Tripods

My Brother in law loves photography, so over the years, I have been gifted with some of his equipment that he didn't want.
This month he dropped his camera and decided to have it fixed and give it to me, and he is getting himself a new one.
Not sure why he doesn't want his, it will be brand new when they replace the lens, but I will not look a gift horse in the mouth;)
I guess I am going to have to learn how to use a real camera.

Yesterday he sent me his tripod, he never uses it and I really need one, since I shake too much.
It will be great to use when I take photos of my pieces, and when I get the new camera, hopefully better colors.

Today I tried it with my camera, not sure if mine fits right, but it did keep me steadier. Of course nothing interesting came by, just the usual group of birds who spent the afternoon sitting and fighting over the bird feeders.

When I get the new camera, I will find out if it is the camera or me, lol. I will definitely have to ask santa for a larger zoom this year;)

This is a scrub bush, perfect place for a bird feeder. The long thorns keep the other critters from climbing up and getting into the feeders.



These are on full zoom, I don't think my camera has true zoom, at it's highest point. Most digital cameras have true distance, up to the halfway point, but past that, they go digital, so pictures look blurry. Even with a tripod, I still had to use the sharpen tool. But for those of you who have a problem with shake and want to use a zoom, which is a heavier lens, a tripod is a great item to have.

I am working on a new piece, a possible pattern for sewing, but not sure if I like what I did, and might do another with the original idea I had, so you can see when I finish.

Mini Pieces!

Since we were so busy having fun outside, I didn't get a lot of sewing done.
So, I made some mini pieces to work on, while we watched tv.

This mini quilt is 6 1/2" x 5". I made it from one of my cat designs, with a saying on this one.
I love to make the mini ones, they work up quick and fun to do. I have a mini hanger to put it on, now i need to find some mini clothespins. I also need to pull out the corner binding and redo that, it is a bit off and an easy fix.



This pillow is made with a Free Primitive Blessings design. I colored it in with art markers and then stitched around the designs.
Something fun and quick for the holidays. I also have a new flag piece with an eagle that I am working on, so hopefully I will finish that this week.

Noisy Day and Giveaway Winner!

I decided to stay home and get some things done today, one being a new flag wall hanging, so I got the base sewed together and the main applique on. Then I finished off some little pieces that are now drying after I stained them, so I will show them next time.

Today it was air show day, it is noisy, they go right over the house and around the bay as they come in, towards the old base.



As if that is not bad enough, the dog has a thing about planes, he barks at them and runs around the yard like a goof, in a lame attempt to catch them. Tomorrow we are in for more of the same. We are planning on going out to the harbor again, that way we can paddle and see them better from the breakers.



I got a nice surprise in the mail today, a prize I won from Barbara of Cat Patches. I got my choice of book, and she sent me a wonderful kitty fabric, I love the kitties. I will have to make something special with it. The book has some wonderful patterns and tutorials for art pieces, so more new things I can make.



Now for the giveaway. The winner of a free epattern is Dawn of Quilts and Pieces!
Congratulations Dawn. Please send me an email with you choice of pattern from my ecrater site.

Rain Rain, Go Away!

I guess I can't expect every day to be perfect, we had three in a row, lol.
Yesterday we stayed home and walmart was the big fun for the day;)
Today it was overcast and rain predicted, and my back feels like someone ran over me with a truck, guess all that paddling finally set in. But, I had to take a walk at least, so we went to the point to get out before the rain came. The rain never did come but my back is so bad, a walk was enough for today.

I love to walk when it is cooler, the sea breezes feel so good and the air so clean.
How would you like to live on this island, talk about an ocean view.



The seals are gone and the cormorants have taken over the rocks. They seals leave, once it gets too warm.



I got a nice surprise in the mail from my friend Kelley. A box full of fabrics and a new book. Lots of homespuns, prim and some art pieces to have fun with and the book has some wonderful patterns I can make. Check out her blog, she has a free pattern that would be fun to punch or hook.

Anniversary Day Three!

Today, rain was in the forecast, so we thought we would slip out for a few hours. We went to Wickford Harbor which is right down the road, so we saved time by not traveling far. Our harbor has lots of coves, a couple of small islands and lots of wildlife. The day was overcast but the water was smooth, so nice easy paddling.



The geese really enjoy the area, flocks of them all over the islands.



Egrets seem to stay in pairs, each to their own island or cove.



