Haunted Library - 20 hours

Hi All!

I began Dark October by working on a project started during Dark October 2019. This is Haunted Library by Mill Hill stitched, for various reasons, on 14ct aida as opposed to the supplied perforated paper.

In 2019 I reached the 10 hour mark:

And now, four years later, have reached the 20 hour mark:

Given this progress, a potential finish is in sight. But, for some unfathomable reason, I have decided to swap to another WIP. Let's see what happens.

Take care,

Rachel x

Haunted Library - 10 hours after restart

Hi all!

At the end of October I started Haunted Library by Mill Hill.

I'd spent a lot of time procrastinating over whether to use the supplied perforated paper or use 14ct or 16ct aida, and whether to use two or three strands of floss, but finally made up my mind to go with the kit's instructions.

I made a really good start but the whole project just wasn't sitting comfortably.

So I decided to restart it on 14ct aida to see if that made a difference. And it has; I'm enjoying it so much more. I don't think it looks as effective but I can always fill in the gaps with dark blue thread if necessary to make the building and beads stand out more.

Here's my restart:

Haunted Library by Mill Hill

Stitched on 14ct Confederate Grey aida 2 over 1

Compared to the original:

I certainly don't consider the time spent on the first one as a waste of time; it was something new to me and something I had to try in order to find out I didn't particularly like it. I'm just glad I did something about it sooner rather than later.

Take care,
Rachel x

Dark October - the end

Hi all!

The idea of Dark October is to stitch on only Halloween projects for the whole month. I couldn't commit to that so had the idea of slowly stitching one or two small projects alongside my other planned projects.

However, plans can change and they certainly did, with some of my planned non-Halloween projects being swapped for Halloween ones, and some new starts being added in towards the end of the month.

In my previous Dark October post you saw the completed Chandelier and the progress I'd made on Trick or Treat:

Chandelier

Trick Or Treat

What you didn't see was that these were stitched alongside my Smalls SAL piece, RIP Spooky Hootie, and two Halloween WIPs, A Little Witch Of The Night and A Little Wizard Of The Night, which I swapped in and made some progress on.

RIP Spooky Hootie

A Little Witch Of The Night
(continued her face)


A Little Wizard Of The Night
(finished his body and added the broom)

Then, in the final week I went a bit berserk (well, berserk for me anyway).

I increased the time spent on Trick Or Treat each day so that it would be finished before the end of the month:

Trick of Treat from Dark Shadows by Sue Hillis Designs
(with a few alterations to the letters and bats)

Stitched on 16ct Pink Pixie over-dyed aida by sewitall.com 2 over 1

Stitch Count 51 wide by 72 high

Started - 17th October 2019

Finished - 31st October 2019

Total Stitching Time - 9 hours 40 minutes

And started the four remaining pieces from Sue Hillis' Dark Shadows set:

Bird Candelabra (crows? ravens? rooks?)

Stitched on Purple Potion 16ct over-dyed aida
Started 24th October 2019

Boo!

Stitched on Pink Pixie 16ct over-dyed aida
Started 25th October 2019

Candelabra

Stitched on Purple Potion 16ct over-dyed aida

Started 26th October 2019

Hocus Pocus

Stitched on Pink Pixie 16ct over-dyed aida

Started 27th October 2019

And then I started yet another new piece, Haunted Library by Mill Hill, which you saw a few days ago:

Haunted Library by Mill Hill
Stitched on supplied 14ct dark blue perforated paper
Started 28th October 2019

I think all of the above means that, in the end, I actually made quite a good contribution to Dark October! In fact the only non-Halloween projects I stitched during the month were the Birthstone, the Monarch and Hogwarts. Not bad, considering I had originally planned on stitching just one or two of the Sue Hillis designs!

Next year I shall ensure there are no intrusions and that October is set aside for 100% Halloween stitching. I can't wait... 335 days and counting!

For now I'm going to try to continue stitching on the four remaining Sue Hillis projects a little each day. It would be nice to have them all finished by the end of the year.

By the way, does anyone know of any other similarly month-long themed challenges like this one? Christmas in July perhaps? I don't want to join them, just curious (although a month long Christmas in July does sound appealing; I might have to think about that!!)

I'm now looking forward to seeing what others have achieved during Dark October.

Take care,
Rachel x

New Start - Haunted Library by Mill Hill

Hi everyone!

Yesterday I decided to treat myself to another new start. My stitching for Dark October has already involved a few new starts (more about that in the Dark October round-up post on 31st) but *shock horror* I decided to add in another to commemorate an annual event.

To be fair, I had planned to start this kit this year so don't feel too guilty about adding it to my growing WIP pile. This is, or rather eventually will be, Haunted Library by Mill Hill:

Haunted Library by Mill Hill
Stitched on supplied 14ct dark blue perforated paper
Started 28th October 2019

It's been 15 years since I last used 14ct and three strands of floss so it felt weird to be stitching on anything other than 16/32ct fabric; I definitely missed railroading and using the cut-and-loop starting method!


This is my first Mill Hill project, so here are a few observations and thoughts.

The threads come in a bundle, rather than pre-sorted, and I'm not sure would be easy to sort out without a shade card, given how close some of the colours are. However, as they're DMC, I didn't even try; I just cheated and went straight to my own stash!

All of the beads came mixed in two bags so, again, had to be sorted. Luckily I'd preempted this and invested in a Tacky Bob; what a life-saver!

I very rarely stitch in hand so couldn't get on with holding the perforated paper. I spent a bit of time sewing some spare aida to the top and bottom so that I could attach it to my frame and therefore use both hands, like I'm used to. Much better!

Apart from where there are stand-alone stitches, which don't lay too well due to the oversized holes in the paper, the coverage is really good.

I don't know if this is down to the perforated paper or to using three strands, but the thread loses its sleekness quite quickly. I'm using 16" lengths, so not exactly long, and finding I'm having to finish quite a way before reaching the end.

I'm very good at procrastinating and have been debating for ages whether to use the supplied perforated paper or swap it for aida. From using them on my monthly birthstone pieces, I found that Mill Hill size 11 beads are slightly too big for 16ct. Part of me wishes I'd done bought some similarly-coloured 14ct aida to stitch this on. Maybe I'll do that for the next one... or this one if I fancy a restart!!!

I'd be very interested to know your thoughts on these kits. Whereas some are happy to stitch on any type or count of fabric, perhaps I'm too attached to my beloved 16ct to be completely happy, and you should all just tell me to suck it up, enjoy the journey, and look forward to the stunning results these kits give!

Take care,
Rachel x

PS I'm way behind on answering emails but hope to catch in the next week or so. Bear with me, you will get yours eventually!