Stitch from Stash October

Budget $25
Spent $27.17
Brought forward from last month $37.75
Total Available $35.58

I went shopping!  It was a treat to myself for three finishes.  (I'll get to the shopping in a little bit.)  One of the finishes was an old WIP.  I don't know that I started it in 2004 but that was the date printed on the bottom of the page of the freebie I got from the 'net.  It was from a French blog that apparently no longer exists.

I put it on a scrap of fabric I had left over after cutting it for something else.  I do not remember my intention of how I wanted to finish this, but I think I'll make it into a mini-pillow as it is a little too big for an ornament.

The next finish is new and only took me a couple of days.  Little Owl Sampler from the Just Cross Stitch Halloween issue.  I changed the colors a little because I kitted it with what I had in my stash.  I'm pretty happy how it turned out as I'm not really an owl person.  However, it has given me the idea to have a Halloween tree.

And last but not least is Dead in Red.  It is a gift for a friend.  I'm waiting until I frame it to take a nice pic.

And just to make up for the lack of pics in previous posts, here's something I recently finished.  I know I talk about model stitching a lot as it is a lot of what I stitch.  I can't show it in progress (ever) just when it's been finished and released.  This one is available at X's and Oh's.

 It is called Delft Rabbit Runner and is under animals, then farm animals.  Two others that I finished this year have not been released yet.  I will try to remember to keep looking for them and post when they're available.

And now, on to the shopping!  I was gifted with the pattern for Mickey's Self Portrait. 

It was originally a kit, but the pattern is intact.  Also, the face of Walt Disney is an iron-on and I received that part too.  All I needed at this point is fabric and floss.  So I got the fabric and what floss I could from my stash (amazing how many colors were used for this design!) and went to WalMart to start getting the rest as they're cheaper than Joann's.  I spent $4.63 at WalMart.  After that I only needed 7 more so I headed to Joann's as they have a better selection.  I picked up the 7 I needed plus an extra 310 (one can not have enough black floss) and the Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament Issue and spent $14.15.  Last but not least, I went to Hobby Lobby and picture frames were 1/2 off!  I got a 12" x 12" square black frame for Dead in Red for $5.39.  I call that a score!

My newest start is another gift for a friend.  I'm using this pattern:

And I'm modifying it.  I'm getting rid of the border, the "Robin Hood" is going to say simply "Archery".  The border underneath the words is going to be arrows end to end.  I'm keeping the top tree on the far left, the sun and clouds, and the three people.  (And I'm turning their pants into kilts!)  I've already charted it out and found a piece of fabric called "stormy sky" to put it on.  I need to get a few more skeins of floss, but I'm also thinking I can either steal some out of something already kitted that I'm not working on and replace that later or substitute for other colors that I actually have.

While looking up the image for the self-portrait (above) I came across the images of more Disney cross stitch that I would love to have.  In this case etsy is NOT my friend as there are too many tempting things on there and I don't have the funds for them!  But these are my favorites.

The boat scene with the lanterns and the castle in the background is my favorite scene from Tangled.

Princess and the Frog is next.  I love the fact that he has them both as people and the frogs are in the corner too.  (Thomas Kinkade paintings by the way.)

I'm not the biggest fan of Peter Pan, but I love how he incorporated a lot of the characters in the clouds, including the ship!  A very clever and talented man.

So there it is for October.  Going forward there will most likely be no spending unless I desperately need a few skeins of floss.  Most of any "spare" funds will be going toward Christmas.  I will try to post progress pics in the next two months and then it will be Guilt Free January!

Update:  My husband and I are hooked on yard sales and estate sales.   You just never know when you're going to come upon a treasure.  While reading the local paper on Sunday (18th) I noticed an estate sale that mentioned "sewing" so I convinced my husband to take a little trip.  I got 4 packages of pre-cut aida plus 5 other good sized pieces and a cross stitch afghan for $3!  Now, I haven't measured the pieces of fabric yet because it's aida and I generally only use that for ornaments that I give away.  And if it's pieces I'm going to cut apart it really doesn't matter what size it is to begin with.  I believe they are all 14 ct, and mostly white, antique white, cream/ivory and oatmeal with two of the pre-packaged ones being a light blue and gray.  Still, a bunch of ornament fabric and an afghan for $3 is a bargain.  Now if I can find a yard sale with a bunch of floss cheap I'd be all set!