Halloween Hobbies: Free Cross Stitch Patterns

Posted: September 26, 2015 | Author: Renae Rude - The Paranormalist | Filed under: Halloween, Knitting, Uncategorized, Wicked Fun - try this | Tags: cross stitch, cross stitch charts, free, Halloween, halloween crafts, Renae Rude, The Paranormalist | 2 Comments

FREE HALLOWEEN CROSS STITCH PATTERNS:

I realize folks could arrive at this page at any time of year, but the majority of readers will visit in the late summer or early autumn, when their thoughts first turn to Halloween. Starting a cross stitch project at this time of year is the perfect way to get into the spirit of season without freaking out the neighbors by putting up premature decorations.

(What’s premature? I’m not a good judge. Some of my “Halloween Decorations” stay out all year round.)

The weather at this time of year is volatile. Depending on the date, and your location, it could be hot and thick, as summer has its last hurrah; or it could be cool and rainy, as autumn comes on. In either case, it seems there are more opportunities to settle in for an evening with some cross stitch … and, perhaps, a great scary movie. (Maybe an iconic old horror film, or one about Halloween or ghosts?) It’s also a busy time of year for many of us, as back-to-school demands fire up. Keeping all that in mind, I’ve featured projects that range from quick and easy, to elaborate and complicated. There should be something here you can finish in the time you have before Halloween.

Note: Yes, I used my Free Halloween Knitting Patterns post as a template for this one. The wording IS almost identical. You are not going crazy.

FREE CROSS STITCH CHARTS:

freepatterns.com

hobbyloco.com

kreinik.com

cyberstitchers.com

kreinik.com

hobbyloco.com

kreinik.com

cyberstitchers.com

hobbyloco.com

If you hover over the image in the gallery above, you’ll see that each featured piece is captioned with the name of one of the following source sites. The “hover-title” is the name of the pattern, and the designer. These images are just a sampling of what’s available … have fun browsing each site for just the right project.

Find the charts at the following links:

Two of the projects pictured in the gallery have specific links:

Haunted House by freepatterns.com (You may have to register at this site – I already was.)
Halloween Topiary by DMC

What will you make? What would you LOVE to make?

I’m going to do something really scary:

I plan to stitch a project from a a chart that I designed myself. I’ll share my plan, but I DON’T recommend that you choose my design, unless you can see from experience that it will work for you. I’ve never done this before, and I have no idea if it will turn out well.

As I was finishing this post, I decided to go looking for some kind of program that would allow me to create a chart for a project that’s been in the back of my mind for a while. I found MyPhotoStitch.com. I played with the tool to get an idea of what kind of image would work well as a base design. (I already knew I wanted the design to read ‘Carpe Noctem’.) I dug through my photo files to find a pic of the moon, against a pure black sky, that my Ogre took. I imported that photo into Kizoa.com, which is a free online photo editor. There, I added the Carpe Noctem text, and a piece of owl clip art that Kizoa had, to my re-sized photo. THEN I imported the new image into the MyPhotoStitch chart maker tool. I had to play with the setting a fair bit, but I think I’ve come up with a workable chart.

My plan is to work on 18 X 12 piece of black, 14-count, Aida cloth. MyPhotoStitch says the finished design will be 7″ X 5.5″. I designed the project to be workable in ten colors or less. The chart ended up suggesting nine. I won’t know if the recommended floss colors will be right … I’ll check tomorrow, when I go shopping for the supplies. (I’d actually like the brighter edge of the moon to better match the brighter parts of the text.)

Here’s the link to the PDF chart (on 4 pages!) that MyPhotoStitch gave me:

CAUTION: (Edited the next day.) If you print the following PDF, you will use A LOT of black ink! Thank goodness I went to Office Max to have it printed, so I didn’t kill my cartridge. Ogre will fix it this weekend, with his magic Photoshop, and a pattern with a WHITE background will be available too. That said, I actually like being able to see the pattern against the black, because the fabric I’m working on is black. So, if you like that idea, be sure to take it somewhere where a color print doesn’t cost much.

