SOS (it's not what you think) on a Slow Sunday...

Hello - well Halloween is done and dusted... we had soooooo many little trick or treaters... the weather was absolutely perfect ... and my neighborhood is ideal for collecting candy... pretty level streets,  houses close together, nice sidewalks ... we get lots of people from out of the neighborhood and I understand why... the little ghosts and goblins polished off 2 large bags of candy from Costco except for what I ate... my favorites are the Mounds and the Almond Joys...

Someone in our neighborhood was passing out hot dots and cider... Elliott did a big loop of his neighborhood... Chris said they gave out about 2 big bags of candy but Elliott came back with at least that much... Elliott also came back with a package of Ramen noodles in his Halloween bucket... LOL... an ethnically diverse Halloween... the Ramen is right on top...

The week was kinda busy... which seems to be my  "normal" anymore... the only day I didn't have to be anywhere was Thursday and I took advantage of that to do some sewing... I got 30 or so blocks together... now these are just slapped up on my design wall and I want to make about 70 more... 10 rows of 10...

I can tell that I want to have a bit of a light fabric in every block to make it sparkle....the pattern is Moonkins Stitchery Rock Climb...you can see the video here and below the video she has a link to the free pattern... and the fabric is Old World Yuletide from Fancy That Design House. I LOVE this collection!!!  It isn't traditional Christmas... deep colors... forest green, midnight blue, tan and cranberry red...  Here's pic of  all the fabrics ... 

currently I have 3 layer cakes and a FQ bundle of this line. Now I messed up the cutting when I began this project...hence why I only have about 30 blocks from a 42 count layer cake... I cut my second layer cake Friday and no error so it is ready to be assembled... and I'll need about 27 or so pieces from the 3rd layer cake... I found this wide back that I want to use .... 

this is a Lori Holt print... and I love the idea of Christmas hymn lyrics as a fabric.  Now I would really like this quilt on my bed this year... however that may or may not be possible...not sure what Delinda's deadline is .... I am seeing her next week ... and if I push I could probably get all the blocks sewn up ... but I don't know if the  wide back I ordered will be here in time... BUT... I could take her the top and then either run the back up to her house when it comes in or mail it to her.... hmmmmm.... need to think about this...

I'm dithering about what to do BECAUSE... I am in the throes of SOS this weekend... SOS... Shiny Object Syndrome... 

Shiny Object Syndrome describes the tendency to get intensely excited about a new idea, project, tool, or opportunity, start working on it with high energy, and then abandon it as soon as something newer and more exciting appears. The result is a collection of half-finished projects.

I suffer from SOS in numerous crafty areas... we aren't even going to try to count how many cross stitch WIPS I have... or quilts I've started that are languishing in Sterlite plastic bins... or knitting projects... however the knitting projects took center stage last week when in the midst of tidying up I remembered this basket... which will now be called the Basket of Shame... 

Isn't it a very attractive basket?  I think I got it at Target... anyway it had a cute project bag peeking out the top of it  and a couple, several, a lot of plastic Ziploc bags.... so I investigated as to their contents... OMG... I found not one, not two, not three, not four ...stay with me now...not five but SIX shawls that were started but not finished.... arrgghhh... ALL of them are lovely ... but in each case the SOS ... Shiny Object Syndrome got me in its clutches and I abandoned the project for another... hangs head in shame... 

Here they are in no particular order....  several are Uneek fingering from Urth yarn and one is Misti Alpaca... I like them because they knit up stripe-y ...

The pattern is Be Simple... you can find it here for free... the yarn is Uneek I forget the colorway name...

And then there is this one...the pattern is Tania and it is free and you can find it here... the yarn is another Uneek fingering weight...

This pattern is Forest Canopy... oh this one isn't a Misti Alpaca or a Uneek... it is  Araucania ... very pretty... but this one requires concentration...which is in short supply at the moment...

And then we have this beauty... the yarn is Misti Alpaca and the pattern is Stormy Sky...it is so soft...

And in the number 5 spot I have another shawl using the Be Simple pattern and the Uneek yarn...

