Morning Routine, Quilt Finish, Embroidering Flowers, Wildlife

So it is Halloween here in Canada and a very wet, cold one in our corner of the country. Here is what I've done this morning before sitting down with a cup of half caf. 

Fed the dogs and let them out and back in. Put cream on Ned's little spot he's licked too much. Also had to chase him to get a tissue from him. Boy, does he love tissues and he has an insane ability to sus them out! 

Ran the swifter over the floor in the t.v.room and this main area. Dog hairs and threads, ugh! Btw, I saw a hack online to cut up an old sock and use on the swifter and it works really well.

Watered my plants...all have been given severe cuts and repotted since bringing them inside for the winter. The Geranium is actually reblooming since the cutting.

Nice to have so much green in the house again.

Moved the recycling to the outside back deck and tidied it. Something tipped it over in the night but couldn't get the lid off the big can I use out there- thankfully.

Remembered to get ground beef from the downstairs freezer to make spaghetti sauce for supper. Also brought up two sheets that dried on the line down there and folded them and put them away. 

And the best bit...watched two large deer make their way across the front and up the lane way. And took photos. First sighting through the window on the back stairs, while bringing up the sheets and meat.

Deer look alike; they rarely have a distinguishing feature other than size. Just look at the leaves...a true carpet.

What is your morning routine? I decided not to include any exercise first thing this morning as I was on my feet a lot yesterday and will be again later today. 

I read an article lately called Celebrating The Science of Quilts that I think you might enjoy. The link is found HERE at Hyperallergic online magazine. The article included this beauty below, Pot of Flowers Quilt With Birds, made in 1860. Photo is Julie Schneider's and she also wrote the article. 

I love how nature has played such a huge role in quilting for inspiration, colours, textures, ideas, etc. 

We are enjoying the new season of Slow Horses. I confess I don't always follow the story lines but I do enjoy Gary Oldman's performance and I absolutely love how Kristin Scott Thomas looks like her own lovely self. You know what I mean. She has not plumped up anything the ridiculous way so many are doing.  

My enjoyable embroidery piece, Floralies, is moving along. This is a great project for when I have those smaller time frames and want something in my hands. I hope the colours are showing as they are so pretty. 

My goal is to finish this before the new year.

 I'm happy that the Propeller quilt is all done. I put it through the washer and dryer; nothing shrank and it is quite snuggly just the way I wanted it to feel. 

Here is the bright blue apples fabric on the back which I brought around to the front for a narrow border.

It finished at a good lap size of 48in x 50in. 

So happy with it. Here it is on our bed with my faithful assistant assisting.

I also worked on the four pumpkin tablemat. And I'm thinking of making a Christmas quilt this year so having fun looking online for a pattern, one labeled advanced beginner which applies to me on a couple of levels. It's time I pieced something on the machine. I just realized this...I must check out my post over there on the right...it's got a bank of free Christmas patterns link. 

LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt this week is about handing out candy for Halloween Trick or Treaters. We don't get any kids here this far away from the cul de sac. In the old days, I used to dress up to hand out candy. I loved being a witch and I once really frightened two large boys (ones who were definitely too old to be trick or treating) who were not expecting a witch to jump out. They ran away screaming which I did not expect. BTW, I didn't jump scare any little kids, just for the record.

Hope nobody is jump scaring you...they're the worse, and everything is calm at your place. Take care all!

Happily sharing this post with Alycia Quilts, Quilting is More Fun Than Housework, Kathy's Quilts, Songbird Designs, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Quilting Patchwork Applique.

Last Rose, Last EPP Star, Cross Stitching, Coziest Sweater

Here is officially the very last wild rose of 2025 and what a strong little beauty it is. 

And look what happened to our Burning Bush after the first hard frost. I'm wishing now I had planted more of these. 

 I received a bouquet of flowers recently and it had the cutest autumn gnome in it. Are gnomes still popular? I guess they are.

I am down to the last of my EPP Starry Hexagons to stitch. I'm using a few lighter colours to add more contrast. 

And here is the wall as of this morning. This is my RSC Challenge project for 2025. 

I keep saying I must start stitching these together- hopefully I will begin this week. I used a lot of smaller pieces of fabrics and loads of scraps so a very economical project as well. 

It's fun to cast about for the next slow stitching almost year long scrappy project for the RSC challenge. Of course, there is no shortage of ideas bouncing around in this head of mine. Next time, I'll share a couple.

