Pairs ~ Hallowe'en

I delved back through the archives to find a pair to share, for Helena's meme, today.

Trick.....

or treat?

SIPIDI and a Friday Find

The blogging schedule, such as it was, didn’t quite go to plan this month, so I’m squeezing two posts into one today.

I mentioned last week that I was having another attempt at teaching myself to crochet. I found a local class, but unfortunately it’s the same time that I teach my own classes so it was back to Youtube for me. I pinned this video for a simple flower. Armed with an odd ball of yarn and a magazine kit freebie hook, off I went.

I’m pretty chuffed with the result. I’m struggling to hold any sort of tension. Told you I was cackhanded! I had to go and do something part way through and lost my way a bit. Not exactly sure how I managed it, but the top two petals are upside down. You can clearly see the chain around the edge of the bottom three petals, but it’s underneath on the other two. I realised I’d made a mistake, but didn’t know how to right it. Having got that far, I wasn’t going to start again!

Do you crochet? Have you got any tips for me or links to helpful videos and blogs. I’m a keen follower of Attic 24 and aspire to make some wonderful creations like Lucy’s Jolly Chunky Bag or a rainbow striped blanket. One…step….at….a….time!

If you’ve made something from your Pinterest boards this month, or inspired by something you found while browsing the internet and filed away for another day, then please let me know and I’ll be round to check it out. All info on SIPIDI can be found here. Looking forward to seeing what you’ve been up to in October.

And finally, that Friday Find. We’re big fans of Studio Ghibli around here and this has to be the cutest Halloween costume I’ve ever seen.

How brilliant is that? Check out the Sew Chibi blog for lots more.

Happy Halloween!

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday #178

It’s pouring with rain and blowing a gale, but the kitchen window is wide open so we don’t choke to death on fixative fumes! I’m sure it used to smell of pear drops. The table has been taken over by my son, while he works on some pieces for his GCSE sketchbook.

They seemed appropriate for this Halloween desk sharing and it seemed only fair that I should show you something of his after sharing one of my daughter’s creations on Monday. Old fashioned paper and pencil for him rather than a fancy graphics tablet.

You may notice that my fruit bowl is missing. I thought it sensible to remove it while we sprayed noxious chemicals around the place!

Happy Halloween to you all.

P.S. See yesterday’s post, if you might be interested in learning, along with me, how to make a patchwork block using the English paper piecing method.

Storytelling Sunday ~ On a Dark and Misty Night

When I was a little girl, we didn’t go Trick or Treating and Halloween wasn’t really that big a deal. We made lanterns, not out of a pumpkin, but carved from a mangel-wurzel. I can still remember how much our hands hurt afterwards.

One year, when I was about 10 I think, we went to a Halloween party that our neighbours were throwing. We played lots of fun games, including apple bobbing and trying to grab a bun, tied on a string, without the use of our hands.

Later, we gathered round to tell scary stories and when it got to Midnight (or so it seemed) we all went out for a walk. I don’t think I’d ever been allowed to stay up that late before and it was strange and exciting to be outside in the dark. The local church, where I sang in the choir, was just around the corner and that is where we headed.

With our heads full of spooky tales, we walked up the path to unlatch the gate, but it swung open before us. By now my heart was racing and then I noticed that there was a hand holding the gate. There was a large ring on its finger and a lacy cuff hanging out of the burgundy velvet sleeve.

That was enough for me and I didn’t let my eyes travel any further. I no longer remember who was standing beside me, but we grabbed hold of each other and ran screaming from the churchyard. I can’t tell you how happy I was, to be safely back in the warm bright house.

It wasn’t until a few weeks later, when I was getting my Mum’s sewing machine out of the bottom of her wardrobe, that I noticed a burgundy velvet sleeve hanging there. I nearly jumped out of my skin! Then I realised that while we had been out in the misty night, I couldn’t remember seeing my Dad anywhere.

He had gone ahead to hide behind the wall and give us a scare. In the end, all he needed to do, was pull back the gate and our over active imaginations had done the rest.

I hope you enjoyed my Halloween memory. For lots more stories, head on over to Sian’s place, where you’ll find a warm welcome.

My Month in Numbers ~ October

I read Sian’s Month in Numbers back in September and thought, ‘Ooh that’s a good idea, I must investigate Julie’s blog.’ Of course the thought left my head not long afterwards and before I knew it, another month had rolled by and I was reading Sian’s October numbers, along with an accompanying scrapbook page!

Without further ado (but mostly because if I don’t share them today, I will forget again) here is my own month in numbers.

31 = the number of times I posted during the month of Blogtoberfest. I read about it on Mel’s blog on the first day of October, so it was all a bit last minute and I had no plan in mind. Somehow I muddled through, in my usual fashion and managed to post something every day.

10 = the number of lovely new followers I gained during the month. Welcome.

18 = the temperature that the thermostat was set at.

2 = the number of times the heating kicked in at that setting, during this wonderfully warm October.

0 = the number of trick or treaters that came to our door, on the last day of the month. I was rather disappointed, but the children were not. Probably because…..

20 = the number of lollies (half of them made into spiders with pipe cleaner legs) and

25 = the number of little packages of assorted sweets, that I had got ready for those non-existent spooky visitors.

I’ll definitely be paying more attention to the numbers that pop up during November.

Not Just a Pretty Face

Isn’t he handsome? I’ve seen a lot of pumpkins, during my travels round the blogosphere, over the last few days, but this one really made me smile.

As promised, here are some links to more traditional pumpkin carving ideas.

Pumpkin Masters

Spook Master

Celebrating Halloween

Better Homes and Gardens