The area has a lot of commorants. They sit on poles, buoys and rocks. I just love this photo, I think I might do it into an art photo and frame it for my daughter's new place.



Of course, you can't get too close, or this happens.



We paddled to the breakers and enjoyed the activity on the bay. The air show is this weekend, so we also got to watch the planes as they practiced their aerial acts. Unfortunately it started to rain, but that didn't keep us from paddling. We paddled into town and back around, until the rain got heavier and I decided it was time to go home;) Tomorrow there will be a break before the rain comes back, so maybe we will go for a walk to the point, my arms are really sore today.

This was the last shot I could get and it was just starting to drizzle. Leave a comment here and get a second chance to enter the giveaway. Thank you for all your well wishes and a Happy Anniversary to those of you who are celebrating their anniversary this month.

Happy Anniversary Giveaway!

Today is our actual anniversary, it has been 36 years, today.
I graduated from high school one weekend and got married the next.
I knew he was the one for me, so why wait and I think I made the right decision;)

Today we went to Burlingame State park to paddle. I camped there as a child, and we took our kids there, so it is a place filled with happy memories. It was a beautiful day, warm with a breeze and no crowds.


And I am sure this is what you all want to see, haha. This is the launch site, beautiful pond that covers 1,000 acres.
We paddled the entire shoreline, so not quite sure how long that is in miles, but it was a good workout.



Half way around the pond is a beach at the old campground. This was the wilderness side, pit toilets and no showers. They closed it down when someone almost burned half it down. It is a great place to stop, have lunch and take a swim and we were the only ones there.



The park is also home to over 250 species of birds. Of course they were all hiding today. That and the fact that Bill always has to paddle in front of me and startles everything away, before I get there. This guy was sitting on a rock, watching the world go by. I had to use full zoom in a rocking boat, so the picture looks a bit strange.




We went around the pond along to the campground side and stopped at the last beach which doesn't allow swimming. I wasn't swimming, I was just cooling off in the water;) This little guy found us as interesting, as we did, him.



Now for the giveaway. Guess how many years we have been married? You don't have to be right, just guess and I will draw a name from the entries. The winner will get a free epattern from my ecrater site. I will draw a winner on Saturday night.
Tomorrow the weather man said no rain till late in the afternoon, so I think we can get in one more paddle before the rain comes.

Vacation Paddle!

This is our Anniversary week and we usually go to Maine, but this year, we are staying home.
My husband has excess vacation time, so he still took the week off, so we can have some fun together.
Today we went to Pettaquamscutt River which is a tidal inlet that opens to the bay.

This is the view, looking towards the end of the inlet, where it opens into the bay. We plan on landing on the inside beach, since the outer inlet is rough and shallow and a good way to swamp your boat;)



This is where we stopped to enjoy the views of the bay, cool breezes and warm sun.



Looking down towards the main beach, a couple enjoying a stroll.



After we enjoyed the beach for awhile, we went back to the river area and explored the river and its sancturaries.
This nest looks like it has been in the making for years, not only is it home to an Osprey family, but their are smaller birds who have nested in the sides.



The area is teaming with wild birds, this egret seemed to content to watch as we paddled by.



It makes you wonder, who is watching whom.



There were so many birds today, but most were shy and did not want to stick around for a photo session;)
It was a wonderful day, perfect weather, but 3 hours of paddling and too much sun, so I know I will sleep well tonight.

Braided Quilt

I have been working on my braids and today I put the rows together, so I could see how it looked on the bed.
Not really thrilled with the design for my bedroom and it does match the couch nicely, so I am going to stop and keep it this size for the couch and that way it will be a nice throw if anyone has a sick day.

Next I will add a border around the outer edges and quilt it. Not sure how I should quilt it, any suggestions are appreciated.
I seriously need a new bedroom set, the bed is wobbly and i want a simple one with no foot board and my bureaus are the first ones we ever bought and falling apart.



One problem with making the braid with chisels is, my die seems to be off. Seems every die I get, has a problem, so I wrote accuquilt, but no reply yet. Maybe they are sick of hearing from me, lol. Can I help it if I have bad luck or the company I get them from, seems to get all the bad ones? I use my free rewards to get them, so it goes through amazon and depends on who has the best price.

You can see by the ruler, how the flat end, is cutting strangely.



