Ready for Halloween?

I LOVE Halloween!  Do you?  Usually the week of Halloween is peak color for leaves up here in northern Virginia.  But this summer and fall was so weird and wet and warm, we are just now getting some color in our leaves! 

I decorate my home for Halloween by October 1st each year. 

Taking all my collected Halloweenie things out feels like seeing old friends again!

Many of my favorite things are dolls I made back when I had a crafting company in the 1980's-90's.

Most of the dolls were made into patterns which I sold back then through the Country Marketplace magazine. Do any of you older gals remember that magazine?

When we built this house five years ago, I downsized decor stuff by more than half!

I used to have four huge plastic tubs of Halloween decor.  Now I only have two!!

I did make eight new Halloween place mats this year...

and one new Halloween quilt!!

The collection is called Come Sit Spell!  Isn't it awesome?

I now have 14 Halloween quilts , and countless small wall and table sized ones!!

When our grandson Neal came for a visit a few weekends ago, he didn't seem to care much about the Halloween stuff sitting around.  He did like the one pumpkin that has different colored lights inside it, though! I think he really likes knowing how to turn things on and off and on and off and on...

This is our first Halloween in 17 years without our sweet Yogi.  We won't have to hold him back in the doorway when we give out candy this year.  This photo was taken last October... sniff...

Boys and their trucks...

Our grandson, Neal, just turned two!  He is smart and kind and beautiful, like his parents!

And his loves TRUCKS!!  Sooooo, he gots to have a truck quilt, right?

I made his quilt from this pattern... and changed it up a bit, too, as ususal!

I used Soft Fuse and machine appliqued the trucks onto the background fabric.

And what is really cool about this quilt, is that it was all from my stash!!

Well, OK, except for the backing... 

I did not have construction themed fabric in my stash!  But I sure do now! 

I was so very happy that he loves it!! 

He's still sleeping in a crib, but I hope when he graduates to a toddler bed with bedding, he'll get to use it for real!!

Sewwwwwww, what are you up to now that fall has finally arrived?   This season and cool crisp temps just completely delight me!

Are you ready for Halloween next week?

Small Projects Catchup

Gosh, I love my new laptop!! Doesn't take 15 minutes to boot up and connect to the internet!  YAAAY!!
Anyhoo, I wanted to show some small projects I made over the last year. 

First off, we had our local guild's spring retreat a while back, and I'm on the committee that puts it on!! Sooooo, I wanted to make some table favors for the attendees!

We all love using those Wonder Clips for all manor of things like holding our bindings closed, so I made little personalized pin cushions to hold pins, of course, and Wonder Clips!

I made over 30 of them!!  I think the girls liked them!! A fun and functional memento! 

I also finished a little wool project that one of my bee friends gave me as a kit!!  Isn't it cute?

Since I retired six years ago, I traded in the giant carryall purse for smaller ones. Sometimes cross body bags that leave my hands free, and others I've added a little side clip that I can secure to the side wire of a grocery cart, so no one can grab it when my back is turned or I'm a few steps away.

I had these cool green leather handles that I wanted to use, so I made this bag first.  I loved the fabrics and colors, but the handles weren't quite right for the bag size and shape.  I used it for a few weeks then moved on to make this one.

The Retreat bag was all over Instagram awhile back.  The pattern is a free download, but you have to buy the wire hardware for it.  It opens like an old fashioned men's Dopp kit for travel.  You make the bag and create a channel around the zipper to slide the wire frame into, so when it's unzipped, it stays open.

I wanted mine to be a bit taller than the pattern for the smaller size, so I added the cork fabric bottom part and self-made fabric handles.

The size is just perfect or me!  I also made a little cosmetic pouch to keep inside...the pattern is from my friend, Sue, who also added cute beads for a  zipper pull!!

Every year, when I was teaching, I would ceremoniously change purses the night before I had to go back to work in the fall.  It was how I got my mind off summer time mode and back into work mode.  So, even today, six years since I retired, I get the urge for a new purse when September rolls around... any new purse patterns out there you are loving and want to share?

Grandson Neal continues to delight us in very way!!  We love being included in a shared online photo album with our kids, so we get to see new photos all the time!!  And most nights, we get to talk with him and see him via FaceTime!  Gotta love technology!!

So, what are you up to?  Any new quilt projects or good fall recipes to share?

Yay! I'm Back!!

I know, I know!  It's been so long since I posted....but in my defense, my old laptop was a royal pain to use...took FOREVER to boot up and was often quite uncooperative!  It does seem unfair that laptops aren't made to last very long!  I got that one when I retired, which was only 6 years ago and its practically obsolete!!  Anyhoo, I finally finished researching brands and options and bought a new one!  And it's so small and light, it can fit in a purse!!  Love it!!  Took me a few days to go through all my photos and files on my old one, and clean out and delete a bunch.  But, I'm up and running!!  Yay!! The only bother is that I take all my photos with my iPhone these days, and the iCloud  app for PC's does not work well!  UGH!  So it's a bit of a workaround to get the photos onto my laptop for posting here.. oh well!  I hope to post lots more often now!  No excuses, right?

I took a class given through our local guild here, with Shannon Shirley called Bottles and Blooms.  Because the bottles are all hand embroidered before appliqueing them onto the background, it did take me a year or so to get them all done.

Then I devised my own bloom design, as Shannon's way would have taken me at least another 3 years to do!!

I am very pleased how it turned out! I had been saving that cool black and white bunny fabric for something special and this was just the thing!!

I'll be hanging it there in my hall every spring!!  Yay!

And speaking of spring, I also made this cute little 12" mini quilt to use in my kitchen for spring.

Machine appliqued then thread painted the edges to make it look furry!  

I had fun free motion quilting the background around the bunny with tulips and bugs and grass and a spider on her web, too!!  Hope you can see it in the photos!

We are still missing sweet Yogi, but our grandson Neal keeps us going!!  

It is scary how fast he is growing!!   

He loves pretending with  Poppi, that saved wine corks are big rocks to be hauled by his trucks!!  

So What are you making these dog days of summer?  I am longing for fall...how about you?