Meanwhile I've been cross stitching too. The orange for this corncob is variegated so changes shades during full coverage and in this photo makes the stitches look bumpier. But a start has been made on the sun up in the corner too which is fun to stitch.

 I was stowing away my summer clothes which is something I love to do for the reason that it gives me a chance to take stock of what/how much I have. This time I noted a few items I claim to dearly love but hardly wear; I suppose as a result of the old idea of "keeping it for good". Then I had this thought -when was the last time I actually wore out an article of clothing? Not counting undergarments I mean. I had a think on it and decided the piece of clothing closest to being worn out is my black angora pullover sweater. It's worn a lot because black goes with everything and I can brighten it up with a small scarf which I do. It's light but has a certain cosy warm feeling. 

Wow, I had no idea these readers were so big! My hair is thinning in the front and getting wispier. I'm thinking that is normal. At some point it will just be a bit of fluffy down or feather dust. 😊

I'm a scarf person, always have been. I knit my first scarf while in residence at university and I've been wearing and collecting them ever since. I had a couple of special ones I lost in my fire; those bought on travels and places I've lived. But I've managed to make a small collection since. What about you? Do you like to wear scarves?

I hope your week is off to a great start. Take care all and Happy Stitching!

Happily sharing this post with The Inquiring Quilter, It's A Small Town Life, Days Filled With Joy, Creations, Art, Quilts and Melva Loves Scraps.

Thrifting, Autumn Tablemat Finish, Found Forlorn Pumpkin Blocks

Below is Brian Stauffer's "Winds of Change", a marvelous painting for The New Yorker cover on October 13. I wondered if this could be worked into a design for a quilt or embroidered piece. I do like curlicues. And I also wondered about what he meant by featuring these two things together. The noisy leaf blower and the beautiful design of nature. What do you think he's telling us?

LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's conversation starter this week was how we deal with fallen leaves. I don't use a leaf blower but Tony does as it works so well to rid a big area of leaves quickly. He has to use the big noise cancelling head gear though very deaf. 

And here is how nature handles leaves on our walk in the big wood one day.

I said I'd share my found treasures on my latest thrift shop. There were two quilting books that went into my cart. The first is the 1949 edition of  Margarite Ickis' The Standard Book of Quilt Making and Collecting. I am thrilled to own a copy. I paid $3.99 and on Etsy it runs from $10 to $22 American.

It is in wonderful condition and contains instructions and patterns to make over 100 quilts. 

This book below also came home with me. 101 Log Cabin Blocks from Linda Causee. What is interesting about this book is it contains the patterns to copy and foundation paper piece each block. 

I paid $3.99 for it and it's on Etsy ranging from $17 to $35 American. 

I bought this man's shirt below- 100% cotton in XL for $10.  A very nice little pattern that I think qualifies as low volume. I read there is some dispute online about what low volume really means.

My big find was this king size sheet, 100% cotton, in a beautiful shade of green and in immaculate condition. It looked like it had never been used as it had fold lines still visible as well as a partial tag. I looked it up and the colour is a dark Foam Green, a beautiful blending shade. It was priced $10.47 which seemed oddly specific. Of course, this is not showing the true colour at all. 

I had my 20% off coupon so my wonderful treasure hunt was very economical as well as enjoyable. The only downside was there were so many people there, the isles were blocked. There were even lots of folks in the book area which never used to be. Sign of the times, I think. But also recycling is good for the environment, of course, so I can't complain.

My egg and cabbage casserole was okay. Even lots of cheese on top didn't make it a hit for Tony but I'll finish it. 

I was digging in one of my sewing containers and found four appliqued pumpkin blocks all finished and one partially made. Please tell me this has happened to you...you finish a project only to discover other blocks that somehow got mislaid!!! Anyway, I'm going to sew these four together and make a little mat. 

I had started and mostly finished a table topper last autumn (or maybe the one before?) that I've finished this week. It only needed a few more hand quilting lines and the border. So why did it get forgotten I wonder. Pretty fall fabrics. I find yellow always draws my eye (though not a favourite colour); do you? There was an old saying that all quilts need a little yellow in them. 

And I'd forgotten I'd adlibbed hearts for hand quilting lines in one of the panels too.

I'm still using this beige with black dots fabric that I bought in yards back when I thought that's how you purchased material. Luckily, it's a good blender.  This finished at 17 in. x 27 in. 

It's a good feeling to finish any project. And of course, it feels like a license to start something else. But I'm going to resist. I want those pumpkins quilted and will keep working on cross stitching those Year at Hawk Run Hallow corn cobs this weekend too. Always lots to keep the stitching fingers flying around here. 

