(Can you guess the newest journal making an appearance at Gadanke?)

Congrats to our winner of a piece of Kelly’s beautiful new photography… Danielle!

I’ll be back later with a pumpkin pancake recipe we’re loving, shop update, and some new handmade goals and projects for the month.  Meanwhile the neighbor and I are off to town for the voting booths.  What are you up to?

Do you remember the piece of The Decluttering Project when we all used up or gave away old gift cards?  I used a $4 credit to buy a couple of white tea towels.  I’ve been on the hunt for an appliqué project ever since.  (Appliqué is the “pasting” of one piece of specially cut fabric onto another and stitching around the edges.)

I was flipping through the pages of Country Living when I found it!  This squirrel and the owl felt very autumn and very country.  You can get the patterns and a basic starting tutorial at their site.  I traced quarters on beige fabric to make the owl’s eyes.

The tutorial only uses iron-on interfacing to paste images onto tote bags.  If you want to make dishtowels, clothing, or anything that’s going to be washed regularly, there’s one step you won’t want to forget:  appliqué.

Sew around all the edges of your squirrel or owl.  That way the fabric won’t fray and the layers won’t peel apart.  Use a zigzag stitch or, like me, a blanket stitch.

It’s really simple, and it’s the perfect handmade gift.