Friday Finish!

 

This week seems to have gone by too fast, but I have been busy putting away the Christmas decorations and cleaning as I go. I also had to get the basement cleaned up quickly since we discovered our heater is too old to replace parts. With no idea how long the fan would hold, it was time for a new one. Today they were here all day and got it all done, along with a new air conditioning system. I have wanted one and this way it was included with price and labor, so made it more feasible. Our house has windows in the wrong places for air to circulate properly, so now I can stay cool, no matter what room I am in. 

One thing I needed was another sunglass case. I throw them in my purse and they tend to get scratched and ruined. I found a cute design on the internet and made it up on a wool backing to felt. Nothing fancy, but fun and kept my hands busy. The photo makes it look messy and fluffy, but it is flatter and nicer in person. After felting, I did a simple wet felt to smooth the fibers.

Another thing I did was, prep a couple of projects. One is a long pillow with appliqué that I am working on now, so hoping to have that done by next week. Another is two more panel for the Christmas quilt. The appliqué is on black background, so I tried a little trick. After cutting out the appliqués, I laid the freezer cut out on the background and traced around it with white chalk pencil. This way, when I go to needle turn, I know how much to pull under by keeping under the line. Not the perfect method, but it works for me.

And this is how it looks when done. The pencil stays on long enough for me to work the appliqué. 

I hope everyone is not affected too much by the storms coming through. We will not get much, maybe a dusting when it reaches here. My prayers go out to all those who are devastated by the fires in California.

Friday Finish!

 

I hope everyone is having a good New Year. It seems last year and into this year, I am getting every flu that is going around. My son was sick so I assume I caught it from him. I am not as bad and am fighting it off, but it means resting and finding a new easy project I can put together. I cannot stand just sitting all day and working on something is a good way to pass the time and create something new. I am leaning towards a long pillow to put on the back of the couch, so hopefully I can put that together tomorrow.

This week I wanted to work on something and need more lavender pillows for boxes I will be resorting. I decided to sign up for the new club, PQP Club. You get access to all the back issues of the magazine and 4 new designs each month. I found a valentine stitchery set that was perfect for mini pillows and I reduced it a little more.

We had a few warmer days, warm enough to get out for a bit and walk on the beaches. We went to one of the southern beaches and walked a bit on the point. From there I could get a shot across the water, to the lighthouse. 

At the beach end,  I spotted this guy, trying to keep from being swept up on the beach. He would swim out and then get pushed back.

He seemed to be content to stay at the beach area and enjoy the waters where it was a bit calmer.

Another day we went to the island and walked along the beach. A view of the lighthouse across the bay.

I spotted a flock of geese in one of the yards. I walked up to them, got my camera ready and caught them, just as they flew off.

On another beach I spotted a flock of Brandts. They were not afraid of me and actually followed me as I walked along. On the way home, I spotted a Kingfisher, hanging out on the camera of the Osprey nest. 

I hope you are all doing well this year and not in the storm's paths that are coming through. 

Friday Finish!

 I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. As usual, it came quick, and went by quick, but I enjoyed the moments. I never took any photos, I like to enjoy the moments and not worrying about posting photos. I also feel for those who cannot spend time with family or have lost loved ones, who are not with them, so I kept it low key this year.

I also got sick as usual, but took meds and rested for a few days. I made up a stitchery, so I had something to keep my hands busy and was able to finish it, just in time. I am not sure who did the design, but it was offered on Facebook. 

We also got snow before Christmas, so the kids came over and went sledding on the school hill. I bought sleds last year and we never got to use them. 

Bill gets the whole week and a half off, so we got out for short walks and rides. Jamestown is always a fun place to go to. Views from every side and we were able to go for short walks, before we froze. There is a path that goes uphill to a point and I decided I wanted to see how far it went. It was a nice path and easy to traverse and came out to the end of the point, so we had nice views from a higher vantage point.

Looking back into the cove. 

After we stopped at the state park and looked for glass, not much luck these days. On the way out, I spotted a group of Snow Buntings, a nice surprise.

Today we did a ride around the southern beaches. When it is cold, places that we can drive to and see, without getting out, is always nice. In one area, we have a view of the pond where the boats and ferries go through. Today we spotted some fishermen, throwing in their pots. Not sure if they were crabbing, but looked like crab pots.

In the marsh, we spotted these guys running around the mud flats. 

Rain is predicted for the next 3 days, which I don't mind, it will keep me in and I can start working on finishing some quilts. I plan on finishing one Christmas one, and others that need finishing and binding. I have several with a summer, Americana theme, so those will be in the next batch to finish.

I hope this finds you all doing well and would love to know what your plans are for the coming year. 

