WIPocalypse update #9? Well, at least it's a stitching update!

Hmmm, was I supposed to be working on old, unfinished projects this month?  Did I commit to doing that all year long?  Whoops, must have slipped my mind!

Well, it didn't really slip my mind, it's just that this month has offered quite a few distractions from stitching on old stuff, and I find myself at the end of the month with nothing WIPocalypsy (yes, I just made that up) to share.

But never fear, for my needle has been flying through the linen all the same, and I now have permission to share at least some of what I've been working on.  This month found me working on 3 models for Cherished Stitches, 2 of which will be released next weekend at the Baltimore needlework market.  Since they are so close to making their debut, I've been given the go ahead to share my not-so-professional snaps of the designs I stitched on.  First up is "The Sign of the Gravedigger".  This isn't the best photo, as my work is unironed and therefore quite bubbly, but you can get a bit of an idea of what she's created:

I love that name, "Berry Yew".  I just think it's too cute.  And perfect for this Halloween season that is so quickly approaching.  And speaking of Halloween, here's a photo of the other model I can share, called "Enter if You Dare":

A very quick and fun stitch!  The other piece I'm working on won't be released at this market, so I haven't been given the go ahead to share it, sadly.  And I think another design will be coming home with me on Sunday.  Good thing I like all these pieces she's got me working on, because they are taking up a good chunck of my stitching time!  : )

I did find the time to do some non-model stitching this month.  Lori of Notforgotten Farm shared a cute little freebie on her blog and challenged her readers to find a creative way of finishing the piece up.  I don't know how creative my end product truly is, but I had a ton of fun putting it all together.  I stitched the pattern on a piece of 36 count fabric from PictureThisPlus (the name escapes me at the moment) using a mishmash of various brands of overdyed cotton threads (so I totally jacked up Lori's color scheme).  Here's my finished stitching:

And here's how I finished it:

I've been thinking for a while that I would like to blend my scrapbooking and stitching hobbies together, and had actually been trying to conceptualize a Valentine-themed hanging piece for a while.  When I read Lori's challenge to come up with a unique finish for Tophat Jack, I decided to try out my hybrid banner idea with a Halloween theme first.  Here are closeups of each letter (sorry, I know they're a bit out of focus, I'm not really sure why I didn't notice that til after the banner was strung and my camera put away):

 Well, that's all for today.  I have that 3rd model to put the finishing touches on, a Halloween exchange piece to work on, and there are 2 or three Halloweenish pieces in my WIPocalypse pile.  Hopefully I can finish off at least two of them before the next update is due.  Oh, and I'm almost finished with my Aloha bridal shower mini album.  I hope to share photos of that early next week.

Til next time, I hope everyone in the US has a great Labor Day weekend, and the rest of you have a great, nonholiday weekend!