Friday Finish!

 

I finally finished a piece I started, made with one of my patterns, Catch of the Day. I made them for punch needle or rug hooking, but most work with stitchery too. I like to have simple things to do at night, while I watch tv and during the day I try to work in my room with the machines and prepping pieces. I really need to start pulling out all the old and unfinished projects, a few that I really want to finish for summer.

We are finally getting some nicer days. Bill had an early appointment this week, so he took the day off and we headed to the beach. The tide was lower, than usual and it was good for Bean to get out again.

At another beach, I walked along the length to the rocks. When the tide is super low, I can walk over the cliff area to another area, on the other side. Lots of rocks in this area, looking down to town. I wear heavy winter hiking boots, so it makes it easier to walk on the rocks.

I have been looking for glass and beach treasures, when we go out. Not as much with the strong tides, but here are a few things I have found, from a couple of trips. 

I hope everyone had a nice week and can enjoy some nicer weather. I do see that some of you are in the storm's paths for tornadoes, so my prayers are with you all.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I finally made the time to finish my daughter's quilt. I was working on it for her 30th birthday but we lost her five days before. Over the years I have wanted to finish it, but didn't have the heart, but this year, was the year.

It felt good to finish it and I am thinking we will use it as a family quilt for now. It was a pain to put together, since I used a cutter to make the blocks. I would rather cut the fringe, after piecing. Having them cut before, just got in my way. I had planned on adding another row of denim for the outer edges, since she had a queen bed, but it doesn't have to be that big now, so I left it as is.

We have been getting out more with the nicer weather. We had a nice Easter with the kids, the boys checking out their finds from the hunt.

The next day we picked them up to go fishing. They loved their new poles and I realized I miss fishing, so I got a license, now I need to get a new pole. 

We enjoyed time at the beach, and I spotted this shy gull.

And they are all nesting on the big rock in the bay, all the Cormorants stay on the same rock.

We spotted the Ospreys in the cove, along with two Oystercatchers, a first time I have seen them inland.

In the nearby farm, a lot of birds were gathered in the fields. The Glossy Ibis and Killdeers were wonderful to see.

Today we went back to the beaches. It was really hot the last two days and now there are fires going up in the woods, so it was nice to get away from the smoke.

I got to enjoy watching this new pair, doing their mating dance and showing off.

And the final act, I hope they have a successful year and I get to see their young.

I want to thank you all for your prayers. Cyndi is still in ICU, but she has improved and we are all hoping she keeps fighting. I hope you all enjoy your weekend.

Friday Finish!

 

Another week that went by too fast and I didn't get as much done, as I had planned. I was able to finish the stitching on my Christmas piece, so now I have to cut it to size and add a border, then I can quilt it. I decided to try a little chick, with needle felting. 

I had a photo of one I wanted to make, but mine came out differently, since I started with a cookie cutter. I made the mistake of peeking to see how it looked and it puffed out of the frame. So, I had to do the rest without the frame. I will try more and try to get it a little more rounder, like the original one, but fun to practice and I did better on the eye, this time.

Last weekend we went to Connecticut and checked out a few of the ocean areas. We went to the point and enjoyed some of the views and watched the ferries. It is a nice spot since you can sit in the car and not be outside too much, way too cold.

The lighthouse at the top left, is all that is left of the Little Gull lighthouse. My grandfather was a keeper there, at one time. It had a large home with several families living there, but storms have washed away, most of the island.

Then we drove to the UConn campus down the road, lucky kids, who get to go to this campus.

On the way home, we spotted this funny scene, in a marina.

The next day we stayed local and went to the island. I never get sick of walking on the beaches, and I even found a marble.

We also went to the point and walked around for a bit. Another place that has spectacular views of the ocean and Newport.

A close up of the lighthouse, behind Bill and Bean.

A hidden fort on the hill.

And this Red-tailed hawk, landed nearby, just as we were getting back in the car.

