October: Rain, Stitches & Real Life
This October wrap-up is arriving fashionably late — but honestly, that feels pretty fitting for how the month itself unfolded. October was busy in a quiet, layered way, with creativity, family life, health hiccups, and everyday chaos all happening at once. Rather than one big headline moment, it was made up of lots of smaller pieces that slowly added up.
Over the course of the month, I released new patterns, kept a rotating cast of works-in-progress moving along, and tried something completely new with the launch of my Mini Talk Show. There was stitching, designing, experimenting, and a fair amount of "I'll come back to this later" energy. Which, as it turns out, is very on brand for me.
Alongside all of that, real life continued doing what it does best: being unpredictable. From a very wet Halloween and vet visits, to donating blood, battling an unexpected ear infection, and finding joy in the tiniest, silliest creative detours, October was full in a way that felt very human.
So, slightly late or not, here's a look back at everything that made up my October. 🍂🪡
Jump to:
- Finished Pieces:
- Works-in-Progress:
- Two Little Kits' Stuff:
- IRL:
- Conclusion
Leading image: Gotta love the INSANE amount of pumpkins that places sell at this time of year…
Finished Pieces
"Suspicious Stitches"
I stitched Suspicious Stitches as part of a little Instagram challenge that encouraged people to create spooky art throughout September and October — and honestly, the timing could not have been better. I'd just recently bought the book Witchy Stitching by Meg Black of The Witchy Stitcher, and this design immediately jumped out at me as the perfect excuse to jump in. Moody, a little mysterious, and delightfully witchy? Say no more.
This piece was such a pleasure to work on alongside my other active WIPs. It only uses two colours, which made it wonderfully low-effort on the decision-making front, and it wasn't tricky or fiddly to stitch at all — very much a "pick it up, put a few stitches in, feel productive" kind of project. The end result feels bold and graphic, and I loved having something spooky on the go without it demanding too much brain power from me. Honestly, a great reminder of how satisfying smaller, simpler pieces can be.
I highly recommend the book if you haven't gotten it already - it's excellent!
from August 24th, 2025
"Ever After" (Bookmark Test Stitch)
October also saw me finishing the test stitch for "Ever After"; my contribution to Spellbound Stitches Volume 5: The Bookmark Book — and I'm still a little bit giddy about this one.
This is my very first bookmark design, which meant there was a lot of learning baked into the process. Designing for a long, narrow format is a very different beast compared to a standard piece, and this project taught me so much about proportions, readability, and — perhaps most importantly — how the finishing really matters when something is designed to live inside a book.
One of my favourite parts of this design is that I made it customisable, which feels like such a fun little bonus for stitchers who want to make it their own. The "Ever After" bookmark will be released as an individual pattern in early-2026, but if you'd like to stitch it sooner (and grab a whole collection of beautiful bookmark designs while you're at it), the collective is absolutely the way to go while it's still available.
I've
written a separate blog post
with all the details about Spellbound Stitches Volume 5, so if you'd like to learn more about the designers involved and what's included, you can head over there for the full rundown.
from November 4th, 2025
Stitch People Pattern Commission
I also finished a Stitch People portrait for a fellow stitcher — and this one was a really lovely project to work on.
The customer is a friend of mine who regularly creates Stitch People portraits herself, but she designs all of hers by hand, which honestly blows my mind. For this particular piece, she needed the pattern created digitally for specific reasons, but didn't want to dive into learning new software just for one project, so she handed it over to me.
I was given around half a dozen reference photos to work from, and pulling everything together into a cohesive, recognisable portrait was such a satisfying process. Thankfully (and reassuringly!), she was really pleased with the final result — always the best feeling, especially when the recipient is someone who truly knows the craft inside and out.
If you have a pattern idea of your own and need help bringing it to life -whether it's a portrait, a custom design, or something you're not quite sure how to tackle- you're always welcome to reach out. I'm more than happy to chat things through and see what's possible.
