Only a couple of days until Hallowe'en.  I have my candy all set.  I like to give out the little chocolate bars, and I like to give out the peanut ones.
Well, not really.....I LIKE to EAT the peanut chocolate bars..lol  And because I like to eat them, I put the box away and leave it unopened until the first trick or treaters arrives, otherwise, I would eat them all.  I only bought one box this year, so ...NONE FOR ME!...I certainly don't need it.
This is one of my favourite nights, can't call it a holiday.
I don't decorate the yard or put up a bunch of lights, or even hang hallowe'en quilts.
I have 3 little wallhangings that I put up in the fall, scarecrows and pumpkins.  That's it for fall decor, plus a fallish door wreath.

Hallowe'en is another story........hehehhahah..(insert spooky laugh here!)
I dress up my duct tape dummy (never used her for sewing!) in a witch's costume I made years ago.  At one time, it did fit me...lol....put a black wig and a scary mask on her....tape her hands to an old stick and she stands there stirring a pot (an antique cauldron and stand) made to look like boiling, steamy, frothy water, along with eyeballs and fingers.  I put flashing lights in the pot for effect...under the pot I have some sticks, some foil and red crepe paper and a flashing light to simulate fire.
I have an old iron aquarium stand that I cover with red crepe paper for blood.  I have a 3 vases full of eyeballs, spiders, and fingers ...along with a red candle and any other scary stuff that I have.
Last year the grand daughters helped with putting up the headstones that I have and making the lawn and house look creepy.
We have a longish (for this neighbourhood) drive and I stand in the doorway watching the little kids as they slowly come up the driveway, edging past the witch and her brew, just waiting for her to move.....but she doesn't .
I usually re-assure  the little ones, that it is only make believe.
But this year, we are expecting a big storm... a frankenstorm..(lol)...high winds and rain....we usually get the full brunt of the winds at the front of the house.   So...maybe I will have to put her inside the front porch.

Dreamcatcher

The night of the beautiful rainbow was guild night.  The rainbow was just a hint what was to come of the night.
We had a speaker come in from New York.   RaNA Merrill.   She is speaking at a few guilds in the area, getting a good tour of Southern Ontario .
RaNae Merrill has developed a method for making some very stunning quilts.  She calls them Mandalas quilts
The method is log cabin.... a twisted log cabin.  And they are paperpieced.  Very BEAUTIFUL quilts! 
She showed us many of the quilts she designed.


Spirals synergy

 

I didn't take pics because I find the ladies holding the quilts don't stand still and put them down too quickly.
BUT......here are a few pics that I gleaned off the net for you....
She had labels sewn on the front of all her quilts....ugly labels...just to satisfy the border.  The labels stated the the quilt were samples and not for sale....good thing they didn't make her write on her quilts with a magic marker, like I have heard another speaker  had done by a borderguard, or a huge "X" across the front of her samples, like another had done.  Apparently, she was told by other speakers to do this and leave room on this label for a stamp, just in case they wanted to stamp them.    These labels are removable...a good thing, 'cause like I said they were ugly and distracting.
She had her 2 books with her for sale.  And she ran out of her latest book.   She had her favourite papers  used for paperpiecing  for sale and "Add-a-quarter" and "Add-an-Eighth" rulers and a wooden seam roller.  She didn't have more of the seamroller, so I ordered one.
Neat little gadget, doesn't stretch the seams as you "iron" it.
RaNae also has a blog where you can see what she is up to, but I noticed it wasn't up to date.
http://spiromandalas.wordpress.com/
and a website
http://www.ranaemerrillquilts.com/home

EasterMandala

Easter Mandala is my favourite ....

I took her first book of the guild library last year..before I knew she was coming to our guild....she has a disc in both her books with the patterns.  I copied the disc (patterns) to my computer in hopes that I WILL try out this technique.  LOL...so much to do and so little time!



 

We have had some bonus days with the weather lately...
Some of the days have been bright and sunny then ending with a rain storm.
Thursday was one of those days...I spent the day at my daughter's house while she had some windows installed.  Just as they were finishing up the weather changed and a big storm hit. 
We had some high winds and rain.  Alot of the trees were stripped of their leaves as the wind ripped around the trees.
The guys (installers) then came to my house and redid the kitchen window for me.  When we had the windows replaced a couple of years ago, I told my mister I didn't want what he was planning on doing in the kitchen.  I knew the frame would raise the window high enough that I couldn't see out any more.....and good enough, that is what happened....sooooo....being in the window and door business and before he retires, I wanted that window changed again.
Now, I can see out....which I really need to do if the girls are out at the pool and I need to run in for something.
But, back to the weather.....I had guild that night and the storm was still around, just not right overhead. 
As I drove to our meeting, there was a huge, and I mean huge...as wide as the 4 lane road, a rainbow.  It looked like the road and rainbow were connected and I could eventually drive up it   Actually it was a double rainbow.  It was so bright it was amazing....and as twilight fell it slowly faded away.  It was a little erie, with one last section still so bright yet darkness all around.

