Friday finish!

 This week I made up a simple, quick project to keep my hands busy and I needed a table topper for my guest room. I had enough left of a cheater print, to fit the table. I just hand quilted around the blocks, something mindless but relaxing.

The weather is still cold and most of the time, windy. Way to cool to do much, but last week we took a walk at the park on the back side, since it is more protected from the wind. It was an old air force training base, so remnants of the runways are still there.

Along another path, signs still dot the area. It is a nice place to walk with several areas and paths to explore.

Today I stayed home and got my quilt put together and quilted. Now I just need to do the binding and I will do hand stitching around the mittens. I might just finish it before Christmas. I hope you all are enjoying some crafting for the holidays and enjoy your weekend.

Friday Finishes!

 This week I was able to finish two items. I like doing small projects while I work on the larger ones. They are simple to do and something fun to do, while I watch tv.

One item is another heart. I do enjoy making rag rugs and a heart is a quick way to make one. 

I also made another small mat for my table. This one I used precuts with a spring look. These are fun to do and I think I will make one for summer with my nautical or seagull prints.

We also got a chance to take Bean with us for a ride to the beaches. It was too cold to be out long, but we got out in certain places and let him roam a bit.

I also caught a few birds along the way.

Along the route we stopped at the college campus beach. 

I was also able to get a shot of the lighthouse, from a different view point. When I opened the photo to see it, I was surprised at the shapes in the doorway. 

One afternoon we had the boys, while dad went shopping. They spent the time trying out my instruments. Nick seems to pick up anything and play it by ear, Alex is getting the hang of following notes.

Today we stopped to see if we could spot the Eagles, none in sight. I did spot a Hawk hanging out in a tree by the pond.

I hope you all had a nice Valentines. I do not celebrate it, too commercialized for me. Weather is coming in tomorrow, so we won't be able to get out too much. 

Friday Finish!

 

Since I am working on several large projects, I like to have something that I can make up quickly. This Christmas mat is a pattern from BareRoots. I have been gifted a lot of items on top of things I have bought over the years, so trying to finish them, a bit at a time.

Last week we went to the pond, to see if we could find the eagles. None in sight this time, but I did catch a Killdeer at the water's edge.

After we went for a walk at the bike path. Would love to try my new bike there, but it is either too cold or too windy lately. Lots of Chickadees at the park.

Today we went to the lighthouse. It was windy but warmer. Lots of seagulls were enjoying, floating in the winds.

We ended up taking the back paths and found out they go a lot further in the opposite direction, so we got a nice long walk, along with views of the bay. 

Most of the foliage is gone now, but we still see pops of color, here and there. My backyard came in late, so this was last week and now they are bright yellows and falling with the wind. I hope you are all safe from the horrible storms, crossing the middle states. We have good weather this weekend, so hoping to get out for long walks and maybe a bike ride.

Friday finish and fun!

This week I worked on finishing my Christmas mat. I had different snowflake fabrics and I like how they fit together. It still has enough of a prim look to fit in with my decor, and just enough pop to make it festive. The edge on the front is how it looks, the other edges are a bit messed up looking since I use AI to put it in a new background.

 

Last week we did some rides and sight seeing. We headed up state and stopped at the Dam. It is always a nice view.

After, we headed back to another pond. We even spotted the eagle, across the pond.

We got a nice walk along the pathways and stopped at the falls. Most of the falls are starting to slow down, with the lack of rain in our areas.

We went into Connecticut and took a scenic route home. Not as much color as I had hoped, but the farms alway offer beautiful views.

Another day we went to Connecticut since I wanted to get one more bag of apples, before they close. We stopped at the Yantic falls.

Another view of the railroad bridge. Even the falls here were light and slower.

We have been getting some light walks in and today we got a longer walk with rougher terrain and hills. I spotted a lot of birds and heard a lot, but none would stay put for a photo.

It is going to get cooler but sunny here so hopefully we can get more walks in this weekend. I hope everyone is enjoying the cooler fall weather and can get out and enjoy walks in your area.

Friday Working on!

 

Another slow week, seems there is too much to do in a day and not enough time to craft. I am sure my afternoons at the beach is eating into that time, but time well spent. I have been working on my wool piece. I have to set things down and make sure everything is straight, sew a few things on and redo things for the next ones. 

The lighthouse looks off, but there will be a building on the side, so that will get hidden. I also do not like how the rocks look on the left. That is the layout, but I am thinking, I would rather take it out and make my own rocks to put there.

Last weekend we went to the beach and walked up and down the shoreline, not a lot on this day but it was a nice walk.

On the way home, we stopped at a Land Trust area to see what it was like. We ended up walking around the base trails. It was a nice area and a lot of trails we can explore on another day. It was the site of a mill, then a Girl Scout camp.

Today Bill got home earlier, so we spent the afternoon at our favorite new beach. Rarely anyone there and it has expansive views of the Newport shoreline.

