Oh, Fall....

Who doesn't love this season? Seriously! Do you know anyone that doesn't like fall? What's not to like? There are cool days, beautiful leaves, pumpkins, cider (which my kids have discovered and fallen madly in love with), football, chili & cornbread, and pumpkin EVERYTHING. I've decided that everything tastes better with a little pumpkin and cinnamon added. :)

My aunt's birthday is the second of October and I made her that little wreath as a birthday gift. Last summer my mother-in-law (who is quite the crafty lady) cut down grapevine and showed me how to make wreaths out of it. I used one of those wreaths - probably 14" in diameter - and wound some berries (found at Michael's) around it. For the leaves, I sandwiched floral wire between two pieces of fabric and some Heat N Bond and cut a leaf shape out. Easy as (pumpkin) pie. (I couldn't help it).

Have you ever visited the Pioneer Woman's cooking website, Tasty Kitchen? It is GENIUS. I finally scored some pumpkin at the grocery store the other day (they had been out forever) and I was looking for a recipe to use it in when I came across this gem . It is truly one of the best things I've ever baked. In my whole entire life. SO good. It tastes just like my mom's pumpkin roll, but in cookie form, and the little flecks of cinnamon in the icing just make me so happy and cozy. It's the little things, apparently, that do it for me.

My kids (especially Delaney) are very big on seasonal crafts, and now that we're officially homeschoolers, it's a necessary part of our day. So she says. ;) We made some candy corn using the same method as our Valentine hearts, and I strung them along with some candy corn using thick upholstery thread. It took a bit of patience to not break the candy corn, but it wasn't too bad at all. It's a shame no one in this house even likes candy corn. We found pieces for days afterward, in melty little piles, where someone (Finn) had tasted it and spit it out.

I also baked these muffins, which were super tasty, but definitely not as awe-inducing as the pumpkin cookies. They're even better today, at 2 days old.

(My new chalk cloth tablerunner, purchased at the Country Living Fair, from Modern June, who was just as cute and sweet as she could be. You need one too!)

Sashiko!

A couple of weekends ago we went to the Country Living Fair in Columbus, OH. It's a yearly tradition for us, and it usually falls around our anniversary, which is good timing. (If you missed the Columbus show, there will be one in Stone Mountain, GA in October). I'll post pictures of the fair soon, but I wanted to share what I found in some quilt shops along the way first. I've had a really hard time finding a thimble that I like. I asked a quilt shop owner what she suggested, and she said she loved the adhesive leather dots that you just stick on your finger. I was a little skeptical, but I bought them, and and I. LOVE. THEM. Seriously. They are exactly what I wanted and work over and over again! Like magic.

Every time we travel somewhere I put "quilt" or "fabric" into the GPS and see what it comes up with. (I seriously have the most patient husband in the world.) I found a tiny little shop and I was shocked to see that they carried sashiko! I've wanted to try it for the longest time and for $8 I couldn't pass it up. I chose the white background (they also had navy) and some mustard sashiko cotton. Purl Soho has a great sashiko tutorial here and there are quite a few kits on Etsy. Once I actually start this I'll post some pics.

And I can't wait to make a sweet girly quilt with these charm packs I recently swapped for - the are designed using vintage sheets as inspiration. The colors are great, aren't they?!