I hope everyone had a nice week and fun plans for the weekend.

Friday Finish!

This week I was behind since Bill had his cataract surgery, but all went well, so one more eye to go. It is so nice that it goes so quickly and easily and he won't need to wear his glasses anymore. When Bill is home, I never get much done, he distracts me too much, lol.

But, I decided to try a new piece for my beach display, a whale. I looked online for ideas and liked the more realistic look, so I redid the design a bit and enlarged it. I thought it was large enough for turning, but I was wrong, the tail would not go through and I ended up ripping more than a few loops. I had to slit open the entire back to turn it easily, but it is for me and no one sees the back, but the large slit made it sew up more tightly and turned his tail. I definitely have to rethink how I design something so it sews and turns easier. To fix the pulled loops on the tail, I used my ink marker and colored over the white, that was showing.

He is 6" long, so the next one will be bigger and thought out better. I would love to know how others turn small areas for shaped pieces, that are stiff like this. I was thinking I could sew by hand, by whipstitching the backing to the piece, so no turning.

I have also been making my yard more bird friendly. I bought a new house, a beach one and more peanut bricks, the birds love it. I learned that Robins and other species like an open house to build their nest on, so something to find for some future houses. I found this under my porch, the robin keeps leaving it, every time we go out there, so hopefully they will hatch.

And of course we got one last good weekend of glass hunting without the crowds. There is less glass to be found with everyone enjoying the nice weather, but I still found some nice pieces and a little plate of plastic corn. Nick went home with that one, he thought it was neat.

Tonight I watched the boys while their parents went birthday shopping. They are a handful, but we kept it calm most of the night. Tomorrow is their birthday party and then we will hit the beach for a little bit, before we go home. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Friday finish and fun!

This week is like a vacation, except for the relaxing and having someone else do all the work for me, lol. I have been working on small items and hand stitching, but larger projects, so they will take time to finish.

I did make a little lavender sachet with a design by Kathy Schmitz, for the stitchery of the month club. My mind and hands are are bit off this week, so my stitching is a bit wonky, but it is always fun to make something new and quick and I love coloring them in. I used my knobby yarn for an edge.

On the fun front, we got out each day for beach combing and walking. One day was for Bean, we took him to two dog beaches and he loved being able to play on the beach and he even made a new friend.

Yesterday and today was our day. Most of the regular beaches are open, so no dogs allowed. We also need a break from having our arms yanked off. We went to Jamestown and did some more glass collecting, then we drove over to the point and enjoyed the views. Newport is across the way, might be a destination for next week.

Then we went to the lighthouse and got a nice walk in. There is nothing more relaxing and invigoration than walking with views and fresh sea air.

The boat coming out, is a beauty. I would love to be able to be out on the water all day, and of course stop at the islands and shorelines for beach combing.

Today we went to the ocean beach and of course, scoured the beach for glass. Most of the main beach was crowded, so we went to our favorite spot to look. We did find some nice pieces to add to the collection this week. The pile on the right is from our local beach, the middle is from Jamestown and the left is from today. Not a bad haul. I even found some more pebble shapes to use.

On the way out, I spotted this nest in the sanctuary, across the street, so we stopped to look. She has two babies that I can see, not sure if there are more. I hope you had a wonderful week and have a wonderful weekend.

Monday Finishes!

This weekend I was stuck at home, so I got a few things done. I also worked on my angel painting, but for some reason the crackle I got, did not work. I ordered some of the crackle that is used in the tutorial, so hopefully I can fix the mess I made.

I also wanted to make some little boy bunnies. I could not find my old pattern, so I used a photo that I had of my wall quilt and remade it into a drawing. The design is adapted from Twigs and Sprigs. I used fabric markers on this one, so I will tell you how each one worked.

