Easing Into The Season

Trader Joe's helped me finish the Halloween decorating.
They have wonderful brooms scented with cinnamon.
My front door area is completely covered.
When you walk to the front door you see pumpkins,
the brooms parked, and the scent of cinnamon.
It's really nice!

I like the succulents at Joe's.
This one is perfect for the Day of the Dead.

Around the neighborhood,
my favorite dragon is back!

I met this fisherman on a morning walk.
Very clever!

Finally!
Fall arrived.
We don't seem to ease into any season down here.
We went from 90 degrees one day to 55 the next.
That meant it is chili time!
My Halloween mug from Fiesta is the perfect size for chili.
You can find my recipe (easy) here.
YUM!

The baby afghan is finished.
I found this wonderful Patchwork Animal pattern book from Annie's Attic.
Great stash busters!
I decided to make the Teddy Bear first.
Every child should have a Teddy Bear.

Here he is all finished.

Now I'm trying to decide which animal to crochet next!
Maybe the puppy?!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

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Deciding on Yarn is Easy or Hard

Halloween decorating continues.

I think I'm almost finished with the ghosts and goblins.

Including kitchen towels!

Halloween is fun around here.
There is the annual block party.
We all meet at one house with our candy in tow.
We have pizza, hot dogs and drinks of all kinds
while we give candy to the kids and tell them how great they look.

In family news,
my BGD (Beautiful God Daughter)
announced that they are expecting.
She and her Knight decided they didn't want to know if baby is a girl or boy.
That makes deciding on yarn for a baby afghan easy, 
or hard depending on how you feel!!

So I decided on all the colors of the rainbow in their brightest!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

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It's Looking Like Fall

It's looking like fall ...

inside the house.

And, outside the house
(even though the temps are still in the 90s).

I keep hoping the fall decorating will make me feel cooler!

In a further attempt to make myself feel "cool",
I'm making this:

The yarn may look familiar.
I made a scarf from the same color-way.
I love how Scarfie by Lion Brand feels
and it is easy to work with. 
You can't beat patterns from Mama In A Stitch.

Whenever fall decides to arrive, I'll be ready! 




Wishing YOU well and much joy!

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Adorable Beetles

While the weather was bad --

I tried to stay busy by reading, knitting and drinking tea.
In other words, I was entertaining myself!

This is a pattern I found on a Caron Cake label.
Caron calls it a "scarf/shawl" and made with one cake.
I made one earlier in autumn colors and thought this color way
looked more like winter.

I can depend on my kitties to supervise.
Mina is reminding me that I have ends to weave in
and Oliver thinks he should play with those ends first. 

I saw the cutest crochet project on FB and wanted to share it with you.
When I looked for the post, I couldn't find it!
I had to wait until the pattern book arrived from Amazon so I could share.

Isn't this fun?!
All these adorable beetles, bugs and butterflies.
Did you ever think the word adorable and beetle would go together?!

Fun patterns written using US terms.
One of the things I like the most,
it is a great kids book, too.
It follows the insects as they grow up and transform from tiny bugs
to beautiful butterflies, ladybugs and beetles.
You can crochet a complete life cycle of a butterfly or a snail.

I think this will be a great stash buster, too!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

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Pumpkin Patch

I have my own Pumpkin Patch.
They were a lot of fun to crochet.
Now, I just have to keep the kitties from playing with the smallest!

Now that my Pumpkin Patch is finished,
I can start thinking about Halloween.

My favorite part about Halloween -- the cooler weather that usually arrives!

The origin of Halloween can be traced to Samhain (pronounced sow-in, which rhymes with cow-in), which was an ancient Celtic festival that was celebrated to mark the end of harvesttime and the beginning of the new year.

 The ancient Celts believed that the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its thinnest during Samhain, thereby making it a good time to communicate with the deceased and to divine the future. 

Samhain is Gaelic for “summer’s end,” a day to bid good-bye to warmth and light as day length shortens.*

A BRIEF HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN*

Following the Roman Empire’s rule over Celt-occupied lands in the 1st century A.D., the Romans incorporated many of the Celtic traditions, including Samhain, with their own.

 Eight hundred years later, the Roman Catholic Church further modified Samhain, designating November 1 as All Saints’ Day, in honor of all Catholic saints. This day was formerly known as Allhallowmas, hallow meaning to sanctify, or make holy. 

All Saints’ Day is known in England as All Hallows’ Day. The evening before, October 31, is known as All Hallows’ Eve, the origin of the American word Halloween!

In later years, the Irish used hollowed-out, candlelit turnips carved with a demon’s face to frighten away spirits. When Irish immigrants in the 1840s found few turnips in the United States, they used the more plentiful pumpkins instead.* 

*From The Farmers Almanac

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

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Pumpkins

I've been making pumpkins.

I ordered a kit from Mary Maxim.

Five crochet pumpkins.

I've finished two and started the third.

Pumpkins, like other squash, are thought to have originated in North America. The oldest evidence, pumpkin-related seeds dating between 7000 and 5500 BC, was found in Mexico.

As one of the most popular crops in the United States, 680,000,000 kilograms (1.5 billion pounds) of pumpkins are produced each year. The top pumpkin-producing states include Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and California.

When ripe, the pumpkin can be boiled, steamed, or roasted. In its native North America, it is a very important, traditional part of the autumn harvest, eaten mashed and making its way into soups and purees. Often, it is made into pie, various kinds of which are a traditional staple of the Canadian and American Thanksgiving holidays. In Canada, Mexico, the United States, Europe and China, the seeds are often roasted and eaten as a snack.

And, today is Oliver's Gotcha Day.
He's lived at Twisty Lane one year today.
So glad you are here little guy! 

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

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The best cure for boredom is crayons!

From the Fortune Cookie Journal
"The Best Cure for Boredom is Crayons"

Today is National Crayon day!
Crayola has announced that one of their colors is going to be retired!

In the spirit of crayons and art ---
Liberate Your Art 2017 is underway.
I received my first postcard last week --
all the way from Ireland -- Connemara Cottage, an acrylic painting.
The artist is Jacinta Moore.
You can find more of her artwork and photos here.

*

It's been busy around here.

Spring cleaning outside.

The last of the freeze damaged plants are gone.

I found some very old flower and veggie seeds 

that I've "thrown" out into the bare garden spots.

If they come up -- great -- if not -- that's okay, too.

The pond/water garden has been cleaned.

All the water out, the fish out, the plants out.

Power wash and then everything back in.

Two pretty, new water lilies.
One pink and one purple.

Some fun floating grass for the fish to play in.
Now I'm waiting for the fish to spawn.

*

The balcony is ready for spring and Easter.
The Gerbera Daisy and geranium are blooming.

*

A  very handsome visitor stopped by.

At least once a year there is a hawk in the backyard.
They know I feed the birds in the morning.
No critters were harmed during his visit.

*

I've been busy weaving in the ends on the Cottage Charm lapghan
and trying to decide what I might like to tackle next.
I have yarn for more shawls.
Never too early to make Christmas/Birthday presents.
Be prepared!

These are also calling:

I enjoyed the Cottage Charm lapghan.
I found another pattern with similar flowers.
Or
Some cute potholders.
Both projects should be good stash busters!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

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