Halloween Hauntings

Tomorrow we will be welcoming Autumn, shorter days and cooler temps. The last of the dahlia’s have bloomed in my garden. The garden centers are filled with Mums and the grocery store shelves are filled with everything pumpkin spice. I hate to see summer leave but welcome fall with open arms and a rake for leaves. It is almost impossible to realize that this new season has arrived, it happened so quickly. I feel like just yesterday I was raking leaves and filling bins with garden debris. Are you feeling the same way?

Lots going on in the craft room and as you may know I have been working on cross-stitch Christmas cards and a Christmas quilt but I’m also working on some Halloween themed journals and journal holiday cards for gift giving. I do have a few extra for sale so if your at all interested let me know asap because it will be Thanksgiving before you realize it 🙂

Below is a sneak peek at some of whats been created

The sweet kitty cat Halloween side pocket cards are made from printables from one of my favorite creators. You can find her on Etsy under pixiedustfiles. These cards can be given alone or used in a journal. And boy did I score at the thrift store with these black ballet toe shoes. They will be going to one of my daughters for her October birthday and for her Halloween decorations. (She was a ballet dancer as young girl up until her late teens and I think these make a special gift)

This next group of photo’s is from a 2 ring journal I have been working on.

From pink sweet halloween hauntings, I’ve gone a bit spookier using the traditional black and orange. The middle is a side pocket card and the other two are front pocket cards. I’ve loaded the pockets with vintage ephemera with lots of space for journaling on the back. Sari silk, crinoline and fabric ribbons to spice them up.

The background for these cards are pages from a fabulous vintage book entitled Lettering by Herman Degering, 1965. The book is modes of writing from antiquity to the end of the 18th century. I’ll leave you with this last grouping of cards. Thank you for visiting with me today ~ bundle up and go out and enjoy!

HQAL: Pinwheel Christmas Lap Quilt

Morning from the northwest corner of the states where a lap quilt is needed now in the early mornings but I wont be using this one.

Time for our 3 week check in and update with little to report on progress with her. I am still in a quandary on what I want to do regarding thread color. If I used gold thread on the gold pin wheels it would show on the dark green backing which I do not want. However, looking at her now, using the same green thread might not look bad after all. Regardless —-

I forgot all about the other Christmas lap quilt I wanted to start, you may remember it. I had put the fabric aside along with my memory as well.

I began another smaller quilting project. I had some fabric that I had been wanting to use. I decided to make it into a slow stitch quilted wall hanging, divided the fabric into 4 equal panels, sashed them together …. well here it is

I have been working on the bottom left panel. I love the little houses which remind me of the Trulli houses of the Puglia region in Italy (where my paternal side of the family is from)

I have been following quite of few slow stitchers on instagram which got me visualizing this project. Their work is so inspiring as well as our slow stitchers in this group. I don’t remember ever doing anything like this so I thought … why not. (If you are on instagram you can find me under nwpaintedlady – sharon civitano – I’d love to follow you along too)

Now I am off to check in with the others in the HQAL. Please join me by clicking on the links below, there are some amazing projects in the works.

But before I leave you, my faithful companion in the craft room ~ Skye Rizzi ~ sporting her morning bed head hairdo before grooming begins! (I couldn’t resist)

Thank you for visiting with me today ~

Hand Quilt Along Links

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another. If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

Kathy, Margaret, Deb, Nanette, Sharon, Karrin, Daisy, and Connie

SAL: Christmas Card X-Stitch Update

At our last posting I was working on the last of 4 in a set of vintage Current Christmas cards. Here was my progress, a great start.

I am finding 3 weeks is the perfect amount of time for me to get a card done. Here is the finished product

Such a cute set

Next I will moving on to the 2nd set of 4 that I purchased off of eBay. It’s another sweet set however, I may switch off to something else Christmasy. In the meantime these cards are calling to be worked. If I had to pick a favorite, I think it would have to be the mouse in the candy jar.

Now I am off to check in with the others in this SAL. Please join me by clicking on the links below, there are some amazing projects in the works.

Thank you for visiting with me today ~ love and light

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan,

Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Helen, Cindy, MaryMargaret