The weekend was so nice, I spent a good chunk of it outdoors. So there wasn’t a tonne of stitching this weekend.

I almost got the right-side leaves finished. There’s just a few that need the lightest shade added to them. Then I have to repeat it all for the left side. But there’s no deadline for this project so I’m content to just take my time with it!

The weekend before this last, Dave and I had to head to the big city for a celebration of life of the father of one of his good friends. On the way home, we made a bit of a detour to Mom’s so I could drop off my Aug-tober accomplishments.

I knew I would have time to get to her place and quilt them anytime soon, and I really wanted to get them in the shop before the Big Spooky.

Happily, Mom was more than willing to work her magic on them. She finished the first of them last week

Admittedly, it was a little hard to put this one in the shop – because I absolutely adore it. If I didn’t already have a quilt with these fabrics, I’d be keeping it! The centre panel, and some of the prints are from the Kitty Corn line. A few of the other prints are from Owl-o-ween. Both are out of print now, but I amazingly still have pile in my stash!

But back to the quilt itself.

I had so much fun picking out fabric for the friendship stars in the frame. It’s a simple concept with a big finish and a really fun way to frame out a panel. It does take a little quilt math, and time with the graph paper, but its worth it.

Mom did an all-over pumpkin and leaf design for the quilting – can you believe she does it all free hand??? And if you look closely at the cat, you can see she did a little custom work there…

Including a little spiderweb behind the wee spider!

The whole thing is backed with a soft, plaid flannel that matches the colours in the quilt!

That was a lucky find at the fabric shop, let me tell you!

And now its in the shop and could be yours!

I was out in the garden all day yesterday… though there’s still lots blooming, there still stuff that needs to be done to get everything ready for winter.

I leave a lot of seed heads for the birds, and leaves and such as mulch, and cover for beneficial insects. But there’s still thing I can trim and tidy up. And while I’m getting things ready for winter… I also have to get things ready for spring…

And that means spring bulbs! I didn’t go crazy this year, but I do have two gardens in the front (the side and island garden) that would be devoid of spring colour if I didn’t get anything.

These haven’t arrived yet, but hopefully will be here by next weekend.

For that first flush of colour, I got a mix of giant crocuses. And then added some “Whale Shark” crocuses too… because why not?

I got a mix of tulips, and a mix of daffodils – because they are such spring staples.

I love all my muscari (grape hyacinths), so I had to have more. And the Glory of the Snow is another early one that just makes the grey days of March and early April that much better.

Some later spring winners are allium (you know I love my allium), and snake head fritillaria. The only other place I have them is the catio, so it will be nice to have them out front too.

Something a little different is this Botanical Tulip called Peppermint stick. They are also known as Species Tulips, Groundcover Tulips, or Turkistan Tulips. They are close the the original form of the tulip. I have some bright pink ones, so I think these will be a nice compliment.

And last… these won’t be going in the garden, but some bulb pots I got earlier this year.

Some colourful dutch irises. They are smaller, and a little less showy than my big bearded irises, but still a great bit of colour for spring.

Are you making plans for your spring garden?

What does an October garden look like? Well it varies from year to year. This year has definitely been warmer than usual, though the garden is showing signs of decline. The Asters have gone over, there are no more daylilies blooming, and even the coneflowers are starting to wane.

There’s still a few hanging in there.

Most of the susans are finished too but these ones are still going.

The zinnias I started from seed are thriving.

I’ve got a couple of snapdragons that absolutely thriving.

And of course, that big pink Cosmos is still going gangbusters

A couple of the butterfly bushes still have blooms

My favourite mum is at her peak

And my second favorite mum is doing nicely too.

The little shade garden at the side of the house has done beautifully this year

It’s a mix of Coral Bells, with annuals thrown in. This year was begonias and impatiens

There’s lots of tidying to be done in the garden this weekend, so I’ll have lots of time to enjoy every bloom.

His Lordship is ready for the Spooky Season…

Are you???

I actually bought this little Halloween house for Lemmy, as he absolutely loves (to destroy) cardboard. However.. Lemmy seems to think it actually IS haunted….

And now that Burton has taken it over, he won’t go near it. There’s just no predicting cats…

Though the weather and gardens aren’t even remotely Hallowe’en like, it was time to get the front yard in order for the best month of the year!

There are quite a few new additions this year.

Our cemetery has grown, not just in headstones, and skelly parts, but also with that cool fencing! It’s a true boneyard now.

And then there’s Doug… my pet demon head

I absolutely fell in love with him at the store and just had to bring him home. I found the perfect spot for him, “floating” behind the Burning Bush. He lights up with a dull red glow, and looks very cool at night.

Up and down the walkway are all my usual “unusual” skeletons…

On either side of the steps, I have some guardian cats

And now the countdown is on!

It’s going to be a rocking Halloween!

Since I finished off my Christmas knitting with that last pair of socks, I’m treating myself to a pair.

A while back, I wrote a post about how I like a certain type of sock to sleep in. Well since then… several of my favourite pairs have gone missing. Or at least one of each pair has.

I’m pretty sure Lemmy has something to do with, and the socks are somewhere around here. But until I find them, I need a few replacement pairs, because I CANNOT sleep with cold feet.

I went into the stash for another ball of Felici (I have a couple odd balls and they are good for shorty socks for me). but I got distracted by this crazy rainbow Opal.

I’d originally bought it to make socks for one of my nieces… but they’ve grown up so fast, and the crazy bright colours are no longer their style.

That said… I LOVE cheery socks, especially in the depths of winter, so it was just perfect for me. I’m doing my Undine pattern, just to mix it up a bit. I just did 2-2 rib for the man socks, so I needed something different.

As you can see, the first sock is flying – short sock, small feet – the first sock will probably be off the needles today or tomorrow at the latest. I wonder if I can even get TWO pairs done before the end of the month….

They are done! I’m pretty sure this is the fastest I’ve ever knit a pair of man socks – 25 days! And technically less than that because I don’t work on them on the weekends. So really – 19 days!

To recap – the yarn is Lion Brand Sock Ease and the colour is “English Toffee”. Or so they say.. you all know how I feel about the colour.

That said, I think they are just perfect for the recipient. And they are also the last Christmas present I needed to finish! So now I’m going to knit a little something for myself… the temps are dropping and my toes are cold!

I’ve said many times, that autumn is one of the best times of the year for roses. Of course, they have to be modern, hybrid roses that bloom more than once… but that’s the only kind I buy.

So as September breathes it’s last – let’s enjoy the roses that are abloom in my garden.

I fully expected to be writing a veg garden wrap-up post by now. Last weekend I pulled the squash, pumpkin and gourd plants out. But I’m still harvesting elsewhere. And it’s not just the raspberries – they will go until we get a good frost.

Even the cherry tomatoes aren’t a huger shocker

I’ve grown this variety before and they put out fruit until the cold weather stops them.

But I was sure I’d picked my last cucumber. I went out to pick some raspberries and spied a good-sized one hanging there.

And on closer inspection found three more, including one so big my old neighbour would have dubbed it a WHOMPER!.

I was sure the Cucamelons would start slowing down with the cooler nights…

But I’m actually getting more than I did at the height of summer!

And I’m even still getting beans!

Not a lot (thank goodness – I’m totally over beans!), but enough to give Dave a snack every other day. The bean plants are starting to look tired though – they’ve got to give up sometime soon!

And last…

I planted some more carrot seeds after I pulled the garlic. I’m leaving them for as long as possible. I don’t expect them to be huge – but like the beans, they should be enough to give Dave one last summer-like snack!