For the yellow and red colors, I used Tee Juice. I didn't realize how small the tips were, so it took longer to cover the areas. It went on  nicely and I liked the look, but it ran when I had to wet the piece to get rid of the blue marks. The purple, green and pink were tulip fabric markers. I did not like them. They went on roughly and seemed more dry, especially the green, so I would not buy those again. They also run. I think I will stick to my Faber Castell markers. They cost more, but they dry fast, can be washed and are archival.

I made them for the boys, for fun, so I am sure they won't mind if they are not perfect.

Another project I worked on was, my cubby base. Bill made it for me, it is a bit bigger and heavier than I needed, but it will do and has an extra area to store more art supplies. To stain the piece, I used Varathane weathered wood accelerator. I love how it works. I got a quart and only used half. All you do is brush it on, and it ages the wood. The color depends on the wood type, but it usually grays them and it is the perfect shade to go with the top cubby, that I bought. It is watery so you need an area you can work on, I used large sheets of painters paper under my piece. You can use a cheap brush and the Verathane is cheaper than other stains, so a good deal to get that weathered look.

I put some paints in the cubby, have more to store. I also found the two green bottles today, so I stored my glass in those.

I hope everyone is able to stay out of the storm heading our way tomorrow, looks like we are due for a bad one. I was able to get out this morning and find a nice batch of glass from the dog beach. I knew there would be more with the storms and it was nice to get out in the fresh air, for a little while.

The flash messed up the colors. The two pieces are a medium, dark gray and the white crates are antiqued so not as white, as they appear.

Stitcheries and Scenery!

This week I received a newsletter and noticed a free stitchery. I realized that it is a monthly stitchery and each one has an inspirational saying. I missed two, but was able to still get them, so if you are interested, you can get all of them still, to catch up.

This is the latest one, I worked backwards. I think it will make a nice gift and I am doing mine in a smaller version for either a wall hanging or lap quilt. I left some extra, my blocks will be around 5" and maybe a red floral print for sashing. You can find the designs at Suzy's Sitcom.

My latest fall has put me in more pain, so I can only do so much. Today it is mostly rest. This weekend I really had to get out of the house so we drove to the light house. It was a bit windy and cool, but it felt so nice to get out in the fresh air and walk around the circle.

I took a close up, wide angle of the light tower. We ran into a man who liked to talk and told us about his dad who ran the lighthouse at one time.

Lots of people like to bike in the area, too many hills for me. You do not want to be going by, when the fog horns go off.

On the way back we passed one of the many farms and I saw a scene, I had to stop and get a shot of. The goats were all trying to get at the hay pile, but I couldn't get close up, lots of wire fencing and a large dog who was guarding them. I would love to live on a  farm like this, they are on the salt water inlets and have amazing views of the bays on both sides.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and an amazing week.

Catch of the Day! New Pattern.

This week I worked on a new pattern, I had in the works. I had to wear a wrist and elbow brace so that helped, but I think my punching suffered a bit and I really need to rest my arm this weekend, so light stitching for me.

The finished piece is 6" x 5 1/4" and it was a fun piece to do. The pattern is done in punch needle, but my patterns can be done in rug hooking, stitchery or appliqué, as well. You can order the pattern with the link to the left or visit my ecrater store. As a bonus, anyone who orders a pattern this weekend, can pick a free pattern of their choice, of equal or lesser value. Just let me know on the order form in the comment section, which pattern you would like.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. We have cold weather coming in, so no walks, maybe a nice ride and we can enjoy the views from the car.

Friday Freebie Finish!

This week I have been taking it easy, not easy for me, lol. I worked on my stitchery but wanted to do something quick and fun. I revisited a site that I hadn't been to in awhile, Rusty Tin Roof. They used to offer a free monthly magazine with free patterns. I found some new ones I hadn't seen and made one yesterday.

The pattern is called Garden Rabbit Family by Cave Creek Primitives. Some of the patterns are still available to download, some are gone, but well worth a look while they are still up.