It's been raining for a number of days now including one terrific thunder and lightening storm. I'm going to get on my gear and check out the pond. A little water has been holding there, so now I'm hopeful the pond will return before winter. 

I only believe it is Oct. 23 because the calendar is telling me so. But perhaps it means I'm having fun and I must be having lots of it. Hope you who read this are having fun too!

So grateful for wonderful linky parties like Days Filled With Joy, Quilting is More Fun Than Housework, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, Melva Loves Scraps and Songbird Designs.

 

 

Feelings, Pumpkins Flimsy, Cabbage Casserole

 The Red Squirrels are very busy these days. I can get this shot standing by my sink as this tree is in the front garden and has grown from a little bush to a much bigger bush putting the squirrel pretty much right in front of me. I've had the pleasure of capturing many photos of these little animals in just this pose eating spruce buds. 

And I took this photo of a young deer from the sewing room window. I wonder if it is the same one I've seen from time to time over the summer. I love those eye and nose markings. I had to look it up and it said the white enhances their facial expressions aiding communication with other deer and it also helps reflect sun glare.

Something absent though is a Groundhog. Haven't seen one this summer but their holes are still here. What we did see on a drive recently were the gorgeous reds of these trees lining a farm's laneway. The photo is not doing it justice. There are a lot of horse farms around us and I think this is one of them.

The little appliqued Pumpkins piece is now a flimsy and I'm happy with it too. I sewed one border of black and then used the pumpkin scraps to add an easy pieced second border. It finished at 36 x 36. Looking bright here on a cloudy day.

I was going to call this one Petit Pumpkins with the intention of making the pumpkins very small, something like a field of them with maybe a little house/barn off in the distance. I have the notions but lack the execution and that's why I have so much admiration for you blogging folks who possess both. So my drawings got bigger but I still have the idea that a lot of little pumpkins would look cute. 

As soon as this one below is out of the hoop -there are three more blocks to go, I'll begin to quilt Pumpkins. 

I bought a small cabbage to make an easy egg and cabbage casserole. This is a good dish to use up aging vegetables too. I looked at this site,Amee's Savory Dish, to see what she put in her vegetable casserole. 

Many of these recipes use cream of mushroom/chicken soup and I didn't want to add that this time. So a little butter and milk will have to do. And a cheese topping.

I've been out shopping which included a thrift store and, of course, I have a few items to share with you for next time. 

My deeper thought for this week came about when I read about the death of the oldest Holocaust survivor, 113 year old Rose Girone. Rose was a lifelong and prolific knitter. Here she is knitting on her 110th birthday...wouldn't we all love to be able to do that. You can read how much Rose credited knitting for her survival HERE. So inspiring!

These words below resonated with me and I'm sure will with many of you too. We all have unseen burdens and our daily responsibilities, duties and sense of purpose can carry us along and far. Many folks can and are enduring so much. 

One of my grandmothers firmly believed her reward for all these earthly trials would be in heaven. 

I would love to hear you are hopeful too and especially finding calm, enjoyment and satisfaction, like Rose, in whatever is keeping your stitchy fingers flying!

Happily sharing this post with The Inquiring Quilter, Melva Loves Scraps, Sew Can Do, Random-osity, Alycia Quilts, Quilts Art Whatever and Happiness is Homemade.

 

October Wednesday at the Wooden House

 Early morning dance party non participants...but they want to be near me anyway. Ned is bored but Petey is trying to understand what is it I'm doing. 

Nothing beats music for waking up and lifting the mood on a dark October morning. If you're going to San Francisco 🎶

Then it was time for a coffee and writing to you.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving dinner. Didn't take a picture of the turkey dinner (too busy yakking)  but I did capture Tony tackling a very tough turnip. "This requires power tools" he declared. 

It all got well washed. But that's got to be a first!

This guy was here. There's a whole different vibe in the house when an almost 12 year old is here. 

Robbie qualified for a competitive hockey team this year, the Perth Blue Wings. I was surprised that now he has to wear a shirt and tie to games just like they do in the big leagues. 

Lucy at Attic24 has a website now and I'm so happy for her. I've knitted and crocheted so many of her wonderful patterns over the years. HERE is the link where you can now see her works in progress, tutorials, etc.  And HERE is the link to her patterns, all of them are free. Her latest afghan is called the Storyteller Blanket. 

