Alone again

Mr. P and the OnlyChild are away for a couple of days. The house is quiet... too quiet. I thought this would be a good time for me to get some things done and spend some uninterrupted time sewing with Bernice.

But it was not to be.

I've had a migraine since about lunch time yesterday and it's really starting to get me down. I've been absolutely useless, with no attention span and a slightly nauseated feeling in my stomach. I took a painkiller but, apparently, you have to take the pill when you feel the headache coming on, not 30 hours later! It doesn't do much good then.

Abby and Derby are missing the family, especially Mr. P with whom they like to snuggle on the couch. I made up a little 'bed' in my sewing room so they could join me up here.

They look pretty sad, don't they?

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Every time they hear a noise, they jump up and run downstairs 'ruffing' - you know, that silly half-bark, a bark with no commitment. It's giving me the willies. I like being alone, but not for any length of time.

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Ahhh... maybe I should just call it a night.

November already?

So... October is over, done, put away for another year. And I just got around to putting out some Fall-ish decorations... last night. While I was waiting for the trick or treaters to arrive, I realized that my house looked decidedly un-Hallowe'eny so I dug out my cute little pumpkin bowls and placed them on the table in the front hall. I'm going to leave them out until it's time to decorate for Christmas, I think.



And speaking of trick or treaters, we had 24 last night - all very polite and all dressed in costume. I know this, not because I counted them as they arrived at the door, but because we had a box of 24 bag of cheezies which were given out with a handful of other gooey, sugary stuff. When the last two had left, the box was empty, but the huge bowl of chocolate, licorice and candies was still half-full. Waaaay too much candy! It's not staying in my house... oh no! Mr. P. will have to take it to work and put it in his desk!

Well, some of it can go to the recipient of this little purse that the OnlyChild asked me to make as a prize for the school's Hallowe'en festivities. I got the idea from Sharon's tutorial. She made zippered bags out of towels, but I just reduced the size and made a little change purse. I've made a few of these before. Quick and easy!
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Now that Hallowe'en is over, I am in the Christmas spirit. Suprised? Me too. I never feel Christmassy this early in the year. Yesterday the OnlyChild volunteered at a fundraiser for the Youth Emergency Shelter. It was held at Salisbury Greenhouse east of the city. She phoned me about an hour before she was finished and said that I just HAD to go with her father when he picked her up because the greenhouse had all its Christmas decorations, ornaments, etc. up already. It was gorgeous! Of course, I didn't have my camera.

Then this afternoon I met my friend Anne for a coffee-and-marking session at a Starbucks on Whyte Avenue. This is a trendy district near the university with lots of neat shops and cafes. After our marking (which was mostly chatting), she went home and I spent half an hour browsing in a couple of stores.

I found this for the OnlyChild:


How cute is that?! She loves it. Yes, I already gave it to her, even though it's a Christmas tree ornament. I couldn't wait. The OnlyChild and I have not been getting along very well lately - what else is new? We've tried to stay out of each other's way. Even when she annoys me supremely, she still needs to know she's loved, and what better way to show love than with a pretty, pink-frosted cupcake, of the non-edible variety?

And... what else have I been up to this weekend? Yesterday was spent cleaning and then sewing. I played some more with the Swanky jelly roll from a couple of weekends ago. I used the Old Red Barn Co. pattern from their summer Quilt-Along, making my blocks 10.5" square. So far, I'm loving this quilt. I have all the blocks sewn together (not in this photo). It will be a lap quilt for the OnlyChild's best friend (for Christmas, of course). She's been hinting madly for me to make her a quilt for a number of years, even suggesting that she pay me. I wouldn't take money for a quilt. I only make things for people I like, and on my terms!

I've been trying hard to set aside a little bit of time each weekend to work on projects and do the things I love. Last night, while waiting for trick or treaters and watching a movie with Mr. P, I finished my little knitting project (with the bamboo yarn) and I'm making progress on this quilt. There are a few other projects I want to do in time for Christmas, and I think if I continue to be efficient with my time and nothing goes awry at work, I'll be able to get things done. That makes me quite happy.

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(Can you believe it's November? Yikes! )

BOO!

I love Hallowe'en. I think it's so much fun to dress up as somebody (or something) else for one day out of the year.

Derby and Abby don't agree.

I made this little clown costume for Abby when she was just a pup, so 9 years ago. At the time, she let me put it on her just long enough to take a few photos. Nothing's changed. When the OnlyChild dressed her up in the same costume for pictures this year, she barely tolerated it.

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We'd never take the dogs out in public dressed like this - we wouldn't want to embarrass them - but putting a hat on them is cute for photos... I don't know why they hate dressing up so much.
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Like I said, I love it!

