Is it really here?  Already?  Eek.  I think it came kind of fast this year.  I have candy to give out and the kids have costumes.  Jane is a pirate and Kate is a mermaid.  Both costumes are store-bought pieces of junk, but I am okay with that.  I couldn't make them after last year.  Well, I could have thrown a pirate costume together pretty easily, but the picky dresser didn't like that idea.  Kate's costume has already ripped.  Twice.  Oh well.  I am not fixing it again - it seems futile.

I've been sick since Sunday morning.  Monday afternoon it was a confirmed case of strep throat with a sinus infection chaser.  I'm feeling better today, but I am still not up to snuff.  I'm tired and just want to nap.  But I am the second grade room mother, so I have to go run the Halloween Party this afternoon.  Thank goodness we have a Krispy Kreme nearby.  The thought of making cupcakes really wears me out.  I wish I could find a good, age appropriate, short video for the kids to watch because playing GHOST bingo sounds like a lot of work, too.    But then again, I have the bingo game and I don't have the video.  I guess bingo wins.

On a brighter note, Jane brought home this drawing.  It made me smile.

Off to stuff goody bags (oh joy!) and then work up the energy to take a shower.  Maybe after school I will feel well enough to carve pumpkins.  Then again, no one has asked about doing that so I may not bring it up.  Yes, I am feeling like a bad mom.

Enough grumbling.  Hope your Halloween is safe and full of fun.  And candy - lots of candy.  Hey, I think a bite of chocolate might be just what the doctor ordered.  Now where did I put it?

Last week I received a great package from Linda, who organized the Patchwork Swap.  When I found out that Linda was sending her swap package to me, I got very excited.  I knew it would be wonderful.  Boy, oh boy, was I right!

Look at all these gorgeous fabric scraps!  Lucky, lucky me.

Then there was this house.  Can you even believe that?  It so perfect for me.  A house!  The idea was definitely inspired - every little detail from the window to the colors is perfect.  I have it hanging over the kitchen sink, right next to the model pick-up.  It fits the spot perfectly and I love that I see it many times each day.  Here's a little closer view:

Thanks for putting together a great package and a great swap Linda!  You rock!

I'm a bit under the weather today so just some quick photos as promised on Friday.

I found the perfect basket - it once held fruit and more recently, a bunch of squash.  I got my copy of Bend the Rules Sewing out and started working.

I traced the bottom and added a couple inches all the way around as a pattern.  I made a pillow insert out of flannel and poly fill.  Then I took the found fabric and made a cover.  The back side opens - I used hook and loop tape for my closure.  It fit the basket well and looked comfy, but it still wasn't quite right.

A couple of coats of black spray paint later, I had a cat bed.

Much better.  It looks great in the kitchen - the green matches the walls perfectly.  Now if Scout would just use it...

The closet in our mudroom is under a staircase and while it isn't huge, part of it is just hard to get at.  While rooting around in there searching for soccer shin guards, I came across a big plastic garbage bag way in the back.  I could not remember what was in it.  I opened it and gasped.

About this time last year, I found this love seat slipcover and matching scraps at a local antique mall.  I don't remember exactly how much I paid for it - about $20, I'd guess.  I didn't buy it for a specific purpose - I just loved the fabric.  I love everything about it - the color, the pattern, the images, the scale.  I don't think I went through the bag thoroughly, either.  I brought it home and threw it on the mudroom floor.  It sat there for a few weeks and then I must have shoved it in the closet. 

Fast forward eleven or so months and I am falling in love all over again.  The slipcover itself is in bad shape - stained and really worn.  I think I might try Retro Clean.  What do you think Carrie?  Anyone have any other ideas?  The scraps are pristine.  Some of them are large enough to make pillows.  Yes, pillows!  Some are much smaller - good for little items and maybe some patchwork.  The possibilities are making me giddy.

Back on Monday with a completed project using this fabric.  Yes, I already cut into it.

Took Scout to be spayed and declawed.

Thinking she might need a cat bed when she comes home tomorrow.

