Frosty Pumpkins and Chilly Plants

So the "frost is on the pumpkin", as they say, and quite literally here in upstate, NY. Last night it got down to the 30's, I understand. It's about time, we've had the oddest summerlike weather lately. I'm thrilled that when I now go outside it smells like Fall instead of Spring. Again, it's about time. Of course, it means that turning on the heat isn't too far behind, a fact I don't relish because of the ridiculous oil prices, but it is going to happen anyway. Time to bundle up and hunker down. I love this time of year.

I was so busy this weekend! My cold seems to have gone away (mostly), so I was feeling so much better yesterday. I still have a bit of a cough, but the other unpleasantries of being sick seem to have subsided for now. Saturday I camped out in my studio and did not come out until dinner. It is so nice to have a day like that now and again. I worked on my son's costume and finished it. He wants to be a telephone (I may have mentioned that before). So I made one up for him. He will be a purple (his choice) cell phone, made of felt, fleece, and puff paint. No pattern, no complicated instructions, just me and a sewing machine and my imagination. Exactly my speed. I'm very happy with how it came out and he LOVES the costume. So it's win-win. I will take a picture soon. My camera seems to have run out of batteries, and I don't know how to charge it, but when I do, I'll post one for you.

As for my daughter's infamous fairy costume, I did pass it along to my mother, who determined that the reason I couldn't figure out how the sleeves go onto the bodice was because I had sewn them upside down. No surprise there. She "un"stitched them for me, joined them correctly, and finished the costume likety-split (I did say she could sew circles around me in the clothing area, right??). It came out very cute. My daughter looks like a little flower. She is very excited about wearing it, and of course the irony of all of this is that now that the costume is done (and correctly), it's too cold to wear it, so she'll be wearing that turtleneck after all. Ah, the best laid plans.....

Sunday I spent the day cleaning the house. I do like cleaning the house, as strange as that may seem, because I like to take care of it. However, with me, my husband, and two kids, it gets cluttered up fast, and I don't get much chance to declutter. So Sunday I decluttered. Massively. The first floor of the house is now nice and tidy and dusted and whatnot. It is good. Right now we are clutter free and I am happy. I give it until Thursday until it's cluttered again.

I did manage to get a bunch of stitching done as well. The little Christmas trees are from the 2007 Just Cross Stitch Ornament mag. I made it twice because it was so quick and cute and why not? I'm going to finish them this week. They still need a couple of beads, and then I need to mount them onto their forms. No big deal. Little things like that are fun.

The little fairy on the right is a freebie from CyberStitchers. I made it for my daughter for her upcoming birthday. I'm going to finish it into an ornament type-thing, for her to hang in her room. It's really cute, and since she's learning to read, it's perfect for her. I hope she will like it.

I also got the winter edition of the Hancock's of Paducah catalog. I like that shop, it's not my favorite, but the catalog is so big, it's equivalent to getting the Big Toy Book from Toy's R'Us. For me, the catalog is really hit or miss. Either I don't like ANYTHING in it, or I like TOO MUCH in it. This time I liked quite a lot. Just a few examples of things I saw that I said "hmmmm" about (and can't line up nicely on this post). Could I be MORE random? Probably.

Thank you all again for your comments! I appreciate your taking the time to stop by!!