It's a BOO-tiful morning!

IT'S COOL OUTSIDE!  I felt like pulling a Julie Andrews this morning as I took in deep, chilly breaths.  True, we're supposed to be back in the upper 70s in a few days, but this morning it was in the thirties.  At last, at long last!  The hills are alive!!

The leaves, too!  I'm loving the colors that we're finally, finally starting to see.

Our dogwoods are showing the most change...

...but most trees are just barely tipped in color.

Todd and I were finally able to sit comfortably by the pond and watch the rain.  Yes, it rained (insert another Julie Andrews spin here)!

It's so nice to be outside again, checking out interesting fungus...

...and watching the insects!  Here is a syphid fly, a bee mimic.

Acorns are falling like crazy...maybe even more than last year! 

I'm keeping a very close eye on our camellias.  They've got some beautiful buds...maybe we're within a couple of weeks of full bloom!

Our early bloomers are already popping!

Meanwhile, our cats are falling into their regular cooler-weather rhythm.  Seeking out sunbeams...

...and, when the heat is on, sleeping on the registers under the couch to maximize their comfort.

It's nearly Halloween!  I ordered our cards...

...and baked Oreos.

Our scary movie marathon has already begun!  Hooray!

I have been trying to knit, but it is just killing my hands.  I finally switched back to Portuguese mid-sock, but it's slow going.  I think I should finally have these socks done within 2 weeks.  I've been doing my usual sampler quilt project, trying to complete one block per day.

And, I started a new quilt.  I know, I know.  I have a queen-sized quilt waiting to be sandwiched and quilted, plus this sampler quilt.  But here's how the rabbit hole of quilting goes.  I got an email from a fabric store, indicating that the fabric I bought recently...

...had gone on sale.  Hmmm.  I'd bought a pre-cut lot (half yard, I think) and had no idea what I was going to do with it, but maybe I ought to take advantage of this sale?  What if I needed sashing?  Binding? Quick, pick a quilt design, just to see if I had enough fabric or might need a little more.

This is perfect.   Four fabric patterns per 12 inch block.  I have 20 different fabrics in my pre-cut bundle, which equals out to five different color combinations.  The block is simple enough, and would show off the fabric well.

Maybe I ought to just make one to see how it looks...

Before I knew it, the whole first row was done and I was cutting up the fabric for the second row!  It will be mix-and-match...seven blocks of each color combination of four, plus there's enough leftover fabric from each color combo to create a few random ones.  I didn't intend to start another quilt, but I did, and now I'm alternating one sampler block with one welcome block.  I never did take advantage of that sale, either.  I'll just see how it looks once all the blocks are completed.  I LOVE the peach, navy, and cream color combination, and this fabric has birds, feathers, and flowers.  Love!!  It will be a great winter project. 

Happy Halloween!

cookie dough and color woe

Twice in one week is kind of a cookie record for me, since I don't bake as much any more, but I couldn't resist these no-fail pumpkin snickerdoodles.

I replaced the white chocolate with cinnamon chips (of course) and they are officially my go-to snickerdoodle now (which might sound dramatic, but I have collected over 20 recipes for snickerdoodles alone, so being able to simplify my life here is very pleasing!).  I just ordered Sally's new cookbook and think that I'll be baking cookies again this week. 

I've been sewing quite a bit.  I've started on my Farm Girl Vintage Sampler quilt and have put together four squares so far.

I continue to struggle with color choices.  I was thinking, "Bright, bright!" with gritted teeth and put together the upper left block, which has a pop of red, but wouldn't exactly be considered colorful.  I'm more pleased with the stacked bowls and chick (embroidered legs forthcoming!), but I'm going to have to toss the block on the lower right.  The pink tulips look annoyingly like leopard print from a distance, the center pinwheel doesn't "pop," and the frame around it fades into the background.  I've remade two squares three times, which might sound insane overly careful, but I really want to push myself to work with color and make squares that go together, even though a wide variety of fabrics are being used.  I spent hours this weekend tidying/organizing some "bright!  bright!" scrap fabric into mix-and-match piles...

...and hopefully it will become intuitive by the end.  I have gotten pretty good at something I used to struggle with:  fixing mistakes.

Here, a piece of fabric was probably accidentally sliced, then frayed.

I'm a perfectionist, but there's no way I was going to pull out that green piece and try to re-sew it accurately, or toss the block altogether.  I cut a piece of matching fabric, folded it, and pinned it over the mistake.

I used clear thread and whip-stitched the edges.  It took about 5 minutes to do three sides.  Then I sewed this half of the block to another one, and the "fix" basically disappears.  All you see is matching fabric.  Once this is quilted, it will be even harder to see.  Hooray for quick and easy fixes!

Other than work and sewing like a maniac, I've been enjoying the cooler weather.  We've had a resurgence of gardenias:

More beautiful fungus:

Actually, I'm not sure what that bottom one is...an insect gall, maybe?

Pretty seed pods:

Berries...

...and more abandoned webs.

I've been growing cat grass in our sunny window.  This is FIVE DAYS OF GROWTH...from seed!

Bosewichte loves it.  He sits on the kitchen rug and waits politely for me to notice and bring the pot down to his level.  It's a nice treat for him and keeps him out of my house plants.  Tabitha isn't interested, though.  She's more interested in sleeping than eating!

Have a great week!