Monday, October 04, 2010

AWAITING AUTUMN

My Halloween things are put out - the calendar says October 4th but the thermometer in my car said 89 when I went to the bank a little bit ago - WHEW - Come on Mom Nature - give us a break !  I'm so ready for fall - how about you?

I wanted to show you a darling pin pillow I got in the mail last week.  It was stitched by DF Henri for me last year but I didn't have time to get the finishing done for the fall season.  Nancy (lovelyinchocolate) did the beautiful finishing on this sweet little piece.  It was in one of the JCS Halloween ornament issues - 2009 I'm pretty positive.  It was stitched on the called for Havana WDW linen with the called for threads.  Henri did a lovely job on the stitching and I used fabric I purchased last fall at the Olde Green Cupboard - our beloved quilt shop that closed in the spring.  Fabric and other purchases always jog my memory of fun times there at the cupboard with dear friends - stitching, hooking and just laughing and having a good ole time.
Look at the cute rusty pins with buttons and beads Nancy put for special touches.  So creative!
Here is the little display of my veggie gourds in a Longaberger basket with the little pillow propped up on the side
I think I've shown this rug before but it was my very first hooked rug that I finished some years ago - I still love the primitive look and it is special because it was my first !  Also in the photo is a cute Halloween guy that my mom bought for me recently.
This will be a short post but I also wanted to show my progress on Garden Glade by CHS - It is a chart I've had in my stash since it was brand new back in 2005 but Jean at the Attic had it as her SOM for September and I succumbed to the lovely Bluegrass linen by Lakeside she was using in her rendition.  I did not realize this was an adaptation of a sampler in the American Folk Art Museum.  Makes me love it all the more.  I received Jean's Belle Soie conversion but I wanted to use a red that was more like what Kathy selected with her NPI choice.  I came up with Gloriana Schoolhouse Red from my stash of silks.  I also changed the color of the big giant leaves to Gloriana Olive Grove - Can't believe I'm actually making color changes - WHEEEE - amazing - I always feel compelled to stick to the colors the designer selected when doing a repro - I know everyone has their own opinion about how to stitch repro's but that is my personal preference - so anyway - I am enjoying this immensely as you can see from my progress in one week.  For me this is amazing and last week - I hardly knit at all.  GG had all my attention.  Some of you would laugh at this amount of progress but remember I work full time and such as last week when I worked a full day on Sunday and till 8pm on Monday.  the most I ever get to stitch on a work night is 2 hrs.
Sad this photo is so crummy - it is actually so beautiful - the colors I mean.

So friends - until we meet again - I'll be awaiting autumn !

14 comments:

Kim said...

Love your autumn decorating, Mel! The rug is great! And I would never laugh at your progress! I understand trying to squeeze it in during a work week. It's looking great! Those colors are so cheery!! I hope you get a break in your temps soon! Have a great week!

Margaret said...

Oh I really love your color changes on Garden Glade! Good for you -- you're like me, not usually daring enough to do such things. You did a great job! I like your colors so much! I resisted Jean's offering and I'll probably regret it.

I also love your fall decorating. The pin pillow is lovely with great touches by Nancy. And the rug -- beautiful! Enjoy the fall!

Jackie's Stitches said...

I'm not laughing at the amount of progress you've made this week - it's a LOT! I never get that much stitched. Wow! You're color changes are nice ones, I always fret over stuff like that. We haven't gotten our fall decorations out yet - must do that soon. I have a fall table runner I quilted since last year that I'd like to use.

Rugs and Pugs said...

Mel ~
Love the little Halloween pin keep
and of course the hooked rug. I'd say finding two hours in the evening to do anything is amazing. I struggle to find a half hour and it's just me!!! I guess I fritter away too much time on this darned computer!
Hugs :)
Lauren

Sylvia said...

Your fall decorating is lovely.

I ordered the SOM from Jean, because I loved what she had done with it. I am still waiting to recieve it. I am so happy to see your WIP. I think you made lots of progress for only one week of stitching.

Nancy said...

Garden Glade is looking beautiful Melody! I love the colors.

Your decorations look so nice! The hooked rug is wonderful, and so is the little guy your Mom bought for you!

I'm glad you're enjoying your pillow. It was so fun to finish!

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

Nancy did a beautiful job with your piece!
And your home is tastefully and wonderfully decorated for the season!

Katrina said...

Gorgeous! Love how you've decorated for the fall. I am going to do my Garden Glade on the Bluegrass linen too :-). One of these days, LOL.

Susan said...

Mel, I'm impressed! You actually have fall decorations out! (My husband nicely pointed out that I still had a spring pillow on the couch last week. And, yup, it's still there.) Love the rug and that pumpkin on the pinkeep seems to glow. And any progress in stitching is better than none at all as long as you are enjoying the process.

Michelle said...

Love the autumn decorating - that rug is fabulous! Garden Glad is looking lovely, I think Schoolhouse Red is a perfect choice.

Siobhán said...

Great progress on your Garden Glade! I love the changes you made. Would you believe that I forgot I'd started this, till I saw it in The Attic's newsletter? Gulp. I need to get back to it. It is relatively small but all that fill in takes a LONG time! I love your autumn decorating. The rug is sooo pretty, and Nancy and Henri make a great team. ;)

Karoline said...

Great progress on Garden Glade and I love your Halloween pieces.

The Scarlett House said...

Hey Mel, love your fall decor! Like you, I'm waiting for cooler temps so it FEELS like autumn.
I am proud of you making color changes. While I try to stay close to the original for the most part, sometimes a color is just icky. Like is too short to stitch with icky colors, right? Methinks your GG is going to be absolutely beautiful.

SusanIL said...

Love your Garden Glade!!! I like that more olive green, I was never overly fond of the blue-green on the chart. On mine, I did change the color of the pond to blue, Kathy used the same blue-green from the trees and I thought it looked a bit strange so I changed it (and that was a big step for me because I never change anything, lol). I also love your autumn houses, I haven't done any canvaswork for a while because I can't afford another expensive stash-building hobby but isn't it fun to bring the canvas to life with the different stitches?