Happy Hallowe’en from our resident Vampurr…

Normally, Burton and I would have spent last night carving pumpkins, but my wonderful, talented neighbour Krista gifted me with this beauty a few weeks ago!

She carves them out of foam pumpkins from Michael’s so we’ll have this Cheshire beauty for many Hallowe’ens to come!

I hope you all have a wonderful, safe Hallowe’en that’s full of more treats, than tricks!

 

I love it when a top comes together!

It was grey and gloomy this weekend, so  I put it to good use. I finished binding a quilt (you’ll see if on Thursday), I did a little knitting, and I finished the Kitty in the Sky with Diamonds top.

I have enough black for the binding, I just need to get some backing fabric. But there’s no rush. Samantha has closed up the trailer for the season, so I can keep looking for the perfect backing. Mom’s got a long list of tops to quilt, so I should probably let her catch up too.

But with this top off my WIP list, and technically onto Mom’s, that means I’ve got the QotGs back under control:

• Autumn in the Country: I’ve got all the fabric I need to finish this up. If the week is quiet, I’ll probably get this one out of the way.
• Cabins at Rainbow Camp: If I get lucky, and get more than one quiet day this week – I’ll finish this one too. The squares just need to be trimmed and assembled.
• Scrappage Patch. I got a pretty light sky blue for the sashing, so this top won’t be a WIP for long wither
• Dissapearing nine patch batiks: This one still needs a name. And all those nine patches need to be chopped up so they can disappear and be sewn back together.
• Leader and Ender project  (Many HSTs): The HST pile is growing. I’m trying to trim as I go, so these don’t get too out of hand.

Wow… looks like I could have a few tops done soon… and that means I get to start new quilts!

 

Yes! The last pair is done!

And done by my self-imposed deadline. My photographer is booked (for the weekend after next) and I need to get to typing up all these patterns!

But before I do, I’m just enjoying that I’ve finally finished the knitting. These were done in House Cat in Aqua – and it’s the perfect cheery colour for these dreary fall days we’ve been having. It also works great with the simple texture of the pattern.

I kept the foot plain to really let the leg shine, and I think it looks fabulous.

Now… lets see if I can get that cardigan done (at least the pieces, if not the sewing up) done by the end of the month… just a few days to go!

Friday, I had an appointment downtown, so I took the opportunity to visit one of my favourite places… you know it – I’ve posted about it before…. The Hamilton Farmer’s Market.

I arrived just in time to see the Knight’s jousting around the famous Birks’ Clock.

I’m actually not a big eater of fruit and veg, but there’s something wonderful about seeing it all set out in baskets.

I expected there to be more pumpkins and fall veg, but this was the only vendor with a decent display…

And because the market is indoor and year round, there’s also a great selection of other vendors, including meat, fish, eggs and…

Mmmm cheese heaven!

But you all know what I really love the market for…

I treated myself to a little seasonal bouquet…

(I just love that little cabbage!)

I also picked up a little cactus…

For this cute little hedgehog who used to have a candle in him! Now he’s really spiky!

 

We had a little drama last weekend. It was actually in the midst of my curtain-making adventure. I had just put the curtains on the rod, so I could determine the hem length I wanted.

Of course, Relic who was outside, saw me messing around near the door and came around to be nosy. I opened the door to see if he wanted in. Relic, being Relic, decided he needed at least five minutes with the door hanging open to decide whether he really wanted to come in or not.

And while Relic was deciding, Burton ninja-zoomed out of no where (those toe-hawks are adorable, but they also make him super silent.) I wasn’t able to get the door closed fast enough, and out he went.

Now this isn’t the first time it’s happened. Usually he does a quick bolt, then stops one or two units over and waits for Relic and I to catch up.

But not this time. This time he made a bee-line for the box elder tree at the back of our property… and let me tell you – for a mostly indoor cat… this cat can CLIMB!

Before Relic and I reached the base of the tree, he was already up higher than I could reach. I ran back in the house to get some toys and treats and see if I could entice him down.

That didn’t work in the slightest… in fact he kept going higher!

The pics aren’t great, because I was getting a little frantic. The tree is more in our rear neighbour’s yard than ours, and I was worried about him coming down in their yard and running off.

Eventually, he got so high, that he got himself stuck… the tree trunk is a lot steeper coming down than going up. I think this is when he finally realized he was in trouble, because he started pacing on a branch and crying at me.

Not long after, Dave came out… and marveled at Burton’s climbing ability, while calling him a dumbass.

To give you an idea of how high Burt got… he’s that black mass, not far from the top of the picture. Dave is just behind the fence post (and he’s over 6ft tall.). You can also see Relic at his feet, trying to help…

At one point Relic started climbing the tree too. We were hopeful he would show Burt how to get down (Relic is an old hand at tree climbing) but even he was too smart to venture as high as Burton.

Dave went and got the only ladder we have, which is only 6 ft, and a 2×4. He was hoping his could angle it from the trunk to the branch to create a ramp for Burton to come down, at least to grabbing distance, but it was a no go.

About an hour in, Burton was  really showing signs that he wanted out of that tree, so we were hopeful he’d be able to figure out how to get down himself. I got a can of his favourite wet food, climbed the ladder, and put some in a dish on the top rung of the ladder.

It took him about 20 minutes more, but he finally started coming down… butt first. It reminded me of a toddler, learning how to navigate the stairs. I was so mad at him, but it was so cute, and I was so proud, I couldn’t help but laugh.

As soon as he was within grabbing distance, I scooped him up and got him the heck out of that tree and inside.

