The Halloween Stitching Project

No matter what happens from this point on, I can proudly announce that this year, I am ready for Halloween. At least in the stitching sense.  My Halloween project - "The Spells' Store" - is finished! (Drum Roll, Happy Dance, etc., etc.... )

Design by The Primitive Hare
Published in Just Cross Stitch 2013 Halloween
Stitched on 28 ct Antique White Evenweave
DMC Floss

I have been looking at this pattern for the past two years. Finally, this year I had a spare moment (several of them) - and here's the result....
I think, the first thing in the project that grabbed my attention were the boots- their shape, the socks in them - or are they actually "booted" feet on the shelf? The question opens up so many topics - and suddenly you are visiting a store somewhere in Diagon Alley - or is it Knockturn? I guess that would depend on the answer about the boots.

I noticed that many Halloween and Witch patterns have the years 1692 and 1861 featured in them... I know the significance of the year 1692 - Salem Witch Trials - but what about year 1861? I know it's the time of  the Confederacy-  the secession of the Southern states, and the beginning of the American Civil war, - but what does it have to do with witchcraft?

I also made a short video on the "Spells' Store" progress and wanted to post it on Facebook, but, unfortunately, it was deleted. The Facebook administration sited the concern that "not all parts of the video belong to me." They were probably referring to the music. Then again, I would never try to claim the authorship of "Don't Fear the Reaper." I just want to use the song in my video.

So, here it is...

I hope you like it...

Happy Halloween - and happy stitching.

A Bit of Stitching, High Anxiety, and Instruments of Medieval Torture

Hello, dear friends!
First of all, I want to share some stitching I have done over the past three weeks...

First, I thought of posting five or six progress pictures, but then, feeling brave(r) than usual, I decided to make it into a movie. This is still work in progress - desperately needing a broom and a header (where the huge brown circle is) - but, overall, I am happy with the result. Now to see if Blogger is able to play this... Keep your fingers crossed for me! 

Other than stitching, I am still dedicated to the gym, although in my mind I now refer to it as "medieval torture chamber." I am sure many of you can relate: when you are on the machine, everything hurts, and afterwords, everything hurts even more. The look of the machine, with all of its gadgets, screws and adjustment levers, strongly reminds me of the medieval torture device. In my case, the personal trainer (a.k.a. "the torture master") adjusts the devices and makes me go through the routine, assuring me the whole time that it's good for me. Finally, the screams, moans and groans of people around me (mostly males lifting weights) add the final touch and make the experience of the torture chamber complete.

A separate word about the moaning and groaning fellow sufferers... Mostly, they are men, and they lift weights, and they tend to drop and smash those weights all over the place. From a distance, it sounds something like this: "Arrrrgh! - Boom! - Clang... - Oooh... " The sound sequence is repeated over and over, with the "arrrgh"'s getting louder and more painful, and booms and clangs more loud. I don't know why these men do it this way - maybe, they think it sounds macho, attractive, like "look at me, I am so strong"? For me, at its loudest/dramatic it sounded like the guy was having a heart attack. Otherwise, it seemed like he was taking a painful dump. So, in conclusion: gentlemen, stop showing off! If you have to scream lifting the weight, that means you need to switch to a lighter weight. Making scary near-death-like noises only intensifies the "torture chamber" effect I talked about earlier.

To be fair, going to the gym does make me feel better overall, and I also lost a little weight - five pounds, to be exact, - thanks mostly to following the "torture master"'s routine. So, although I do call her that (in my mind), I am actually grateful to her.

Until next time - happy everything!