Happy Halloween! Blessed Samhain!

                      A little pumpkin pincushion I whipped up....

Along with Trick-Or-Treating...Remember to honour any lost loved ones on this day...

Be safe during all your Hallow'een celebrations.

Stay Crafty!
Laurie Anne xx

Rainy day nesting

Hello Friends! Thanks for visiting...well, it's been raining here and pretty dreary to look at and this usually makes me feel like nesting.  The ONLY things I enjoy about the impending winter season is Christmas (of course!) and nesting...

I love baking, cooking stews, roasts and chili's... I love warm sweaters, jeans and boots...I love just watching the wood burn in the fireplace...I love countless hours of stitching, sewing and reading...I love cuddling on the couch with the hubby, and the kids, reading or watching a movie.

Soon it'll be time to say goodbye to these lovely crimson leaves outside our house...aren't they lovely...I am enjoying the view outside the windows.

This is my current embroidery project...still not finished...but almost! :) It's for one of my sister-in-laws as part of her christmas gift.

And this ball of fur is our  Moose ( Yup! all 8 lbs of him ) the kids named him, but he actually has SO many names! They call him Fanged Emperor, Hairy, Moosie, Mosquito, Moostafa, Muskrat, Moosealini....the list is endless...Poor little guy! The good news is he comes when called "Moose"

He is my sweet companion...he follows me everywhere I go, and prefers to sit in my lap while I stitch...Isn't he a cutie pie....
Here he is last week enjoying a pop of sunshine before the rains came.

Still working on those slippers...first attempt went rather badly and I spent a day with my trusty seam ripper, and cursing like a sailor ( where did that saying come from I wonder...were sailors notorius cursors??)
Then I threw the whole thing in the 'to-do' pile...I will get back to it this week I promise.

I hope you have a fantastic weekend, doing whatever it is you are doing....
Just remember...KeepCrafty!

Laurie Anne xx

A surprise from hubby

Good morning!  I hope your day is lovely! Outside my window it is a rather dreary day...it is pouring rain and grey, but as always if there's some stitching or crafting of some sort to do...it's all good.

My son is recovering well from his wisdom teeth surgery, in fact he is going to try a half day of school today..he is a real trooper. Thank you for all your well wishes! The rest of us are back to great health, my sore throat came and went, thank goodness!

Truth be told I have NEVER been much of a cross stitcher, I have always gravitated to free hand embroidery, but lately I have been drawn to it.
I have been gabbing on and on to my husband about the wonderful world of blogging (he doesn't get it) and I guess he was listening because yesterday he told me he ordered a book for me that is out of print...it should come any day now.
BOY was I surprised!!

Have you seen this book? Do you have it in your collection? What other cross stitch resources do you use?

And for embroiderers out there...where do you get your inspiration?
As a newish cross stitcher I am really looking forward to my book arriving...hubby gets bonus points for this move! :)

BUT don't you worry I will never give up my first love...I am currently working on an embroidery piece...should be finished in a couple of days and I will photograph it then. It is a small gift for one of my sisters in law.
I am also working on a sewing project...Slippers...I am making myself some cozy slippers and if I get them right, then I will be stuffing a pair in everyones Christmas stocking this year.

What are you working on this week?

Keep Crafty!
Laurie Anne xx

A long week

Good Friday morning my friends! Thank you to all my new readers and followers, it's always so lovely to read your comments and see what you're up to.

A little gift I made for a friend.

The above little applique piece I made one evening this week and then stitched up in the waiting room while my son was getting his wisdom teeth out yesterday. It's going to a dear friend...just because.

It's been a long week, the kids have been fighting off colds, as am I.

Hubby has been working alot of long, hard hours.

Today the kids are off school for a P.A. day, the wisdom-toothless boy is recovering.

My sweet girl is in pj's and relaxing...it's going to be a quiet day.

I am looking forward to making a trip to Fabricland this weekend for some supplies, also Michaels for some more DMC floss.

