I have a new project coming up soon, and I thought I’d show you a preview. It’s a cross stitch project, part of a stitch-along. It’s a sampler full of cryptids! I’m joining late, but not super late (it goes through January), so the first three cryptids have already been released. They are: Mothman, Fresno Nightcrawler, and the Enfield Horror.
I had never heard of the Enfield Horror, so I had to look it up. I expect there will be others I haven’t heard of or know little about so my plan is to listen to podcasts about each cryptid while stitching them! I can simply search for the cryptid in question in the podcast app and many episodes containing that keyword will show up. I don’t know a specific podcast I’d really like right now, so I’ll try a few and see what I think.
So far only the floss has arrived at my doorstep. I spent some time prepping the floss (cutting them into even lengths and tying them to a carboard floss-keeper I repurposed from an old notebook).
For the fabric, I really liked the look of the example from the SAL which was on hand dyed linen. I was lazy and just ordered the exact linen that was used in the example from the site – The Witchy Stitcher. Unfortunately it’s coming from Canada, so I’ll have to wait probably another couple weeks.
I also ordered a PDF download of a simple little pattern (super cheap). I found a piece of scrap linen I got in a destash that I don’t remember and decided to use this little ghostie to practice. It’s the wrong colors on the wrong color fabric, but it got the job done.
It only took an afternoon to do. I subsequently ordered the black fabric and floss colors and frame I need to make this for reals. That stuff should be here Monday, so I expect I’ll be done by Wednesday.
One thing I discovered in practicing on linen is that it is exceedingly difficult to COUNT on linen. The stitches are done over 2 threads, so you essentially need to count one, skip, count one, skip. And the holes are so tiny and close together that my eyes tend to unfocus part way through counting and I lose my place and have to start over. It helps if I actually stick the needle through each hole as I count, then it’s harder to lose my place, but I still doubt myself sometimes. The SAL is a large piece and in the Facebook group I’ve seen many horror stories of miscounting and having to rip out. I’m scared.
Which is perfect for spooky season, is it not?
The Secret Life of Yarn 