And there was a sixth shawl that was barely started... but I got so annoyed at myself I unraveled it... and I found not one, not two, not three...again stay with me...not four, not five, but SIX more cakes of yarn just waiting to be knit up...

and yes the 3 in the back all are predominantly green... very similar but each unique... and stripe-y... right now I'm waffling between finishing up the one in the number 5 spot... it seems the closest to being done or the yellow Misti Alpaca one because I LOVE the color of this yarn and this pattern... oh and I did finish one sock this week and I'm close to finishing a second one... again... just need to focus and not let Shiny Object Syndrome get me...LOL

Next week is has me out of the house for at least one engagement every day....sigh... this just what passes for normal anymore... there are things I want to do... like work out with Anna, spend time with Elliott, have dinner with a friend, go pick up and drop off quilts to Delinda... dealing with a certain family member and their issues always pops up... last week it was plumbing troubles at their house and difficulties operating their cell phone which require me to go to their home... this week they have a dental appointment I have to take them to... and fingers crossed nothing else comes up.

Today I'll attend to getting the groceries for this family member and then I hope to get more sewing done. The weather  is definitely sliding into Fall... high temps are declining every day... by the end of next week I may be breaking out my turtlenecks... and I'm good with that. 

Well if you've gotten this far and thought I wasn't going to rant about the time change you are mistaken... I never miss an opportunity to complain about the needless changing of the clocks... right now there is legislation in Congress called the Sunshine Protection Act which would make DST (which is what we are going to change to right now) permanent... however, back in 1974 we tried this for about a year... the idea was that more daylight hours in the evening would save energy and it turned out that the savings were negligible and people HATED it because it was so dark in the morning... and I believe that will be the same reaction this time. I want the time to quit changing but we should just stick with Standard Time... as in right now we should leave the clocks alone... and we will gradually shift into a more liveable pattern of daylight... IMHO and many agree with me... now the Sunshine Protection Act hasn't been passed yet... and lets face it if you really want to screw something up, let a bunch of people in Congress be in charge of it...so let's see how this all pans out... and with that I still have to change the clock down in my sewing room... sheesh...

I hope your week ahead is a good one... I'm hoping I can focus and keep the SOS at bay long enough to finish something... a quilt.. a sock.. a shawl... any one would be good... I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today and be back next week to again bend your ear...

happy stitching-

carol fun  

Under the spell of knitting and Halloween on a Slow Sunday...

Hello - oh it was a glorious week of Fall weather... wish it could stay like this all the time... but then we probably wouldn't appreciate it properly if it was... and it looks like it will stay this way for another 10 days or so... and Halloween night looks great... fingers crossed that holds. I already picked up two GIANT bags of candy at Costco so we'll be ready for all the little ghosts and goblins... 

The week was quieter... but not without a couple of hiccups... Monday I had an issue with one of the tires on my car but it cleared up ... I was concerned because if you have one tire go bad you have to replace all 4 tires ... this happened to me with my last Subaru... something about the all wheel drive... I won't be getting that on my next car... and right now I'm working out the details for the purchase... when I get it all nailed down I'll share...

I did get some cleaning done T/W/Th... the back hallway closet has never looked so good, and my closet got a little bit of attention and my room got a whole lot of attention. I have a bad habit of dumping stuff I don't want to deal with at the moment into a large basket... I cleaned out the basket totally and got stuff put away.  And I got my yarn sorted out...made a new inventory sheet and came face to face with the reality that I have SO MUCH Opal yarn... but it makes me HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!! 

Friday had plumbing problems... Thursday night after Nick got a shower he mentioned that the tub had water in it... huh... I checked and there was about an inch sitting there...drat... I tried the hot water and Dawn flush that my favorite plumber Larry told me about... it is supposed to be gentler to these old pipes...but two rounds didn't make anything better. So Friday morning bright and early I called the company Larry works for ... and the guy who answers the phone (who Larry says is an idiot) told me they were all booked up till Tuesday or Wednesday... ummm... that's not gonna work for me... so I called the other plumbing company I've used and they got someone out a little after lunchtime... nice guy, named Steve... his helper was his 18 year old son... he opened the drain ... reasonable cost and we can use the shower again... and they hadn't been gone more than 10 minutes when Larry calls me... now I have his personal cell number but I didn't want to impose and use it... I apologized and said I gotten someone else to take care of it because the idiot at the plumbing company said you weren't available till Tues/Wed. ... Larry says he totally understands... that waiting 4 days is unacceptable and next time call him directly... he would always squeeze me in... awww... he is such a nice guy and a great plumber...one of the few repair people I feel comfortable around... every time he's been here we spend the whole time talking... and now I know that when I need a plumber just call Larry directly and he'll be here asap!

