All I Want for Christmas is More Downton Abbey!

It is almost here...

...not Christmas silly. 

Season four!

Maybe not with Lady Mary in her riding habit - you know what happened last time she wore that outfit. It didn't work out well for poor Mr. Pamuk.

Thankfully Bates and Anna will be together again now that all that nasty jail bit is over and done with. Or is it? I honestly don't know. I don't read spoilers.

There is certain to be oodles of good lines for Lady Violet.

She has always been my favourite. Then I spotted this...

I knew it!! My heroine!

Anna and Lady Violet. No Diet Coke here I'm afraid.

Season Four airs on PBS Sunday, January 5th. Four new characters are set to join the cast and I cannot wait! Neither could Mina, Sam, Remy and Doughboy.
I hope you'll join us.

Downton Abbey is followed immediately by Season 3 of Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. If you haven't watched this PBS program I suggest you cozy up to Netflix and watch Seasons 1 & 2 PDQ.
You won't be disappointed.

Downton Abbey & pony photos were nipped from the web.

Crochet patterns used:

Lady Violet:  Annie's Attic Barbie Dress Pattern 87V26 (out of print) using worsted weight yarn instead of crochet cotton and a few modifications to fit Mina's slim torso and non-Barbie bust. Hat and bib my own pattern.

Anna: Tea Time Frock pattern. I made some modifications for Sam's arms. Carol at Shady Lane was really helpful and suggested that her patterns for 15" dolls would probably fit the sock monkeys quite well. The apron started out from this free pattern on Ravelry. Headpiece and collar were my own design.

Bates: Boler hat and vest: My own design. 

Lady Mary: Top hat base: Pattern found on Ravelry here with modifications to fit Doughboy's hat. The coat was a free Barbie pattern found here also on Ravelry. It just needed a few modifications to fit Doughboy's figure - which is not too similar to a Barbie doll's!

Thank you so much for stopping by. You know where you'll be able to find me on Sunday evenings in the New Year: On the couch, crochet hook in hand. Diet Coke with Lime nearby. Appreciating the finer things in life.

Tracy

Winter It Is

No fall decor to be found here... WINTER it is.

Just in case I'm confused by the cornucopias and acorns on Pinterest, all I need to do is have a look out my kitchen window. Even the heated bird waterer looks like a hot tub for fun loving chickadees.

I haven't gone all Christmassy, but the trees, pinecones, and snowflakes are out. Mrs. Robin is wearing a new hooded cape to keep her feathered self warm. Monsieur Moose's wreath and ribbon have him looking rather showy for hunting season. He may want to rethink that one.

My Mom and Dad celebrate their 57th Anniversary on Sunday and if you look closely you'll notice there isn't a flake of snow on the ground in the photo -- it was shirtsleeve weather on November 24th, 1956. Give me the good old days please!

I had to make my own version of the Car in a Jar with my 1940's Schuco car and my favourite -- one of Macy's Playmobil birds from last year's Advent Calendar. (They have the same calendar this year if you need some birds, bunnies or a fox for your jars.) 

Bach and Beethoven are even bundled up already.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have fun decorating -- for fall or winter -- and stay warm! 

Tracy

Linking up with friends here:

Common Ground

Jennifer Rizzo

Funky Junk

Halloween to Winter in 60 Seconds

I had just been admiring the lower leaves left on the mountain ash in the backyard a day or two before a Halloween that was gracious enough to allow the kids to trick or treat without parkas under their costumes. Then...

BAM! 

It started Saturday and by Sunday we had 14" of wet, heavy white stuff. Sigh. I had planned on doing a bit of fall decor even though our Canadian Thanksgiving was in October. 

We're on to plan B now. B for brrrrrr.

Apparently not everyone around here

is disappointed in the weather...

Mina is loving the snow but some of us just aren't built for these long winters, are we Doughboy?

Thanks for coming by. Stay warm and cozy wherever you are.

Tracy

Linking up with friends here:

Happy Halloween!

It's a Happy Halloween here in the Crow's Nest. Miss Mina has her very own hand made "Mini Me" gal pal as of yesterday. Here they are together for the first time celebrating the season. Sam, short for Samantha, has her hand in the treat cauldron, not unlike the rest of us around here.

She started out as a genuine pair of small Red Heel socks, a gift from none other than  Vickie, the Queen of sock monkey creators. I was nervous about the whole sock monkey birthing thing. I found this great YouTube video and was on my way. After a slight error in judgement and a redo on her arms she is living large and making fast friends at our house.

Sam and Macy carving the pumpkin last night.

The "Max-O-Lantern".

The girls ready for the trick or treaters who should be starting to arrive in a couple of hours or less. I hope there are still some treats left by then. Two monkeys can definitely get into more trouble than one.

Thanks for stopping by and have a Happy Halloween!