Wishing you all a great Friday and a fabulous weekend! What exciting plans do you have?

Laurie Anne xx

Pizzazz

Good morning my friends!

This weekend I posted about the tote bag I made my daughter for her babysitting supplies.

 We put on the final touches and added some Pizzaz.

 My label

 Her name embroidered on the handle.
She carries it proudly and that makes me smile.

I had much success making and giving these not-so-spooky felt skulls over the years....this year I have made 6 so far...one has already been claimed.  I have actually started putting snaps on the back of them and have used a peice of wide black strapping to attach them to, creating a garland of sorts...but if they keep disappearing I will have none to hang up for myself :)

What spooky crafts are you working on?

Keep Crafty!

Laurie Anne

Weekend Sewing

Hello My Dear Friends!
     I am so happy you have come back again to see what I am up to. Thank you! It is most wonderful to visit your blogs and I hope I can be of some inspiration as well.

My daughter has been begging me to make her a tote bag so that she can carry her babysitting kit with her and keep organized. I have put it off, frankly as I usually do with what seems to be an easy task which I assume I will "whip up" at a moments notice.
After a gentle <---read, somewhat 'demanding'  reminder from my daughter, I realized I had put if off long enough.

And so armed with a cup of Red Rose Decaffeinated tea, upstairs to the studio I retreated.

 Something easy to "whip up" still took up some considerable time, between loads of laundry, homework help, and assisting my teen with his first resume. It's always nice to spend a grey, rainy day sipping tea, cranking the tunes and being creative...

 She LOVES it !!

Now back to my regularly scheduled crafting....working on some felt Halloween Candy Skulls that I make every year to give to friends.  Also finished another pumpkin pincushion for a craft swap with a new friend! :)
Will post photos soon!

I hope you are having a lovely weekend, and that your creative juices are flowing!

Thank you for your visit, please come again soon!

Laurie Anne

Thanksgiving Weekend

 A little stitch I did last year for a craft exchange...Please let me know if you are ever interested in doing a craft swap...I love them,they are SO much fun!

 Our favourite hike near the cottage ends up at this little Chapel...isn't it sweet?

 A pretty, unexpected beauty...

 Foliage.

Hubby and I in front of the Chapel...to show you how tiny the Chapel is.

Forgot my bag containing my current stitching project at home, so I am waaaay behind. 4 days at the cottage and no stitches to show for it...instead we played alot of board games and enjoyed the autumn beauty.

What did you do this weekend?

Good bye Summer...

When not at the cottage I spent quite a bit of time in this little corner of the backyard, stitching, reading and sipping my cup of tea...

And this weekend, it began to get too cold to sit outside for too long unless the sun was out and still the breeze is cold. And so the bench came inside, relegated to the dark, mostly unused basement.

 And my bicycle got brought in and put on the trainer, so I can ride it until I can take her out again in Spring...

                                                                   *Le Sigh*

I am not a huge fan of cold, or snow or winter in general...but I am sure we can all agree the one thing that everyone including myself loves about wintertime is Christmas! The crafting ideas are endless! And it's wonderful to give handmade gifts!
I am currently working on a Christmas themed swap with an old blogging friend Kym who by the way just had her first grandbaby boy! So I can't show you yet what I have been making but I assure you it's going to be cherished.

Last night I dug up any Christmassy fabric I had and this photo shows just how desperately I need to make a trip to the fabric store! Eeek! I feel naked! I need to stock up :)
This morning I headed to our local library and was thrilled to find four crafty books that I had never seen before, in fact I think that I am the first one to sign them out. Loaded with inspiration! YAY!
NOW I definately need to get my ass  butt to a fabric store!
I also signed out The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain <--LOVE him!

I don't usually do any Halloween crafting unless I am doing a themed swap, what are you working on right now? What kind of Halloween crafty things do you make?
Thank you to all my new readers! I am thoroughly enjoying reading your blogs and hope that we can keep one another smiling and inspired!

Enjoy your day!
Laurie Anne