Cross Stitch Pattern Carpe Noctem by Renae Rude

Questions for experienced cross-stitchers:

First off, and most importantly, does this seem like a viable project?
Would you stitch in the owl and branch with black, or just leave the black Aida cloth showing there? (I’m leaning toward filling it in, but I don’t know how to blend the lower branch edge into the Aida cloth, or if it will look weird if I just end it at the edge of the moon.)

So that’s it for now. I will update as I progress with the project. Cross your fingers for me!

RETURN TO THE HALLOWEEN INDEX

NOTE: All above photographs and images of cross stitch projects were obtained from the site of the original source of the free pattern and are used for the purpose of referring readers to the website that offers the content. At posting, all links are current and active. I have NOT made the projects, so I cannot guarantee that patterns are correct.

The photograph of box of embroidery floss, used on the main Halloween index page, is ready to stitch! by Claudia Marchán.

Halloween Hobbies: Free Knitting Patterns

Posted: September 25, 2015 | Author: Renae Rude - The Paranormalist | Filed under: Halloween, Knitting, Uncategorized, Wicked Fun - try this | Tags: Halloween, halloween crafts, Halloween Knitting, Renae Rude, The Paranormalist | 5 Comments

FREE HALLOWEEN KNITTING PATTERNS:

I realize folks could arrive at this page at any time of year, but the majority of readers will visit in the late summer or early autumn, when their thoughts first turn to Halloween. Starting a knitting project at this time of year is the perfect way to get into the spirit of season without freaking out the neighbors by putting up premature decorations.

(What’s premature? I’m not a good judge. Some of my “Halloween Decorations” stay out all year round.)

The weather at this time of year is volatile. Depending on the date, and your location, it could be hot and thick, as summer has its last hurrah; or it could be cool and rainy, as autumn comes on. In either case, it seems there are more opportunities to settle in for an evening with some knitting … and, perhaps, a great scary movie. (Maybe an iconic old horror film, or one about Halloween or ghosts?) It’s also a busy time of year for many of us, as back-to-school demands fire up. Keeping all that in mind, I’ve featured projects that range from quick and easy, to elaborate and complicated. There should be something here you can finish in the time you have before Halloween.

Note: Yes, I this post and my Free Cross Stitch Patterns post have almost identical introductions. You are not going crazy.

Knitted pumpkin by craftbits (shellie wilson) - she has a crocheted version here too.

Boo! Ghost Knitting Pattern by Knitted Toy Box

Halloween Pattern Fair Isle Scarf By: siouxsiestitches.com

Classic Zombie Doll Knitting Pattern from CraftFoxes

Find the patterns at the following links:

New in 2015:

From years past, but checked for availability:

What will you make? What would you LOVE to make?

In 2015, I think I’m going to go after Sam Haim – the little ghoul from the movie, Trick ‘R Treat. (Though the gorgeous Fair Isle Scarf is calling to me.)

RETURN TO THE HALLOWEEN INDEX

NOTE: All above photographs and images of knitting projects were obtained from the site of the original source of the free pattern and are used for the purpose of referring readers to the website that offers the content. At posting, all links are current and active. I have NOT made the projects, so I cannot guarantee that patterns are correct.

The photograph of the orange and black scarf in progress, used on the main Halloween index page, is Work in Progress by Jere Keys.

Halloween Decor: easy, inexpensive haunts to make for the house and yard (plus some wow-projects.)