Crafty wise the yarn had me in its spell all week... I finished up the birthday socks... and I wish I had kept better track of how many pairs of socks I've knit this year... I keep a list of cross stitch finishes and quilt finishes but not knitted projects... will do better next year... according to my lists, so far this year I've completed 14 different cross stitch pieces and 14 quilts...now several of the quilts were WIPs that I just got around to... but a finish is a finish!!  And I think I've made about 6 pairs of socks... 

Here's the first sock of the pair I'm working on for me... a nice Fall-ish pair... 

and this is the yarn... 2 different but complementary Opal yarns where I alternate every row... 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this technique and I have no clue what it is going to look like and it keeps me knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting... the first sock took me 5 days along with cleaning and errands... can't wait to finished the second sock... it will be similar but different as I re-wound one ball so the pattern will change... which again grabs my attention and I keep knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting... 

And I have the last of my Halloween decor to show today... my quilty lady friends will be here on Wednesday and they always like to see my displays...  here's the big shelf unit...

up top I have Bent Creek's Spooky Row and below that Matilda Hornbuckle from Notforgotten Farms in the cute pumpkin frame and Prairie Schooler Trick or Treat... 

moving down I have a "haunting" of ghosts... all pretty tame... the cross stitched one is from Notforgotten Farms called Boo Berries...  tangent...oh go check out Notforgotten Farms Etsy... you can find it here .. she has some adorable new little guys for Christmas... an elf named Alfie and a Christmas tree with a face called Forrest... I think I need both of them!

and the little Spooky pillow was a freebie from Lizzie Kate... 

this pumpkin headed gal is from With Thy Needle & Thread called Tricks or Treats ... 

and another pumpkin headed gal from Notforgotten Farms called Halloween Queen...

I have the Lizzie Kate's Boo Club...

and last but not least my Gourdy Guys wreath!!

As I write this on Saturday I have a couple of errands to run and on Sunday we are doing an appetizer luncheon for a certain family member's birthday... I picked up lots of goodies at Costco and I have to make deviled eggs ... they were requested ...  

Didn't sew anything... nor did I get all of my cleaning and organizing done... I'll continue to try, to try and get things done... next week  has stuff to do... Mon/Anna, Tues/Elliott, Wed/Quilty ladies lunch, Thurs/ nothing ...oh that may be my favorite day this week... Fri/go watch Elliott's Halloween parade at school and then Bob my investment guy comes for a semi-annual meeting in the afternoon. 

And next Sunday will be November ... where did the year go??? and it is the dreaded time change... argh... I'll be in fine form...LOL... 

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... hope the weather is lovely where you are and that you have time to do the crafty stuff you love!

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Halloween decor and first world problems on a Slow Sunday...

Hello - well it was a week... and other than the afternoon I spent with Elliott and dinner out with friends I don't want to repeat any of  the rest of it ... I'll leave my bellyaching to the end of this screed... however it's the reason I have very little crafty stuff to share today... and yes all my issues are first world problems that I shouldn't let get to me...

Oh but I will comment on the weather... ooh ooh ooh Fall is here.. every year I want it to start in September and every year it doesn't show up till mid-October here in SW Ohio...but right now the trees are just starting to turn and I LOVE it!! We had a couple of hot days and as I write this they are gone... not going to crack 60 today for a high.... may even get a frost tonight... brrr... I went out  and bundled up the backflow valve on my sprinkler system just in case... and I cut a bunch of the dahlia blooms and made this bouquet.... this is the largest vase I have and all of these came from just one raised bed...

front...

back..

I may go back and cut some of the darker colored blooms... I debate whether to cover up what is there or just let Mother Nature take her due... and as of this moment I'm letting Mother Nature have her way... the beds are an overgrown mess ... I have been a very inattentive gardener this year... I'm going to try harder next year...  at least I'll try to try...

