Friday Finishes!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a nice dinner and a quiet day, just what I needed. I finished one punch needle piece and started another one, so I am enjoying working on that. It is a piece done with the nativity scene, so hopefully I can finish it this weekend.

This piece is a free pattern from The Old Tattered Flag, for use on the Facebook group, The Out of Hand Rughookers Group. She said we could use it for punch, as well as hooking, so I made a punch with mine. I want to take it further, so I have something else I will be doing with it and I have to go in and fill those little gaps that I missed when I was punching. That is what  happens when you are tired and finishing the last rows;)

I was being lazy and used my little camera, so not the best quality compared to how it looks in person. I used scraps from my floss box on this piece.

Another piece I started was the spencerian birds, and decided it would make a nice pillow. I added a border that will work for Christmas but also prim enough to use all year. This and the sheep will be aged when they are finished. I am just wondering about adding an edging and what type. I had some old cream cotton lace and it didn't look right, so thinking on it, but needs to get done by next week.

My fur babies enjoyed the holidays too. Moki and Bean, in the spirit of the holiday, shared a meal together:) I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Nativity Cross Stitch Freebie!

I took one of the designs that I made, and converted it into a cross stitch. I changed a few things and added a bird to this one. It actually took me awhile since Bean has a tendency to want to get in my lap when I am on the computer and then he hits the keys and messes up the design, so I have to redo things.

I hope you like it and I enjoy working with my cross stitch program so I can get better at designing things for the cross stitch lovers. If you make a piece, from any of my designs, I would love to see it. I used colors so you could see the design better, so no set colors, just ones I grabbed from the color picker.

Yesterday was a beautiful day, so we went for a walk at a local trail that leads to the bay. I left my good camera at home since the seals are too far away to get nice shots. What I didn't know was that I would find seals basking on a rock, close to the shoreline. I will not leave my camera at home, in the future. I had to use my pocket camera on zoom so not the best shot.

Bean Loved the walk, he met lots of people and dogs and jumped on lots of people and dogs, lol. He gets so excited on walks, and he loved running on the beach and digging holes in the sand.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and are blessed with friends and family at your tables. We will have our daughter but my DIL is still mad at me, so they are not coming. I want to thank everyone again for the well wishes and blessings, it warms my heart to know I have so many friends around the world.

Friday Freebies!

I usually have a giveaway for my birthday, but this year the time got away from me. I also like to give everyone a gift, so I worked on a design this week.  These are for you, to use anyway that you would like, as gifts or for sale and you can change things if  you like.

I made up three different designs, the first can be done as a punch needle or stitchery.

This one is a star. I was thinking it might be fun to appliqué it with wool, onto a large stuffed star and sit it on a shelf. Or you could do it in punch, appliqué or stitchery and attach that to a large stuffed star.

And the last one is in the shape of a tree. Another piece that can be done in appliqué, stitchery or punched, either on a stuffed tree shape or onto a tree shape if you are punching it. I left the star on top as an idea, for me, I would add a rusty star to the top of the tree. You can use a star button or make a star with wool.

These designs were just done up, so I haven't had time to try some myself, so hopefully I can make some this week. There is no set size, I made them so they fill the paper, when printed out.

Today I had a nice day, relaxing and some fun shopping. One of the things I found today was an old washboard. I loved that it said Yankee on it, and on the other side, it has clearer writing for the company name. The only bad thing is I notice how musty it is. Would love ideas on how to get rid of the musty smell so I can hang it in the house. I know a lot of you buy antique pieces and would love to be able to enjoy them without the mustiness making me sick.

The board is a lot darker in person, the flash lightened it up.

This and That Monday!

This weekend was cold, way too cold for long walks. It was good weather to get out for some fresh air and play with Bean. I never have to ask twice, if he wants to go out, that is a given, lol. Our young trees finally turned and the winds blew a lot of the leaves on the ground, and Bean loves playing in the leaves.

He seems to lose weight, right before a growth spurt and today he seems a bit taller and  huskier. I use my waterproof camera for photos since it is easier to carry while we play, so not the best quality photos.

It could be all the exercise he gets, he really gets into play and has strong muscles for a pup. I have to be careful that he doesn't hurt himself, since he loves to do high jumps.

I was also able to get some sewing done. I started this quilt, last year and finally put the pieces together. I still need to do some stitchery and add another border so it is lap size. I used a free design and precut blocks that a friend sent me. Now it is a quilt for another friend of ours.

