2014 Halloween Exchange Linky Party

Wisdom with Needle and Thread 2014 Ornament Exchange from Evalina to Renee

Kim, at Wisdom with Needle and Thread, hosted a first annual Halloween Exchange this year.

I love decorating for Halloween, so I just had to sign up for this swap, and I am SO glad I did.

Just look at this beautiful ornament.  It traveled to Oregon from Canada, and was made by Evalina of This and That...

At first glance, I thought the image was a fabric print.  The stitching is all so incredibly fine, it took my brain a moment to recognize it was actually cross-stitched!  I just love the owl on the tree branch (many of you know how much I love trees) and the full harvest moon. 

If you click on the image, it should enlarge for you.

Here is a close up of the stitching:

The words within the moon read, "A harvest moon so big and bright watch over us this Hallow's Eve night."

The decorative fringe around the edge and the wonderful ribbon hanger are perfect.  Thank you SO much, Evalina.  I absolutely love it!


The ornament I made was mailed to Gaynor  in Ireland.  (I encourage you to visit her blog at Stitchers Anon!) Although Kim let us know our ornaments did not need to be cross-stitched, I had picked the perfect cross-stitch pattern out.  Then, I made the mistake of  I was smart enough to ask my husband what he thought.  He told me he did not really like projects I made using cross-stitch patterns as much as the ones I make up as I go.  Back to the drawing board.

So, I crazy quilted a circle around a scrap of some haunted house fabric in my stash.

The spider web was stitched with glow-in-the-dark floss.  The eyes on the backing fabric also glow.  (I love glow-in-the-dark...)  I did not have any grey fabric, so I mixed black and white acrylic paints.  The resulting grey paint was applied to some white felt for the gravestones. 

I had so much fun making this for Gaynor!  I did worry though.  This was my first exchange with someone that did not include a list of things my swap partner liked and did not like.  (What if she hated spiders as much as my sister?!) So, I decided to add a small gift, too. (Oops.  It also had spiders...)

Front of Halloween Coin Purse

Back of Halloween Coin Purse

Inside Halloween Coin Purse - "Boo"

Thank you, Kim, for hosting such a fun exchange!  Evalina, I LOVE my ornament.  Thank you so much!

Please check out the 2014 Halloween Exchange Linky Party at Wisdom with Needle and Thread to see the other fun exchange gifts!

Have a great weekend!
Renee

Note: The coin purse was made using the tutorial for a sew-in-frame on Sweet Bee Buzzings.