FALL

My camera is on its way back to me! Yippeee!!! I have gone through camera withdraws for the past week... I am hoping to have some real photos up tomorrow...if it gets here...

So these are pictures actually from last weekend... We have these great walking paths in the woods as part of a reserve just down the road form out house... Its a favorite thing for us to do, and the dogs are so happy when they can just run like crazy animals... no leash and concrete! The leaves are changing and falling, just lovely...

We gathered a whole bunch of leaves of different sizes and kinds and had stuck them in magazines to dry them out... We wanted to make a wreath out of them, but after a couple weeks they weren't really dry enough yet, so I stuck them in paper towels and microwaved them! A little at a time, and it worked! The best part was, we have a lot of Sassafras trees, and when the leaves were nuked, the house smelled so yummy! Very fragrant, green tree like, root beer smell!
That was a nice surprise!

So then we got out the glue gun, and some paper plates, and arranged them, and wa-la, A nice fall wreath!
Since I'm not one to decorate for the holidays (other than a xmas tree), It was a fun easy way to use the season!

This weekend though, we had compnay coming on Sunday, and thats a good thing, because my house gets very clean and picked up fasterr than any other time.... Company is a great motivator for me to pick up all my junk! My studio is spotless and now ready for another busy sewing week. We are doing a homemade xmas this year. I figure it's always a good idea, but this year in particular, with the crazy economy, to teach my daughter, that A lot of "STUFF" doesn't make a good xmas... and how we can do things with less...AND how much people appreciate handmade gifts... So I'm in full swing holiday mode...

I've completed two quilts this past week, (with about 4 more to go for xmas) and have a bunch of fabric reversible shopping bags already made... I've gotten a bunch of recipes together, and supplies, soap made, jelly and jam, salsa etc and now am trying to find a matierial that can hold my dry ingredients for my pancake mixes, and hot chocolate mix, and spices, without using plastic... So the flour doesn't go POOF! when you set the bag down... (so I'm no tshipping all glass items!)

So I'm doing a little experimenting...

I've seen so many good ideas, like bath mats over at Sew mama sew or the oven mits over at the longest year... Maybe even a few slippers... like at Sew green...

Got any other great fabric made gift ideas you can share? I need men's ideas...
Hmmmm?

thanks!