Spooky stitching

I've been trying to get into the spooky season, so I've mostly been working on my Haunted Tower.

I don't think I'll get it done before October ends, but I'm really close to having the background finished. I kind of like it with the tower as a silhouette.

But I have taken time to work on my Jacobean Deep Dive. Which started with acquiring hoop, and then wrapping said hoop.

 I don't know if it's common practice to do tacking stitches the whole way around, but I did. Mostly, I'm hoping this stays in good condition for years and multiple projects, so I never have to re-wrap it.

Once the hoop was done, I got to move on to the fabric! I have printed, I have traced, I have pricked, I have lined up, and I have faked pouncing because that stuff is a mess and I know I'm not to be trusted with it. And finally, I can actually start stitching! This is lesson one completed, and lesson 5 is this week, so I still have plenty of catching up to do. Fortunately the first few stitches are familiar and easy, so I'm hoping to knock out a few more past lessons this weekend, and get caught back up.