Rainy Halloween crafts

It has been a dreary wet week here in the Hudson Valley, and even Cassie is a bit bummed by all the wet weather. Here she is on Wednesday after her daily morning play session with the two dogs next door. They always seem to find the one spot in the yard where grass doesn't grow. It gets nice and muddy and they roll and play and end up looking like something the cat dragged in! I had to quickly bathe her before work and then clean up the tub! Today we are playing indoors, or staying on the leash!

While my husband was out with our two youngest girls for a wet afternoon movie, my oldest daughter, who is home with flu-like symptoms (!) stitched up a bunch of these quickie pumpkins and gourds. The idea came from the October 09 issue of Family Fun magazine, and they were so easy and quick (and of course I happened to have a decent stash of orangey-yellow fabrics), she was able to fill up some otherwise boring hours keeping her fingers busy. She really loves how cute they came out. They will make nice seasonal decorations or Thanksgiving dinner centerpieces or something.

Here is another batch of paper-cloth I made in September. I had set it aside, not sure how I would use it, when I thought about cutting out some leaf shapes. I just love the endless variety of leaves that are scattered and mixed in big leaf puddles all over the lawns and roads this time of year. The maple leaf in the upper right was layered with felt as batting, machine stitched around the edges, and hand stitched for veining. What will I do with them when they're all quilted? I'm not sure... I could string them together somehow in a garland or mobile-like wall hanging, or print inspiring words on them and give them as little gifts... I'll play with them and see what develops...