Manic Mushroom, Halloween and Birthday Card

So I was once again totally charmed by Fairy Wool in the Wood.  I'm so pleased that a newer, fun designer like Cassandra had some good exposure in the Oct, 2017 issue of JCS.  I almost immediately grabbed a needle when I saw  this "Manic Mushroom"  Halloween ornament design.  It's quirky like all of her designs.  I hope you can see the expression on the face of that large mushroom after he has discovered that he's destined for the dinner table.

This is stitched on 32 count linen over-two.  I finished it up as a pouch for a 6" embroidery hoop.  The backing fabric is the same as the bottom fabric.  It's lined as all mine are and has a snap closure in the inside center. Turned out pretty good for me.. less wonky than some.

Durene Jones shares a freebie on her FB page every Friday.   For some reason, this particular  one caught my eye, even though the heavily back-stitched designs that are so popular in the UK are not to my taste so much these days.  This is called "Pumpkin Boy", but I think of this as a female character.   When I wrote a message on the inside of the card, I referred to her as "Pumpkinette".   I think I liked the way those vines twisted around her arms giving some kind of feather boa effect.  I wasn't sure I loved her after the stitching was complete, but the card showed her off and it's in the mail.  This is stitched over-two on 28 count Summer Khaki Cashel linen... easy on the eyes!

I think THIS LINK will take you to Durene's photos, with this chart included, even though you may not be FB member, but I'm not sure.

I needed a birthday card for an early November birthday girl.  I send a stitched card to this person every year and it gets harder each time to think of something different to stitch.   This time I selected a snippet from the free design,  Snowflower Diaries Pumpkins for Cathey. 

I'm not usually a fan of yellow, but it worked out well for this card I think.  It's stitched over-2 on 32 count linen.