My sunshine is returning on Sunday from the grim and desperate Colonies; expect a week of hearts, flowers and kittens...


...or skulls, bosoms and chainsaws.


Either or.

The Saw is Family

This bad boy is another whole-stitches-and backstitch special; 10 high by 40 wide.

One more post before next week's big announcement, when I will finally reveal my sinister design(s)...

An Improving Motto...

Good heavens! Something that's not about death! Fancy that...

Including the border, 28 whole stitches high and 29 whole stitches wide. The chart is in imperial purple, but you can, of course, choose your own colour scheme; perhaps a dark green on white fabric, or red thread against one of those 'natural' brownish linen fabrics.

Since all my readers are thoroughly versed in philosophy, you will already know that this is a quote from Rene Descartes; in translation, it means: "I think, therefore I am".

For those whose education has a few Cartesian-shaped gaps in it, may I present in the spirit of Enlightenment this free lecture from the Philosophy Department, University of Wooloomooloo. Take it away Bruces:

Pierrepoint's Old Friend...

Although I suppose you can think of it as a lasso, if it makes you feel better.

Whole stitches and backstitch outlines: 18 stitches high and 7 wide.

Only a few more of these; I promise you, gentle readers, you'll be the first to see the finished piece.

Elizabeth Taylor's Poison...

Or Crippen's, if you prefer.

Two colourways; green and blue:



16 Whole Stitches high and 7 wide, with backstitch for the outlining.

"Why, Dear Miss Impostor, are all the charts so...morbid?" I hear you whimper. Patience, good needlewomen, patience; they're part of a larger project. Wait and see...all will be revealed in time.

Duelling Pistols

Yes, technically I suppose they ARE automatics, rather than pistols...

Whole stitches and a bit of backstitch: each individual gun is 6 high and 8 wide; adjust the space between them if you want to add a name, or motif.


For the more pacifist/pranksterish:


Whole stitches and a bit of backstitch: 6 high and 18 wide.

Details at this scale are hard without fractionals; I warn you, gentle readers, I may have to succumb to the lure of the three-quarter stitch soon...

...And Soap

Another whole-stitches-and-a-bit-of-backstitch job; 13 high by 26 wide. Backstitch around the letters if you want them to have a little more depth. The green colour makes me think of bars of Palmolive, but a pastel, cream or even white would work just as well.

And why is it Soap? Old Costello fans FTW:

Pills...

Continuing our medical theme...Stitch count is 5 high by 14 wide, whole stitches again, with a little backstitch for detail.

How about all-red and all-blue versions as the border to a Matrix sampler?

The Needle and the Damage Done

Far too long since I last posted here, and especially since I last posted a little freebie pattern, so here we go.

Bit of backstitch on this one; easiest way to outline the barrel. Still proudly fractionals-free, though. Stitch count; 7 high and 28 wide.

Stay tuned for more news on my new spiffy project ideas; who knows, I might even get my backside shifted and populate my tumbleweed-friendly Etsy store...

Edited to add:

Now available: the Herbert West Signature Edition in Glowing Reagent Green. Actually, how excellent would this look on black fabric, perhaps with one of those [Madeira? DMC?] glow-in-the-dark colours for the syringe contents?

Now, back to avoiding work...

I WISH this was one of mine...

...Almost as much as I wish I'd bought that cross-stitched Nosferatu poster from Etsy last year.

Yes, it does cheat a little...but I like the unstitched canvas effect near the 'needle', and I <3 the satin-stitch effect title.

Pretty.

Delia's gone...

...but the ol' ball and chain will be back soon, I hope.

More patterns, less moping, soon.

Good news and bad

Bad news is...the Light of My Life, Heart of my Heart, Joy of My Desiring, returns home this weekend for about a month, or however long it takes to get a fiance visa these days. So, until then...
The 'good' news is; more time to blog, catch up with chores, and more importantly: stitch.

Would I rather have my spouse-to-be here, and less time to myself? Does Amy Winehouse have the Priory on speed-dial? Hopefully, teaching myself how to operate my new-to-me sewing machine will distract me enough until the inevitably emotional reunion.

My New Logo...

For my as-yet-unstocked Etsy store. It needs text, and resizing as a banner, and then I'll put it up on this blog too.

Serene or Just Asleep?

My first pattern; a slightly snoozy-looking Buddha.

Robes are saffron or orange, skin 'flesh', 'gold', or even blue as preferred, and outlines black.

Stitch count is 45 high by 38 wide.

Since it's all full cross stitches, and no backstitch, he might do just as well for needlepoint; 10 count canvas makes him just the right size for a small mala bag.

Shameless Self-Promotion

Welcome, Craft types, to my other blog; the one with the self-indulgence, where I pimp my in-progress Etsy store, show the indifferent world my works-in-progress, and occasionally chuck out a cross-stitch design or two.

Enjoy!