Posted: September 26, 2013 | Author: Renae Rude - The Paranormalist | Filed under: Halloween | Tags: graveyard, Halloween, halloween countdown, halloween crafts, halloween decor, halloween decorating, haunted house, Renae Rude, The Paranormalist | 6 Comments

UPDATED FOR THE 2014 SEASON

For many of us, October 1st is the official start of the Halloween season. (At least the part of the season that happens outside the broom closet.) Before I post the next countdown article, that magical date will have arrived. This, then, is the week for pulling out all the dusty boxes of decorations, shopping the seasonal aisle of discount stores, locating the nearest specialty shop, and making a new project or two to flesh out the theme of this year’s display.

NOTE: All photographs and images below are used for the sole purpose of referring readers to the original website that offers the pictured content, At posting, all links are current and active. If a link fails to direct properly, it is due to a change by the site-holder which is out of my control.

RANDOM PROJECTS, FROM RANDOM SITES

These just caught my eye as I prowled. They range from insanely cheap and easy to more elaborate but still doable. Click project name for instructions.

Coach Light Project
A Bloody Mess (Wax paper & paint! So simple. So clever.)
How to Make Human-Sized Ghosts from DIY Network

NEW RANDOM PROJECTS FOR 2014

This year, I found some great videos. I’ve shared a variety below — from “wow, that’s a crazy and potentially dangerous project” to “yeah, I could do that.” I’ll let you categorize them for your self.

Yard Ghosts from Tomato Cages

Frankenstein’s Lab Light Bulbs

Bloody Sheet with Masks (cool adaptable technique)

Body Bags (This is a 20 min. video, folks.)

Boarded-Up Windows (easy and cheap)

I might add more links to this section as I continue to wander. Anyone know of a good link? Leave a comment below 🙂

THRIFTY CRAFTY GIRL

The following link takes you a page showing 31 consecutive days crafty posts, by Priscilla, from Halloween 2012. (In reverse order.)

Go read her journey through the season – she’s charming and it doesn’t take long. Oh, and there’s some great classic projects.

31 Days of Halloween at Thrifty Crafty Girl

For some reason, The Boy will not agree to be my model for

the awesome mummy project Priscilla has up on Oct 25th.

FRUGAL FRIGHTS AND DELIGHTS

At Frugal Frights and Delights, Debbie shares her experiences related to constructing a fantastic front-yard haunt, peopled by some of my favorite characters. She uses material that we can all easily lay hands on and gives down-to-earth instructions.

Here’s what caught my eye:

The Ring Girl Samara Tutorial

The Well from the Movie The Ring, version 1 (heavy) AND new version 2 (light)

Recently, Debbie has expanded her amazing collection of characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas with new The Mayor:

click the pic to go to tutorial

In 2013, she created Sally in FOUR detailed posts.

Photo courtesy of Marciniak Photography.

I admit, that’s pretty elaborate stuff. Here’s something quick & easy from Debbie’s place:

See No Evil Jack O Lantern stack

DAVE LOWE DESIGN

This site is a treasure trove of brilliant how-tos by a professional prop master. Despite his credentials, he uses everyday objects and imagination, rather than expensive specialty items and power tools, to craft most of the projects he shares. (I find his blog to be generally entertaining too.)

Here’s what caught my eye:

Bloody, Dripping, Head Sack How-To

And here are some more of my favorite projects – but this is only a sampling.

Make a Moving Monster Eye – this is so cool that I called The Boy from the other room to come see. You’ve gotta read the article to really get it.

Morphing Ghost Picture with LCD Photo Frame – I have a fantastic old photograph of my grandmother as a young girl, flanked by her two brothers who are showing off their guns. (Perhaps you’ve seen a potion of the picture in my randomly displayed header images.) I also have a husband who is a Photoshop wiz.

I’ll post a little video of our results when we’ve finished.

HALLOWEENFORUM.COM

I’ll admit it – forums confuse and overwhelm me. Which is a shame, because I think Halloween Forum is a gold mine of serious cool. For you – despite my trepidation – I girded myself and explored a bit. I’ve returned from the forum wilds with these projects. They are well beyond my available time, energy and skill, but – OMG – they are fun to look at.