autumn blessings...

another amazing autumn day...

~~~

they just keep coming!

~~~

and i'm grateful.

grateful

for the blessings

of these late autumn days.

~~~

this morning,

on my walk,

i picked field corn

to hang

on an old corn dryer.
~~~

this corn dryer

has a hook

on the top

of the wooden peg

to hang the dryer.

~~~

it has nail-like extensions

on all 4 sides

of the square wooden peg

to hold the corn

and another hook

on the bottom

of the peg

to hold another dryer.

~~~

what a blessing

to have so many

beautiful autumn days

to enjoy all the gifts

of the season!

~~~~~

~~~

~

wishing you

beautiful autumn blessings...

peggy

an autumn surprise...

what a surprise!

~~~

i've been waiting all summer

for these heavenly blue

morning glories

to bloom!

~~~

this morning,

and all day,

has been like a summer day...

~~~

sunny and warm

and the perfect day

for blooming!

~~~

i'm looking forward
to seeing a few more
of these heavenly blue beauties
before this warm summer sunshine departs
and an autumn frost arrives.
~~~~~
~~~
~
wishing you autumn surprises...
peggy

autumn walk...

it's another

incredibly beautiful autumn day...

~~~

what a blessing!

~~~

nell and i set out

to enjoy

the splendor

of the day.

~~~

i hear the splendor

of autumn

in the loud crunching

of the dried fallen leaves

above the quiet of the morning.

~~~

looking around,

i see autumn's splendor...

~~~

in the gold

of the leaves

against the blue blue sky...
~~~

in the once

smooth brown cattails,

now fluffy.

~~~

i see the splendor

in the milkweed

spreading its' promise

of spring...

~~~

and the fuzzy

little caterpillar

who also promises spring

on this

beautiful autumn day!

~~~~~

~~~

~

autumn's splendor is

all around!

~~~

wishing you autumn splendor...

peggy

autumn's show...

autumn's show

continues

in my yard.

~~~

the mums...
~~~

the clary sage...

~~~

veronica...
~~~

and asters!

~~~

i am grateful

for the beautiful days

of autumn

and the beautiful show

autumn brings

to my yard.

~~~

wishing you beautiful autumn shows...

peggy

digging for gold...

the yukon golds are dug!

~~~

this harvest of

white potatoes will help get us

thru the winter ahead.

~~~

with the red (pontiac) potatoes

that are still to be harvested,

we'll have

~~~

i love these potatoes!

~~~

their golden brown skins

and yellowy-golden flesh

make them

a beautiful potato,

and their rich creamy flavor

makes them taste even better

than they look!

~~~

look what i found

in the pumpkin patch!

~~~

ain't harvest grand?

~~~~~

~~~

~

wishing you a grand harvest!

peggy

unlikely autumn color...

crocuses in autumn

seem unlikely,

so it's not surprising

that their pinky-purply color

is also somewhat unlikely for autumn.

~~~

autumn crocuses
are a surprise,
in many ways,
in the autumn garden.
~~~
the spring-like color
of the autumn crocus,
the fact that they
come up without foliage,
that they bloom in autumn
when many other flowers
are fading,
and that they aren't really
crocuses but belong
to the lily family,
are some of
the surprises
that autumn crocuses
bring to your garden.
~~~
autumn crocuses
are a sweet surprise
to the ending
of my garden
each year.
~~~
i look forward to
their bright surprise of color
and simple charm,
reminding me
that soon
my flower gardening
will be ending
for another season.
~~~~~
~~~
~
wishing you sweet autumn surprises...
peggy

thrifted autumn...

as i've said before,

i loooove autumn!

~~~

and i love decorating

for autumn!

~~~

i especially love decorating

with finds

from antique and thrift shops.

~~~

most of what i own

and most of what i buy

is from antique and thrift shops!

~~~

i love this old mirror!

it's a recent local antique shop find.

it hangs over another mirror

with a beautiful bevelled edge,

and is another

thrift shop find.

~~~

i love old mirrors,

especially when

some of their silver is missing.

i love the light

that mirrors reflect

and i love to hang them

in every room!

~~~

this old, mossy green dresser
sits below the mirrors,
holding more of my favorite
antique and thrifted autumn finds.
~~~
the creamy crocheted
pillow and doily
are from antique shops,
the candle lite from a thrift shop,
and the glass leaf dish
from our local thrift shop.
the mccoy basket bowl
is a gift from a friend,
purchased at an antique shop.
~~~
these stitchings are another
recent thrift shop find.

~~~
i love finding handmade items
at antique and thrift shops.
i love and appreciate
the time and effort
that goes into any handmade piece.
~~~
i love autumn and
thrifted autumn
is the best!
~~~~~
~~~
~
wishing you thrifted autumn finds...
peggy

autumn table...

i looove autumn!

~~~

i may have already mentioned

how much i love autumn!

~~~

i may have also already mentioned

that i love to decorate

our home

for autumn!

