Hallowe'en 2026

Truly a bizarre night:  Hallowe'en was warm and there was no rain and very little wind!!!  This is the only October 31st that we can remember when we were not fighting the elements or brushing off snow before hauling in the wet and wind-whipped decorations!  

It was spook-tacular and we looked great...

In the end we only had 41 trick 'r treaters, which I think was due to the fact that it was a Saturday.  It was a good thing I started doubling the chocolate handouts early on or we would have been left with far too much!!!  There were some great costumes, police and firefighters were the obvious favorites... I did not have even one Spiderman, though.  

The next night we set up to receive the invited dead...

Our Day of the Dead altar, with treats for humans, dogs and even the hamsters and birds that were part of the family.

It is something that is really missing in our culture:  to set aside one night to remember our lost loved ones and think about them, share a treat and honour what they meant to us.  

It's a wonderful opportunity to reflect on what's important and be grateful for all the good times, past, present and (hopefully) future!

I hope you enjoyed Hallowe'en and had some spooky fun and that the Day of the Dead offered you a renewed sense of peace and belonging.

Artisan Showcase 2026

For the Artisan Showcase on September 26th, I needed to have something new to demonstrate needle felting.  I wanted something big and bold, bright and colorful... 

So I made the sun!  

Then I made the moon!

And at the show, along with my main table...

...they looked great!

Thank you again to Carol Vair for inviting me to participate, it's a wonderful opportunity to share what I love to do.

Inspiration

I've written about inspiration here before, and it can be surprising how quickly you can go from "stuck" to "Voila!"  

I wanted to make simple mice for a long while but somehow it never happened.  Then, while we were on vacation in Kincardine, this stunning fibre was found in a lovely shop on the main street.  On a top shelf in Stilara there was a basket of fluff... 

I was immediately drawn to it... but walked away.  I have so much fibre already!!  But I went back the next day, probably because the color matches my sweet Zorro so well!  Look at that!  

Once I had the fibre, everything fell into place.  Kinny was born that same day!  

I'm terrible at replicating my work, so the next three mice were all different!  Stilara, Cameron and Baby were all completed in time for the Artisan Showcase and all three found new homes.

That's Stilara, Cameron, Baby and Kinny from left to right.

Even unborn, Baby was super photogenic.  

Once she was finished, there was no stopping that adorable little creature!

Still, Kinny is my favorite and I'm glad I kept him!

Finishing touches

So this is my first post for 2026... I like writing this blog but I find it hard to justify the time since so few people read it.  I suppose I write it for myself.

Anyway, just a quick one:  finishing touches!  What a difference they make!  Take a look at these two photos:

Adding the green napkins introduced a bright color and also realism.  I cut these from an actual napkin, separating the layers and using the edge that had a little embossing.  

The idea (or realization) came from the haunted food I ordered through etsy (another post on that later!).  One of the dishes arrived with a wee folded napkin and I thought it was very clever.  Thanks again to the ladies of PiccoliSpazi for planting the seed that spawned this improvement.