My bunnies are not exactly the same, I did not have status so I guess I need to hit the flower shop at the craft store, well worth having some dried flowers to put with my pieces. I found an easy way to do small patterns; I trace the pattern onto muslin with a water erasable marker and retrace the design from the back. That way I have my lines for eye and face placement and then I can just sew the back to the front and follow the lines on the back. The material I used was over dyed and grunged up, so when I added some black walnut ink, it made blobs of ink, but that makes it more fun, so I left it.

I am sorry I didn't think to remember what issue these came from, but I think it was from a spring issue, since that and summer was what I was looking at, this time.

I took a break from my stitchery, I am debating on the center, should I do a fill stitch or a spaced running stitch to look more quilted, thinking of the quilted look? I will add a blue snowflake border and border stitches too.

Another thing I do while I am resting is look for vacation places for our June anniversary week. I wanted to go to Acadia this time, but it seems all the good spots in the good camps are full already, so not sure if I want to go if I am stuck in a small spot away from the water.

One place we went that was nice was Freeport Maine and stayed at a camp there. They are an old farm on a peninsula so lots of land to go for walks with a state park down the road. We loved paddling there, this is Bill getting the boats ready to go out.

And this is what we came back to, a mile of mud flat. So, the bad thing is, I checked and the tides are not in our favor, if we can get out, we can't get back in. There are launches in other areas, but I really want to relax and enjoy the area we are in. One of the nice things about camping in Acadia, no mud flats. So, I will keep looking and inquire at the camps I like and maybe they will have something that has views and enough space, since we cannot be on top of people especially with Bean.

I hope you all have a good weekend and nice weather, we actually have some warmer days, so I am going to enjoy getting out.

Friday Finish!

This was a slow week, did a lot of nothing and not sure where the time went, but it is friday again. I did manage to make a few new pieces to giveaway. I think these would be fun to give to someone who needs a little pick me up, during a tough time. They are from a free design that can be found at Free Christmas Coloring under angels.

I did one with tea stained muslin and one with a regular cotton.

We had rain and warmer temperatures so all of our snow melted. Bean loves snow but he also loves to play ball and he loves to do tricks. I was practicing with my new lenses and got some action shots, he sure makes a lot of funny faces and poses when he gets excited.

He never misses a chance to catch a ball.

There was a little snow left over, so we used it for snowball catching.

My son sent me a photo of Nick tonight, I guess he was too tired to eat dinner.

To end my night, I tried some shots of the moonrise. I wish I could have gone to the shore and taken it as it rose above the horizon. Hopefully we will have a clear night tomorrow and maybe catch a sunset or the moonrise, or both. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finish!

This week I received the first design from Kathy's One Stitch at a Time Club. I love the design and had planned on making a framed piece, but you know me, I change my mind as I go and I decided it would make a nice pillow to decorate with. I have been enjoying making larger items that I can place around the house instead of a million little things, so decorating a little bit, here and there to brighten up the house.

The fabric I used is also by Kathy Schmitz, bought it years ago, so it was perfect with the stitchery and I like how the black rick rack looks against it. I think I will make a few more pieces, in smaller versions for gifts.

The pillow is 10" x 9 1/2" and with this, I left it as is, no antique stain, but I may change my mind later;) I put it on the table with my prim tree, maybe I need to do a summer bird theme for the tree. It is a darker area, so lighter pieces work great there.

I realize I only have two weeks to get ready, ugh. I washed the bedding today, I want everything to be fresh before we leave. Next is all the dishes, they need to be washed and things repacked and replenished, so that is going to keep me busy. One thing we got, was a jacuzzi. With my old injuries and pain from the lyme, it is something that helps me to keep moving. The settings keep changing, the temp is too low when I go out to use it and couldn't figure out why. Then today it hit me, Bean is doing it, lol. He likes to jump up and wants me to throw water at him and he is pushing the buttons, when he does. He still doesn't get that the water is not for playing in, guess we need to take him to the beach tomorrow. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.