Works-in-progress
Stitching
October was very much a "lots of plates spinning" kind of month on the stitching front, with a healthy mix of staying on track and cheerfully falling behind. I've been doing my best to keep up with Flower Dragon Meadow, but I'll be honest — a new part released this week and I'm still working through the previous one. Oops. That said, I'm still absolutely loving the process and am choosing to believe that catching up is a future-Kate problem. On the plus side, I have managed to stay up to date with Flower Meadow, which feels like a small miracle and deserves a quiet round of applause.
A few other long-running projects continued to tick along nicely. Twigs & Tea is getting so close to the finish line now, with only a few parts of the SAL left to go, and I'm so excited to see how it all comes together as a whole. I also put some stitches into other pieces (see below), all of which fall firmly into the "slow and steady, enjoy the journey" category for me. No rush, just vibes — and floss.
I also officially started thinking about Christmas by putting a few stitches into Blackwork Cat, with the intention of it becoming a gift. Starting early is the goal; actually finishing early is… aspirational. We'll see how that goes. I continued working on Boy Band as well — a future pattern that I'm hoping to release before the end of 2025 — and it's been really fun watching that one slowly take shape. All up, a very full WIP roster, but the good kind where everything feels interesting rather than overwhelming.
Designing
On the design side of things, October brought both steady progress and one very loud, very urgent idea that refused to be ignored. Enter 'Tism Spoon — one of those designs that barged into my brain and immediately demanded to be made right now. You may know the type. I try to follow that creative impulse wherever it wants to go, and while it's still very much a work-in-progress, it already feels like one of those pieces that just needs to exist.
I've also been continuing work on Zodiac: Sagittarius, keeping the momentum going on the Zodiac series as a whole. This one really feels like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, which is both exciting and slightly surreal. There's something very satisfying about being deep enough into a series that it starts to feel cohesive, intentional, and -dare I say- achievable..?
Mini Talk Show - A New Little Experiment
October also marked the very beginning of something a little different for me: my Mini Talk Show. I recorded and released the first two episodes this month, and honestly, this series came from one of those quiet-but-loud creative nudges that wouldn't leave me alone. I didn't sit down with a grand plan or an end date in mind — it was more of an "I think I need to do this" feeling, paired with the very practical knowledge that short-form video tends to work well on social media. Sometimes those two things line up, and when they do, I try to listen.
The idea behind the Mini Talk Show is simple: short, honest conversations about one topic: stitching, creativity, running a small business, mental health, and all the messy overlaps in between. I genuinely don't know how long this series will run for, and that feels oddly freeing. If you're curious to learn more about what it is (and what it isn't), I've put together a landing page with all the details — feel free to check it out.
And if you have topics you'd love for me to talk about in future episodes, I'd really love to hear them — feel free to leave a comment at the end of this post with your suggestions.
New Patterns
October was a meaningful month for new pattern releases, with two designs that sit at very different — but equally important — points in my creative work.
One was part of an ongoing, structured series that I've been steadily building throughout the year, and the other came from a much more immediate, emotionally driven place. Together, they feel like a really honest snapshot of where my head and heart were at creatively during this time.
😋 "No Hiding"
No Hiding was an absolute joy to design and stitch, which isn't something I say lightly.
This piece came together in a way that felt genuinely fun from start to finish, and it reminded me how energising it can be to fall completely in love with a design while you're making it. I also took the opportunity to try out a new cross-stitch person DIY maker for this pattern — and wow, it's excellent. It made the whole process smoother, more flexible, and honestly just really satisfying to work with.
No Hiding ended up being one of those rare projects where the idea, the execution, and the finished result all lined up beautifully, and I loved every stitch of it.
♏ "Zodiac: Scorpio"
Zodiac: Scorpio is the next instalment in my Zodiac series, and it felt good to keep the momentum going with this one. Scorpio is such a rich sign to work with visually and thematically — intense, intuitive, and unapologetically itself — which made it a really enjoyable design to bring together.
Each new Zodiac pattern helps the series feel more complete, and with every release I feel more confident in the overall cohesion of the collection. It's also been really lovely knowing people connect with "their" sign as the series grows.
