Where stuff is started on a Slow Sunday...

Hello - well that week certainly got away from me... lots of things to do that kept me from being crafty but they were all fun things... I celebrated my birthday which was yesterday with birthday breakfasts and lunches and brunches and dinners... and it isn't over yet... still have some lovely engagements in the next 2 weeks because birthdays should be celebrated the ENTIRE month in which they occur... right??  Here's where you shake your head in agreement... LOL

Now the weather hasn't been as enjoyable... those 2 lovely Fall like days I was so enamored with turned into hot and dry and yuccky... we haven't had any significant rain for what seems like a month... actually it probably 3 weeks and the forecast doesn't have a drop of rain in this coming week... needless to say  everything is brown and crispy. I fear that when the leaves do turn this year they won't be very colorful ...sigh... Fall color is my favorite time of year!

I'm so ready to clear out my garden beds... I attacked my 3 raised beds and a big planter last week... filled up 10 of those yard waste bags... so happy I won't have to do that for the rest of the yard. I did go and pick up some mums... got the ones that are just budded so hopefully I'll have some longer lasting color.  And I looked at pumpkins, the smallest ones they call "pie pumpkins"...now I'm not going to make pie with them but I love to decorate my window boxes and yard with them but I don't see that happening this year...

Some history in 2021"pie" pumpkins were 99 cents a piece and I splurged and bought 50 of them... filled the entire back of my Subaru Forester and they looked so cute in my yard... here's some pics...

In 2022 they were running $1.50 each and I passed on them... last year they were $1.99 each and today they are $2.99 EACH!!!   I have a hard time believing I'm doing better than 4 years ago when something as insignificant as a pie pumpkin has tripled in price... just saying...

As for crafty stuff, there are several projects that are started... but  finishing eluded me... sigh... now those 2 cool days had me thinking of wool socks and how much I love to wear them and knit them... and while I have several pairs started I needed a NEW project to make me happy!  A friend gave me a skein of Opal sock yarn... my FAVORITE brand of sock yarn in the whole wide world... and I found a messy ball in my stash... I remember it was called Thelma and it is part of the Viridian collection... and I thought these two would be a lovely combo... and they are!

I'm alternating every other round and I'm getting the most marvelous patterns... a bit Fair Isle- ish with absolute no  manipulation on my part! 

 And while I think I have enough of Thelma to to do two socks, one can never have too much sock yarn... and I found more on Etsy at my favorite Opal vendor HandDyedSockYarn which you can find  here .  And since skeins of yarn along with fat quarters of fabrics and nuns should never travel alone, I also picked up 2 more skeins of Opal sock yarn.  I keep an inventory chart of which skeins I have primarily so I don't buy the same skein twice inadvertently ... but there are several skeins I've purchased multiples of and  I have no regrets... 

As for cross stitch I said I wanted to have some more Fall smalls... I like that rhyme...LOL... and these are definitely small... each one measures about 1.75" square... I think I'll add some fabric to the right side of each piece and make them a small rectangular pillow. 

They are 2 sections from the chart Autumn Soapbox by Bent Creek...

And I am very tempted to do this entire sampler... it could happen today if I find a piece of linen in my stash... as of typing this on Saturday I still have not decided on a birthday sampler... but this one is talking to me.   I love long narrow samplers and they fit nicely into small spaces in my house... and now I'm talking myself into this one!

I also stitched on Autumn Quaker by Primrose Cottage...oh this one is FUN!

The linen was in my stash ... it is some combo of Rit dyes... maybe Tan and Golden Yellow with a sploosh of Marigold... I got no clue... the floss is appropriately called Autumn Leaves by Gentle Arts. I have a 6" frame this should fit in ... or I may make it into a little pillow... to be determined. 

As for decorating I got it DONE  and I'm happy with what I put out... now it may not seem minimalist to you,  but for me it is!  As I was putting things out I put aside a bunch of stuff I knew I was never going to use again making a pile to donate... and when I got finished arranging everything I still had an entire bin of stuff  I hadn't used. So I went through the bin and got rid of about half of what was in there... I'm hoping when I put things away I'll be down one bin... fingers crossed. I have picked up a couple of new pieces this year. The Yankee Candle pumpkin piece that's out on the sunroom porch, and a metal trees piece and a cute leaf tray with a bird and a  "skinny" pumpkin with a bird design some of which you will see in the  following pictures ...

Here's the small shelf display...lots of cross stitch!

I've had the wagon for a while and this year I piled on some little pumpkins and behind it is the new metal trees I picked up at Hobby Lobby.

And moving to the right a white pumpkin mini- quilt ... the fabrics are Sandy Gervais and the pattern is from Lori Holt ... and the crossstitch is Autumn Welcome from The Drawn Thread.  I dyed the linen with Rit Teal and I love all the specialty stitches in this piece...

Below on the left side on the middle shelf I have Fall Most of All from Calico Confectionery  and below is the Quaker Pumpkin by The Stitcherhood ... I made it a white pumpkin on a green linen... and on the little box is Autumn by Lizzie Kate. 

Moving to the right side I have two pieces from Blackbird Design Bittersweet September and Bittersweet Lane (at one point they both were called Bittersweet September when they were club pieces from Dyeing to Stitch)  and below  the little lady is Autumn Keeper by Barbara Ana Designs. 

Over on my little 2 tier table I have some adorable scarecrows that Nick gave me and below is the Thankful String from Lizzie Kate. 

And this is the new "skinny" pumpkin with the bird on it ... another purchase from my favorite store, Hobby Lobby... and the little white wheelbarrow also came from HL... I popped in a small from Pineberry Lane  part of the Cats & Jack chart. 

As for now I'm content to enjoy what I've arranged. I'll make some changes in October for Halloween and again in November for Thanksgiving... but the bones of what I want to display are there. I will say it took longer this year than last year... a trend I'm finding every season that I decorate...and that seems to correlate to the fact that I can't deny... I'm getting old... my mind doesn't always register it but I know I walk slower and everything takes longer to do...and I know this trend is unlikely to change in the future... now last year I "celebrated" my birthday in the hospital ( my 3rd trip there in a month) so at least this one has me in my happy home... but somehow this birthday just has me feeling very old ... but old is better than dead so I just need to keep moving, right?

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... since I didn't turn on my sewing machine last week I have no quilt content to add to Quilting is more fun then Housework... I would like to get the American Jane Honeybun quilt off my wall and do something Fall-ish... next Saturday is National Jelly Roll Day... in the past I've tried to start a quilt that weekend... and then it usually takes a year or two before I get around to finishing it...LOL... but I have made a couple of lovely quilts that way. 

As with the start of every week I have grand plans to get a lot done and this week is no different... but as I stated when I started this post I still have birthday engagements to attend and I have a doctor appointment in the middle of the week... fingers crossed that next week is a week where stuff is not only started but finished too!

happy stitching-

carol fun