Friday finish!

 

I hope everyone has done all they need to, so they can enjoy some time before the holidays without the stress. As usual, I seem to have picked up another flu bug, but doing ok and will be fine for Christmas. I am glad I got all my shopping and wrapping done, so I could relax this week and not do too much.

I hung the new quilt I was working on, on the banister. It is a cheater piece and I added a border to make a lap sized quilt. It was something I could work on at night, by quilting around the black lines. Nothing fancy, but the design is fun and a nice way to greet people when they walk in.

We were able to get out for a bit last week, mostly driving since it is too cold to be outside for long. I finally caught the Horned Larks in the parking lot, at the beach.

In the breachway, there was a large group of Common Eiders. The black and white male seemed to be the leader and wherever he went the females followed him.

We also take drives around the island. It is even colder there with the ocean breezes, but the views are always beautiful and a way to get out of the house for a bit. We ran into this doe, that was walking down the road.

Today I tested a recipe, cranberry cornbread. I wanted to make something a little different for Christmas and the cranberries make it more festive. I really liked how cranberries gave it a bit of tartness. I use Monks sugar and the recipe called for buttermilk. I don't use that but a trick I learned. I warm up milk and then put a bit of fresh lemon juice into it and let it sit, instant buttermilk. If you want to try the recipe, you can find it at Spilling the Tea. 

Tomorrow will be a rest day, we got a bit of snow, so hoping to get out and get some photos with snowy backgrounds. Then it will be time to get the house ready and start cooking for Christmas Eve. The kids come here for dinner and we go to their house on Christmas. I give them presents at our house, then save some for their house. 

My hope is that everyone has a wonderful holiday, no matter how you celebrate it. Even if you cannot get out or be with family, take the time to make the day special, for yourself. Christmas blessings to you all.

Friday Finish!

 Christmas is coming and as usual, faster than we would like. I have done my shopping and the house is decorated and packages and cards are all done. Now I can relax a bit and plan our meal, we eat at our house on Christmas Eve with the kids and give them some presents, then on Christmas we go to their house and I save some presents to open then. 

I am working on finishing up my cheater quilt and after going through some of my old books, I decided to make a small piece from a Whimsical quilts book. It was fun to do and I still have plenty of wool to use up, so I grabbed most of it from my scrap drawers. I added the snowflake buttons for fun.

Last week after shopping, we drove around the beach areas. We saw a boat coming in.

And one going out. 

And as we drove by the town beach in Narragansett, we just missed seeing Santa, as he rode by.

With Bill working days, he gets up early and falls asleep early, so hard to get out at night to see the lights around town. He does have a long week off for the holiday, so hopefully we can get out more to see them before they are gone.

I hope you are all enjoying the holidays and can enjoy some time for yourself and Christmas around your area.

Friday Finish!

 Another week zipped by too fast. I spent most of it, decorating the house. I have a mix of prim and fun around the house. One thing I wanted to try was a rag garland. I looked up ideas and found one that I could base mine on. You can find it at Ikorn crafts.

I used up the scraps and smaller pieces to make it, and used a red twine to tie them onto. I was going to put it on the banister, but it was too thin, so I used it on top of my curtain rod.

And I decorated with what I had in the basement, and there is more that I had no room for. 

I found a new place for my Grandmother's quilt.

And some of my nativity collection with a bit of cats mixed in.

And a few trees. This year I decided to put up my cat collection. I could only do so many and I have a lot of larger ones, that don't fit on the skinny tree. I have quilts hanging on the banister and decorations in the kitchen, so it is fun for the boys when they visit.

I hope you are all enjoying the holiday. I am finishing up my cheater quilt and next is getting my cards done. After that I will work on my other quilt, even if I can't finish it in time. 

Friday Finish!

 

Well, I just realized it was Friday and I almost forgot to post. Quite the hectic week with holiday preparations. We had a nice dinner with the kids, and today we mostly rested.

This week I Finished a nativity, that I started last year. I thought it would be fun to try and have something different to add to my collection. 

The bad thing with this panel was, the pieces did not line up exactly so I sewed them by following the front facing pieces since they are the ones that you see. I stuffed them and sewed the bottom after, seemed easier for me to do it that way.

One new thing I did this year was, make corn bread with a mold. I like how they looked and fun for the table. They actually tasted better than when I do them in a pan. The silicone mold was also nicer since they popped right out, no sticking. 

We did shorter rides lately, not as many birds to see, so no photos. Next is pulling out all the holiday decorations and getting the house ready, Christmas is coming fast. I have done a lot of online shopping, so most of the gifts are here and I can enjoy relaxing a bit and getting my cards out. 

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday and can enjoy the upcoming holidays.