Sorry for the lapse...I've been distracted!

...not just by Thanksgiving preparations, but by some great family news! My son Justin and daughter-in-law Julie are expecting! We are all so excited! Please keep Julie in your prayers as she grows their little miracle!

I've gotten behind on my November samplers, but I am hoping to finish them today and post pictures as well as mail them tomorrow!

Since 2016 will be a busy one (I've GOT to start knitting!!), I've decided I will need to go on Swap Hiatus. So after this swap ends, there will most likely not be another one until Fall/Christmas of 2016. I may do seasonal giveaways on ASFAS until next Fall, as I continue to try to downsize/share my outrageous abundance of crafting goodies. Then I would like to do a nice big fun Christmas themed swap next fall. Ideas are welcome! I'll try to start it early (September?) so we have plenty of time to enjoy it. I will send out an email prior to sign ups to give everyone a heads up.

Well, I better get going on those samplers! Hopefully I'll have them posted tomorrow and on Tuesday we'll start our final month of the swap...December!

vintage image saturday...the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC

Another great Thanksgiving tradition! Here are some fun facts:
* First parade was in 1924
* The only years there was no parade was 1942-1944 during World War II. The rubber and helium were needed for the war efforts.
* The first large balloon was Felix the Cat in 1927
* The first year the parade was televised was in 1939
* Snoopy has had the most floats in the parade

My personal favorites when I was young: the Rockettes, Popeye, and of course Santa Clause! For me, seeing Santa at the end of the parade always meant it was officially Christmas season!

this makes me smile

I received this sweet October sampler from Patty. The saying on the top touched my heart! The idea that ASFAS is thought of so fondly and that friendships have resulted from it, is something I am so thankful for. Patty expressed this in her sampler, featuring sweet little examples of all the different seasons. I am proud to add it to my garland! Thank you, Patty!

Speaking of our garlands, I am hoping that the participants in this year's Mini Fabric Sampler Swap will take a few minutes to photograph their collection of samplers when they have all been received. Perhaps we can all post these pictures somewhere collectively. How fun it would be to view these! More on that later...

Have a great weekend!

moving stuff around

I am making 2 samplers this month. One for Sherry and one for someone I haven't mailed to yet (?!) I've selected the base fabric pieces, and I have been playing with the embellishments~ moving stuff around! I'm not quite sure if I've settled on it yet, but it's getting close. I will also be adding some "warm and wonderful" ivory batting to the backs (I love that stuff!) And as you can see, I haven't gotten the felted acorns out of my system yet, so there will be a few more of those made along the way...

Vintage Image Saturday... Pardon me, Mr. President!

Presidential Thanksgiving Turkey Pardons through the years. Don't ask me why, but I just love this tradition!

wednesday wow

Here's a great one for November! It can be found in this gallery of prayer flags from a swap. The artist's name is Leslie. I love the colors, fabrics, the bee...inspiring!

make it monday

Such a great tag/pocket idea! Perfect for that "extra something" gift to coordinate with your sampler! (Not that ANYTHING needs to be sent with your sampler~ I just know how many of us are!) When I followed the link, I was sent to this incredible site Inspiration a-go-go!

vintage image saturday

An old love of mine...Holly Hobbie. The top one is my favorite!

thankful thursday

I'd like to share this great Thanksgiving idea and printable with you. I think it would be great to create this on a canvas, have each person who visits for Thanksgiving add a leaf (with something they are thankful for written on it) to the tree. If you go to someone's home for Thanksgiving, bring the canvas and the leaves, and give the finished tree to the hostess. The canvas can become part of your yearly Thanksgiving decor or you can create a new one each year.
Here is the tutorial and free printable.

Wednesday Wow

Oh so lovely. The artist, Nancy Maxwell James of Sugar Lump Studios, sets the bar high in all that she creates. Her work is always so beautiful. I love the soft, warm colors in this piece.

Welcome November

November is one of my favorite months of the year. I have so much to be thankful for! I turn 53 this month, I am in good health, and I have a great husband and 3 beautiful, healthy children that mean the world to me. I have a sister and brothers that I love and nieces and nephews (and great nieces and nephews!) that I cherish. I am also lucky to have good friends. I am thankful for my online friends who mean so very much to me... this includes all of you!

In this wonderful month of thanksgiving, I am creating one of the final samplers in this year long swap for Sherry. This is what I have selected so far to work with... I'll keep you posted...