Fall

HELLO MR. TURKEY - (Sung to "If You're Happy and You Know It)
Hello Mr. Turkey how are you? - (wave)
Hello Mr. Turkey how are you? - (wave)
With a gobble, gobble, gobble, - (make hand a gobbling beak)
And a waddle, waddle, waddle, - (squat down and shake your bum - kids LOVE this part)
Hello, Mr. Turkey how are you? - wave

Need I say more?

Introducing our Thanksgiving Turkey Applique Block. This applique was made to fit a 6" x 6" block but it can be enlarged or reduced to meet your needs. The pattern for our Thanksgiving Turkey can be found HERE or with our FREE appliques. Enjoy! Or "Gobble!" in turkey.

Grandpa John was a "mushroomer". Now, I'm sure there is some specific term for those individuals lured into the forest to track down and harvest wild mushrooms, but I don't know it. Frankly, our family just called it "crazy". It's not that we didn't love mushrooms. We had them in gravies and on pizza, and sauteed with onions and butter, which we slathered over steak. Personally, I'd put mushrooms in my oatmeal if it didn't gross out the people eating with me! But my parents and Grandma Pearl did not trust Grandpa's ability to discern between edible mushrooms and those that would envoke certain death. 

So, for Grandpa John, "mushrooming" was a solitary event. He'd go off into the forest, pushing fallen leaves around with a long stick, until he unearthed the prize he sought. The only time I'd ever seen Grandpa John cook anything, was on his return treks from the forest, when he jubilantly displayed his booty. Because Grandma Pearl was always certain that the mushrooms he collected were poison, and she had no intention of assisting a suicide, she'd stand back, with her arms crossed, as Grandpa washed his mushrooms, sliced some onion, and sauteed them in liberal amounts of butter. The aroma was intoxicating. I longed to join Grandpa John, as he sat down at the table, consuming forkful after forkful of his potentially life robbing delicacy. 

And, after surviving yet another "mushrooming" experience, Grandma Pearl would always say, "You were lucky this time, John". And, as Grandpa John made his way to his Lazy Boy recliner, to nap after a morning in the woods and a sated belly, he'd smile. I was never sure if the smile was for the euphoric gastronomic experience he just had or if he, in some small part, didn't believe he had robbed death, yet again!

At this time of year, when the forests smell woodsy and damp, I think of Grandpa John and his jaunts into the forest, looking for edible mushrooms... and I hope there are tons of wild mushrooms in Heaven!

As always, this Woodland Mushroom Applique Block was made to fit a 6" x 6" block, but can be enlarged or reduced to meet your needs. Directions for the Woodland Mushroom Applique Block can be found HERE or with our FREE Appliques. Enjoy (Grandpa John!)

Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go! And you certainly don't want to go empty handed. So, you make a lovely gift to bring along... say, our Wool Penny Coasters or a set of three autumn colored Knit Basket Weave Dishcloths. Now, to wrap them. There is no reason why your packaging should be any less beautiful than the gift you bring, or any less homemade!

This morning we got a last minute invite for dinner at friends. I wanted to bring them a little something, so I hit the cupboard, and grabbed a set of the Wool Penny Coasters. (Note to self... make a new set to replace these. Always nice to have a stash of last minute gifts.) But I wanted to wrap the gift to reflect the season and give it that handmade goodness. It also needed to be done with supplies I had on hand. So, I hit our stash of brown paper bags, (we use reusable grocery bags, but I occasionally brown bag it so I have a few on hand for recycling newspapers and crafting. Anyway...) grabbed a few other things out of the crafting room, and threw together this gift wrap. For you non-sewers, the only sewing done on this was tacking the ribbons and flower on the package. If you really have an aversion to needle and thread, you can hot glue it to the package. Sorry, but you'll have to at least sew the button on!

Directions for Wrapping a Fall Gift, lovely enough to take to grandmas, can be found HERE, or with our FREE Patterns. Enjoy!

I don't know about anyone else, but this time of year poses a real problem for me. Every fiber of my being wants to embrace Christmas. I want to listen to Dean Martin singing "Baby, It's Cold Outside" and on that same note, lame as it is, I want to watch Will Ferrell's "Elf". I want to pack away all my Thanksgiving decorations with the Halloween ones, and start sneaking out stars and angels, evergreens and mangers. I want the absolutely joy instilling, peace invoking feeling of the Christmas season!

But, I stop myself. Although the Christmas Season officially opens for me when the last vestiges of our Annual Pumpkin Carving Party are  packed away, I've learned from experience, that if I pull out Christmas too soon, including the music, the Holiday itself can feel anti-climatic. Also, if not EVERYONE in your family has the same obsession with Christmas, they are apt to mutiny, and throw you, and all the Christmas trimmings overboard before Thanksgiving!

So, I've learned to bide my time. One of the ways to combat my impulses, is to throw in at least a couple more Thanksgiving and autumn crafts during the month of November. They can't be anything too big, because I AM crafting for Christmas, but it does help keep me in the moment. To that end, I'd like to share an applique block that I totally and completely love! Our Cattail Applique Block is more detailed than many of our other applique blocks, but it is fun to make and absolutely beautiful when completed. As always, it was made to fit a 6" x 6" block, but can be reduced or enlarged to meet your needs. The pattern for the Cattails Applique Block can be found HERE or with our FREE Applique Patterns. Enjoy... and if Christmas is tugging at your heartstrings, focus on Giving Thanks for the next few weeks!

NOTE: The stitch on the cattail stem is called a whipped stem stitch. It is not in our glossary yet but to make one... embroider a stem stitch first using 6 strands of floss. When you are done, whip stitch over the stem stitch, using 6 strands of floss, without going through the fabric below. Basically, you are wrapping the stem stitch. Michelle will include this stitch in our glossary later!