"What Have I Been Up To" You Ask......

I know I have mentioned that I love autumn more than a few times. I also love sewing, but I am not the kind of sewer who can "wing it". I need a pattern. But, alas, that has not been the type of sewing I have been asked to do of late.

Things began with my daughter asking me to do some sewing for her new home. It started out as simple panels for the LR and DR windows but somehow became lined drapes - and almost lined pinch pleats except that she didn't buy enough fabric for them-whew!!! I think the reason I like pattern sewing is that someone else has already done all of the pre-thought and measuring. I am not much of a pre-planner. I like to dive right in and it has gotten me several times. Luckily for me, I am also a pretty good jerry-rigger so I can get myself out of most fixes I get into.

This Halloween, NOT ONE of the six costumes I made were made straight from a pattern and four of them actually had to be completely designed from scratch and the other two tweaked and changed  a lot - could be why I ended up sewing my finger into the machine and needing a trip to the doctor's office but that will be for another post-ha-ha.

 

In any case, I made the panels for both rooms, taffeta curtains, pillow shams, dust ruffle, a pillow and throw for Presley's room and throw pillows for the boys' beds. Think they all turned out pretty nicely.

It seems like October is also the month of observations and play-off tournaments for all sports.

Grand daughter Morgan (lower left) plays for Howard Bishop Middle School and they won 2nd place in the county play-offs.

Grand daughter Hannah (#4-second from top right) plays on the varsity team at Eastside H.S. and they won their district championship and are on their way to regionals.

Then we go to this little munchkin. Presley is only 3 years old, so this is her first year of dance. Her class is tap/ballet/gymnastics and she loves it. She is the youngest in the class but oh so serious about it. It was so cute to see her concentrating on her "spot" on the floor and heel/toe, etc. Simply can't wait for her recital! I love the recitals as the girls get older and their skill levels get better and better. A good dancer is a beautiful thing to watch...but, I have to admit, I LOVE watching the littlest ones on stage. Nothing better than them bumping into each other or having one completely take over and tell everyone else where to go. This group was just told that they are going to be sea creatures in the June recital-can't wait!

And finally, we got to watch Caitlin perform with the Devilettes at the St. Pete H.S. game. This is a varsity squad and since Caitlin is only a freshman, we are so proud of her.

 A few random Halloween pictures. Here is the fireplace in the sunroom. Just a bag of bones from Wal-Mart and a few extra body parts I had laying around. So simple yet it looks fantastic when it is lit at night!

Here is a picture of the lighting idea I stole borrowed from my oldest daughter. It is really hard to see here, but I took off the shades and replaced the regular bulbs with flicker light bulbs from Home Depot. Even though they are clear, they "read" as orange when lit and give the room an eery ambiance-love it!

 
 And here is my favorite surprise of the holiday. My cousin knows how much I love Bethany Lowe so when she found a picture of this pillow in her file, she replicated it as a gift for me. I love the pillow so much but the fact that she spent so much of her time making me something she knew I would love truly humbles me. Thanks again Diane. I will cherish this gift always...and look how at home it looks nestled on the bench by the front door.

We still have Halloween at Nana & Papa's house, pumpkin patch, costume party, school party and trick-or-treating to go. So, you see what I have been up to but I wouldn't trade a second of it. Love all of the craziness that goes with this family. Stay tuned-there will be more.