Pumpkin Baskets

Melissa and I got together for a Crafty Fun Night and we made these little candy baskets over two different nights. This idea came from the book Halloween: 101 Frightfully Fun Ideas. I picked up this book at the Dakota Boys Ranch while we were Up North visiting cousin Stacy.

You basically make little pinatas with white water based glue and crepe paper. We painted on the glue and pasted little squares of cut up crepe streamers. They took 24 hours to fully dry but the balloons separated right out when we popped them.

We struggled installing grommets on each side and then strung craft wire through them before covering the wire in floral tape. The book idea involved cutting faces out of the crepe basket but we opted to instead draw faces on with permanent marker. I think they turned out really cute. Oh, and then of course we had to fill them with candy! ;) This was a really cute idea and these could be made for other holidays.
We worked on a few candle mats on the second night. Melissa found some really cute Halloween buttons and these were a fun festive activity.

Knitting for baby Clara Grace

My cousin Stacey is a real trooper and readying to have her second daughter in less than a week. Hopefully I will have a package ready for her and in the mail in two days. I knit this Lace Motif Cardigan from the book 60 Quick Baby Knits. Stacey had requested chocolate brown knitted items and I used brown Patons Classic Wool yarn.


I just love this book because every pattern is written for Cascade 220 yarn which is a fabulous yarn but more importantly it is worsted weight and can be easily substituted. I have never had a pattern book before this that I could knit absolutely every item in the book with what I have on hand. That's the trouble with knitting though is that many beautiful patterns often call for obscure and/or expensive yarn.


I also stitched her a pair of booties out of some hand dyed felt I'd had. These are the same I made for Erik's baptism. I'm halfway through another pair of Multicolored Sockies for her from the same beautiful shade of Koigu. I can't wait to package these up and get them to Stacey!

Shrubbery

Dave and I have really enjoyed watching the seasons change along the little trail near my apartment. It is such a pleasant little walk through a wooded area alongside a creek. Apparently they don't say "crick" in Minnesota.

The path curves in places and trees lean inward. I always think of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and imagine the headless horseman tearing through here.


We spotted this owl a time or two, once with another owl. You always encounter other walkers and their many dogs. There are also countless squirrels, ducks and birds along the way.

We starting making a habit of these walks back in March when the ground was finally thawed and not soggy. Slowly all the lush greenery grew back in and the animals came out. Summer broiled and was buggy and finally it is cool and dry again and the colors have changed. It was almost like having a garden because every time we'd note the changes in the foliage.

And two days ago we were walking along and saw this!