Feeling a little more inspired

I've been in a funk lately, both in my crafts and writing. I don't know why, but this summer I have been so lazy. I really haven't wanted to craft or write anything at all. I think it is because of the heat. :) But now that the fall decorations are hitting the stores, I am becoming excited and a little more inspired.

I have several Halloween projects that are on my to-do list this year. These projects WILL be completed by the end of this month, because I tend to put up my Halloween decorations the weekend of Labor Day. I know it is a little early, but one month is not long enough to enjoy Halloween.

1. Felt flower wreath    2. Cross stitch pumpkin   3. Mantle scarf   4. Black cat pillows

For this year's colors, I am sticking with orange and black. I do like to throw in a little purple and green from year to year, but this year I'm just focusing on the traditional Halloween colors.

I was really excited to start on my first project this past weekend. The skull cross stitch pumpkin has been on my to-do list for awhile, and I finally got around to buying a fake white pumpkin at Michaels. You have to get their fake pumpkins, especially the white ones, pretty early in the season before they are out of stock. I decided on a medium sized one, so my skull could be a little bigger.

The first thing I did was make the holes in the pumpkin. I enlarged the pattern, printed it out, and taped it to the pumpkin, just like I would if I was carving a pumpkin with template. I then poked the holes through the pumpkin. The tutorial calls for a bamboo skewer or ice pick to make the holes. I improvised and used a knitting needle. The pumpkins are not that thick, so a small pencil might even work.

After I finished the holes, I started to cross-stitch my pumpkin. I kept the pattern on my computer screen so I could follow along, because a bunch of holes on a pumpkin can get very confusing. As I went along I had to re-poke some of the holes with the knitting needle, since they had closed up.

Here is my progress so far:

It is really going to be super cute when it is done, but it is very time consuming. Just making the holes and stitching the first two rows, I finished another row yesterday, took me several hours. Then again, I was watching a mini marathon of Supernatural while I was doing this, and that tends to take away my concentration. :)

My goal is to have my skull pumpkin completed by the weekend, so I can move onto my next project!