Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Day Trippin’

We’ve been taking advantage of the fall weather and taking a few weekend day trips.  We started with a quick trip into New Hampshire and then just over the state line into Vermont.  Along the way we saw Alpacas, pumpkins, and the beginnings of some fall colors.

Some from a distance…and…

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…some up close.

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According to the recent news reports, the New England pumpkin crop has suffered this year.   So I was expecting to see a smaller number of pumpkins at the local farm stands, but when we stopped at an apple orchard, I wasn’t quite prepared for this!  We were greeted with some pretty slim pumpkin pickings…

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But then down the road, we saw this…DSCN4867

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I snatched up a few for my front porch, but we will still need to get a “big one” for carving the traditional jack-o-lantern closer to Halloween.    Have you seen some of the pumpkin carving patterns over at Martha Stewart?  Have you tried any?  I don’t know that my talent runs in that direction, but they are impressive.

As the leaves begin to fall, my sewing machine has been humming, too.  I fell in love with Happy Zombie's Poochie Bags!  They are very cute – and fun to make to boot!  This one I made for a friend as a “thank you” for all her advice and encouragement.  She is an unbelievable knitter, so I filled it with some great yarn I had thrifted.  (She’s a great thrifter too, so she was doubly appreciative!)

I really, really like these bags.  They are a great size, but in case you might want a smaller tote, Monica has also written up an additional pattern for  a mini version.  The Itty Bitty Poochies are very sweet, too.  I am already planning several of these for teacher gifts at Christmas.

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  I only used two fabrics for mine (instead of three), but I really think you could get super creative with this pattern.  I think it is an ideal pattern if you only have a little bit of a favorite fabric, as you could easily line the inside of the bag and pockets (and even make the straps) with a solid.  I also was thinking that for the lining and the pockets, you could experiment with some repurposed shirts or pants – or even a blanket or coat.   Lots of possibilities indeed!

Sewing and road trips – does it get any better than that?  Just last weekend we were off on another adventure a little closer to home.

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More on that next time…

Elizabeth