Samhain Shabby Chic

I'm getting the feeling that Samhain is a much busier holiday for me than Yule, the reason being that I am having way too much fun making things! Case in point are the Samhain theme machine embroidered lace bookmarks (pictured above) I made to give as gifts at my annual Witches Tea. I also put a set of three into the shop as well!
I have a friend who's birthday is on Halloween, a holiday which he really loves. This year I decided to make him a rag quilt that he could throw on his sofa for the season. I like designing rag quilts because I think of them as shabby chic, which appeals to a lot of people who would not normally like the country feel of most quilts. This quit is also an easy and fun thing to make! I designed his quilt using a combination of solid and printed squares in order to make it a bit more masculine. I used gray and black as my color themes and was very pleased with the result. So pleased in fact, that I almost didn't want to give it up! I was able to give it to him last week at our Halloween cocktail party so he could enjoy it for the rest of this month. My cat Gypsy enjoyed the quilt while I was trying to take a picture of it. The second picture is the back side of the quilt. If you are interested in making a rag quilt of your own, there are some nice tutorials and ideas at www.favequilts.com that you might enjoy. Happy crafting!

Finally Fall!

The excitement of the coming of Fall starts with Lammas for me. As we start and celebrate the first harvest, I am already anticipating what lies ahead.

October is my favorite month of the year. Although Fall arrives on September 23rd, here in Colorado we see Fall in all of its splendor in the early days of October. We took a ride out to the high country a few weeks ago and took in some of the beautiful scenery in Guenella Pass. I was inspired by the sights and smells of Fall as we hiked and drove through this beautiful area! I couldn't wait to get home and sew and knit Fall things. Although I seek out the beauty in all seasons, it is the dark side of the year that awakens my soul which in turn, fires up my creativity. I want each day to go by as slowly as possible so I can savor each minute.

After taking this photo, we walked across the bridge and hiked along a beautiful trail through the woods

Looking down as you hike along has it's advantages

Autumn leaves tarot cloth close up. The leaves sit in the center of a black cloth