The tide was coming in and the waves were splashing up large pieces of glass. Lots of greens today and the bottle top in the left corner, was a nice find. Pieces like that will be used in a display, I just like looking at those. I have been looking at shadows boxes for the darker pieces, something I can do art in, or display with light behind them, so you can see the color.

And another fun find at that beach, a Clam worm. I shot it with my iPhone and was glad it came out, so you can see a sea critter that lives in our bay. They are also used as worms for fishing.

At home I have been enjoying the spring migration. My regulars are coming back and the hummingbird is back. I was thrilled to see the Goldfinches are back. The Osprey is a shot on the way home from a beach day, he was enjoying a fish in a tree off the road.

I hope everyone had a good week and fun plans for the weekend. I am still fighting off a cold and my son said his is still hanging on, so hopefully we are both ok for next weekend. Nick will be taking his first communion and I found my son's silver cross that I had given him on his first communion. I polished it and plan on giving it to him that day, to wear.

Giveaway Day!

I decided to do a giveaway today, I hope you like what I have chosen. This week was recovering and catching up and heavy cleaning, so I didn't get to finish my new project. My sister is coming next week, so I want to get everything done, so we can enjoy having fun together.

This mat I made awhile ago, it has been sitting in my box of goodies, so I think it is time to let someone enjoy it. It is stained but not too dark and would be a nice mat for a round table or beneath a candle holder. It measures 9 1/2" round, even though it is a little wonky.

This piece is nice for spring or fall. To enter, please answer any of the following questions. Do you have a favorite craft supplier, who has good prices and sells in bulk. I am looking for small driftwood pieces or ornaments made with barn wood, unfinished that I can use for the glass or other items.

Or this question: If you have a cat, what is the best litter box. Moki is pre diabetic so I have to feed him lots of canned food and lots of water, which means lots of cleaning. It is a mess and smelly, and was wondering if there is actually one that cats will use and omits the mess and smell.

And if you don't have a cat or buy craft supplies, any housecleaning tips? Ways to get more done in less time when you live with a slob?

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. This contest is open to all of my followers and will end next Friday, September 21st. I will announce the winner that night. I also have lots of Christmas goodies in my box, so there will be another giveaway before Christmas.

Monday Finishes!

This weekend I was able to get in my sewing room and clean it up a bit. I have projects that need finishing and some to put together so I have projects to work on later. This weekend I sewed borders onto the little quilts, that my friend Kelley sent me. They were all finished and quilted, I just needed to add the border and I have two new table mats.

I love the pattern and colors on this one. Now that I have a blue couch, it is nice to have blue pieces to match it. It is hard to see because of the flash but this and the next piece, were tea stained after I finished them.  It doesn't darken them up as much as the walnut ink, but it gives it a lighter aged look.

The second piece was quilted, as well but not on the seam lines so it puffed up a bit. I decided it would be fun to add a feather stitch to the edges and I like how it came out and gave it a new look.

Here is a close up of the stitching, I used two strands of DMC floss. The quilts look crooked because of the borders. I thought I had bought cotton but when noticed how hard it was to push a needle through it, feels like lightweight jacket material and it puckers. The white materials are actually yellow, so you can see how the flash washes out the staining.

Another project I started is a mini rug for my Grand Niece. She got a doll house for Christmas and everything is pink and blue. I looked in The Rug Hook Book and found the perfect rug, it was done in pink and blue and will match her doll house decor. It is larger than most of my pieces and I am doing it in 3 strands of floss, so I am working on it, a bit at a time, so no hurry.

Friday Finish!

I have been having fun following the spring blog hop, hosted by Buttermilk Basin. This week I finished  a cute bunny mat, designed by Jeni from the Willows. It was an easy project and I love how it came out. The only problem is, I used a soft, thin wool for the border and that was a mistake. The cuts are made to emulate grass and as I ruffled it up, some of the pieces pulled off. So, I put the egg on that section and it is ok for now, next year I can take it apart and put a thicker backing on.

It is a bit white washed from the flash. But I wanted the colors of the other wools to show so the white is glaring and the floss is brighter, than it actually is.

If you haven't seen the Spring Hop, the patterns for each day are still available and well worth a look.

This week I noticed my oven was not working right and I would smell gas, then it took a few minutes for it to start. Then I told Bill to check it and it wasn't working at all, so, no oven this week. We went to the store and picked one out, it would take a month to get so I said no. Then I saw another that was the same except for the looks, but it did the same things and had the fifth burner, so that is coming next week. The bad thing is, I make cookies as a snack food. They are healthy since I don't use sugar but I cannot make them and I need to snack, lol. Today I tried some fried chips. I mixed white and brown flour, along with cornmeal and fried them. They taste really good but a bit greasy, so I need to modify the recipe to make it healthier, but a nice idea for summer snacks too.

Giveaway Winner and Suggestions Please!

First I will get right to the winner of the birthday giveaway. Thank you all for your wonderful comments and Birthday wishes. My birthday was on November 21'st and I had the baby all day, so I celebrated on Thanksgiving instead. I made stuffing, then let my husband cook and my daughter vacuumed and I sat in my sewing room and caught up on some projects.