Linking up to friends here:

Common Ground

Halloween Apothecary 2013

Just around the corner from my kitchen is our handy witch's larder. You never know when you're going to need a pinch of this or a titch of that. 

Come closer...

Yes, that's good. We love our ever growing collection of homemade and purchased bottles and jars. Our favourites are the homemades. All thrifted and made up with our own concoctions. It's a great way to clean up stale spices that you purchase from the bulk section and don't quite fit in your spice jar. 

Our Bee's Knees are poppy seed; new this year are the Bat Kneecaps. The girls made them at the Halloween Party using dried black beans. These are super easy with these editable labels available on Etsy. I made mine a bit wider to work with the dollar store  square mini mason jars.  

A prized new item this year are these lovely teeth from a dental school. A treasured gift from my dear friend and most unconventional gift giver, Vickie. These received a much warmer welcome from the other family members than my beloved doll noggin. Go figure.

Here is the absolute easiest apothecary jar filler ever -- the polished stones that come in floral arrangements. I just did a little Photoshop fiddling with a free label found here and voila -- our personalized labels!

Did you notice my vintage lighting? $20 at Target and even cheaper in the US I am sure. Mr. Crow's Feet discovered that we didn't have any beams right where I wanted to hang my light and did not want to puncture the vapour barrier in the attic. I needed my light to be in this corner for Halloween so we came up with a temporary solution: 3M Command Hooks. I won't win any contests for presentation, but they do the trick. We used the velcro sticky stuff for hanging pictures but used the cord bundler hangers and it has been 3 weeks crash free! Touch wood.

The next image may be a little too frightening for some. 

Viewer discretion is advised....

Miss Wilhelmina sporting her new jack-o-lantern jumper fresh off the hook! She's snuggled right up next to some rotted composer on the piano not too far from great Aunt Marie and her first husband. I used the free pattern found here on Ravelry, adding a couple rows to accommodate her long, slim torso. I also used an H hook and made my own style sleeves and pumpkin lid. That bikini she wore just wasn't keeping her warm enough now that the north winds have started to blow.


Thanks for stopping by to have a look at our 2013 Apothecary and hope Wilhelmina didn't give you too much of a fright. Tis the season.

Tracy

Joining friends at their parties here:

Common Ground

Jennifer Rizzo

This IS Scary! (posting again)

Happy Halloween decor time friends!

It's just the right time to come out of the woodwork (again) and dust off the old blog. After recovering from decorating for Macy's 3rd Annual Junior Miss Halloween Conjuring Party this past week I figured I surely could muster up a post as well. The cobwebs on the blog (and my desk) are perfect for the season. 

It's the first Halloween for the new (last December) green walls in the dining room and they lend themselves perfectly to the spookiness for our fourth year of Paranormal Portraits. We added number eight this year -- my Great Grandpa Jacob from Norway on the far left. The other three are on the piano. Gotta spread around the paranormal love.

My sweet (not creepy at all) doll noggin from Vickie oversees the action in the dining room.

And there was a lot of action... eight 11 year olds sewing, dancing, and eating -- not necessarily in that order -- with one batty old witch giving instructions.

Cackle cackle.

In another corner of the dining room is our new pet 'Batty' perched on my maternal grandmother's Singer. Totally inspired by the so very talented Dave Lowe, it was a really easy item to make once I found her home on 1/2 price at Sears. I know, we're original on the names.

Batty's perch and bones will go into storage after the 31st and we'll use her home for other less guanofied vignettes. At least that is the plan.

Fall Mantle 2013... a repeat of 2012 minus the tackle box. With the entire fireplace wall blue my lovely fishing kit disappeared. Still no river rock but the awful flying saucer sconces are gone gone gone. Now I can look forward to someday having a mantle wider than a credit card.

The walls always look a bit wonky on the monitor, but these are our Benjamin Moore colours with the addition of Rocky Beach. 

I am liking the way my yellow kitchen walls work with the Halloween decor. Things really pop now with the orange and black. The small shelf and metal brackets make it super easy to hang a crocheted bunting. The candy corn on the top shelf does NOT make it super easy to snack. That's why there is another container for easy access on a lower shelf. For Macy and guests, of course.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and for checking on me while on my Blog Holiday. I will be around to see what you all have been up to. I sure hope no one has had to have the snow shovel out yet -- I'm not ready to think about w*nter yet.

On a little side note, on the chance that my dear neighbour friend Louise has a moment with her iPad, I'd like to send her a heartfelt get well wish. I'm hoping that she'll be out of the hospital before long and home soon so I can harass her in person once again. xo

Tracy

P.S. I do plan on doing a little cooking soon so I'll be back with a look at our 2013 Halloween Apothecary.

Linking up to:

Common Ground

Funky Junk Interiors