Like I said crafty stuff took a backseat this week to lots of running around and aggravation... oh and did I mention that my "resting up on Sunday" was for naught... woke up Monday morning with a head full of snot and coughing like I did 20 years in a coal mine... and I know that sound as my paternal grandfather had a black lung pension....yuck yuck yuck... felt so crummy I didn't even go work out with Anna... and in the 2 years I've been working out with her, I've only cancelled one other time... I have every intention of seeing her tomorrow. 

I didn't touch any cross stitch even though there is a pile of zippered pouches sitting right by my chair... nothing talked to me ... or perhaps my head was so stuffed up I didn't hear them... I worked on the socks I need to have finished by the 28th for a birthday gift... and they should have been done... but right when I got to the point to start the heel I found a lumpy, bumpy, I don't know what I did spot, about 3" back that I could not live with...so I unraveled it and re-knit it... just got past the heel turn and I've picked up the gusset so it should be finished this week. 

The week's aggravation and a gray day of rain, did send me to the basement to sew... now there is a Christmas quilt half cut out and a bunch of pieces just sitting there waiting to be sewn together but I ignored them... and I pulled out a plastic bin of my beloved Momo fabrics... and inside was not one but TWO Momo quilts I've started and left languishing ... and what to my wondering eyes did appear was a note... a note that told me what I was going to do with one of these projects ... OMG....

so I picked the hexagon one  with the Wonderland fabrics to play with ... now the note tells me that I used the Fons & Porter 60 degree triangle ruler which  is a very important detail, as I have at least a dozen triangle rulers and I swear no two are the same angle...but the Fons & Porter ruler, circa 1986, was not in the plastic bin... argh... so I looked for it, and looked for it, and looked for it... and then I remember that I had started another hexagon quilt using a jelly roll...imagine that... abandoning one project for another... I have no shame... and it happens again and again and again...sigh... but I found the other abandoned hexagon quilt ... it is with American Jane fabrics and ta-dah there was the Fons & Porter 60 degree triangle ruler! 

So here's where I got... this about 75% of one jelly roll ... I need to see how much of the design wall the whole jelly roll fills and I'll have a better idea if I can make this fit my double bed... now I don't need another double bed sized quilt... but I'd LOVE one out of this fabric... yes I would!!!

Like the note said , I'm  going to put that blue polka dot  fabric as the "points"... notice the Fons & Porter 60 degree triangle ruler... I'm not letting it out of my sight!

and I do think I'm going to include some solid hexagons too...  Like I said, I'm not sure how big this is going to get... I have another Wonderland jelly roll I can play with...and I love this collection... so 1970's... and sewing the hexagons is comfort sewing for me... I needed it... I'm planning on giving this more attention this week. 

(insert groan... I'll get to my annoyance with this week at the end of this post,  but this is another example of how things went... I just typed 2 lovely paragraphs and they have disappeared... I'm trying to adjust my attitude and be more positive but I'm not being very successful at the moment)

As for decor... outside Nick and I put out several Halloween inflatables...and inside I'm enjoying this display... 

Up top on the left side I have some interesting knickknacks... the ghost lights up and that giant haunted house plate was a marked down bargain from Target years ago... as for the cross stitch those are both Lizzie Kate pieces...I have a lot of Lizzie Kate Halloween stuff... the tombstone one has the year 2020 stitched into it... a year I don't ever want to repeat...

Over in the side another Lizzie Kate piece... ABC's Halloween...I painted this linen and I think it is one of the best pieces I've ever painted... it is so fun to do Halloween linen as you can use so many colors... Lemon Yellow, Tangerine, Apple Green and Hyacinth are the Rit dyes I used. 

Moving down... the little witch is from the Prairie Schooler No. 188 Trick or Treat... the pumpkin is from Teresa Kogut's  Happy Halloween book  and the  pumpkin headed gal is from With Thy Needle & Thread and is called Boo to You.... and the little Nevermore pillow tucked in with the pumpkins was a freebie from Lizzie Kate...

On the other side I have a Henn pottery pumpkin basket... I love the crackle finish on this ... and below there is Creepy Crawly Alphabet by Emily Call... I used a clock as the frame for this one...  and a bat from Bent Creek  but I can't remember the pattern... it had the bat, and a kid dressed up like a pirate and a Frankenstein... how can I remember that stuff and not what I had for lunch yesterday??

