Halloween is Closing In…

Readers, you know that my grand plans for October fun and Halloween Hoopla were interrupted by our recent loss, and I’ve decided to delay the giveaway I had planned (Keep commenting on my posts, your comments will all count in the final giveaway!) I’m still enjoying the Autumn weather and the Halloween decorations I see as I drive to-and-fro every day.

Tonight we will be working on our Halloween costumes…here’s a peek at some of our supplies:
If anyone can guess what we are dressing as, from this photo, I’ll send you a a special prize; as I think you would have to have ESP in order to guess it from these supplies. And local friends, who have been told what we are dressing as, your guesses don’t count!!! (hint: no one is dressing as a dinosaur and no one is dressing as a hippie.)

So, I have an entire list of October posts already lined up for 2011, since I didn’t get to them this year. But that’s okay. It happens.

I do have a few links I thought I would share with you on these last few days before Halloween:

Have you seen the “Costume Sewing Patterns” group on Flickr? Those vintage ones remind me of fabric shopping with my Mom for handmade Halloween costumes many a year ago…

Ellen at The Long Thread has lots of Fall and Halloween inspiration on her site, well worth clicking through…

Draw!Pilgrim has a site full of colorful, fanciful eye candy, some free label downloads offered on today’s post, and a cute tutorial for making a Halloween lantern. Cute and seriously easy.

Jodi at Pleasant Home rounds up all sorts of great ideas, her own as well as showcasing other’s, but one of my all time faves? These jack-o-lantern towels from last October.

and next year, I might need to decorate my bed….like this.

Happy haunting…and make sure you buy enough candy.

Gharish and Ghoulish Garlands

Thanks to all of you that left kind words and sent emails in response to my last post. I try to keep this blog a light and fun space, life isn’t always, light and fun, that is, but I could not let the chance to say something pass by…and after reading the reactions to it, I am SO glad I did say something.
I did manage to have a little Halloween gathering at my home last week… I didn’t get all the handmade items completed for it that I wanted to, but it was fun and wonderful just the same. I put together that Halloween tree with a branch I cut while on a walk at a nearby trail and a vintage jack-o-lantern candy pail.

My sweetie’s Mom gave us some vintage Halloween decorations that she used to decorate with when she first got married in the 1950s(!). I spruced up the mantle with these items:My favorite is the cardboard cut-out garland of jack-o-lanterns…pretty awesome, huh?My sweetie has told me, on more than one occasion, about these pumpkins that his Mom always hung on the mantle for Halloween, and how cool he thought they were. We were both thrilled to find out they were still around!

I found some other nifty, and crafty, Autumn and Halloween garlands/banners out there…check these out:

Stephanie’s super cute wool Halloween Garland….

Rawbone Studios’ awesome Dios Los Muertos garland in black and orange….

aprilfoss’ too-cute-for-words Owl Garlands…seriously, check out the cuteness in this girl’s shop!

And, I’ve resisted the urge to jump into paper crafting, I figure I have one pricey hobby, and that should be enough. But how much would I like to craft (or at least, have) a Boo Garland like Genevieve’s?

There is some seriously spooky inspiration out there…. As always, send me a link or leave a comment if you have come across any great Halloween decorations!

The Ultimate Conversation

This is a very serious post but it may just be the most important post I ever write. My blog is titled “threads of conversation”, a business name idea that came from my brother… a play on words…y’know, talking about sewing, etc… But today I want to focus more on the CONVERSATION part of the phrase, less on the “thread” part.

Last week was one of the toughest weeks I have ever endured. A member of our family took her own life on Friday, October 8th. She left behind her husband of 23 years, and three young adult children, aged 17, 19 and 21. Anyone that has lost a parent knows it hurts at any age, and it hurts to say good-bye no matter the cause of death, but loss to suicide makes dealing with the loss even more difficult. My heart bleeds for those three, and their father. Please pray for them, that they find the support they need in the coming days, weeks and months.

We were supposed to be celebrating a string of family birthdays last week; my sister, my Mom, a Goddaughter, my sweetie, a sister-in-law… instead we spent the week saying goodbye to someone who celebrated her final birthday September 10th. She was a truly beautiful, generous and gracious person. She welcomed me, as a new family member, into her home the last four holiday seasons for warm, lively and lovely holiday celebrations. There was SO much I still wanted to get to know about her, her cultural background, her artistic pursuits, and her life. But of all the conversations I miss not getting to have with her, the ultimate one would be a gut-wrenching discussion about her suffering, and sharing with her that I have seen those deep, dark, recesses of despair and understood some of that suffering. I’m not saying things would have turned out differently, but I would have liked to have had the chance to help her shoulder her pain. She was being treated for anxiety and depression, was reaching out to friends in her despair, and trudging through every day as best she could. But obviously, she didn’t get all the help and treatment she required.

I lost a favorite uncle to suicide when I was 16. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. A few years later, in my 20s, I had thoughts of suicide myself, and then one day, I contrived a plan. Something stopped me before I made the attempt. I still remember that day like it was yesterday as well. Until last week, I had never shared that with anyone because I was ashamed of it.

