gift is already being used. :D

best hat pattern

I actually had a rather difficult time trying to get this color to show properly! It's actually a deep wine red.  There's also a small button at the center of the white flower holding everything together but that got washed out trying to bring out the red.  I went up a hook size for this hat and am much happier with the result.  It's so soft!  The flower might be a bit too big with that hook though...

Technical Details

• "Ridge Hat with Brim" freebie pattern by Kool Stitch on ravelry.
• Hook: 4.5mm.
• Yarn: Caron Simply Soft; Colorway: autumn red, purple, and white.
• My ravelry project page here.
• Started: ??  Finished: August 24, 2018, unknown hours.

With this finish, I have finally surpassed last year's crafting finishes (this is #16) and am on my way to surpass my most productive year (2016: 18 finishes).  I'm not a very fast or prolific crafter so this is really exciting for me.

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winner, winner, chicken dinner (?)

Here are the results to the poll from the last post regarding y'all's preferences over comment settings.  Embedded seems to be the most preferred setting!  I would guess this is because it allows people to easily reference the post they're commenting on.

I have no idea how long this poll will last, or even if it's still open to vote!  The site says they eventually clear out inactive polls but didn't specify a time.

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Now it's time to contribute in a different way to GG!  Surely by now y'all know I love thrift shopping and can often spot fun things I don't desperately need. I also watch for potential giveaways for pretty charts I know I'll never stitch but think will make someone else happy.

Just Nan - Morning Meadow band sampler

This time the giveaway is for a Just Nan chart: Morning Meadow.  I had originally offered it to our GG hostess as she sure seems to stitch a lot of Just Nans, to the point where I started calling them Just Jos!  Jo already has this particular chart but hasn't stitched it yet.  So, win this chart and have a SAL with Jo and get to count it for all sorts of Gifted Gorgeousness!  :D

what's a meadow without grasshoppers?

This giveaway is just the chart; unfortunately no fancy beads that sometimes came with them.  It's a nice, clean chart with no markings though there is a thrift store price sticker (it's a bonus? :D).  Since shipping is open worldwide, this will just be the chart, no little extras tossed in.

Gifted Gorgeousness Giveaway Guidelines

1. Be a minion follower (upper right corner of my blog)!  Feedly, bloglovin', etc. do not count as there is no way to show it!  I am sorry; blame blogger for this one.
2. Comment and tell me you would like to win!
3. Open worldwide! 
4. Closing date: September 30, 2018, 23:59 CST.  Closed a little early on September 27 and will ship to the one entrant!  A popular name means a lot of people have it already haha :)

Thanks for reading this edition of Iskabibble Babble and good luck to anyone entering! \:D/