Ongoing Halloween and a new video obsession on Slow Sunday Stitching...

No need to reiterate how fast the weeks fly by... Annie O of Annie's Orts commented that "the week did fly by like witch on a broom"... a very apt description. I had lots of things to do that took me out of the house...visit to pick up a quilt from my local quilt shop ...Homegrown Homesewn... appointment for my son... dinner with the quilty ladies...lunch for my son and his friend who lives about 40 miles away... didn't get the oil in the car changed...moved it to tomorrow...not as much written down for this coming week so I have high hopes to get lots of stitching and sewing and knitting done... but then I always do... hope spring eternal...LOL

The weather was hot and boy did it rain...Thursday we officially got 5" in one day...don't know if I got that much in my yard but it sure came down  in buckets.  I was happy not to water for a couple of days but I think I will have to do a little tonight...the coleus is looking droopy. I am soooooo ready for Fall... pumpkins, mums, decorative cabbages and kale... something to perk my bedraggled petunia window boxes. I was honored to win a local award for my yard again this year... the Deer Park Beautification Award... got a cool sign to put in my yard and a certificate signed by the mayor... so I feel an obligation to keep up appearances...and right now my flowers aren't at their best. I do have a slew of dahlias that are waiting to bloom... getting tall and I'm seeing some buds... can't wait for them to pop. And I want to buy those BIG pots of mums to put on my front steps and by my garage... I love them!!! Need to check out Costco and my local cheapy garden center... and I should wait till the first of September as I consider that the beginning of Fall, but lots of schools are already back in session and isn't that the beginning of Fall?

As for stitching I made a couple of changes to the Spooky Row I showed last week...

I backstitched with a light gray around the skeleton so he'd show better...

and I restitched the ruff on the vulture's neck so there is more contrast there too...

I'm contemplating taking this to be framed as getting the long pieces straight isn't easy and this one is 18" long... gotta look at those Joanns coupons.

As for the Lizzie Kate ABC Halloween I'm just about half way complete...

I love the way it looks on this linen...I did make Frankenstein green...he's charted in more of a beige/tan/yellow... too bland for my taste.  I've been thinking what pieces I want to get done for this Halloween...and there is this sampler, the Drawn Thread Halloween Welcome, the With Thy Needle & Thread The Cat and the Moon, and Matilda Hornsby... I think that's doable by the end of September... keep your fingers crossed.  I just have to guard against other shiny charts catching my eye...and yes I may be a touch delusional here but I prefer to think of it as being that eternal optimist...doesn't sound as nutso...LOL

I've found I like to cross stitch while "watching"  YouTube videos... I started with FlossTube channels and then stumbled upon this great gardening channel... its called Garden Answer and you can find it here... it is a husband and wife team...she narrates all the videos and he films them...she is adorable and her garden is phenomenal... they have 662 videos at last check...her parents own a garden center in Oregon which she grew up in and where she still helps out ... some of their videos are "a day in the life" and they are fun to watch... I am so impressed with her plantings and the property they live on... there is some great aerial video... right now my favorite episode is where they planted 44 hayrack window boxes ... OMG ... it is to die for... here is the one where they planted up everything... and here is the way they looked after about two months.  I have a new appreciation for purple after seeing her display... anyway as I lust after her beautiful flower beds I get ideas for my diminutive yard for next year... petunias or begonias or maybe short zinnias in my window boxes??? The short zinnias did great as an edge in my garden ... the petunias got leggy and scraggly...and it wasn't just me. I chatted with my neighbor who has a wonderful garden and he said the same thing. He pulled out some of his petunias and replanted begonias... maybe I should have done that. Gardening... always thinking ahead to what to do differently...

So this week should be a nice one... I saw a forecast with high temperatures only in the 70's and morning lows in the 50's...turn off the AC and open all the windows...I can't wait. Lots of things I want to do this week (heck lots of things I want to do every week...LOL) ...hope to get the quilt top for my son assembled... all the blocks are complete...just need to sew the rows together and add the sashing and the borders...oh borders...we know how long that takes me... but I do want this on his bed soon. And National Jelly Roll Day is coming up on September 15... last year I started the quilt that is currently on my bed, a pattern called Two Step from Missouri Star...you can see my quilt here on my Instagram page... carolfun53... I have plenty of jelly rolls ...just need to pick one and pattern... it will be something easy and fun!

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... I always enjoy seeing what every one posts there...and again I'll say I hope to post some quilting...maybe this week it will happen...but don't hold your breath, you'll turn blue and pass out and I'll feel very bad about that...

happy stitching-
carol fun