Got a massage.  Apparently I needed one.  I was very tense.

Worked for a couple hours at the stationery store.

Went fabric shopping.  Bought too much.

Came home for 15 minutes, ate soup and read blogs.

Knitted in the car.

Made snacks and supervised homework.

Found forgotten treasure in mudroom closet (more on that tomorrow).

Contemplating assembly line sewing projects.

Wondering if I could run a half marathon.

Meeting girlfriends for dinner.

A very good Thursday.

For me, one of the beauties of blogging is the connections I have made with people I otherwise would not know.  I see it like having a bevy of pen pals.  I correspond with people in my own town, the next state over, on the other side of the country and across the world. The only difference is that with technology the letters arrive electronically and at lightening quick speed.

When Fatty and I planned our trip to New York this past summer, I was looking forward to meeting Susan and Julie.  Now, wouldn't you know, they both up and moved before I got there.   Oh well.  Susan is in now living in one of the Portlands, both of which are on our list of places to go.  And Julie is in Chapel Hill, NC which is somewhere we actually do go.  Hooray!

So, on Saturday morning, accompanied by my sister-in-law Heather and baby Kenan, I met Julie for coffee.  What a treat!  We sat and chatted for over an hour about all kinds of things.

I couldn't show up empty handed so I made Julie her very own coffee, or tea as the case may be, cozy.  The color scheme was inspired by this shirt that she made for herself.  I couldn't find that Amy Butler print in my studio (I own it, but the studio's quite a mess and that really deserves a post of its own), so I used one that has a similar feel.

I embroidered her name on it, too.  I chose a running stitch because it is fast (yes, this falls into the last-minute category).  As I finished, I wished I would have taken the time to back stitch or split stitch it so it would show up better on the corduroy.  It is subtle, though, and I do like that.

I didn't leave with empty hands, either.  Julie gave me some sweet Japanese fabric (a whole generous yard!) and green vintage buttons!

Julie, I am so happy I had the chance to meet you in person!  You are just as friendly, kind and thoughtful as I had imagined.  Thanks for the quilt store tip - it was a good one.  I bought a few yards (imagine that!).  Tell Bobby I look forward to seeing him and his sweater in action!

For Baby Kenan, I appliqued some Heather Ross dogs onto burp cloths.  I made a similar set for our other new nephew, Declan.  The ginghams and stripes are out of the scrap pile.  Gotta love that!

I also made an appliqued elephant t-shirt for our nephew Finn's 3rd birthday.

I copied the elephant from some Japanese fabric I had in the stash.  I wanted to make the original fabric a patch, kind of like the burp cloths, but it just didn't look right.   Really, it was bad.  So I took the original fabric and blew it up on the copier and then traced it onto scraps.  This guy is much better.

Best of all, both of these projects took very little time.  And very little material.  I bought the cloth diapers and the t-shirt, but the rest was on hand.  In fact, I keep cloth diapers and various sized t-shirts on hand, too.  You never know when you might need to whip up a fast gift.  For me, that happens rather often.  Most people call that procrastinating.  Well, ok, maybe so.  But humor me.  Please?  Doesn't fast crafting sounds a whole lot better?  It does?  Phew!  I thought so.

We returned home last night from a visit to see family in North Carolina.  In the two days we were there, we celebrated one nephew's birthday and another's baptism.  One suitcase was full of gifts, a few of which I made.

I knitted a sweater for our new nephew and godson, Kenan.

Pattern:  Child's Placket Neck Sweater from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton (about 1 1/2 skeins for size 0-6 months)
Needles:  Size 6 bamboo 16" circular and double points
Modifications:  None
Notes:  My copy of the book has the updated pattern so I did not encounter any problems at all.  There is a corrected pattern here.  I knit it up and weaved in all ends in 7 hours and 50 minutes (not all in one sitting) - sewing the buttons on put me over the 8 hour mark.   I thought it was a fast and satisfying knit - I will probably make it again.

OK, off to make a meal plan, pay the bills and tackle the laundry.  Have a great day.