And here is what some look like when I sew them together. It made it hard to sew them properly, since that edge was throwing me off. If I had to stop and cut each one as I went, it would have taken me forever. I did enjoy using the chisel die though, it went fast and made it a lot quicker to make a quilt. I think I might buy a cheap spread for the summer and then I can take my time and make a nice quilt for my bedroom. I would love to do an amish style with fancy quilting.

Fabric Stars and Kitty Stars!

Today I worked on my braided quilt, but got tired of sitting on the machine and decided to make some stars.
I made up a little display with my pillows and stars and added my patriotic mouse that I won from Joyce at RagPatch. The pillows and Patriotic punch needle doll, are made from Primitive Blessing's Designs. I think I need a patriotic mat for underneath.



And the star of the day is Moki, he is just too cute and sweet;)

Patriotic Pillows and Winner!

I decided I needed bowl fillers, so made up a bunch of pillows.
Not thrilled with the way they came out, might be the new, cheap stuffing I bought;)
The stain didn't soak and spread like it does with the softer stuffing. So, I will use the cheap stuffing on things I don't stain.

The designs are all from Primitive Blessings, she has some wonderful freebies, so well worth the visit and her regular patterns are worth a look too. I think I need to make some stars with printed fabrics to fill in the baskets and things.



And now for the winner of the giveaway. Actually no one guess right, what Dora was thinking was, "What new ways can she find to torment Moki". The winner of the free pattern is Ginger from Primitives by the light of the Moon! Ginger, email me with your choice of pattern.

One of those Weeks Giveaway!

No new things to show, I am working on some patriotic pillows.
I still need to redecorate since easter, so making some little things for my baskets and bowls.

Now I asked, what was wrong with this picture and no one picked up on that cue;)
Dora does not sleep with any kitty, doesn't even sleep with me, she likes her space.
That was two photos, Izzy sleeps on my chaise, so I put them together;)

Here is another of Dora's favorite spots. It has been so hot, even with air, the kitties are too lazy to tear the house apart, so that is one benefit. Tell me what Dora is thinking and I will draw a name from the entries on Monday night. The winner can pick any pattern or booklet from my ecrater site.



We also got some Wicked storms this week. The city area looked like a tornado hit, that was from the down drafts, they pulled up trees and the sidewalks. We got a lot of wind and some rain, but luckily no damage. I am hoping the rain holds off tomorrow, nice cool temps, so maybe I can get a long walk in.

Braided Rug!

I decided to get back to my braided rug. I was going to make stair treads, then decided it was easier to buy them, lol.
So, I just kept braiding and this is what I have so far. I am going to put it in my living room, so I am braiding for now and seeing how it fits the room. If it is too long and not wide enough, I will take the first sections apart and make the middle smaller, so it will braid wider, as I go around. I am using mostly thrifts on this one and trying to keep the darks in there, but I like a bit of a pop, here and there.



I got nothing done today, it is way too hot. So hot that we decided it was time to put the main air conditioner in. So, just as my husband went to slide it in, he hit something and I hear a hissing, so much for that, it is dead. I have a portable one, so I had to put that in the living room and sit all day, with my heart problem, I can't do much without getting dizzy. Tomorrow we will go and get a new one.

The kitties are hot too, they are just lounging around all day. Moki has the sense to go in the basement where it is cool. I would go down there too and sit in my hooking room, but my daughter was over for a few days and it is a disaster. Now, what is wrong with this picture;)

And thank you for the compliments on my latest piece. It does look better in person than in the photo. I was thinking of putting old looking lace around it and making a small pillow. I will get going on my patterns, just trying to get my brain working again, sometimes I need a break and just create for awhile. I already found something new, I just have to make into something;)

A new Stitchery!

I finished my stitchery and not that please with it.
I used thin material with a design to get the look of background wallpaper.
It was a pain to stitch on and then I tried a hoop which was nicer, but as I pulled to tighten it, it ripped the fabric.
Thank goodness it was far enough out, that it didn't matter. I was thinking of making it into a pillow.
Then I got the idea of shading in areas with walnut ink, not sure how I like that, didn't really shade.
So, I stopped to think about it and what to do with it and worked on my braided rug instead;)
Tomorrow I might take a wet rag to it and tone down the walnut ink.



The cardinal finally stayed outside when I was out with my camera.
Hard to take shots with the zoom, think I need a tripod and maybe some camera lens cleaner;)
You can see spots on his body where he got into scraps. I don't know what it is with the birds around here, but they are always fighting and will not share the bird feeders.