I made this costume for Hallowe'en four years ago and this is the first year since then that I've been able to do it up. It fit quite nicely, although it's definitely not the most comfortable outfit. I put the headpiece together in about 30 minutes the other night, since that was all the time I had. It's not great, but it served the purpose.

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Can you guess who I'm supposed to be? Want some hints?

• Wife of a king
• Died in 1536
• Beheaded by sword by a French executioner
• Rumoured to be a witch and an adultress

Do you dress up for Hallowe'en?
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Enter to Win!

Wow - you won't believe your eyes! Jackie at Canton Village Quilt Works is having a giveaway. Here is just one of the five, yes FIVE, prizes she is offering.

There are already tons of entries for this wonderful loot. Oh, but it's so worth it!
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Show Off and Tell

Over the weekend, I had - I mean, made - a bit of time to work on some projects.

Some knitting... using this beautiful bamboo yarn. It's a lovely, soft sage-green colour (which is not showing up well in the photograph). I'm almost finished this project, just a few more rows to go!

And I quilted a quilt top Saturday afternoon. In the evening I started sewing down the binding.

Using the handy caddy that Sharon's hunka made for me (I love it, Sharon!) and the pincushion that Regena sent me for my birthday (it's so beautiful, I can hardly stand to put a needle in it so I still use a box for my pins).

Here's another little peek at the quilt. I can't show it all to you just yet... be patient. I will reveal all soon. (Don't you hate it when people do that?)

Okay... just one more little peek at it:

Some of you wondered how I get so much done. HA! Let's be serious, girls. This quilt top took me over a year to put together. I was yapping about it when I started my blog last January. It's only because I was under a deadline that I finally finished it. And, believe me, other things suffer every time I choose to sit at my sewing machine. For example, the course I'm taking has taken a back seat to just about every thing else in my life.
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I devote so little time to sewing and other activities and so much time to my job. It gives me a panicky feeling inside when I think about how much work I have to do and how much sewing and quilting I'd rather be doing! Do any of you feel that way, too?

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I have about an hour now to make a headpiece to go with my Halloween costume. More on that later...

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A DerbyDog Morning

Instead of going to the gym this morning, I decided to take DerbyDog for a nice walk in the River Valley. It's only a couple of blocks from our house and it was a beautiful morning, so off we went...

I tried to focus on the small view, like Stacy did, but the only small thing I took notice of was my little pup.

He's so very handsome.

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Look at that blue sky! You wouldn't know that two weeks ago, we were covered in snow here.

Everybody and their dogs were out walking. Derby doesn't do well with other dogs so the nice, relaxing walk turned into a frustrating experience. Lots of people allow their dogs to go off-leash on the walking paths. I realize that many dogs are well-behaved, gentle creatures. I envy people who have well-behaved, gentle dogs. Derby is not one of those; he's a crazy Jack Russell Terrorist.

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However, even if you have the best dog in the world, you still have to be sure that he or she will come back when called and will not jump at other animals and people. Some of these people mosey along and their dog is 20 yards in front or behind them. They have no idea where that animal is, nor do they know what's around the next corner.

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A couple of times, dogs came running at Derby (just trying to be friendly, I'm sure) and he went loco, barking and lunging. The owners weren't quick enough to get their dogs back before the insanity started. They should be paying attention and snap that leash on when they see another dog.
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After about an hour, I decided to just take Derby home.
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The walk along the streets back to our house was uneventful... we met no other dogs.
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Now Derby's all tuckered out and is taking a nap on the couch. Me, I'm about to get to work.

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Some marking... some planning... a learning guide to finish writing and to format. Then the fun stuff... I'll show and tell later.

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Finished!

• Another knitted project (trying to be cryptic here so I don't give too much info away)
• A quilt top and the backing. I'm going to pin it after work tomorrow. I like to use the classroom floors to lay out my quilts rather than do them on the hardwood at home. That would be a disaster! Hopefully by the end of the weekend I'll have an update on this saying that I'm finished the whole quilt, finally.
• Most of the marking that came in today - and tomorrow is a PD day so no kids at school!
• My very good book The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb. I'm so sad it's done. Now what am I going to read...?

Some finishes are good; others not so much.

This week brought good mail! I received two cards from my ATC swap group. Our theme was "The Witching Hour."

The one on the left is from Stacy; the right hand card is from Cory. I think they're so beautiful!

And here are the cards I sent out for October. I made two different styles this month because I wanted to try both the witch stamp and the spider web.

Well, I think I'm also finished with this day. It's time for me to go to bed!

Night night.

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