Sewing Advice From 1949 And Garden Beauties

 Daughter sent this to my Facebook page and a few of my friends have had a laugh at it.  I wonder is it real.  Did someone actually write this for women to take seriously.



I think sewists have always had a good sense of humour.  I know there is always lots of laughing whenever they get together.

 Meanwhile I've rounded the corner on the edging of my Strawberry Thief.  I'm still trying to spend a good hour stitching it in the best of the afternoon light when I'm home.  And when there are no 'urgent household chores' of course, and my 'hair is in order'.  LOL

 One last little apple left on one of the ancient apple trees.  The dogs have had a great time snacking on the old fallen apples.  It always surprises me that they aren't all whisked away by foraging animals.

  And here is Murphy doing just that.  She has a great nose for food and other less desirable but equally smelly things.

  Sedum always provide a little colour even late in the fall.  Another wonderful perennial.

 Son in law has been growing pumpkins and tried several different kinds.  Here are his best from the garden this year.  The one on the end is the most beautiful shade of perfect orange.
One will definitely be a jack-o-lantern for Halloween.

So things are golden, yellow and orange here.  Definitely the colours of the season. 

 Hope there is something golden in your world too. 

Ahhing Over Acorns

"The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn."
                                     Ralph Waldo Emerson

Littlest grandson and I have been watching the Youtube videos of Scrat, the prehistoric squirrel from the Ice Age movies who risks life and limb to attain that elusive acorn.  These crazy scenes give grandson the chance to say some of his favourite words- wow, oh oh and no.  Truth is I get a real kick out of them too.



We can't walk anywhere on the property these days without crunching through hundreds of fallen acorns.  There must be thousands alone under that old oak tree.
There are so many squirrels darting this way and that, the dogs are going crazy.



Here I am standing under that old oak tree; I showed you this back in June.  Can you imagine how many acorns such a tree could produce.

It prompted me to look around for acorn inspired works and turns out, there are hundreds of items.  I picked a few to share with you today.

Like one of my favourites, William Morris.



The one on the top is his Christmas pattern.

You have to look closely to find the acorns in that sea of green oak leaves on the other one.

Or another of my favourites, Kathy Schmitz. I just love how her little squirrel is wearing a sweater.    HERE is a link to her site.       


               



                                     

I would love to have this lamp and how appropriate for this property.  Someone told me I can get one like this at Amazon.

Cross sttich patterns featuring acorns abound.  I just love this design that Carol at Stitching Dreams  worked.  It is a Prairie Schooler Band Sampler called Tall Oaks.

                    

I love the little squirrels and the way the leaves on the tree have been depicted.  When you check out Carol's blog be sure to read the story of her oak tree and her son; it's the reason this particular piece is special to her.


And in knitting too...

                                          

This is the Oak Leaf and Acorn Scarf, a very pretty pattern.  It is available at the awesome Ravelry site . 
The pattern is an eyelet one with the oak leaves falling into a row of acorns and was rated average in difficulty. 

And let's not forget crochet....Val's Corner offers the complete instructions for making these adorable little guys.
                   
                  

 I just love this little silver Tiffany Acorn thimble/pill box.   How special is this.




And aren't these cute?  Ann at My Nearest and Dearest gives a tutorial on how to make these with your kids. 
 

                      
    

Kate Middleton's newly made crest just prior to her royal marriage features three acorns representing the three children in her family. I wonder did William Morris influence that choice at all.

Whew! I think I'm acorned out.

Looking Forward To

                  












               

                    

                    

The Sumacs Are Red Now

Yesterday was one of those days when we had a bunch of chores to do in town.  Along the drive to and from, we both admired the spectacular colour show the trees were putting on.  I am determined to note this season in a way I failed to do with summer which seemed to have slipped through my fingers. 

 When I got home and took the dogs for a walk, I took my camera with me.  Hope you enjoy these photos from around our house as I 'note the season'. 

And here they are, the broad band of sumac that line the path seen from the trail that borders the swampy area.

                                          Up close, the leaves hang like red flags.

 They make the path to the house look festive. You can see how gnarled and thick their branches are.  These are aptly named Staghorn Sumac. In places the upper branches form a canopy and once we saw the imprint of where an animal had spent the night in the grass under that canopy.  Hubby thought it a deer.  

                                                 




Do you remember this poem from grade school?  I know I read it in school books or readers as we called them.  I thought of it as I looked at these photos and the way our field is wearing its scarlet gown. 

Hope there is something colourful in your day.

Thrift Store Finds

Older daughter and I had a rare chance to shop together recently and I wanted to check out a Value Village.  It was a Senior's Discount Day too and there were lots of my ilk milling around.  Two things I've noticed about seniors, they are more apt to acknowledge another shopper and more likely to make a comment about the various treasures we are all looking at.