New Blog Posts
October was a noticeably quieter month on the blogging front — and that's OK! Between design work, stitching, and real-life happenings, I didn't publish a large volume of written posts, but what did go live still felt intentional and useful. Sometimes a month is about depth rather than output, and this was very much one of those seasons.
I shared a couple of pattern-focused blog posts, including one for the new K-Pop Demon Hunters pattern and the second instalment in my Zodiac Series deep dive (alongside my regular FlossTube episodes). While it wasn't a big blogging month by any stretch, I'm learning to be comfortable with these ebbs and flows — especially when the creative energy is being spent elsewhere in meaningful ways.
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See The Episode
IRL
🎃 Halloween (Rain, But Make It Magical)
Halloween this year was… wet. Like, absolutely poured-with-no-mercy wet. But despite the relentless rain, my youngest daughter and I still had a really great night.
We met up with some of her friends, braved the weather together, and made the most of it — soggy socks and all. She dressed up as Marceline from Adventure Time, which was perfection, and I made a cardboard axe bass to go with it. Sadly, the axe bass spent most of the night safely tucked away in my car to protect it from the rain, which was probably for the best… even if it deserved its moment.
To fully lean into the situation, I decorated my umbrella with fairy lights on the underside — partly for visibility, partly for joy, and partly because why not? It turned out to be such a hit, and I got so many compliments on it throughout the night. When the weather refuses to cooperate, sometimes the only option is to add lights and carry on. Honestly, it felt very on theme for how October went in general.
Crocheted a Cat Hat & Scarf (Against the Cat's Will)
At some point in October, I got the overwhelming urge to crochet a tiny cat hat and scarf. For no practical reason whatsoever. So naturally, I spent a few hours finding patterns and making them instead of doing something more sensible. My cat was deeply unimpressed, but oh my gosh — the results were adorable. You know when an idea latches onto your brain and refuses to let go? Yes. That. Possibly ADHD, definitely worth it.
New Glasses Toppers (An Ongoing Problem?)
I also added to my ever-growing collection of glasses toppers from Pair Eyewear, which is starting to feel… potentially excessive? In my defence, they keep releasing designs that are both extremely cute and somehow feel emotionally necessary. I may need to tone it down at some point, but that point is apparently not for this past October.
And the Rest of Life Stuff
October also included a handful of less glamorous, but very real, life admin moments. The cats ended up going to the vet three times over the course of a few days, which was a nuisance and a half — but they're worth it, and everyone's doing fine. It's just one of those things that eats up time and energy without leaving much behind to show for it, other than a lighter wallet and some very spoiled cats.
On the more positive side, I donated blood again, which always feels grounding in the best way. It's something I try to do as often as I'm allowed, and it still gives me that quiet sense of "OK, I did one good, useful thing today." Balance, right?
And then there was the ear infection. In an adult. In this economy. Truly, what the heck? Add in a scattering of smaller, forgettable moments — errands, appointments, general busyness — and that about sums up the rest of October. Nothing huge on its own, but all together, it made for a very full, very real month.
Wrapping Up October
Looking back on October as a whole, it feels like one of those months that was full in a very quiet, cumulative way. There wasn't one big, dramatic highlight that overshadowed everything else — instead, it was lots of smaller moments stitched together: steady creative progress, a couple of new releases, ongoing projects inching forward, and a whole lot of real life happening in between. The kind of month that doesn't necessarily announce itself while you're living it, but definitely makes itself known in hindsight.
Creatively, I'm really proud of what came together during October, even if not everything moved at the pace I originally imagined. New patterns went out into the world, existing series continued to grow, and I found myself trying new things — from launching the Mini Talk Show to experimenting with new tools and formats. There was a lot of learning, a lot of making, and a lot of trusting my instincts, which is something I'm trying to do more of as I go.
As for everything else? October was a reminder that life doesn't pause just because you're busy being creative. Appointments, rain-soaked Halloweens, sick ears, vet visits, and moments of joy all coexisted, often on the same day. And that's OK. Not every month needs to be tidy or perfectly productive to be worthwhile — sometimes simply showing up, making what you can, and keeping things moving is more than enough.
👋 Kate
