be free

Friday, August 20, 2010

BOO WHO?

Did someone say "Boo Who"?   I participated in a scissor fob exchange in June and this is what the fabulous Lisa P sent me.  Isn't this a wonderful way to hold and display my scissors in the fall months?!  I love the little bandit mask over his eyes, and he possesses such an "attitude" in his stature. 


Thank you again, Lisa, he is a "H*O*O*T"!!!!!


I am getting ready for fall weather, how about you?  My mind keeps brewing and stewing as Halloween draws nearer.  Can't wait!  Especially when I keep running across things that remind me of:


 Witches' Night Before Halloween

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'Twas the night before Halloween and all through the cottages,

The witches were stirring their brews and their potages.



Their cupboards were bursting with hop-toads and newts,

And they'd shined up their pointy-toed, fancy-dress boots.



The witchlings lay snoring, quite snug in their beds,

With visions of moist, creeping things in their heads.



"Nice night," whispered Mad-Maud to Potbelly-Pat

As she snuffed out the torches and took in the cat.



But at the first stroke of midnight, when folks lay asleep,

The whole gang of witches on tiptoes did creep





Out past the cornfields and 'neath the trolls' bridge,

To the crossroads that lay beyond Cemetery Ridge.



"It's time to begin," hissed Elise-With-One-Eye

As the moon reached its peak in the October sky.



On the stump of a tree, with a thump and a creak,

Big-Bree drummed a beat as the witches all shrieked:

"Come goblins! Come ghosties! Come skeleton bones!

Do you really expect us to do this alone?"



They stomped on the ground! They bellowed! (They wheezed.)

They tangoed! And salsa-ed! (On arthritic knees.)

Louder and wilder with each passing verse

They chanted in voices from tuneless to worse.



'Till BANG! the old charnel house doors cracked and broke,

And out flew their pals with a big blast of smoke!



A few drooling ghouls from down underneath,

With cleanly picked bones and half-rotted teeth;



A pale, dark-eyed viscount quite long in the tooth;

Two squadrons of zombies, unkempt and uncouth;



Dark, furry, four-footed, hard-to-see things

That vanish unseen midst a flutter of wings;



Redheaded banshees with ear-splitting wails;

And a rheumy-eyed ghost dressed in neatly pressed tails.



With one boney finger, Maud tested the breeze,

Grabbed hold of her broom and ascended with ease.

"To town!" she commanded. "There's much to be done.

Pack your newts and your spiders. Let's go have some fun!"



They dangled black bats from the City Hall eaves

And festooned each doorway with poisonous leaves.



Cobwebs were stretched from church spire to town square,

And green slime was dribbled down every porch stair.



On each hollow pumpkin they scratched a mad grin,

Set the kitty-cats yowling, and stoked up the wind.



"So much haunting to get done in so little time,"

Mourned a vain, headless countess, a bit past her prime.

"Not to mention the rusty old gates we back-ordered

Are stuck in a truck at the Canadian border."



"Not like the old days," whined Rotten-Tooth-Ruth,

"Is this the example we set for our youth?"



More shadows! More cobwebs!

More monsters! More slime!

More dank, moldy cellars!

More grave dust! More grime!



And when they had finished, thick fog hugged the ground,

So they snapped a few photos, and flew out of town.



"To the hovels! Let's go! Time to wake up the spawn!"

Cried the witches while hobbling back home 'cross the lawn.



They banged pots together, poked the witchlings with sticks,

Till the kiddies woke up and threw terrible fits.



"It's Halloween, you gremlins!" crooned Bubonic-Sue,

"Time to show all the humans what witches can do!"



At that, the wee witchlings leapt straight from their beds,

Tied pointy black caps to their misshapen heads,

Laced up their brat boots, grabbed onto their brooms,

And rode single-file toward the just-risen moon.



"Stay warm! Make good choices!" yelled the parental group,

As the young witches circled above with a whoop,



Shouting loud as they could on this night of all nights:

"Happy Halloween to all and to all a good fright!"

By Lesley Bannatyne






































































































































Monday, August 2, 2010

Deadline Met, RAK Received, Halloween

Here she is in all her final glory. I met my dead line with a breeze and now I can look forward to some Halloween stitching. I really did enjoy stitching this one. It went fast because of the repetition with the birds.  I am contemplating on attaching some black snaps in the center of the flowers and a larger one smack dab in the middle of the pinwheel.  What do you think?


Do you see this antique pincushion in the upper corner of the photo?  I bought this off the bay of evil a few months back.  I LOVE it!!!!  It is made with wood and is hand carved and painted.  The center of the "sandwich" is where the pins go.  I should have added some so you could see how it looks.  It was a fabulous find to add to my collection of pincushions.



This little flower in the corner is my favorite.  I love the unusual leaves, they remind me of thistles.



Close-up of the spinning wheel!

Pennsylvania Pinwheel
by Carriage House Samplings
using DMC 3371, 3857, 829
completed 8/2/10


Speaking of pincushions, look what I received in the mail today.  A beautiful red pincushion stitched by Patty of Hanging By A Thread. Her stitching is meticulously "perfect".  Amazing work Patty, you deserve a shout out on this!!! This Random Act of Kindness is truly appreciated and deserves to be paid forward. A sweet reminder that it is my turn to give back. 

This is what the flip side of the cushion looks like.  I have been spoiled lately, thank you sooo much dear Patty, I will cherish it always. 



And finally here is a quick looksie at what I will be starting next.   I have changed everything on this one.  I am sooooo excited to put my needle to work on this one.  Thanks for visiting and happy stitching!!!


Smiles....

Sunday, August 1, 2010

THANK YOU FAYE RAYE!!!!!!


Hello friends!  I just had to share with you a BEAUTIFUL gift, aka RAK, I received from my friend Faye Raye.  Isn't this sweet little pincushion just gorgeous!  It is so tiny and sweet, just look at the beautiful shades of red and the pretty little pins in the upper corner.  OH MY!!!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart Faye, I will treasure it always.  I love pincushions and you must have known I collect them.  It's absolutely perfect....the stitching, the colors, the button, the pins.  You are such a talented gal to say the least.


Here is a picture of the back of the pincushion.  Love it!

And here is a little closer snapshot of those sweet little pins.   Aren't they just the neatest!

Thanks again my friend, that was soooo sweet of you.



Here is the latest photo of my WIP, Pennsylvania Pinwheel by CHS.  I am closing in on finishing this one and I am not going to sleep until I finish this tonight.  I am just dying to start on a Halloween project. 




My hubby and I recently went on a day trip to Wyoming and I took this photo of an old train station that I think is in the process of being restored.  I wonder if someone ever thought about turning it into a great restaurant!  That would be awesome!


I took this photo of my sweetie on the side of the train station.  I loved the patina of the rusty equipment and the beautiful thistles.  Look how tall they are....one of them is as tall as my hubby!!!  Yikes, be careful of those prickly leaves......they might bite!


Speaking of prickly leaves, check out this Cactus.  We went to this little hole in the wall restaurant for dinner.  You can see by the photo it was a Mexican restaurant (our favorite) and I thought the "chandelier" was hilarious, who would have thought a cactus would be the perfect choice of lighting????  Just had to share......he he he....


Well, that's all for now, I have a deadline on my Pinwheel and if I don't get stitching soon, I just might be up all night and into the wee hours of the morn.  Thanks for visiting, I hope you had a fantastic weekend!!

Smiles...

Jolene