Happy Halloween!!

"Happy Halloween-Trick or Treat- Smell my feet, or give me something good to eat!" Ha Ha Ha- I have not said this in years---It still cracks me up when I say it or if I hear someone else say it. Today is one of my favorite times of the year. I personally think it should be a National Holiday - a true paid off day from work. I have always loved this day and I have instilled the joy of it into my kids. We always dressed up and paraded around. The kids are pretty creative with their costumes. Here in Silver Creek at the School- the Seniors would have a big day of it and go all out. Then they would make their way to the Elementary area and parade in front of the little ones---oh the faces of the little ones are priceless. Here at my home, my husband and I really got into it also with the kids. We always wore a custom when we took them out around the village. There were many times that my friend Margaret and her kids would come over all dressed up and we would go as a big group. Later we would return to my house to check the candy, have coffee and hot cocoa. Good memories, Good times. Now, my kids are all grown up, along with Margaret's. Halloween is different. The first couple of years, I would sort of adopt one of my younger friends kids and trail along with them when they went out and about. Lately---I have celebrated it differently. I have some fur babies here at home. One in particular indulges me and lets me dress her up. Yes--I have become that person who puts clothes on her puppy. I do it for a couple of reasons-mainly it is because she is tiny and thin and the weather here can be just too cold for her. She is a Yorkie. My other dog is not ever in the mood to allow me to put anything on him. So----My Gia (the Yorkie), has to deal with all of my goofiness. After play dressing her and parading her around- I do plan on sewing for myself in my studio. I want to work some more on the quilt tops I was working on at retreat. The day is sunny, the leaves are colorful and all over the grass, the air is crisp and all of Mother Nature is calling to me to come out for a walk. I hope everyone truly enjoys the day, laughs, and is able to share it with friends and family. Enjoy!!!!!

Gia as BeeleJuice

Gia as my little Witch

This panel was recently given to me from one of my Guild Sisters- had to make it and display

Happy Halloween!!

"Happy Halloween-Trick or Treat- Smell my feet, or give me something good to eat!" Ha Ha Ha- I have not said this in years---It still cracks me up when I say it or if I hear someone else say it. Today is one of my favorite times of the year. I personally think it should be a National Holiday - a true paid off day from work. I have always loved this day and I have instilled the joy of it into my kids. We always dressed up and paraded around. The kids are pretty creative with their costumes. Here in Silver Creek at the School- the Seniors would have a big day of it and go all out. Then they would make their way to the Elementary area and parade in front of the little ones---oh the faces of the little ones are priceless. Here at my home, my husband and I really got into it also with the kids. We always wore a custom when we took them out around the village. There were many times that my friend Margaret and her kids would come over all dressed up and we would go as a big group. Later we would return to my house to check the candy, have coffee and hot cocoa. Good memories, Good times. Now, my kids are all grown up, along with Margaret's. Halloween is different. The first couple of years, I would sort of adopt one of my younger friends kids and trail along with them when they went out and about. Lately---I have celebrated it differently. I have some fur babies here at home. One in particular indulges me and lets me dress her up. Yes--I have become that person who puts clothes on her puppy. I do it for a couple of reasons-mainly it is because she is tiny and thin and the weather here can be just too cold for her. She is a Yorkie. My other dog is not ever in the mood to allow me to put anything on him. So----My Gia (the Yorkie), has to deal with all of my goofiness. After play dressing her and parading her around- I do plan on sewing for myself in my studio. I want to work some more on the quilt tops I was working on at retreat. The day is sunny, the leaves are colorful and all over the grass, the air is crisp and all of Mother Nature is calling to me to come out for a walk. I hope everyone truly enjoys the day, laughs, and is able to share it with friends and family. Enjoy!!!!!

Gia as BeetleJuice

Gia as my little Witch

This panel was recently given to me from one of my Guild Sisters- had to make it and display

Fabric Wreaths and Friend Sewing

I have to write about a wonderful sew day that I recently had. I joined in with a couple of my sewing friends to make fabric wreaths. Oh--they are just so wonderful! They were so much fun to make. They were not difficult. Of course---we had the Great Master mind of Quilter Debbie to help us with the pattern and the construction of it. Each of ours had a different theme. Debbie's was made to look like a Sunflower, Bonnie's was very Patriotic, and mine....surprise, surprise, it was Halloween. We all use our beloved stash. Debbie provided us with the stabilizer. With machines and thread----away we went with creating our lovely projects. These are very versatile. You can put them on the table with something in the middle, or put a ribbon on it and hang it up. I think I want to embellish mine with buttons and a ribbon and hang it on my door. It was a wonderful day sewing away with them. I have not had the chance to get together with them in a long time. I really did miss it. The weather was so rainy and cold outside--perfect for staying indoors and sewing our hearts out!!

Quilter Debbie and Bonnie 

Here we are with our finished projects!