Over on the dining room table I have this pumpkin...who lights up and makes a creepy sound ... sitting on a table runner made with Sandy Gervais collection called Beggar's Night... and my newest Halloween knickknacks... those two little ghosts wearing glasses...soooooo cute....Nick bought them  for me at Walgreens when he was picking up a prescription... and he queried how they could wear glasses without noses or ears....hmmmmm......

And now for the bellyaching  portion of this post... you are certainly free to leave but I need to vent... so as I said previously,  my resting up on Sunday did not leave me refreshed on Monday... it left me with a head full of snot and cough and laryngitis... yuck... I just vegged on Monday because Tuesday morning I needed to take a family member to the oral surgeon. Now they had broken a tooth about 2 weeks prior and at the time the appointment was made they were in pain. That pain has subsided and now they weren't sure they wanted the tooth removed. They talked about cancelling the appointment which I warned against, as my experience has been if you cancel, it will hurt again... and it will hurt more... and it will be even harder to get an appointment. So they reluctantly went and said they weren't going to have it pulled. But the dentist convinced them otherwise and it was extracted. I took them home and went to the grocery to pick up a few items for them. The dentist office had called in a painkiller but the insurance company took their sweet time to approve it and by the time they did I had to be across town to watch Elliott. I planned on picking up the meds after I left Elliott... which was about 7:00pm... so I drove to the pharmacy ... only to find out that the dentist had sent it to a different Walgreens about 5 miles away...so I drove there...only to find out that they closed at 6:00 pm... ARGGGHHHH.... told family member to use ibuprofen for the pain but felt guilty that I wasn't able to get the really good pain meds for them. 

Got up early next morning to be at the correct pharmacy at 9:00am... secured the meds...took them to family member who informs me that  "it doesn't hurt anymore"...sigh... run back to my house as I have an appointment with an electrician some time between 10:00 and noon... outdoor electrical outlet that runs my landscape lighting and my inflatable wasn't working... the morning passes... noon comes and goes... at 12:45pm I call to inquire about my appointment... and was told I didn't have an appointment... WHAT??? However the gal answering my call put me on hold and after a bit came back and said they don't know what happened to my appointment but they'd have an electrician out within an hour... and 20 minutes later one showed up ...a very nice young man who fixed my issue... lights and inflatables work, although another issue cropped up and the landscape lights timer is off and I'm not sure how to re-set it... need to call Adam who installed it and see if he can walk me through re-setting it ... but think I should wait till after the time change at the first of November... arrgghhh time change!!!! 

So that was M/T/W... and the cold hung on... Thursday was okay... got my hair cut and colored... I enjoy talking to my stylist ...she just came back from a 2 week trip to Japan so lots to talk about... only downside was another couple who were there getting their hair done... husband and wife... both equally annoying.. lots of loud talking and talking over each other... I engaged in knowing looks with my stylist when I left... I feel for her since they were probably going to be there another hour... 

Friday got crazy... family member calls and asks if I can tell them how to take pictures on their phone... oh this isn't going to be easy... I explain that there is an icon that says "camera"... but they don't get it ... and they tell me they need to send the pictures to a plumber....ok... this is going to require on site instruction, so Nick and I drive to their house... Nick takes the pictures and sends them to the plumber... Nick explains what he did but it did not make sense to this family member.  The issue is the handle of one of the faucets in the bathroom broke off.  The family member wants to replace just the handle... the faucet is 41 years old...I tell them that  they do not make the faucet anymore much less just the handle... they are annoyed they can't get just the handle. Plumber also tells them that they can't match the color either... that goldtone/brass color so popular in the 1980's ... so a new faucet isn't going to match the other faucet in that bathroom.  Family member is more unhappy. I explain that I see 3 options.  ONE: Do nothing... it is a double sink bathroom and there is another sink right there. TWO: Replace the one faucet and ignore it doesn't match. No one but the family member is going to see it. THREE: Get both faucets replaced. They will match each other but not the rest of the goldtone fixtures in the bathroom.   Family member is notoriously cheap so I don't think this is going to fly. Nick and  I leave...family member is unhappy and I'm annoyed that they didn't believe me when I said that the 41 year old faucet couldn't be replaced but believed it when the plumber said the same thing. 

So now it is Saturday... I haven't gotten any feedback from the family member but I will be out at their house again on Sunday to get them groceries... I'll see if they made any decision.