Today is my sweetie's birthday.   66 years young!.  And in 5 months he is going to retire. 
I encouraged him to retire in the spring rather than the fall.  This way he can play golf in a short while and get used to being retired in nice sunny weather rather than in the  gloomy, depressing months of winter.
He can help in the garden, maybe grow some veggies.   His biggest job will be to clean out the garage.  He has so many window samples....they take up a lot of room...and his replacement can have them all. 
But he still has stuff from other jobs he has had....Time to turf it out! 
Ha! I might even be able to park in the garage!
I plan on taking over the space he has in the lower level.  He has had a home-based office for  over 30 years now and there is a lot of stuff to move out of there. When we redid the lower level, I made sure it was wired for both phone lines so I think we just might turn that area into our "computer room".
Anyway, Happy Birthday!

I AM in a funk...I have several friends who are ill... very ill.    My mister's sister has not been well.  She has had back problems....we found out on the weekend that it's cancer and she hasn't long.
The mister was planning a business trip and was going to see her today anyway.  We have been concerned about the fact she didn't seem to be getting better, so he was planning a business trip her way (he always stops to see her).  Now, he is going no matter what....business or not...he is taking the day to see her.  Cancer sucks.

Finally finished with the membership booklets for guild.
I got them printed, then folded and stapled them today.  My arm and wrist are a little sore from the stapling. Good thing I only have to do it once a year.
Now I can concentrate on getting some sewing done.  I still haven't got my sewjo back.  I have the next block all ready to go.  Tonight I am going to get at it if it kills me.
Yesterday I spent some time teaching Courtney to knit. She visited her other granma on the weekend and she also taught her to knit.   Courtney is doing okay!  Her mom bought her some eyelash yarn to knit with and a small ball of cotton yarn from the dollar store.  The eyelash yarn is a kit that included the knitting needles.  I told her "Use the cotton to learn how to knit".  Easier all 'round.

I was reading blogs today and a lot of bloggers are in a tizzy, and rightfully so, about the patterns they have developed being passed off as someone else's, no credit given  or in one case sold in someone else's Etsy store.  I can NOT blame them for being upset.  I try to give credit where credit is due when I post something.
I know how hard it is to keep up a blog... and to develop and provide free patterns and such, is a full time job!
And I am grateful to all those out there in "Bloggerland" that help keep me entertained...THANK YOU TO YOU ALL....Thank you VERY much!
Without you, the internet would be a sad place indeed.

Thanksgiving was a big hit again this year.  We had turkey and ham...and veggies...oh my ...lots of veg...and I cut back a little on the veg.  I didn't cook onions or carrots in with the turkey.  But we had broccoli, cauliflower, 2 kinds of squash, scalloped potatoes, and sweet potatoes......lots of fibre..lol....and lots of carotene(all those orange veg)!.  Cheese sauce for those that wanted it, gravey and cranberry sauce.
This year I got out the tiny slow cooker that I bought for my mother a while back and used it to keep the cheese sauce warm.  It worked like a charm.  I think next holiday, I might use it for gravey....come to think of it ..years ago I gave my mother-in-law an electric gravey boat.  I wonder if I have it?  I will have to find it.  Having the cheese sauce already hot saved me some time at the stove..
And this year, I wanted to be able to socialize with my son's new girlfriend...(really a grown woman).  A very  nice young woman she is too.  All that I care about is that he is happy...
And, oh my...is the oldest granddaughter becoming soooooo mature.....seems like last month she was a little girl and I was walking her to school!

I don't know....I still haven't got my sewjo back.  I am taking a break from writing a daily blog.   It is hard work! 
 Seems like I am not getting things done.
Well, I shouldn't say quite that....my attention has been drawn to something else.
I have been making some cards.   I bought a cuttlebug for embossing and have been spending a whole lotta time on the internet learning about this fab little machine.
I am supposed to be able to cut fabric with it too!.  I have a friend with a Accuquilt, I should have her come over, or I to her and see if her dies are compatible with my machine.  Both the machines are the same concept.
I was thinking of getting a cricut, but it was too expensive...maybe at a later date.   I am finding that I can't get the dies I want locally; I will have to order them on-line.  Probably cheaper too.

Time for a little vacation...so no blog for a couple of weeks