My Halloween wreath

Halloween sewing- Cats and Witches

I just have to say- these are just so darn cute!!! I love them. I really like how they turned out. These are not my original patterns. I did get them from the Internet.The Cat is from the Therm-o-web website by Jedi Craft girl and the Witch is from Polkadotchair.com I like to check out other blogs and see what is new and exciting for other people in the sewing world. I did alter these patterns just a bit. The Cat pillow was to have a zipper on the outside, I didn't want to do that. The Witch pillow was to have a large white oval circle underneath the silhouette, but I did not want to do that either. This was the first time that I sewed with large rick rack and pom poms for trim. It was a bit tricky in places. I love to try different things and to keep learning-so this was a good experience. I definitely know what to do and not to do for the next time inserting these embellishments. Hint: fabric glue and wonder clips are a must. These pillows are  16 x 16. I used a pre-made pillow form. Fabrics are from what I had on hand. I honestly think these are so cute- I am not quite sure where I will put these. I do want to see them easily and frequently-probably in my sewing room. For the rest of this beautiful fall day- I think I will spend it in my sewing studio working on the quilt that is currently on the long arm frame. I will be posting pictures of that quilt once it is done.

New addition to my Halloween madness

Meet Matilda-my new addition.

I Just have to say---"Isn't she so cool!" This is Matilda. She was given to me recently as an early birthday gift. I was not expecting this. It made my day! I have a friend who is very crafty. I happened to be at a Baby Shower this past summer,and sat next to her. Of course we talked about everything and anything under the sun. With two people that craft talking- I am not sure if we stopped to breath in between sentences. We had a great time. During all of that talking, she showed my pictures of some cool designs she was making on wood pallets. Of course I loved them and of course I said: "Can you make a Witch?" She something to the fact- "Yes, I will". As time went on and life is crazy busy, I forgot about this whole conversation. Well-she did not. She was hard at work creating this beautiful and cool gift for me. I just happened to be out on my deck when she and her husband drove up in their really big black truck and said- "Oh good you are home, we have something for you". Well, like any girl, I was thrilled and curious to see what it was. Up went the lid covering the back of the truck and out she came. Man oh Man- it was love at first sight!!!! I can not thank my friend enough for Matilda. She is wonderful and I appreciate the gift immensely. I had my husband move her to the end of our driveway so that everyone can see her and appreciate her when they drive by. Thank you, Thank you, Thank You! If anyone is in the area-come by for a cup of coffee and say hello to Matilda.

Meet Matilda 

I Love my Mummy!

Well, I just have to say that this is about the cutest thing I have made in awhile. Of course this is my time of the year. I love it. I love what it stands for. I love the colors. I love the cooler sunny days. I love the leaves on the ground. Can I just simply say: I love it all! I am a fan of Missouri Star Quilt company. Because of them, I am a follower of Rob from Man Sewing. He is funny and full of life. He has many interesting and fun tutorials. This one really caught my eye. I just had to make it. It is a pattern from Indygo Junction by Amy Barickman. It was so fun and easy to make. My youngest was home from College when I was in my studio last night. Because he had mentioned earlier he wanted some decorations for his dorm room- I gave this to him. I will have to make this again, so that I have one for my sewing studio. The day is sunny and promising of accomplishing much.... so I am off to tackle it all. Tomorrow is another day.

 My adorable Mummy pillow

Autumn- My time of the year!

What a beautiful day!! I absolutely love days like this- warm, sunny and not humid. If I had my way I would have Mother Nature provide us with days like this all the time. As I walked outside- the air was so fresh and crisp. The trees are starting to change colors. I live near a cemetery and it has many different and old trees. I love to take walks and look at these trees. There is one in particular that turns into a wonderful bright yellow shade-it looks like a star burst. Gorgeous!! I am wondering how many more days like this we will have- with Hurricane Matthew showing his ugly face- I have my concerns. All in all it was a very productive day. I had a lot of time spent in my sewing studio. I am working on a customer quilt right now that has many different techniques in it. She has embroidery, applique, 3 dimensional accessories, peek a boo blocks, lace, buttons and ribbons decorating it. It is very beautiful! She told me that this quilt top has been finished for several years and just stuffed into a closet. Wow----that is a long time. I am thrilled that she brought it out and gave it to me to quilt. I am enjoying sewing on it. I am doing a lot of stitch in the ditch first-just to get the bone work done. Then the real fun will start. I have so many ideas for it--I keep writing them down. It will be interesting on which ones I choose to use, I have my new brochure for Black Hat Quilter printed and back from the printer. They came out perfect! I can hardly wait to start passing them out. With so much work done on business "stuff", I figured I deserved a break. Nothing like a nice flavored hot cup of tea on a cool night. I think I will go and have some me time in the studio and play with a few of my projects. I want to get them done especially since they are seasonal items. I so love this season for decorations. I love the colors also. I have a whole room dedicated to Witches and Witch like items. I figured- I like it , it is my home- I get to decorate the way that I want. I love that room. Good thing my family is very excepting of this addiction of mine. As for these pictures- I had to show them. They were so much fun to make. They are some of my favorite decorations.