We've had a slow, gentle fall up here and the trees are just beginning to turn. It's been fall for ten days now, but around here, we haven't really noticed. I'm still pulling the odd cherry tomato and zuchinni out of my garden, for crying out loud!
And I've been spinning in the sunshine. I had two Merino lamb fleeces that I blended into batts last summer just sitting in the studio and tempting cats to roll in them. It seemed like a good idea to spin them this past month. I sort of thought that the yarn could be used to knit a Christmas gift sweater for Steve, but as I was spinning, I started to realize that lamb fleeces aren't really all that large. So instead of having enough for a men's sweater, I have enough for a vest. Hmmm...
The yarn is a gorgeous pewter grey heather, the resultof blending a white fleece with a colored fleece. For those of you into spinning statistics, it is 3-ply, 4 tpi, and about 9 wpi. Soft and lofty, with a lot of bounce. There are thoughts of overdying in a steel blue dancing through my brain right now, but we shall see. Said brain is not functioning fully these days, due to a head cold.
Said brain is also shifting its focus. It is October, after all. Halloween in only 30 days away.
For those of you who are new to the party, Halloween is a big deal around here. We do a home haunt, throw parties and build...er...elaborate costumes. We have an extensive collection of props, and we tend to add to it each year. So I always have an eye out for spooky stuff this time of year...
...such as this Graveyard Kit from Shoppers Drug Mart. Everything you need to build a complete graveyard: tombstones, skulls, a rat, and a fistful of Spanish Moss for atmosphere. And what graveyard would be complete without...
...spoooooky striiiiiing!?! Ummmm...okay.The other bits of the kit are pretty marvelous and will be distributed in the garden and house this afternoon.
Of course, in a crafty house, one can not rely upon store-bought props alone!
This pile of simple materials will be evolving into The Graveyard Guardian over the next few days.
Our home haunt will be scaled back considerably this year because I will be away for a large part of October, but the Guardian will lurk in our garden, keeping evil spirits at bay. At least he will if I can find a cheap-o skull to base his head on....
And for those of you looking to add a little Halloween spirit, or more appropriately, spirits, to your life, the Samhain edition of The Anticraft is up. Many tasty beverages and a couple of beverage-related crafts, all with a creepy flair.
I'm off to shop for fog machines and then put in some work on my top-secret Halloween knitting project. WooOOooOOoo!
Edited to add: In the "spirit" of the season, I have decided to revive an old countdown that I used to use when the kids were little--one Halloween riddle a day until the Big Day. Here goes:
How do you fix a broken Jack-O-Lantern?
Tune in tomorrow for answer!
No comments:
Post a Comment