Next week, and I'm almost afraid to say it, looks quiet... I have Anna and Elliott and a semi-annual dental cleaning... there are so many things I want to get done around the house ... need to give my closet  and other parts of my house a cleaning and take a bunch of stuff to donate... I need to do a new inventory of my yarn... I bought a couple more skeins of Opal yarn and I have a note telling me what I already own so I don't order the same one twice but it needs to be updated... I need to clean out the craft room upstairs... it has become a dumping ground for stuff I don't want to deal with...and it needs to be dealt with... and I have file drawer for important papers to save...and right above it is a drawer I have been chucking "important" papers into for months... need to go through it... and  if we get the frost they are calling for (and I'm not sure we will ) there will be dead plants I need to clean up... and I want to stitch and knit and sew... sigh...

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... sitting out here on the sunroom porch right now and I can see myself spending a lot of time out here this week as the forecast is for sunny and mild ... need to settle on a cross stitch or a knitting project so I don't waste my day scrolling on the internet while I'm out here... oh and I had a totally out of the blue thought as I set the date and time for this to publish... October 18 is my parents wedding anniversary... if they were still alive they would have be in their 90's and married for 74 years... however, neither lived past 50... and the older I get the more I miss them and my brother and my Grandma... memory can be a blessing and a curse, can't it?

 Hope your week is a good one... 

happy stitching- 

carol fun 

Tired but trying to rest up on a Slow Sunday...

Hello- well it  started out as a pretty quiet week ...  and I thought I would be able to rest up but... right now I'm tired. 

Outside of my normal stuff (workout with Anna/ hangout with Elliott) I only had one doctor's appointment and one house stuff appointment... and those went well .  The yearly dermatologist visit was quick... and like my appointment with the eye doctor the conversation was more about my knee than what I came there for. The eye doctor wanted info as her husband needs a knee replacement and the dermatologist hadn't seen a scar like mine before and wanted to know all about it. I'm quite the novelty...LOL ... 

And then on Saturday things went sideways... with no prior warning the battery in my car died... arrghh... and since I was parked in a driveway, a safe place (but not my driveway)  AAA couldn't get to me for 2 1/2 hours.... arrghh... so I waited and waited and waited and waited... and when the repair guy arrived he confirmed the battery is 4 years old and  I needed a new one... but he didn't have one that would fit my car so the best he could do was jump start me and tell me to go to a AAA service center about 5 miles away... which I did. By this time it was almost 4:00 pm...they close at 5:00 pm and aren't open on Sunday... but they came through for me, got me a new battery and got me out before they closed... I left them a sterling review... I was afraid I was going to be out of luck until Monday and then I got to thinking, Monday is a national holiday... eeek... don't know what places would be open or closed...so glad for a happy ending. 

As for the house stuff, I'm planning a purchase that requires some work in the garage... I'll tell you more when I have it finalized... oh and I got a call on Thursday asking if it would be okay for the landscapers to come on Friday...yes yes yes....  I'll show you some before and after pictures next week...they were still mulching when I had to leave this Saturday before the battery issue  and it was dark  and rainy when I got back.

Now a 3 man crew tore out everything in just a couple of hours... it is amazing how much faster they can work than one old lady with bad knees and her son. The crew was so nice. They went above and beyond. Cleaned out the window boxes, pruned and shaped up the existing boxwoods, trimmed the low branches on my sidewalk trees  and even fixed the break in my drip irrigation... and the landscape looks soooooooo gooooood!!! I did have some second thoughts about this dramatic change, but I know when Spring rolls around I will be happy not to have so much to deal with.  There is still plenty of open space I can add stuff too, but I'm going to work real hard to keep the garden beds to a minimum amount of work. I'll still be able to play with my dahlias ... and to that end I'm already scouting out more exotic varieties to add ... it is so hard to resist flowers!!

As for crafty stuff, very little got done... I worked on a sock...and then remembered there is a pair I want to give as a birthday gift the end of the month and I hadn't started the 2nd sock...working on that now...

However I did get the Halloween decor out... and it took ALL day... I'm not moving as fast as I used to...big sigh...

I started with the wall quilt... with the only spider I want in my house....

this is my version of the pattern from Pen and Paper Patterns.  All the fabrics are Basic Grey Grunge... I love the lime green polka dot...

the googly eyes are glued on  and I love how they look down...

