New slippers

 Continuing with all the fall chores this week. Most of the 2 cords of wood that sat across the yard all year has been moved to the shelter; there's about one wagon load left and that will get moved tomorrow. There's almost 3 cords in the shelter now with another 2.5 cords left to bring in. Two of those were delivered just a few weeks ago and will probably not be needed this year.

Most of the 2 cords that were here are now in the shelter. A small pile of kindling in lower right corner of picture will also get moved.

How different the yard looks at this time of year!

The bottom right corner of that picture is where my round wood stacks were stored the past few years. Now that they are cleared, I plan to build new flower beds in this area next spring. How different the yard looks at this time of year!

Another chore that needs doing this fall is tending to this sad sight:

That's my Dutchman's Pipe vine. It was planted about the second year I lived here, so it's now about 8 years old. It took several  years to grow into much of anything but has obviously outgrown the rose pillar I used to support it. It fell over last month! There is no way to remove the vine from the pillar, it is completely intertwined with the supports. I finally had an idea for fixing it a few weeks ago. I'm planning to use three substantial tree limbs, taller than the pillar, to fashion a teepee around the pillar. Then I'll tie the top of the pillar to the top of the teepee. That will hopefully keep the pillar from falling and give the vine more room to spread. That's the plan!

This week saw a pause in the Beatrix Potter ornaments construction. The weather at the beginning of the week was quite cool and I needed new slippers for the winter. So I took a few days to knit up a new pair. They are knitted with rug wool that I've had in my stash for a number of years. Very heavy, rugged, and warm! Toasty warm.

Still, Squirrel Nutkin was finished earlier this week...

As if there wasn't already enough happening, I set about cleaning out the pantry last Sunday. Roughly a bi-annual task to sort out the expired stuff from what's still good. I try to use everything before expiration but it doesn't always work out. While at it, I was reminded how dark it is inside so I decided to re-do the pantry! I'm painting it cream colored inside to lighten it up, confiscating the right 6" to build a broom cupboard, and will build new shelves on euro glides so they can slide out. Wish me luck! Here's what it looks like after I removed all the shelves. Hopefully there will be an after pic by time the next post goes up.

I was out meandering in the garden the other day and found this absolutely beautiful Mallow. It's quite late, but we're luckily and thankfully having very mild weather these three last days of the week, supposed to get over 70 F tomorrow! We've only had the mildest of frosts yet and that seems unusual. Anyway, it must have been included in the packet of wild flower seeds that my neighbor gave me last spring which I scattered over an unused bed. How very beautiful.

Beatrix Potter ornaments: Tools and techniques

 I'm sailing through these characters and enjoying every minute of it. This week saw the completion of Mr. Tod and Pigling Bland.

As I mentioned previously, I'm hand stitching these. I'm using backstitch for most of the seams and ladder stitch for a few difficult-to-reach constructions (such as attaching the inside leg to the body).

The following tool has been very useful in this project. I don't know what it's called, picked it up at a thrift shop if I recall correctly. It's very helpful when turning newly sewn pieces right sides out, and a big help when stuffing batting into small places. It also makes a great needle puller for when I need to sew through a thick seam.

This needle is also getting lots of use, not only to poke holes in the body for the arms (and sometimes legs), but for helping ensure the arms are balanced from one side to the other. It's long enough to poke all the way through the body, so I can check for levelness and position front-to-back and up-and-down.

Some of the pieces have to be tinted (inside the bunny ears, for instance). I am finding these Inktense blocks to be great for that. They are water-soluble pigments and work on cloth. Look at all those beautiful, exciting colors!

And pins! Pins, pins, pins. The trickiest bits to sew are sometimes the ears, but with enough pins to keep them in place while sewing, it works out.

The patterns for these ornaments were purchased from The Cheswick Company (on Etsy).

I took a walk around the yard the other day to forage for potpourri material. I gathered only enough to make a bowlful as I'm experimenting. If it goes well, I'll gather more next year. I also have a bunch of blossom heads drying that I can use as well. Need to make this asap, so I may plop them in the dehydrator, since it will need 6 to 8 weeks to cure and I'd love to have it ready for Christmas.

An autumn fair

It is full on autumn now. We were advised about possible frost last night, although it didn't happen. Lows in the 30s, though. It is hard to believe we are in our second week of October! I put some ghouls out yesterday at the end of the drive.

The task of putting wood in storage for winter use is proceeding well. About half the pile from across the yard has been moved to the new storage facility, that leaves another cord to move. Then there's 2 cord up near the facility and I'd like to get them stored this fall, but it will be OK if I don't get it done.

Beatrix Potter ornaments

I finished Jemima Puddleduck this week, she was very fiddly to accomplish but looks great in the end.

I have almost finished Jeremy Fisher, but had to set him aside until I got to the store to buy some crepe. He still needs collar fringe and a black ribbon around his neck. I picked them up today.

I'm currently working on Mr. Tod. They're quite fun to sew and they make me LOL when a new feature makes them come to life.

The Sandwich Fair

The Sandwich Fair is NH's last fair for the season. My neighbor and I went last year and enjoyed ourselves enough to repeat the trip this fall. Sandwich is only an hour from here and it's a lovely drive by Squam Lake (On Golden Pond) and beautiful country lanes.