At the Pumpkin Patch

We get a pumpkin to carve every year. I'm not a huge Halloween fan, but it is a way I enjoy the holiday. I carve a pumpkin to put outside for trick-or-treaters, and I bake up some delicious pumpkin seeds. Even if I am a little old for it and we don't yet have a little one, I still enjoy going out to a pumpkin farm. Jer doesn't enjoy it as much as I do, so we had found a happy medium in visiting a not-too-far-away farm that has pumpkins sitting out ready to buy so I get a little bit of that pumpkin farm experience and he doesn't have to spend more than 5 minutes picking out a pumpkin. This year, I tagged along to a pumpkin farm with Janet and her girls.

There was ready-picked and pick your own, chickens, a corn maze, a playground full of tractor tires to crawl underneath and hay bales to climb on top of, and delicious smelling treats in the on site bakery like pumpkin cookies and hot apple cider. Unfortunately the tractor rides are only done on weekends.

The girls had their fill and we headed to Janet's home to carve! It's a little early still but it was a great way to fill a grouchy kid kind of day with a fun activity. They loved digging into those pumpkins!

 

The girls decorated their own smaller pumpkins while Janet and I traced and cut out designs they had chosen for us. The final results weren't as pretty as last year's princess pumpkins, but the girls were happy. Hopefully they hold out until Halloween!

I brought a couple not-yet-carved pumpkins home with me to decorate our place. I lined them up on the fence and love seeing them every time I'm outside. I can't decide if I'll do drilled pumpkins again or carved out something else, but I have a little while to decide yet.

Hunkering Down

As the days get shorter and the winds blow cooler, we've been preparing for winter. Admittedly for us, that doesn't really mean much. We do a deep clean, air things out on the clothes line, wash all our winter woolens, and put the garden to rest. We harvested the last of the grape tomatoes, enjoyed the last blooms, and cleaned it all up. All that's left is to cover the rosebush to protect it for the winter. We have been enjoying many Fall festivities and favourites. A couple weeks ago we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving.

 

Along with cleaning, we are finishing those last minute outdoor projects. Today I gave the chinchilla cage a good scrubbing and hose down, and later this week they will get all new wooden shelves and hidey huts. This evening I spent time sanding and spray painting garden chairs (although this feels more like a Spring project, I wanted to get that fresh coat on them before the cold sets in).

More fall-ish projects have made their way back out. I don't enjoy knitting in hot weather because it just makes me feel, well..hot. The cooler weather setting back in has had me pulling my needles out again to finish up a pair of mittens I started two years ago. I already have a list of projects I'd like to cast on. The next being this lovely hat.

There have been lots of Fall activities and visits to Bazaars on Saturday mornings (I can't wait to share more about these). A very favourite evening activity of course is cuddling up with Jer with mugs of hot chocolate and a movie. Last night we watched this..

..which we really enjoyed.

I really love this time of year and am soaking up as much of it as I can before the snow starts to fall.

Keeping Warm with Lolie Jane

As we enter October, days are really starting to get colder. Each day I've been pulling out more and more sweaters, warm socks, and knitted goodness that I put away last Spring. Lolie Jane Vintage is following suit. Soon the shop will be stocked with sweaters and coats and all sorts of things to keep everyone from small to tall warm these Fall and Winter months. Here is a little peek..

1970s Knit Poncho

Nautical Corduroy Coat with Anchor Buttons

Sweet Pink Rosebud Coat

Train cardigan

Handknit Snowbunny Sweater

Handknit Elephant Sweater

Handknit Bear Suit

Knit Farm Cardigan

Happy Sailboat Sweatshirt

Pom-pom Sweater Coat

Super Warm Curling Sweater

Men's 1970s Wool Cardigan

Mod Sweater Dress

Vintage London Fog Coat

And possibly the cutest coat ever!










Yes, there is much work going on in the shop these days. I can't wait to get all these goodies up!