Fizzling focus on a Slow Sunday...

Hello - where do the days go?  I'm still adjusting to the time change... feel like I'm staying up too late and sleeping too late... and I absolutely detest that it is dark by 5:30 and that will get earlier and earlier... argh... 

Well I started the week all focused... worked out with Anna ... came home and buckled down to sew up the Rock Climb blocks with the Old World Yuletide fabric... I started with 32 blocks... I needed 100 blocks and by the end of the day I had 100 BLOCKS!!

Now I thought I was dialed in and that this focus would  continue throughout the week.... but I was wrong... it fizzled by Wednesday and totally disappeared  by Friday... sigh... as I write this on Saturday I have perked up a bit... but I spent all day yesterday in a slug like funk... mindlessly scrolling ... the only productivity was a bit of sock knitting...  I've been doing a lot of running around lately and I think my body decided that it needed a re-set... 

Tuesday and Wednesday I did get some knitting in... I worked a little on the yellow shawl I showed last week ... just a little... but I did finish the socks I was working on... love how these turned out...

In fact I love this color combo so much I started another pair using the rusty skein and a more muted one from my expansive Opal stash...  it makes me happy!

Late Wednesday I got all the Halloween decor put away and got out the Thanksgiving stuff... for the most part there are good bones from when I put things out in September for Fall so I can just swap things in an out... and there's enough new knickknacks and cross stitch to make it look fresh... IMHO...

So I always start with the quilt on the wall... Nick is such a big help in putting it up and then he stands back and I adjust it till it's straight... I use foam tape around the outer edges to hold it in place... the tape doesn't hurt the quilt or the wall paint... I went with my Grungy Gourds pumpkin quilt... every pumpkin is a different Moda Grunge fabric... and the background is Moda Grunge too... it is my favorite tone on tone fabric line! 

This quilt began with the Cluck Cluck Sew Pumpkins pattern which you can see here... I  started out getting fancy with the pattern like this one... 

and soon revert to making them simple...

I like the panto gives the pumpkins a wavy dimension.

The tier tray shows the beginning of the turkey theme that dominates my Thanksgiving decor... and every year when I get out the decorations I'm always surprised how many turkey things I have... LOL

The cross stitched  turkey was from Stone Street Stitch Works and the knickknack turkey is from Jim Shore... I love his stuff and have been collecting more and more of it these past couple of years. 

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As I remember this little guy is from a Lizzie Kate chart... 

And on the right hand side I have a late night  "what the heck have I done" purchase... this resin turkey is BIG... he's about a foot tall ... I thought he'd be smaller and be a centerpiece on my table ... but then I didn't actually look at the dimensions...  I thought he'd make a statement... but I'm not sure what I thought that statement would be...LOL

Over on the TV cabinet I have another small tier tray..

Up top I have a reproduction of a vintage postcard and a teeny tiny pillow from a Prairie Schooler chart...

And below two adorable little birdies dressed up as Pilgrims... oh I love a cute animal wearing clothes... and the turkey in the hoop is from WTN&T Holiday Hoopla Thanksgiving...

In the center of the TV cabinet  I have my mercury glass pumpkins (I know they are hard to see... I took this picture at a weird angle but trust me they are behind that sign) and Ever So Grateful by Threadwork Primitives...

Now there was some outside decorating going on too... Nick and I got the Halloween inflatables put away... this was the star of the display... an 8 ft skeleton chicken...

I have not seen anyone else have this inflatable in their yard... imagine that...LOL

Now I know that inflatables aren't everyone's cup of tea but I like them because they make a statement and they are easy to store...  well my infatuation with inflatables seems to be spreading in my neighborhood because on Monday when I left my house and drove a short way down the street this appeared...OMG!!! I squealled!!!

This reindeer is 20 feet tall... and years ago I saw one like it at Walmart...and I thought about getting it and putting it in Chris' front yard as it would have towered over his house... but I didn't... and now I can enjoy it in a neighbor's yard... notice the 2 little dog inflatables at his feet... one is a dachshund and the other is a corgi and this family owns a dachshund and a corgi!!

So I do LOVE this but I also think it is rushing the season... I'm not ready to put out Christmas decor but I feel as if a gauntlet has been thrown down and I wanted to up my game with my Thanksgiving inflatables ... now I still love the Turkey guys and  my Pilgrim Boy with the Costco sized pumpkin pie...

so I looked on Amazon...always dangerous and I found this....

He's a 10 ft long reclining scarecrow... and he lights up at night!!! And yes he makes a statement ...however  the statement may be that a crazy lady lives here...LOL 

My outdoor Christmas theme is gingerbread men... and while perusing Amazon I saw several LARGE gingerbread men... the only thing that makes me hesitate is that the wind whips around my house and I fear an 8 or 10 or 12 ft gingerbread man might get damaged ... need to think more about this... I still have time...

So next week's looking okay... along with the normal stuff I have a hair appointment and a  semi-annual doctor visit... that I may re-schedule... right now I  want to regain my focus and  get those 100 Rock Climb blocks sewn together and then take it up to Delinda... I am really close to the deadline for getting it back by Christmas... in fact it  may be only a week before Christmas... so I'm pondering how much I want this on my bed this year... I have several bed sized Christmas quilts already... but when it comes to Christmas quilts you can never have too many... right???

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... I need to go and change a family member's glucose monitor and get their groceries... and then Nick and I are dining on homemade lasagna... Nick made the sauce and I helped him  assemble the lasagna .. it is one of our favorite meals... 

I hope you have a good week ahead... the weather is definitely getting colder... by this time next week we could get a killing frost... I still need to clean out my raised beds... wondering if I should squeeze it in this week or wait till after the frost... the plants will be limp ... and a little easier to handle ... and the tubers will still be easy to get out of the ground... motivation is needed but in short supply.

happy stitching-

carol fun