Happy Halloween!

Thanks, Uncle Dale! We had fun with these!

Whoa... I'm really running late today! Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I spent the morning at the dentist getting fitted for a crown. Yeah, I'm going to be a queen! Ha! Anyway, it was lotsa fun. Okay, not so much. But I was extremely impressed with their state-of-the-art equipment! For real! I didn't know they could make impressions without sticking goop in your mouth. All done by computers... amazing!

Then I no more than got home, and a repairman showed up to fix our water softener which refused to finish regenerating. He no more than left than a stove repairman called to see if he could come out in the next few minutes, so he did that. My oven decided to lock me out, y'see. Lotsa repairs needed around here, including these aging teeth! Ha! But nice to get so many things done up at once! Now we'll await the bills.....

Well, it's getting close to the trick-or-treating hour. I'm expecting one awfully cute little trick-or-treater. Can't wait. I'll show you pics tomorrow.

Meanwhile, enjoy these lovely pics I took last night, and imagine witches and goblins out and about. ;)

(Click photos to enlarge.)

Snow?

Great big puffy flakes?

Umm.... NO! Not snow, thank goodness!

Those big puffy 'things' are from here:

Yes, milkweed seeds. So pretty!

Here's what they look like packed neatly together in the pod:

They just seem to explode out and go flying everywhere on the breeze.

This next one's my favorite. Like how shiny it is in the sun?

And then an assistant showed up for the photo shoot.

His sister came, too. To give you a little size perspective, I guess. ;)

Thanks Hairry and Princess!

(Click any photo to enlarge.)

Apron in action

Okay, my model had to get a little silliness out of the way first. ;)

Then we had to test out the apron. Pudding seemed a quick, easy choice for the trial run. Turn up your volume and enjoy.

Courtney had gotten in a hurry to tear open the package, so it didn't pour quite like she needed it to. I had to stop the camera and help out a bit.

She took off the apron while the pudding was cooking, and I guess we forgot to put it back on! :) Anyway, it worked well, and it even saved her from getting some of the pudding powder on her shirt when she was opening the package. Just what an apron is for!

After pouring the pudding into the bowls (done by Grandma)... well, you know what we do then!

We decided some chocolate chips would be a good addition to the pudding.

Voila!

Oops, not quite enough. Just a few more.....

Courtney enjoyed her pudding at snack time, and Grandpa and I ate ours for dessert for supper. Yum! And the apron tested out just fine! ;)

Little Things to Sew - Bias-trimmed Apron

Here's my next project for the Oliver + S Little Things to Sew sew-along. As my post title says, it's a bias-trimmed apron. It has lots of bias trim, something I haven't done much of before. It was pretty easy, though, and good practice. And kinda fun.

It has a pocket on each side:

(Yes, LiEr... I DID!)

(But not on the back.)

Here's my happy little model:

It was easy and fun to make, and I love how it turned out. The fabric is by... you guessed it... Jessica Jones! It's 'Tulip' from the Dawn colorway of her Outside Oslo collection.

Courtney gave the apron a little test-run today. We already have enough pics on this post, so come back tomorrow (hopefully) to see it in action!

Update: I've come across a blog that does a Sew & Tell every Friday. Click the link to add your own project or see other creative things people have made this past week!

Has anyone noticed....

Well, anyone around here, at least... the absence of these little critters?

(Photo from Wikipedia)

They are Asian beetles, imported to control aphids on soybean plants. They were so thick for a few years that they were a terrible annoyance.

These first three pics are from 2002. They were all over the outside of our house....

... and the windows:

Once the beans were combined, the beetles appeared everywhere, including inside the house!

And they were thick!

I took the next three photos in 2005. These were on our machine shed:

Sorry for the poor quality of the photos. The pics were taken with my old camera and had also been resized. But you get the idea.

The good news is.... I can count on two hands (maybe even one) the number of the beetles I've seen this year! WOOHOO!! Since they weren't doing a good enough job on the aphids, farmers have used crop duster planes the last few years to spray the soybeans, and it appears that the spray has also finally eliminated the beetles. What a relief to be rid of the stinky bugs. Yes, stinky. They had a real odor if you squished them. You could even smell them in the garage after they'd died. They ruined the loveliness of fall, because they were so thick in the air and they landed on you when you went outside. They also bit sometimes. And left spots on any laundry you might have hung on the line.

Needless to say, I AM HAPPY to see the end of them!!

Next up

Here's a peek at part of my next sewing project:

It's 3/8" double-fold bias seam tape. Five yards of it. I made it. Without the use of a bias tape maker. Not a hard job... just cut some strips of fabric on the bias and press it... but it does take a long time to press those folds in there.

The rest of the project should go pretty fast (where have you heard that before?!). I plan to finish it this weekend, if not today. Unfortunately, I won't be able to show it to you till sometime Tuesday, because I need my little assistant to help me with the photos. ;)

Any guesses as to what this seam tape will be trimming?

Typical scene

Ahhh.... nothing like a lovely nap in the sunshine!

Uh oh! Here comes trouble!

"Should I or shouldn't I?"

"I SHOULD!"

"That's ENOUGH! Leave me alone!!"

"Oh, well... it was kinda fun. Let's do it some more!"

Creativity unleashed

Courtney decided to make something yesterday. We got out Auntie Jess's basket of "vintage" fabric scraps, and she went to work with scissors, crayons and glue. Take special note of the coloring book on the right side of the photo. It may give you a clue later.

Here's the first one, almost done:

Gotta think on this a little:

Thinking some more:

Maybe it'll help to wrap it around her thumb?

YES! That's IT!!

Finished! Can you tell what they are? Feel free to refer to the clue above.

Okay, we'll turn them over. NOW you see?

Yep, they're kites!

But she didn't want me to make a video of her "flying" them. ;) It was great fun, anyway. We pretended we were in a parade, and the kites became flags that we waved, and we tossed candy to everyone! Hurray for parades... and imaginations!!

Good night!

The day ended as beautifully as it began. Wow!

(Again, click any photo to view larger.)

'Night, all!