And yes…. he was completely unrepentant.

Dave now has the number of several tree companies who also list cat rescue as part of their services. But I can tell you, we’re being a lot more careful around open doors now!

 

“No Mom, it’s P1, K1, P1…. you’re doing it wrong!!!”

When I was a teen, Mom and Dad watched a lot of This Old House. That lead to watching the New Yankee Workshop. This led to Dad coining the term “Norm Abrams Disease”… ie the need to have every tool and gadget for your craft, no matter how narrow the scope of its use, or whether you could manage the job with a tool you already have. (I’ve you’ve ever watched NYW, you’ll know Norm has EVERYTHING!!!)

Now Mom has a little bit of an obsessive nature, so she’s a prime candidate for this disease. And her latest obsession with quilting is no exception. Every time I turn around, she’s buying some new fangled thing.

Of course, it has it’s perks, because I get to borrow them!

You see.. the Leader and Ender HSTs are piling up. And as you know, I hate trimming, so  I wanted to start on these before the pile got too big. And Mom had the perfect little tool…

A special rule that allows you to easily trim you HSTs before you iron them, so they open into perfect squares. It even has little slots so you can trim the dog ears.

In no time, I’d trimmed and ironed all the ones I’ve sewn so far. I still have lots to make, but once I have enough, I’ll start assembling them into pinwheels

And then those pinwheels will get assembled into four patches.

Then those will all get assembled together to make the top. This is going to be on scrap happy quilt!

 

As many of you know, pinterest can be a terrible, wonderful, terrible place.

A while back, I was browsing for something, ended up going down a rabbit hole and came across the cutest Hallowe’en wreath idea ever. I just had to make it.

I went out, got all the supplies, and then… nothing. They sat in my stash for over two years as I created a billion other things.

When Burton started stealing the styrofoam balls I needed for the eyes, I decided it was high time I got it made.

And isn’t it fantastic. It’s super easy to make. You just need a lot of tulle (about six yards), a styrofoam ring, a couple styrofoam balls (or pingpong balls) for eyes, and  some foam or felt sheets for the teeth.

Cut your tulle into strips (like for the tutus), and tie them around the ring. It’s a little time-consuming, but worth it. Then you trim the tulle, cut your teeth, draw pupils on the balls, and glue everything together….

Voila! You’ve created a monster!

Mine is ready for the trick-or-treaters next week! Sadly, I won’t be around. I’ve got French class, so Dave’s on candy duty. But I’m sure I’ll hear all about it when  I get home!

I’m not sure if other crafters have this problem (and I’m not sure if it’s really a problem), but it seems to Mom and I that as soon as they find out we do a particular craft (ie, knitting, sewing, etc), they try to give us stuff.

“Oh you knit? Here’s all my grandma’s old needles. We didn’t know what to do with them after she died.”

Admittedly, this isn’t near as bad as the people who ask you to make stuff for them for the price they can get it at Walmart.

And we’ve been given some very nice things, including a few of Mom’s vintage machines.

But the other day, one of Mom’s coworkers asked if she wanted a some fabric for quilting. His father was in the process of cleaning out the house and had a whole box full.

Mom said yes, and the next day,  he brought it to work. But it wasn’t a box of mixed fabrics, like Mom expected. And it wasn’t really for quilting…

It was yards and yards (and YARDS!!!) of this pretty floral jacquard. And I mean yards… I don’t know exactly how many, but I’m thinking it was enough to recover a couch, loveseat, and armchair… with fabric leftover.

Mom had no idea what it was originally intended for, or even what she could do with it. She brought it by my house, and I quickly realized it would be a good match for my living room, and I was in need of new curtains for the sliding glass door. The cats are notoriously hard on curtains, so I usually just stick with $10 panels from Giant Tiger.

I had some time on the weekend, so I set to work.

And after removing the cat several times, I had two big pieces cut and ready to sew. I didn’t do anything fancy, just hemmed the edges and made a big rod casing on top. In no time, they were done and on the back door

Within a minute, Rupert was testing out their tenting capabilities (they passed with flying colours.

I still have to decide what I want to do for tie-backs (I’m leaning toward the metal ones that you just hook the fabric behind), but I’m very pleased with the nice, simple result.

The only problem…. there’s still scads and scads of fabric of left… and I have no idea what to do with it all!

 

As you know, I’m under the gun to finish the Burlington sock. While this project started because I was commuting several hours, three days a week, in the last two years, I’ve slowly weaned myself off the office, and hardly go in at all any more.

But, last Thursday I had to go in to pick up a new work laptop. So I figured it was a good time to make some headway on the second sock.

It started off well enough. I got through the ribbing and the first pattern by one station before my final stop. I was admiring it before starting the next pattern, when I noticed something.

I’d completely forgotten the purl ridge between the ribbing and the pattern. (In my defense, I’d gotten up at 5:30 a.m., and been groggily traveling for two hours already.

If the sock had been just for me, and not for pattern photos, I’d have just carried on. Instead, I heaved a big sigh, got off the train at Long Branch, and sat down to await the shuttle that would take me the final few kilometres to the office. It was a half and hour wait, so I figured I might as well start ripping.

By the time the shuttle arrived, everything was back on the needles, and I was back on track. By the time  I got to the office, I was almost back to where I stopped and ripped.

Thankfully, the trip home was uneventful, and I had the next pattern complete by the time I got home.

I’m aiming to finish these up by the weekend, so look for an FO post sometime after. Then I have to get my photographer booked before it gets to cold to play in socks outside!