Making it Myself-5 DIY Projects (and a couple fall goals) In The Works!

So this morning, I am wondering why on earth my car has all those pretty indicator lights, and what their purpose is. As I was driving my car downtown I stopped at a light, and the car died. So dead that after five minutes it would not even go into neutral out of park without charger cables being attached. 

 Yes, my friends, my alternator went bye-bye. With nary a red light notice on my dashboard (I'm one of those who doesn't leave the drive until they are all clear, even the unused seat belt indicators). So a thousand dollars later, I'll see my car at the end of the week. I suspect that a post on saving for emergencies on a fixed income is due here after this one. Meanwhile, my son and I are back to that one car sharing thing. Actually, it'll be him using his car as normal and me borrowing it the three times of the week I'll truly need it. 

The upside? I'll be home even more than usual (I see no reason to rent a car during repairs at this point in my life).  So I should get a great deal done on a couple DIY projects, including the unfinished ones mentioned below.

1. I made my first pumpkin recipe-and I don't have a picture.  Sigh. Said car died on the way to my weekly downtown cooking session and I had planned to take a pretty picture of my pumpkin cake with chocolate chips (no nuts for the masses) and cream cheese frosting after it was cut at the event. Someone from the church came and picked up the salad stuff and the cake (they ordered pizza instead). I guess I'll just have to make it again. This time with nuts! I'm thinking a pumpkin recipe linkup starting maybe next week, what do you all think?

2. After cutting and sewing and buying fabrics, I started on my quilt squares (I need eighteen in total). They came out perfectly. I just have to sit and think for a day as to whether I'm happy with all the squares like this, or if I feel I need to get many more small fabric pieces and go completely random. My lazy self is saying go with the former.  That's a bunch of two inch squares!  

3.  I've turned the blue alpaca into about a third of a shawl. Which I really cannot show here in case the recipient comes visiting.  I'm very happy with it and hope that she will be as well. Maybe next week I'll throw it up on Pinterest or Facebook, as I know she doesn't visit those places.

4. I chose the yarn for my for my fall shawl. I knitted the yarn up a little bit to see how it would look and I now know exactly what I plan to do. The yarn on the left has hints of rust and green and fall colors in it, so I'm going to add some rust to the mix.  This, I have decided, will be a rectangle similar to the one below. I may even have time to make a second one.  My goal is to turn this yarn (with a rust or green addition) into something similar, yet bulkier with fringe.  But without the buttons, I prefer a pretty pin to hold in place.  This should work up fast, and I should have a photo this week! 

5. While I haven't talked much about this on the blog yet, one of my goals is to try and create some of my own healing and skin products, to eliminate just a few of the chemicals in my life.  My daughter gave me a lovely gift card to Amazon, where I ordered the basic necessities like beeswax and apricot oil and Shea butter. First up? An all purpose pain lotion bar and a massage oil like arthritis rub. I believe that these will be cheaper than traditional store brand stuff, but in this case, my goal is not  just money saving DIY, but a better product!  Most of the time frugality and DYI mix,  but sometimes I make it myself for other reasons. I'll begin with a version of this pain relief lotion bar recipe.

I'm still working on the outdoor fall decor, but I now have inspiration-if the squirrels and rabbits stay out of my way that is.  I may have mentioned this before, but my neighbor is a master gardener, so her yard (and especially her vegetable garden) is far superior even to ours. A few weeks ago, we noticed that one of her vines has wandered over the little shed and into our yard. She told us not to worry, that we could use whatever were on the vines.  Which were-pumpkins. Only.  Rabbits and squirrels oh my! The other day we covered it with pepper flakes soaked in oil for a day or two, hoping to protect the last two.  If they make it, we'll throw them on the porch with some hay bales I picked up and some other original decor.  If they die a slow death, I'll settle for the fake floral arrangement and little garden flag I had in mind to make. (I've realized that wreaths are not my favorite way to decorate, even outside).

And now, off to bake to cakes for this coming Thursday (this time from a mix), take the dogs outside for some special time, and cut some more teeny tiny squares.