Happy Halloween to everyone out there! I really do enjoy the fun of Halloween. As a kid I spent untold hours anticipating and planning for the one day of the year when I got to be someone(thing!) else, not to mention the fun of going out – after dark! – with friends to trick or treat for goodies! Perhaps those days of creating costumes (who had money to spend on store bought items??) fueled my love of fabrics, textures, embellishing, stitching as well as any other materials that served a creative purpose!! To my parents credit, they allowed me to create with reckless abandon (well ALMOST..) With only grown kids, grandkids that live at a distance, and a neighborhood that usually only nets us a dozen or so trick or treaters, I do miss the excitement the Halloween holiday used to bring. That all said, I need to now explain that look on the pumpkin…. More…
With fall fast approaching and the garden starting to slow down, I was finally able to deliver on my promise of a workshop for my Daystitchers group. I have belonged to this group for many years: I remember my delight finding out that there was a group of like minded quilters, knitters, and stitchers that met during the day! Anyone who has fibro/CFS/lymes (or any other condition that wreaks havoc on your energy system) will understand that doing things in the evening hours just doesn’t work! Prior Lake did (and does) have an evening group, but that wasn’t going to work no matter how badly I would have liked to have joined. The opportunity to join a daytime group was so exciting: a chance to socialize, visit, share and learn! Added pluses: the group meets EVERY Wednesday (one doesn’t have to remember if it is ‘this Wednesday!’) AND it had been decided that this would be a ‘low maintenance’ group – no dues, no ‘officers,’ no treat committee, etc. We have occasionally done such things as block exchanges, row exchange quilts, etc. as well as contributed to cash awards at the county fair; all on a volunteer level of participation. And yes, at least one homemade treat appears each Wednesday! Over the years, we have shared the ‘days of our lives’ – the good and the bad – and I feel blessed and fortunate to know such a diverse, creative, giving and sharing group of women. It was with their support that I pursued working with wool/wool felt and creating patterns, so I figured it was only fair play to create a workshop just for them! More…