Autumn Leaves

are so incredibly beautiful. This tree outside my living room window simply changed colour in a day. Now, of course, after some strong winds, there are more of them on the ground than on the branches, but they still look amazing. I have a selection of autumnal fat quarters just begging to come out to play at this lovely season, perhaps my favourite of all. But I'm still resolutely making things for Christmas, and ignoring their siren call.

I do, however, have to go and get some batting... maybe tomorrow. I have a quilt to make for the International Quilt Challenge, Through The Window. I have completely ignored my earlier ideas, which no doubt will be called up for duty later, to make a piece that it entirely suitable for this time of year, with Hallowe'en/Samhain just passed and Guy Fawkes looming. I'll let you ponder that one... it doesn't involve orange, though.

Meanwhile, back to the grindstone. Stuffing lavender bags and finishing off festive table arrangements, not to mention adding a little more wool to the lovely pale green scarf I felted yesterday... it's all go!

I Know, I Know...

but it's nearly the end of October. I know you don't like to hear the C word much before December, but to get all the presents made, you have to start early. So here is my first attempt, a pincushion with a definite Christmas theme to it. I made it 6" square, because I hate wee footery pincushions...I only lose them. This one has three different fabrics on the top, including a hand dye, and is quilted in gold variegated metallic threads, as well as having an embellishment of some sari yarn around the edges. The back is made of Evolon, so that it isn't too slippy; nothing worse than a pincushion slalom...

I'm just about to do a lot of this kind of thing, so bear with me, as inevitably, it will make its way onto the blog. Much of it will be for the Etsy shop, but some of it will be for my loved ones... but I'm not saying which is which, so if you like something in particular, and you're on my Christmas list, perhaps a few hints would be in order... Mind you, I will also show you some of the felt I made yesterday, too, once it is dried and stitched. So it's not all holly and mistletoe...honest... and I promise, no Christmas music. Not at all. Not a note. No sir.

Wondering...

what to do next. I've spent the day sneezing, and we're going out shortly to visit a friend for the first time. I was looking through my images to see what I want to work with next, and came across this one. It's a foxglove blossom, seen way up close, and I think it's magical. It makes me think of a pathway, a fairy pathway. When I took and edited the image, I think I just looked at it as a design, with no particular thought other than how it would fit into the long strips of images that I was preparing. It just goes to show how much you can miss if you are working within a particular context. I'm wondering about this at a very large scale, how it would look...

Meanwhile, my thoughts are turning to the festive season. Presents, of course, and stuff for the shop. It's going to be a frugal Christmas, for all kinds of reasons that I won't bore you with, so I hope my nearest and dearest will like what I'm making for them... Of course, I can't say what exactly I'm working on for them... For the shop, though, lots of little things. And I'm going to go out as soon as this cold has vanished (let it be soon...), to take images for cards and ornaments. I'm having fun!

Colouring Up...

is always good fun. I did some dyeing last week with Gemma, my apprentice/slave, and finally got round to ironing it. As usual, I forgot to add the Calgon... we never had this problem in Scotland, where water is soft, but Calgon definitely improves the dye take up down here. Still got good results, though, so I forgive my vague self. I really must do some more dyeing; intending to put some of these pretties into the Etsy shop as soon as I get it up and running. Not sure whether to add them as they are, as 18" strips (the fabric is very wide...it effectively provides two Fat Quarters, a Fat Eighth and a bit extra, as I explain to people who are measurement challenged...), or to cut them into Fat Quarters. How do you like to buy your fabric online? All feedback gratefully received. Usually what happens at shows is that I take a lot of FQs and people ask me for larger pieces, and vice versa. I never seem to get the balance right...sigh.

I'm having a happy time making small things for Christmas presents and my festive Open Studios in early December, as well as getting ready for the second International Quilt Challenge challenge. Oh, and there's the little matter of looking after Judy's chickens, dogs and daughter on a part time basis for the next fortnight while she and Haydn are gallavanting around the countryside...they're in Bath today. Lucky them, I've never been, and would love to go. Meantime, though, all of this is keeping me Out Of Trouble, which must be A Good Thing...

Telling It Like It Is...?

One of the problems of being on a European shopping board like Dawanda is that you do have the chance to write about your work in three or more different languages. Now I trained as a translator, you would think that would be easy... But I don't use my French all that much; same for my German, but much more so...my French is reasonable, but my German is grammatical, but so rusty it squeaks! And as every translator will tell you, technical language is a nightmare. You either know it or you don't. What to do.... Well, for one thing, I've paired up with a German speaker whose English is great but who doesn't do French; I can translate her French listings, she can translate my German listings, and all is well with the world. So far so good, huh?

But that still leaves me with the French technical language. So I thought...I'll just go and have a look on amazon France... and lo and behold! I bought a couple of books, en francais, one on ATCs and one on postal art, which I haven't really tried...sigh... I'm just telling it like it is, here, you understand...I need these books to enhance my vocabulary...!!!

Because I opened a flickr account, I got the chance of ten free Moo cards. They arrived today, and they look *wonderful*, so I think I will go ahead and have some cards of my work printed. And maybe even some more Moo cards! Meanwhile, though, you'll have to put up with looking at the first of my holiday offerings!