I wish everyone could be winners and I wanted to do a freebie, but it seems time slips by lately and I have one week to get all the gifts ready and cards out, ugh.

I used the random generator and the lucky winner is #11, Jennifer768. Congratulations Jennifer, please send me your address so I can get your package ready to ship out this week. I will add some patterns and goodies to surprise you;)

I do have a lot of stash and plan on doing some cleaning so look for more giveaways in the coming year and I will do them by types of crafts so there will be something for everyone.

I have been working on a project for a swap and finally got it all together. It takes me a long time to think about what I want to do and then pick out the perfect fabrics and then change my mind and add new things, lol. I saw a photo and she had a raggedy doll, so hoping she likes this. My question is, should I just leave it alone or add more to the tree and pocket. This is a mug rug, a bit larger than I planned, so I guess it is a mat now. It looks more prim in person, I had to do a quick flash photo and the    wings are a speckled white. That I think needs some walnut to prim it up and maybe her stockings. I thought of adding bells on the tree, but it is to be used for tea and not sure if bumpy things are a good idea, lol. The pocket is for the silverware.

What do you think, is it ok as is? I still have to sew the binding to the back though. Not sure if you can see, but I did the applique in a black prim stitch. I forgot to outline stitch the tree, knew something was off;) Any suggestions are appreciated, my brain is getting off antibiotics, so I tend to be a bit daft.

The angle is a design by Cheri Saffiote, from one of her old books and the rest I just made up as I went along.

Flower Mat Finished!

I finally finished my wool mat, though I took a few short cuts to make it go faster and get it done. I did not add the bugs or spider web, I just wanted a flower piece for my table. The problem is, it doesn't look good on my table so I need to find a place for it or maybe it will be a gift.

I finished it off by adding a linen backing and a blanket stitch. The original was done with a nice edge, but I am too lazy to make a binding.

Not perfect, but not bad. Pattern is Flower Garden Crazy, by Primitive Gatherings.

For the back, I used a linen that has the feel of wool. I found it in a thrift shop and I thought it would be nice for a backing. I cut out the design and left about a half inch of excess so I could tuck it under and keep a nice edge on the back. I pinned it and turned the edge under as I did the blanket stitch, not perfect, but not bad;) The crooked edge came about when I did the stems, I was a bit tight on the stitching.

Burlap Pumpkins!

If any of your follow Cheryl's blog, Country Quilts, you might have seen the wonderful tutorial that she created on her blog. It is a burlap pumpkin and it has easy instructions with photos. Of course, I cannot follow instructions, my brain isn't wired that way, lol.

I used white burlap, which seemed like a good idea, but too white, so I stained them with walnut. I have sticks that I collect and dry, and used pieces of those to make the stems. I don't have any status or toppings that I could add to mine, so for now, I just added the tie. I guess I need to hit the craft store. I didn't glue mine in yet, will wait till I get status and do it all at once. It is a fun and quick project and you can use different colored burlaps or fabrics.

Of course my camera decided to act up and the flash wouldn't work. I used an old wool yarn to tie the sides with.

A Repurposed Quilt and Giveaway!

Last week, My friend Kelley, sent me a goody box and one of the items was an unfinished mini quilt. She had sewn the squares together and decided she didn't want it, so it came to my house. I decided it was the perfect size for a table mat, so I added a border and hand stitched the squares and added some stitchery on the borders.

It was something fun to do while I rested my hip, which decided to act up after our last paddle trip.
I used black pearl cotton to do the hand quilting and floss for the outer stitchery. I also antiqued it, I like how some places got darker, like an old stained piece. The appliqué came from a Whimsicals book, I modified it to fit the corner of this piece.

I was hoping to finish it earlier so I could get a photo, outside, but it got dark before it was dry, so the flash messed it up a bit. No idea how the edge got so crooked, I could say, I did that on purpose, lol.

And for those of you who would like to win some fun patterns, check out Cleo and Me. They have two contests going, so look at both posts. And there are no entries, not even me, lol. I have enough cute ones, so here is your chance to get in on a wonderful giveaway with a  great chance of winning.

And here is how it looks as a mat. Goes nicely on this bureau, might just leave it there. The mat is 21" x 15". 

Rooster Stitchery Mat!

I finished my mat today, one project at a time.
I found the pattern for the rooster at NeedleCrafter.
There are a lot of wonderful stitchery patterns that you can use for free and they make great gifts too.
After I added the border, I realized there was empty space, so even after I cut it down a little, it just had to be filled with more stitchery;) I used designs that I found on another free site, Broderie d' antan. It is in french, but you can find a library of designs and the site is updated, regularly with new ones.

I was going to make it into a hot pad, for a gift, but it was too pretty to get spills on.
So, I made it into a table mat, so it can be used that way or hung on a wall. Now if I can just part with it;)