Halloween stitching

Hello Stitching Friends💝,

I don't know about you, but when I have really bad anxiety or feel very worried I find it really difficult to cross stitch. It's like I can't still my mind enough to focus on the pattern and the counting... That's what happened the last time I stopped stitching in 2016; I was so worried about my life in general that I couldn't find enough peace of mind to stitch those crosses😞. Crochet and knitting is easier to do at those times since it is more repetitive and you can just let your hands do the motions without your head really connecting...at least if you have been knitting and crocheting for as long as I have😉.

Lately my beagle has had serious health issues and I have been very worried about him and what is going to happen and how I'm going to cope with even more vet bills etc... so I didn't lift a cross stitch needle all week. Over last weekend I pulled myself together though and did a little bit of stitching; if for no other reason than having something to show you this week. Then my furbaby got worse and I HAD to take him to the vet in the beginning of this week. Now he's on strong pain relief which seems to be helping and it is such a huge relief to have both my furbabies feeling better. 

So, I managed to pull out my favorite Christmas project and it's starting to come together really nicely.

I'm so in love with this piece😍! Even if stitching with three threads and not being able to do the loop start is driving me slightly nuts😁.

My sister has the magazine reader app Readly and when I had a look at cross stitching magazines I found this colourful Halloween project...

 ...which I immediately fell in love with! 

It is only in the last few decades that Halloween has been celebrated here in Sweden (due to influences from America), and then mostly by the younger generations. Personally I don't celebrate it at all, BUT I do love Halloween designs. And having been inspired by magazines and other stitchers I have been known to stitch a bat or two😉🎃.

So, going back to the Halloween design I saw in Cross Stitcher (October 2020) I really wanted to stitch it. After all, it has probably been over a month since I had a new start which is way too long😂. The design called for light purple fabric which I didn't have, so I decided to replace it with off-white aida fabric. And I search through my stash for appropriate thread colours and came up with this...

Then I spent Sunday afternoon gridding my fabric, so I haven't actually stitched that much on it...

 

...yet! But I really look forward to adding an Halloweeny element after another to this piece!

The one other Halloween WIP project I have is this design, Cats, Bats & Witches, by The Prairie Schooler.

I managed to stitch a bit on it too, and maybe I can actually finish it this year.

Then, of course, there is the larger version of this chart...

...which I'm sure I'll make a start on one of these days. Especially after I get some more DMC 3371!

And finally a sweet picture of my two darling boys enjoying the Swedish autumn!

Hope you're all staying healthy and have time for lots of stitching!

Annie