 I met a nice lady in housewares who in between telling me she was in the middle of treatments (for what, I don't know) gave me a talk about the various china patterns she has owned in her lifetime as well as her mother's. I found this interesting because she appeared to be quite elderly but had a sharp as a tack memory for dishes.  I also admired her walker; it had a special shelf for shopping and had a seat rigged into it as well.  Very convenient and she was pleased I noticed this.

But back to my shopping.

Here's what I handled and coveted but didn't buy.

A foot massager.  New in the box, never taken from its' styrofoam cushions.  You could also soak your feet in it.  I was thinking of Hubby and wondering if it was something he would use.  I decided he probably should but more than likely wouldn't.   

A book called America's Best Cross Stitch.  This is a book I used to own so a little sentimentality snuck in there as I looked through it. But I resisted.

A copy of Tina Fey's Bossy Pants.  I've read it but wondered who I could pass it along to.

A large outdoor planter.  Our planters are wooden and very old and literally disintegrating a little more each year.  We will need new ones.  But I'd have to huff this to the car and it's fall now soooo...

Here's what I bought...

A brand new adult colouring book of mandalas, those lovely swirly designs.  I thought Daughter might use it.  For 99cents I figure you can't really go wrong.

A ceramic rooster planter.   It's got Portugal stamped on the bottom and it does look like something I would think of from there.  And I thought a good home for it is here on the farm. By the way, we hear the neighbour's rooster just about every morning so don't need one of our own.

I don't usually look at the jewelry there but this time I did and I loved these silver bracelets.  Only one of the three has a letter on it but they look good anyway.  I seem to be enjoying silver jewelry more and more. 

I debated a long time over this.  It a large bouquet of flowers worked in crewel.  The stitching is very close, almost tight which made me wonder if the right choice about working it in wool was made.  But as you can see, it is pretty nonetheless. I don't think it is provincial flowers, but I wondered if it could be state flowers.

  I had just the right spot at the end of the hall and you can see a reflection of the spare bedroom there with it's oversized bright sunny window.  Not a mark on it to see who may have made it and the frame looks almost home made, certainly home varnished.  All in mint condition.

 I had the small lonely thought wouldn't it be sweet if the embroiderer could know her work had ended up here on my wall much admired by me.

Not bad for a look round; I always enjoy thrift shopping no matter what I buy... or don't. 

A Little This and That

It's been a while since I've shown you my crochet work, my Granny Stripe Blanket and it has grown.  I only do one colour which is two rows a day.  I'm afraid to do more because I don't want to aggravate my sore knuckle.  For some reason crocheting seems to wake it up, whereas the sewing doesn't. So I think this is the way this is going to be from now on...babying that knuckle I mean.  But I can live with that. 

The deciduous trees are changing colours very rapidly and the leaves are also living up to one of the meanings of the word deciduous...falling down.  On the trail this morning so many leaves were falling it looked like a snow fall.  In fact I know it was a foreshadow of what is to come shortly, namely snow flakes.  Yikes

Trees to the left side of the house

I know a number of you are big pumpkin spice fans.  This site Yummly is one I subscribe to and they've collated a collection of amazing pumpkin recipes.   The link is Yummly Pumpkin Desserts 
I was interested in the one called Pumpkin Lasagna which looks like the Chocolate Lasagna dessert I make.  This particular recipe can be found at OMG Chocolate Desserts
 Vera has posted some wonderful chocolate recipes as you can imagine by the name of her blog.


                                  



Anyone starting their Christmas stitching?  Gazette 94  is offering a series of free cross stitch patterns for the wonderful Christmas Nutcrackers.  I know several people who have lovely Nutcracker collections they display each Christmas.

                                                




On a completely different note, I'm looking for a comfortable shoe to wear around the house in the winter.  I'm fed up with slippers; I find the soles come unglued or they get dirty looking too quickly.  I want something I can slip into easily (too lazy to have to struggle fitting a shoe on), something very comfortable, not too clunky, doesn't make too much noise walking on wooden floors, without much of a heel.  Am I expecting too much?  Am I the only one on such a search?  If you have any suggestions, let me know.
I've been eyeing this one...It's something called the Therafit Austin clog.  But I don't need a sole for all terrain, just around the house. LOL


 

Heaven Hear You

Permit me a little sentimentality today...

I am so thankful for my blogging friends and readers.  Except for those who comment or email, I don't know who you are but believe me you are with me as I write each post. You let me share my silly thoughts and doings with you, my daily small but meaningful activities, and of course, my love of fabric, thread, and wool. 
We are so like-minded you and I, it seems like we could be twins, or at the least, sisters.

So on this Canadian Thanksgiving Day I'm thankful for this blog and the connections out into the big wide world it has given me.

An old Irish wish from me to you....