Fall Mix and Sticky Canes

While the family was away this weekend attempting to land a nice salmon at the river, I spent the quiet time decorating for fall.  Thought I'd share a tiny section of my growing collection.  Of course, you've seen Harvest Annie (from a Homespun from the Heart pattern), as her cute face is sometimes my blog avatar.  She rests on a beautiful table mat I made from a Lakeview Primitives pattern.  Behind her is the chaise, adorned with my favorite rag pumpkin flannel quilt (from Love of Quilting magazine), and a little cross stitch pilgrim and turkey (from a Leisure Arts cross stitch book).  As you can see, I enjoy creating diverse stitched items to adorn my home, and I LOVE the fact that there are so many talented designers out there who have put together such awesome patterns!  Thank you!!!

I spent last night creating a large collection of primmed up candy canes all glistening with mica flakes and glass glitter, and they're just about dry.  Adorned with a cute vintage tag, these will be available in my shop today in sets of three.  I also plan to add a larger version this year.  Hope you'll take a peek!  Have a great day!

Bloomin' Confusion

September is feeling more like fall now; that bright star in the sky is playing hide 'n seek.  I snapped this confusion amongst our corn/sunflower patch.  Those bright yellow beauties are perplexed and don't know which way to turn!

Have I ever mentioned just how much the pup loves green beans?  As I was clicking away on this brisk morn, the pup finally discovered the solar fence line that surrounds the garden.  In the 2 seasons we've had this up to keep the deer out, he always manages to skirt under the lower line, or miss the intermittent surge of shock that flows through.

Not today though.  After a slight little zip, he yelped loudly and SPRINTED all the way around the house to the front door.  Gosh, I felt so bad, but could hardly contain my laughter as I saw to it that he was okay.  And, of course, the next trip outside resulted in success for him...into the bean patch once again!

Yep, you really can't teach an old dog new tricks...

Witchy Stitchin'

How did September blur by so quickly that it's now more than half over?  My first show is less than 2 weeks away, and I'm feeling like I don't have enough made up.  We're expecting 80 degree weather through next weekend, so just how many people will be thinking about scarves and hats this early?  Hmm...time to get creative and produce something new!

Last night I finished up this cute witch penny rug.  The background is on the most beautiful marbled wool felt color that is no longer available.  I have a piece that has deep purple into pink and another piece that is more light blue into purple.  Wish I could find more, because I've never seen such a diverse tone in hand dyed wool.  I constructed this piece a bit differently than usual, cutting a solid black backing which included the penny flaps already attached.  I just love how the witch's profile turned out, hair blowing in the wind, teetering just so on that crooked ol' broomstick!

Meet Bling...My latest Epattern Release!

Whoohoo...it's the first day of school, and Matt has returned back to work from vacation.  It's QUIET around here!  Even the pup is taking in all the peace with a morning nap.

Today I'm releasing my latest epattern design, Bling the Penguin!  Bling is a very quick to make stand alone design that can also be made into an ornament.  Resize the pattern and make a family of these little dudes marching across a window sill for winter.  So cute!  I made several of these for my craft shows, and they were such a hit!  Supplies are easy to find, and I may even put together a few kits for sale soon.  Find Bling here on my blog or in my Etsy shop.

Check out this beautiful bowl of red rose hips I picked over the weekend after taming back a very unruly beast of a bush.  I'm going to dry and then scent them with a wonderful cinnamon bun or pumpkin spice scent.  I love having bowls of these scented fixins around the house.  With that cool, crisp morning air already here, fall is rapidly approaching.  There will be nothing like the wonderful aroma of these once the windows are shut up tight for our nine months of rain... Oh, I'm not complaining; that justifies more time for stitchin'!!

The cycle of life...an awesome sight!

Awww...one last camping trip, a little stitching and oh, so much fun!  Last week, we ventured up to Baker Lake and then over to the Cascade River.  As the family attempted to fish the lake, I was busy stitching away this piece.  Yep, it's beginning to look like that time of year again already!

Well, the fish proved sneaky, weaving the lines through stumps and snags, so we didn't catch anything more than a nice suntan.  Next up was river time, which proved to be an awesome experience, as the salmon were moving up stream to spawn.

For two days, we watched these two sockeye salmon exhaustively lay eggs, fertilize, and bury them in the sand right in front of our campsite.  The male (brighter red) was actively chasing away other males ready to step in on him, and even a steelhead salmon tried to invade.


Alas, fishing on the river was closed until today, so all my two cohorts could due was watch and be amazed at the cycle of life...for there's always next time.  Yea, right.  I think I saw this little hatchling smile at that thought.  Catch me if you can...