Mental illness is an ugly thing, and suicide is a very ugly word. But neither is something to be ashamed of or swept under the rug. Talking about it could just prevent another family from having to pick up the pieces and find a way to go on living themselves. If you or anyone you know is struggling with any mental illness issues, please get help or see that they get help.

The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255.

If you are struggling, contact a medical professional, a counselor, a friend, email me at schmitz.doris[at}yahoo[dot]com, call the number above… just, please, reach out to someone. Have the Ultimate Conversation. It may well be the hardest conversation you ever have, but it just may save a life.

Haunted Houses

 

**Don’t forget to comment on the October posts to be included in the giveaway(s)!   

I wanted to get some haunted house blocks made for a quilty project this month, and I found some great inspiration online (just search Google images…) Aren’t those old houses great?! I grew up in a 1896 house, my parents kept it up very well, so it wasn’t exactly “haunted” looking, but with the right lighting and a litte disrepair….

There will be a little blog break here at Threads, we had an unexpected death in the family yesterday, so October isn’t going to progress as planned. Please pray for my sweetie’s family this week.

I’ll leave you with some crafty Haunted House inspiration:

1. Haunted House Mini Quilt by Patchwork Queen

2. Haunted Mansion Pillow Cover by Bexcaliber

3. Felt Haunted Houses by OhMafelt
4. Haunted House 3-D Printable card by GoMakeMe

Leave a comment about a haunted house(s), a Halloween favorite activity or craft or decoration, or a fun link…giveaways coming.  And check out Jodi’s roundup of Halloween Houses here…

Monsters on Parade

 

I enjoy cruising Etsy, Flickr, craft sites and blogs to see all the creative projects that fellow crafters and sewists come up with.  Searching for Halloween faves has been a blast!!!  Here’s a Friday Round-Up of some of my favorite Monster plushies to add to the Halloween Horror around here…  Enjoy!

Corrine the Zombie by ArtOfMe, is creepy, but cool.  I think her face is free-motion quilted–nice touch!

 

Jack and Zack O’Lantern, also by ArtOfMe.  Double Trouble….

JunkerJane’s cast of creepy characters blows me away.  Here are her Duct Tape Monsters….

Elvina, the Girl Vampire….

and Monster Heinrich are a few of my freaky faves!  Check out her Flickr Photostream for more Monster Madness!

Humphrey the Monster by MinnieMiller, found in her etsy shop… He sort of reminds me of Where the Wild Things Are.  Do you see it?

And these Whimsical characters by Sassy Packrat Studios are freaky fun!  The Bride of Frankenstein could put Marge Simpson’s beehive to shame…  and what’s not to love in this face:

I know I won’t get any plush Monsters made for this Halloween, but these sort of inspire me to make some for Halloween 2011!

**HALLOWEEN HOOPLA GIVEAWAY**

At the end of October, I will be giving away multiple prizes, including a quilted item, holiday fabric, patterns, etc.  The more posts you comment on in October the better your chances of winning something!  Let me know that you follow my blog and you have an even better chance!!!

Have you ever made a monster softie?  Or seen any great ones out there?  Let me know, I’d love to see ‘em!

Ode to October

You know I love October for the Holiday, and for the fabulous cool Fall weather, but October in Des Moines, Iowa also means the American Quilter’s Society Show and in conjunction with that, our local Des Moines Area Quilt Guild show.  Yesterday was opening day, and I took a day of vacation from work and headed on over.  I ran into some blog friends…

Linda, Patty and me!

Had lunch with a local quilty friend, Tricia, who is taking classes at the show every. single. day.  Lucky girl.

and soaked in the sights of beautiful quilts and inspiration everywhere!  AQS allows photos but asks that they be used for personal use only and not shared online.  I’d love to share the quilt love, but I don’t want to get in trouble.  If you get the opportunity to attend any of these International juried quilt shows, I highly recommend it.

Now, on to the Halloween Party.  I haven’t gotten much of my own sewing done this week, what with skipping off to quilt shows, etc.  But I want to send you to a friend’s website to see the totally ghoulish and freaky foundation patterns she is developing along with her family’s input…  When this quilt is finihsed, she’s going to have the coolest Halloween Quilt on the web!

This is Sonja’s Carl Frankenstein:

I “met”  Sonja Callaghan, a.k.a Artisania, through my first Virtual Quilt Bee, Sew Connected 2.  She made this totally awesome, rockin’ barn block for my yet-to-be-finished Neighborhood Quilt.  She rocks as a foundation piecer, and designer.  You can buy a pattern for Carl Frankenstein and all his ghoulish pals here.   Seriously.  Go check out Sonja’s site and tell her I said Hi!

Don’t forget to comment on my October posts…there is a giveaway coming at the end of the month and the more posts you comment on the better your chances of winning…. 

Now, go check out Sonja’s shop! 

**HALLOWEEN HOOPLA GIVEAWAY**

At the end of October, I will be giving away multiple prizes, including a quilted item, holiday fabric, patterns, etc.  The more posts you comment on in October the better your chances of winning something!  Follow my blog and you have an even better chance!!!

What is your favorite month of the year?  What is it that you like love about it?