The tier tray...

up top is a Lizzie Kate piece... 

and below 2 pumpkin headed guys... the one on the left is from Prairie Schooler Trick or Treat and the one on the right is Sprout from Notforgotten Farms... 

and I love that pumpkin stack... a friend found it for me years ago at Homegoods...you don't often see yellow jack-o-lanterns and certainly not a stack of them... they light up too!

Over on the TV cabinet I have my October Hands On Designs calendar piece... 

and on this little tier tray  I have another snippet from Prairie Schooler Trick or Treat up top... and below Halloween is  from The Drawn Thread chart A Little Bit of Halloween...

And down in the center of the TV cabinet I have my little shrine to Frank....

I had never seen the Debbie Mumm Frankenstein cookie jar until I stumbled across it one day on eBay... and I had to have him... the stitched Frank is a snippet from Bent Creek ...

Over on the tier table by my front picture window I went with a witchy theme...

Up top I have a trio of witches from the Teresa Kogut chart Happy Halloween....

 And below I have another trio from Pineberry Lane ...     

     

Every year I drag my feet to get out the Halloween stuff... since this is only the 11th of the month I think I'm doing good. I so enjoy the Fall stuff I hate to put it away... and I really look forward to my Thanksgiving stuff... Thanksgiving gets short shrift ... people just jump ahead to Christmas...I wish there was more days between Thanksgiving and Christmas...I know tomorrow October 12 is Canadian Thanksgiving, which gives more time till Christmas, but then it conflicts with the Halloween stuff...and thinking about this now, I'm pretty sure I should just be happy with the way things are here in the US... thinking gets me into trouble sometimes...LOL

Now that I'm home from the battery issue, I'm pooped... it was stressful and I've gotten up early the last 4 days this to deal with the house and the landscape stuff...nevertheless,  in between the battery issue Chris was able to come and help and we got a certain family member their weekly groceries and I changed their Dexcom... so Sunday is a free day for me....yeah!!  

Prayers for all dealing with hurricane Isaias... we are getting the remnants of it today (Sunday)... that should water in all my new plants quite nicely... and now that my drip irrigation is fixed I can run it later in the week if needed. 

The week ahead looks crazy busy... I have some place I have to be every day... Monday/Anna, Tuesday/ take family member to dentist consultation and later Elliott, Wednesday/annual check up for me  and dinner out with friends, Thursday/haircut, Friday/follow up with knee surgeon and then next Sunday a birthday party to attend... not sure what crafty stuff I'll get to... I should FFO some seasonal pieces but the mood has to move me... and it hasn't yet... 

I haven't touched my sewing machine in weeks... and while I should think about Christmas stuff I may move onto  stuff I want done by January... as I type this I'm just tired... perhaps tomorrow after hopefully a good night's sleep I'll feel more energetic. I know Annie sings the sun will come out tomorrow... but she wasn't talking about this particular tomorrow... its gonna be drab and rainy... gotta wait till Monday for that...LOL

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts... I hope your week and my week goes smoothly ...

happy stitching-

carol fun 

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... 

Running around on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello -- well let's see how this plays out. I'm typing this on Saturday morning... and three times now I've tried to upload pictures... and so far ... nothing nada zip... fingers crossed they appear sometime before I hit publish... so let's start with the stuff that doesn't have pictures...

 Edited to add: the pictures did appear... it took them 3 hours to arrive but they have arrived... 

They roofers came back on Thursday to fix the gutter stuff... supervisor calls me bright and early on Thursday 7:00 AM to tell me they are coming but he doesn't know what time... ummm... that isn't real helpful... they show up at 2:00pm and they are still working at 9:00pm....but I don't know how, as the sun set at 7:15pm....now there is a outdoor spotlight over my garage door and a street light on the corner but I don't know how they could see what they were doing...and I was concerned someone would fall and get hurt... the job is supposed to be inspected on Monday... oh and they sent me the bill for the project last Monday morning... obviously not paying until the job is complete...sheesh...

Moving on to the landscape project... met with the designer, Anna, on Thursday... she had a complete drawing of the layout and all the plants labelled and pictures of them... and she really did listen to me!!

