End of Autumn Colors

I've finally remembered to take my good camera with me

& have been able to capture some beautiful shots of autumn in Ohio.

Mother Nature's bountiful food for the birds

to help them get through the winter.

Burning Bushes

(aka Winged Euonymus or Spindle Tree)
Euonymus alata "Compactus"

Maple trees

I captured these leaves especially for my baby sis in AZ.

Years ago we collected them & ironed them between waxed paper

& mailed them to AZ so she could have a touch of fall.

They have had some recent health issues that

have us all worried.

If you're so inclined, I sure would appreciate it if you could

send up a *knee-mail* for them, both.

We strongly believe in the Power of Prayer!

I took some shots at a local restaurant above &

a local greenhouse below.

At my favorite grocery store, too!

Soon, the heavy rains & then the snow will arrive.

For now, I'm drinking in every drop of color &

trying to fully appreciate each day the Lord gives us!

Thanks for joining me in the Gazebo House.

fondly,
Rett

Joining Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday

Autumn Decorations

Just a few shots from around the house.

I painted the butternut squash myself!!

See, Kim? I CAN paint like you... a wee bit. LOL

I'd like to state that I had these black & white checked ribbons on waaaaay

before I ever saw Yvonne's darling postings with them.

I did NOT copy from her, honest...we just think alike.













I keep my Lladro nurse up high on the mantle,

just to keep her safe.

I took a second photo with the flash on,

just to see how the beaded pumpkins change with the light.














What a miserable, yucky, dreary rainy day!







A good day to light some fragrant candles & curl up with a good book.










Excuse me while I go find some Windex to clean that cylinder...

why is it I never notice stuff like that until the photo is posted &

I can't retake it because it is pitch black out at the moment?



Also showing off a little machine embroidered shirt I just finished for Ms. C.


I have more Halloween items to get out but have been a bit under the weather

so running the stairs, carrying boxes was out of the question.

Thanks for stopping by & I hope you return to visit soon.



fondly,

Recent Sewing Projects

I recently completed a few sewing projects &

took them over to my daughter's home to

photograph them on my granddaughter, Ms. C.

I couldn't resist capturing a few shots

of her on their front porch with all the

pretty autumn decorations, too.

This machine embroidered sweatshirt, below,

turned out to be too big on Ms. C.

even though I cut off the bottom ribbing &

added the shorter ruffle & trims.

I'm tucking it away for next year.

Here she is, modeling it.

I've decided not to show her face on my blog anymore.

Makes me sad but there are just too many creeps out there &

photographs, even with "right click disabled"

(which I have NOT been able to figure out how to do!)

can still be stolen.

Especially since I just learned that one of the sponsors of a popular

machine embroidery site has been running pornography sites

in his secret access back rooms!

I don't want her picture to end up on some slime-ball's

ceiling or a prison wall someplace.

Back to the sewing....the little knit dress, below, was an experiment with knits.

I took a vintage Kwik Sew tee-shirt pattern, (#307) &

cut off the pattern about 4" below the armpits.

I then gathered & serged a full width of fabric onto the bottom for the skirt.

Black interlock knit was used to finish the neckline & sleeves.

The black grosgrain ribbon is sewn into the side seams &

topstitched across the front only,

(per my sewing mentor, Carol's suggestion)

so that the back of the dress still had some stretch to it.

The bow is sewn together but then pinned on from the inside

with just a safety pin so it can be removed for laundry.

The ends of the ribbon were heat sealed with a flame to prevent fraying.

She loves this dress as it is very soft & comfy.

She is able to move freely in it & immediately started in with the cartwheels & splits.

She is going to be a cheerleader, I just know it!

This last little project is another attempt to master the "Cotton Theory" of quilting.

It is the first project in Betty Cotton's first book...a simple trivet.

It took me ALL AFTERNOON!!!!!!

Double batting is used inside the first square for insulation &

each section around it has its own separate section of batting,

cut 1" smaller all around than the top fabric.


Reverse side:

You use a 1" seam allowance & fold the sections over themselves to make

flanges & topstitch with decorative stitches to finish the quilting.

I must say, I'm not thrilled with the method &

I can't see myself doing an entire quilt this way

but I'm glad I finally figured out how to do it!



Thanks for stopping by the Gazebo House!

I'll have more autumn photos to share soon.



I missed the colors of this season so much when we lived in FL

that I want to capture & hold them forever.


fondly,

Autumn Lunch with Friends

We had our Florida friends stop in for lunch recently while on their way up to

Albany, NY to visit their children.

We've known each other for over 24 years &

they were actually part of the reason we relocated to Florida in 1997.

I don't think she has forgiven me yet for moving back home to Ohio.

I made sure to put out all of my autumnal decor because in Florida,

you don't get to see much of it.

I remember the first year I lived down there,

I tied corn stalks to my light post & set a few

pumpkins on hay bales at the base of it.

Within days, the heat had begun to deteriorate the pumpkins

& nasty red ants had invaded the entire scene.

Never did it again!

I put out my paternal grandmother's Carnival glass biscuit barrel

just because the colors go so beautifully this time of year.

Up high, on the top shelf of the baker's rack, I have displayed her Carnival glass berry bowl,

her Fenton Carnival glass hat bowl

as well as a faceted Carnival dish in the beautiful marigold color.

I treasure each of these pieces, not for their monetary worth but because my

grandmothers hands touched them.

She, sadly, passed away 10 years before I was born.

The bottom of the bakers rack has some wine bottles, a wine themed tray, my tea caddy

& my bread making bowl...with a pumpkin in it at the moment.

I had some fresh flowers inside, for the little shoe-shine box my son-in-love made for me.

His mother had one that she kept herb pots in out on her deck.

It was destroyed in the winter weather so she asked him to replicate it for her.

That's how I got one, too!

Hubby has treated it with a coat of varnish to help it stay nice.

The brilliantly sunny day for our lunch helped to

create some cool shadows.

I used my everyday dishes along with last year's pumpkin plates & little bowls

from Walmart & I noticed yesterday that they have them again this year.





Although these placemats photograph a redish burgundy,

they really go well with the dishes, honest!

I don't know why they photograph so off???





I served homemade slow-roasted tomato (what else???) soup first,

followed by salad on these pumpkin plates

& a mixture of fresh fruit went in the little pumpkin bowls.





A favorite fall candle sat next to a wire & grapevine bittersweet-pumpkin centerpiece.

Using my covered autumn pie dish gave a hint as to what we were having for dessert.

However, the pie dish was a ruse....nothing in it!







I made more of those darling individual lattice topped cherry pies

with the William-Sonoma pocket pie mold.



I just love that little thing & I'm going back to get the apple shape, too.

My sewing friend & mentor, Carol, sent me the sanding sugar you see sparkling on the tops.

What a nice difference it makes in the appearance of these little gems...

Thank you again & again, Carol!!!

They look like little diamonds sprinkled on top!

The fruit was naturally sweet but I like to offer a topping to dress it up a bit.

If you haven't tried Marzetti's strawberry cream cheese fruit dip, you don't know what you're missing! YUMMO!!

Pull up a chair & I'll drizzle some on this for you!


fondly,