Category Archives: Everyday

Merry Halloween!

Hello my friends, and Happy Halloween!

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However…, I must add that it looks like Christmas here in northern Illinois.

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It snowed last night, is still snowing, and will be snowing for trick-or-treating. The way it’s blowing around as it comes down makes it look like a little blizzard out there. I cannot remember a Halloween with snow. Trick-or-treating in a snowstorm seems like a novel experience. Maybe it will be fun for some–at least I hope so; we have lots of candy.

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It is beautiful, as all first snowfalls of the season are!

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Many trees still have leaves on their branches which are being weighed down by the wet snow! I hope they don’t break.

This is what Patience thinks of all the snow.

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To see more of this ensemble from 2013 click here for the blog post.

I plan to stay home today and sew! The dresses for the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes are coming along. I worked many hours on them yesterday getting the pockets sewn on and the neckline ties made. All I have left to do to finish them is to sew up the back seams, stitch the neck casings/insert the ties, and stitch hems.

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I’d also like to get started sewing a Christmas dress for one of my girls today. Up to now my 2019 Christmas dresses have all been knitted sweater dresses. I just finished this blue one for the Little Darlings which is blocking. I changed up my sweater dress pattern slightly by nipping in the waist and rearranging the increases for the a-line skirt. I added thin mohair bands of ‘fur’ for all the edgings.

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Thank you for visiting with me. Wishing you all a Happy Halloween, not too spooky, just fun-filled and sweet!

Bye for now! ❤

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The Past Couple of Weeks

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Hello to you from rainy, rainy, rainy! northern Illinois. The rain has been coming down since last night. It’s still warm at the moment, but we are in for a big change later on today. So the rain will stop, but then it will get cold! Cold like we haven’t seen for many months. Not ready! This temperature drop will seem like a slap in the face. OW!

These past couple of weeks have been beautiful though. I’ve been getting outside most days for walks in the sunshine and to simply enjoy nature. We have quite a few forest preserves around here and also some quiet roads. Last weekend I visited one of the nearby forest preserves.

At one point on the trail it was an open expanse as far as the eye could see.

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The colors of fall are showing up in the plants, but not yet the trees (except here and there).

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When I have portable work and don’t feel like staying at home to do it I like to visit nearby coffee shops; this one is so cute. It has 5 rooms with tables and chairs in each. I think I previously showed you a photo when my daughter and I spent a Friday afternoon here. My favorite room is this south facing room with these big windows.

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Here is a look into the main room while I was working on my knitting.

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And here is another room off of the room I was in. The doorway to the left shows a room for the little ones. There are lots of toys in there. I’ve never seen any children using it; perhaps they are here at different times.

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The dress I was knitting while at the coffee shop is now completed: knit, blocked, buttons added…

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… and Gina modeling it. Here’s a sneak peak from my sewing room this morning. I want to add a little more embroidery (it’s at the hemline) and a pretty red ribbon around the waist. I have the perfect little accessory for her to hold; I’ll show you later. Both girls still need tights and I want to come up with an accessory for Alice. So, these two ensembles are almost completed.

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Now, I must go get some rest. I’ve been fighting a cold all week (my husband brought one home from traveling over a week ago!). I thought I had succeeded in not catching it, but no. Today I know I am definitely sick. At least the weather matches my symptoms!

I hope you are well and enjoying beautiful weather where you are. Thank you for stopping by, my friends. ❤

Wanna See My Fabric, etc. Haul?

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Who can resist a sale of fabrics and notions? Not I! Not I…even in a pouring down rainstorm. You all who are sewers or makers know exactly what I’m talking about. A sale of fabric and notions doesn’t come around often?

I met this woman at a nearby garage sale this summer. She was helping out at her friend’s garage sale and had some of her ribbons, buttons, and quilt kits there. I bought lots of her buttons and ribbon by the way. Tiny mother-of-pearl buttons and silk ribbon spools for 20 cents each! Come on… are you kidding me?

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I asked her about small scale fabric and she told me how she had bought out her friend’s quilt shop in Texas and had tons of fabric to ~~get rid of~~ sell over at her house, but it probably wouldn’t be until September, so of course I gave her my email.

I haven’t made any dresses for the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes yet and I really want to. I needed some one yard cuts for these, so that was my main reason to venture out in the rain this morning. 😮 and 😉 (As if I needed a reason.)

It was so much fun. It was like a fabric store in her basement. And she had a beautiful basement (with a kitchen) at that–a most gorgeous house from what I saw! She had a cutting table set up where she had a helper cutting fabric. At another station her sister (I think) was in charge of adding up purchases and collecting cash. All the while she kept bringing out more fabric!!!

Her quilting room was painted the most wonderful shade of lilac. She said the color was called muddy lilac or something like that. It was a very rich color of lilac and very calming, I felt. It didn’t look muddy at all, simply perfect.

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