Sunday's Stroll!

Today we went back to the same area and were able to hike around the whole pond.
The first path was through a lot of woods, swamps and up and down hills, so I got a great workout.
The path around the pond is an old road, that also went up and down the hills.

It was a perfect day for hiking, the sun was out, but it wasn't too hot.
This is the beach, it has a small sandy spot, not so sure whether I would want to swim in it with the slimy critters;)



We also had unexpected company this morning, so my daughter came along. She is moving into a new place and had to get out of her old one, so she is staying for a few days. Between her and her father, the kept me going at a faster pace then I normally do, I think I shall sleep well tonight.

This is the opposite side of the pond, where we found a nice place to take a rest. Luckily I bought some peaches, good energy food.

Saturday Stroll and Slithering things!

Today we went back to the Big River Management area, it is over 8,000 acres, so lots of places to explore.
The trails are not well marked, just the major ones, so back track on some, when we find the trail is not that great for hiking, a lot of areas are watery mud pits.

This time we found a trail that lead over some small streams and ended at a place they call indian rock.
If I had not glanced over at the right time, on the trail, I would have missed this. It is hard to get a shot through the trees, but in the right position, you can really see the face, very neat.



We took a few different paths and had no idea which was was which. Too many paths in the area, so I decided I would keep going right and I had to end up back where I started and I was right, lol. We did find a an area where an old home must have been and nice rock cliffs. But I wanted to see the other lake, so we went back and found the main trail to the lake.

We found the lake and the path, but the water was so high, it had spilled over into the path.



I had no idea how far the water went down the path, it wasn't that deep, but it was this that made me decide It was time to leave the swampy path. There were quite a few swimming around.



We got a nice view of the end of the pond, but we need to start on the main trail next time, on the opposite side to get to the beach area of the pond. I hope you had a nice day, as well.

Angels and more cleaning!

I finished my angels. I decided to keep it simple and not add more embellishments, but I added quilted swirls to the background and a simple straight stitch on the outer border. I used wash out for the lettering and it was a pain, since i was using light thread, I didn't keep my stitches tight.

For the hair I used a loose weave wool, works great as hair since it frays a bit when you wet and dry it.
This was done using one of my gothic angel patterns.



I did more cleaning, 4 loads of wash. I am also washing old curtains and anything that has been sitting on the shelves like sleeping bags, just to clean up and the clean smells keep the moths away.

This was my first load of wool. Lots of nice tan to over dye and thicker wools for quilting.



Here is the second batch and of course Moki had to check it out, the got distracted by something on the tv. I still have more in the buckets and boxes, so a bit at a time. This pile had 4 uncut jackets, so I finally got those done. I also bought up my antique basket with my braided rug, I had started. Decided it was time to get back to that and use it on the floor.

This and That Thursday!

I spent yesterday afternoon watching the news, just when the tornado hit Springfield.
I feel for the people of Springfield and the neighboring towns that got hit, it is such a beautiful area, rich with history.
I took a shot of the clouds and didn't realize that I had gotten more than clouds in this shot, till I saw it enlarged.
These birds were in a hurry and having a hard time flying in the wind gusts.



I cleaned out my chest and washed all the old scrap fabrics, lots of fabric to play with, great for art quilts too.
I didn't realize I had so much pink shades that matched so nicely, I could make a couple of charity quilts with that.



This is yardage I bought years ago, some heavy, so not sure what I had in mind for it. It was on the dollar table, so I used to buy a few yards, just because it looked like something I could use, lol. I was planning on using the animal print for a table cloth, there is enough to make two.



This is an around the world quilt, I was making about twenty years ago. When we moved, my white kitty christened some boxes and one contained the rest of the quilt pieces. I couldn't get the smell out, so I had to throw them away. Now I have a half a top, so I was thinking, what if I took out some seams and reworked the design into a new design, that might work. Then I can practice my quilting on the solid blocks. Or maybe I could make two smaller ones for charity.



Since I don't have extra money to fix up my yard, I make do. I wanted a bird bath, so I made one with what I had. My kids call it the ghetto bath, but the birds don't care, they love it.



My first attempt was this bucket, but it is too deep. Since I added a few feeders and the bird bath, I am getting a lot of new friends in the yard. The kitties love it, since the can watch out the window.