~~~

this is our dining room table.

we use this table when

family and friends gather.

~~~

i enjoy decorating
our table seasonally
and i enjoy seeing it decorated
as i pass by
thruout the day.
~~~
the dining room table,
with its' golden wood color,
and the autumn decorations,
with their rich, earthy colors,
gift me
with feelings of
warmth,
coziness,
and
being very blessed.
~~~~~
~~~
~
wishing you autumn blessings...
peggy

more autumn color...

more autumn color

in another project

made with my

autumn print strips...

~~~

this handbag

was made from what was left

of the autumn print strips

i had sewn together

to make

my autumn runner.

~~~

the inside
of the bag
and the handle
are lined
with muslin.
~~~
the button is decorative
and the flap
closes the bag.
~~~

i carry this handbag

as an extra bag

to haul goodies

for my daughter

and myself

when we're out and about!

~~~

it's fun to carry autumn color

wherever we go!

~~~~~

~~~

~

wishing you more autumn color!

peggy

autumn color...

i loooove autumn!

~~~

i love the colors,

the cooler weather outside,

the coziness inside...

i love all of that

about autumn.

~~~

i love to decorate for autumn!

~~~

i sewed this runner last fall

from some fabric i had around.

~~~

i was inspired to make this runner

by an old rug i have

made of

strips of fabric scraps

sewn together.

~~~

i love these autumn

prints and colors together!

~~~

to put this runner together,
i simply tore the length
of the 2 fabrics
into varying widths
(1-3 inches)
and then randomly sewed
the varying widths
(one strip of each print)
together.
~~~
i sewed the strips of 2
into 4,
so on and so on...
until it was as wide
as i wanted it.
~~~
i then sewed on
a muslin backing
to finish the runner.
~~~
my autumn runner
hangs
over the back
of the wooden bench
inside our back door,
warmly greeting
friends and family
with it's autumn color!
~~~~~
~~~
~
wishing you autumn color!
peggy

seed saving...

autumn is a time

to harvest

fruits and vegetables,

and,

for me,

seed.

~~~

harvesting flower seed is rewarding.

~~~

i love knowing

that my marigolds

have been grown

from seed

that i have saved.

~~~ my orange and yellow marigolds

were grown from seed

that i harvested last autumn.

~~~

the harvesting process is
easy,
fun, and frugal.
~~~
to harvest marigold seed,
simply snap off the withered flower heads
and lay them out to dry.
when the flowers heads are completely dry,
the petals can be pulled off.
the slim, black seed
will be nestled
inside the base of the flower.
pull the seeds from the base
and place them in an envelope.
mark and date the envelope
and store them
in a cool and dry location.
~~~
next spring
you will be able to pull out
your saved marigold seed
and plant
to your heart's content!
~~~

and next autumn

you will be able to harvest

your seed again!

~~~

and so it goes...

~~~~~

~~~

~

wishing you an ongoing harvest!

peggy
~~~

p.s. if you would like

orange or yellow marigold seed

for next spring

drop me a line!

~~~

i'd be happy to mail you some!

fall fun...

autumn is full of fun!

~~~

one of my favorite

fun things to do

is to shop craft fairs!

~~~

this autumn,

i will not only shop craft fairs,

i am getting ready

to take my crafts

to be

in a craft fair!

~~~

this craft fair is known

for it's handmade

and homemade items

and is always held

the opening day

of pheasant season

(the third saturday

in october~

october 16 this year).

~~~

i have taken my crafts

to craft fairs before.

it's lots of work

and lots of fun!

i'm especially excited to be

in this particular craft fair.

what makes it

even more fun

is that

i will be

in the booth

next to

my friend debbie

from tyme flies,

who is also bringing

her handmade goodies

to this craft fair!

~~~

i sewed

this cozy wool autumn handbag

for the craft fair.

~~~

this handbag is made from

a repurposed wool skirt

and a felted wool scarf.

~~~

the bag itself and the handle

are made from the skirt

and the leaves

are made from the scarf.

~~~

the fringe was on the skirt

which adds more fun.

~~~

the leaves were cut out

and sewed on

before i put the bag together.

~~~

the button is purely decorative.

the handbag holds

all your goodies securely

with a magnetic closure.
~~~

i love this bag!

~~~

i love it's

autumn colors

and autumn leaves

and it's wool coziness.

~~~

what do you think?

will it sell?

~~~

only 39 days

until the craft fair!

~~~

i better get

busy, busy, busy....

~~~~~

~~~

~

wishing you fall fun...

peggy

another sign...

another sign

that autumn is nearing...

~~~

the monarch butterflies

are starting to congregate.

~~~

on recent mornings

as i walk thru our lane,

i watch as

many monarchs

flutter effortlessly above,

coloring the cool blue sky

with orange and black.

~~~

as evening approaches,
i watch the monarchs
begin to cluster together,
huddling
to stay warm
on these near-autumn nites.
~~~
soon
these monarchs will
begin the journey
of migration,
making their way
to mexico
for a warm winter.
~~~
i'll enjoy these beautiful flutterbys
while they are here,
and,
when they are gone,
i'll miss them...
~~~
until next summer!
~~~~~
~~~
~
look up and see what's fluttering by...
peggy