That reminds me of my own knitting. It's been sitting there patiently waiting for me to get my knitting bug back. Still love the colours and feel of this West Yorkshire wool and I'd enjoyed knitting a couple of rounds for an afghan- was even quite excited about it at the time.  I have no explanation as to why it fell off my plate. It's time to pick up the needles again. 

Meanwhile I did finish the little Kantha kind of table topper. I decided on sunny yellow for the border.

And I found the little pumpkin mug mat that I embroidered several years ago. 

It's time to get it all out, use it up, and stop saving things for some future time. 

Below is a fall view of the little city I grew up in, Corner Brook, on the western side of Newfoundland. It's hilly and heavily forested there. Gathering special leaves was a favourite fall activity of mine. I always did it even though I knew what I glued in a scrap book in October would be nothing but tiny dried up bits by spring. Beautiful trails meander through and there's lots of great berry picking and fishing too. It's still a calm and very safe big town. I'm thankful for my youth spent there which  certainly nurtured my love of seasons and the wonderful outdoors. 

I already have my cozy clothing out and sorted. LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's conversation starter last week was do we have favourites for our winters here in the northern hemisphere. You betcha we do. I love cozy fleece and wool and have lots of clothing in both. Here is a photo of me in one item I love so much I got Tony to take a picture. Head to almost toe in fleece.

It's time to get up and get moving again. We are getting a new stove delivered today. The one we have was here when we bought the house and was already kind of old then. We think it's at least 15 years old. 

Take care all of you, whichever season you are embracing in your part of this wonderful world of ours. 

Happily sharing this post with Quilting & Learning, Off the Wall, From Bolt to Beauty, Songbird Designs, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, Quilting is More Fun Than Housework and Alycia Quilts.

Stitching Tools and Pumpkins, Mother Trees and Thanksgiving Prep

Our Mother Tree on the house side of the lane way was, as usual, spectacular this year. I wondered how the drought might affect her, but no, the display was awesome. Carrying on no matter what just like a good mother. 

It's a shame that you can't really tell how large the trunk is. I can't get my arms around it.

And speaking of maple leaves, Rachel at Stitched in Color is hosting a SAL called Under the Maple Tree featuring her beautiful Maple Leaf quilt. Details HERE. Isn't it gorgeous! I don't have the skills for this but many of you splendid stitchers do. 

I'm still hand quilting Propellers. I use these tools...my Hera marker and the General Sketch & Wash pencils (Amazon link is HERE); I learned about both those items from the marvelous Australian hand quilter, Hilda Baird. 

I'm also finally using my "good" scissors, the Gingher ones. 

Here is the link to Hilda's Instagram page where you can ogle her wonderful quilts. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. I never forgot her name because my mother had a good friend for many decades with the same name and, in fact, the two women look remarkably alike. HERE is Hilda's blog chronicling her quilting journey which is still online though she is on Instagram these days. Isn't it marvelous how we learn from each other through the online sharing!

I've appliqued all the pumpkins for this little hanging. Each stem has a round of blanket stitch too. I plan to use black for the first border.

There are two sets of eyes on me all the time these days. Here's one. And a couple of things to note here.

Besides sweet Petey, my Cubii is there and I use it most nights for 20 minutes and my 5 lb barbell is on the right. And about that, when I started with the barbell, I could do 5 or 6 lifts with each arm. Now I can do more than 25 before the burn starts which goes to show you can improve even at my age, 74. I'm always thankful I feel well enough to do this, of course. I've noticed if both things are handy/within reach, I'm more likely to use them. Btw, I've begged Tony to try to do these things but he has zero interest and I guess if I felt like him, I would too. 

It's Thanksgiving here in Canada tomorrow. We will be having family here for a turkey dinner, something I love doing. I do most of the preparations leading up to it like having the table set, serving dishes out and even the pots ready the day before. I've done my grocery shop and have everything in sight; I can't risk having to take time or energy doing deep dives into cupboards on the day of. Dessert, an ice cream cake, is already made and in the freezer. I'm going to cut a couple of the Hydrangeas to display. They have steadily darkened with overnight frosts. This was taken in my sewing room. Aren't they still so pretty! This is a flowering bush I highly recommend as it blooms all summer and well into fall.

I'll be back soon with  photos of the dinner which, fingers crossed, goes well. Meanwhile, I hope your stitching fingers are flying and all is calm with you and yours. 

 Thankful for the wonderful linky parties too...Songbird Designs, The Inquiring Quilter, Sum of Their Stories and Quilt Schmilt.