What's on the line?

Halloween Cottages are on the line! It's another finished quilt project! Can you believe it? I have so many projects that I've started that it's about time I finished some of them! :-)

Only a few weeks ago, I showed you that this project was on it's way to being finished and I am thrilled with how it turned out! The little cottage pattern can be found over at Nanette's blog - just go here .  She did a Christmas cottage block exchange a couple of years ago and I had so much fun making the Christmas cottages that I decided I wanted to make some for Halloween.  This quilt is going to my daughter, Collette, for her daycare center. The kids will love it!

We had a busy weekend. It was MEA weekend here in Minnesota and teachers were at conference so kids had no school last Thursday and Friday. Our grandson, Jacob came to spend the weekend so on Saturday, we took an "adventure"!! We headed out to the Big Yellow Barn, home to Minnesota's Largest Candy Store, to check out the veggies and the candy.

 

Every kind of candy you could ever want is in that place! And if you don't like candy, there are apples and pies and just like the pig says above.......there's smoked meats. Oh, and puzzles. I never noticed the puzzles before and that's probably because I was only looking for the candy. I want to go back and buy a puzzle and may just do that later this week!  We bought a few yummy delights for sure. Jacob had to try a quarter in the giant gumball machine. I want one of these in my house. LOL!

Next stop was Emma Krumbee's in Belle Plaine where Grandpa Steve was helping Jacob find the perfect pumpkins to paint and decorate.........

Steve was fascinated by the bin full of gourds..........

and so he selected a few to go with my fall decorations because he said you can't have Halloween without gourds. I had no idea he even paid attention to that kind of stuff!

Just outside the pumpkin tent is this wooden chair guy so I took a rest.......... 

I think he's kinda fun and would like to have him in my backyard. :-)

 

We took a lunch break and then on to the Ney Nature Center just east of Henderson, MN. It was a farmstead that is now open to the public and hosts a variety of programs, plus walking trails, cross-country skiing, natural prairie, etc.

This barn is one of the many original buildings on the site. I love old barns. I also like cows. However, neither would fit in my back yard. :-)

 

There is a new building on the site that houses exhibits on the farmstead's history and information on wildlife that is found in our area. We were fortunate to arrive just in time for the program that was being presented by Jan Helgesen about the deformed frogs that have been found in the Minnesota River and other parts of Minnesota. If you love learning about nature, then check out this article for more on what Jan shared in her program.......just click....here. 

There were demonstrations of how to make a cornhusk doll, tractor rides, and cider pressing...........

and pumpkin painting for the kids. Aren't these cute and colorful?!

Our last stop was by the big fire for a bit of a "warm-up". The day was pretty dreary and colder than expected so we welcomed the warm fire!

 

We had a great day and we all slept well on Saturday night!!  Sunday was more relaxed which was good because I did something to my heel or ankle and if I stepped wrong, it was "ouch!"  Much better now and have no clue what I did. I guess I'm just getting old. LOL! 

So, what's on the agenda for this week. Well, I'm stitching on some more Halloween projects and then setting them aside on Tuesday to work on some wooly projects. Going to teach a wool ornament project at the Knitting Knest on Tuesday night and that is going to put me in the mood for Christmas! However, I must be patient as I have told myself that the Christmas projects are not coming out til the day after Halloween! And I am going to keep that promise!

Have a great Monday!
Sandi