Lots of perennials for color ...but low maintenance and deer resistant... and there is still room in the design if I want to tuck a few things in later... I signed the contract and I'm hoping they can start SOON... she said they had some openings in their schedule and she'd let me know... the sooner the better as far as I'm concerned.  The yard is a total mess right now and I have no motivation to fix it... I want to see a clean slate... then some new plantings... the total reveal will be in the Spring. It will be a much more cohesive look which will shock my neighbors...LOL

Insert more annoyance at blogger... I just typed 2 paragraphs that disappeared... trying again...

Lots and lots of running around this week... the dental issues of a certain family member consumed my Monday and Tuesday and still didn't get resolved... hopefully the appointment scheduled for the middle of the month will fix it. Wednesday I went to lunch with my quilty lady friends and we celebrated mine and Laurey's birthday with this yummy treat...

There was chocolate mousse between the layer of cake... sooooo good!!

Thursday was a blur...I was in and out of the house on different errands all day long... first the landscape appointment, back to the house, then breakfast with Nick, then back to the house, a beard trim appointment for Nick, stop at the grocery and then back to the house... and out to dinner with a friend, back to the house, took Nick for ice cream and back to the house where I couldn't put my car in the garage because the roofers were still here... 

Friday was quieter... thank goodness... it rained and it was overcast  and I was pooped... I did manage to get my act together and meet some friends for dinner... we have regular every other week thing going ... that was nice. 

So now it is Saturday... the sun is shining and the weather guys are saying we've turned the corner to Fall... the 10 day forecast has no temp higher than 75 and no rain... good weather if the landscape company want to come, right??

As for crafty stuff, this week I didn't touch my sewing machine... instead I knitted and cross stitched... I finished a pair of socks...

two different yet similar Opal yarns alternated every row... the knitted mitered square project is in time out... the square I'm working on is giving me fits and something else shiny caught my eye.... I stumbled on to this while scrolling IG... you can see some finished projects of this design  here ....

and this is very intriguing... I have a nice stash of Lori Holt Chunky Thread...

And here's a good look at (what I think is) all  the colors available...you know I LOVE hexies ...and what I like about this pattern is you only have to choose 2 colors at a time... long time ago I started a granny square project with this yarn but you had to chose 4 colors for each square and it was more than my little pea brain wanted to do... so I only made one square...

I'm hoping to play with the hexie project this week...

I grabbed the  closest plastic zipper bag  that was sitting by my stitching chair and gave it a nice amount of attention... this is A Cheerful Heart by Shakespeare's Peddler...

now the cover picture  shows hardly any contrast between the linen and the berries along the side... but I'm using all the called for threads and the linen I painted... and I'm happy that you can see the berries and the line of stitches in the middle of the alphabet... there was a lot of mindless, don't have to count too much stitching and that suited me as I watched a bunch of YouTube videos.

And then this arrived in my mailbox... Halloween Celebration by Primrose Cottage... I had a heck of a time finding this pattern a week or so ago...everyone was sold out... looks like it is back is stock now...

anyway... my plan is to do several of the rows as little skinny pillows... and to that end I started one...

Isn't it cute??  This is a scrap of linen I painted a while ago... and so far I've used a different orange for each pumpkin... and I picked a different green and purple than what was called for... and since this scrap is small I'm only doing like 3/4ths of the row.  They will be nice to tuck into my displays... and speaking of displays... well this is all I've gotten done...

this is my back hallway ... the entrance everybody uses... I love the Debbie Mumm Halloween panel... and I wonder how old that is?... she started designing fabric in the early 1990's... and she is reported to have sold over 44 million yards of fabric!!! I can attest that is a true statement,  because there are yards and yards and yards and yards and yards and yards of her fabric in my basement...LOL

This upcoming week looks quiet...shhhh... I have my regular stuff, work out with Anna and pick up Elliott from school... but other than that just one appointment... dermatology... scheduled a year ago... not my favorite appointment but I'm too pale and grew up thinking baby oil was a great tanning product... so I get checked out... I'd like to get the Halloween stuff out and maybe a bit of sewing... we'll see what pans out... 

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... I need to run and get groceries for a certain family member and then the afternoon is free... Nick's making meat sauce and penne for dinner... .always tasty... 

I hope your week has great weather and plenty of time to do the things you want to do!!!

happy stitching-

carol fun