I sewed my punch needle pieces with backings and got them all stuffed. Now I am doing the finishing work with borders and staining on some. The chicken was a bit bright, so I added a touch of stain to tone it down. Unfortunately the flash lightened them back up. I just may finish in time, after all;)

Friday Freebies!

This week I got several free patterns and made them into punch needle pieces. I was hoping to finish these but as usual, time slipped by and they will have to wait for the weekend. I think a good goal for me this weekend, is to finish all of the pieces I have made this month.

The first is a free design by Kelley of With Hook & Needle. If you haven't checked out the new groups on Facebook lately, there are several groups for all types of textiles arts. This freebie was offered on the group, The Out of Hand Rug Hooker's Group.

I kept my simple and will make it into a hanging pillow. I will also antique it a bit and add yarn cording.
It is a bit bright since I used flash, but I like using brighter colors when I know I am going to age it. Then again, I may keep him as is, it all depends on who I give him to and if they like prim or fun colors.

The next pieces are designs by Ginger of Primitives By The Light Of The Moon. She offered 4 free snowman designs that you can use for the holidays and I did two of them. My plan is to stuff them lightly and make hangers so they can be used as ornaments or hung on pegs, if the recipient wants.

If you would like more fun things to make, visit Michelle from The Raspberry Rabbits. She is offering a free ornament tag each week, so be sure and sign up for her blog. My sister likes rabbits, so these will be fun to do and put in her Christmas card.

Another great gift idea or maybe for yourselves is a bowl holder. I love making soup and I do reheat it in the microwave, so the bowl gets hot. I like to eat while I watch tv, so this will be a nice way to hold the bowl without burning my hands and a great gift idea. You can find the tutorial at 2 Little Hooligans. We can thank Allie - Oops Sweet Happy Life for finding this wonderful tutorial.

Weekend Wanderings with Bean!

This weekend was nice, but it seems as soon as the day warms up, it gets cold just as fast. We got out for a bit and introduced Bean to the world of Dog Parks. We went to one that is at the park where we hike and kayak, so it was a nice park and a good size for running and playing.

The bad thing is, there are never any dogs in the small dog area so we let Bean play in the big boy side. He was so excited to be with other dogs and loved running around with them. He seems to know how to be social, all on his own. He went up to the dogs and then lay down while they checked him out, then he got up and started playing.

This pup was really sweet and well behaved, Bean loved running with him.

It seemed there were a lot of male dogs and Bean knew better than to push his luck with these guys, but they were really good with him. The bad thing was, Bean got so excited that he was doing his speed runs in the field and the big guys ran over him. After that he decided to play to the side, by himself and watch the big guys. I think we need to wait for Bean to put on some more weight before we take him to the parks.

Bean is naturally social and all of the guys loved Bean and gave him lots of hugs and pats. Overall he had a good experience and we tried again the next day, but the two dogs yesterday were really obnoxious and their owners weren't much better, so we left.

We decided to make a stop at a fort that is on a hill, overlooking a cove that we paddle in. It was an area where the native american's lived and later become a fort. The original fort is gone and the old iron fence was erected on the exact space and shape of the original fort. It was a nice place to walk around and enjoy the views.

Bean is calming down at night and either playing quietly or sleeping on the couch, so I am able to get more done on my projects. Tonight I started a new piece and hopefully I will have a few new things done with freebies,  by friday.

Snowman Candle Mat Free Pattern!

Today Jenny of Jenny of Elefantz found the pattern for the snowman mat, that I stitched. She was wonderful enough to do a search and now everyone can use it to make their own mat. Be sure to visit Jenny and thank her for taking the time to help out and she also has a lot of wonderful patterns of her own and freebies that she shares with her visitors so be sure to sign up for her newsletter.

You can find the design for the mat, among others at: Daily Coloring Pages.

Friday Finish and Life with Bean!

It seems it takes longer and longer to finish things, these days. With only a month to go for gifts that get mailed, I cannot make one thing a week and get things done, ugh. The good thing is, Bean is having more calmer moments or moments that he plays by himself, that I will get more time to work on my projects as he gets older.

I found this design online, no idea where I got it. I printed it out and threw away the file without thinking and I cannot find it again, so if I do or if someone knows where it might be, I will share the website with you.

It was a fun design, but a lot of stitching. I used dmc floss on tea stained fabric, though it doesn't show well with the photo. Since this is more of a fun piece, I didn't add extra stain and will leave it, as is.

This week we have had some nice days, and the cooler weather makes for nice walks at the pond. Bean loved this walk. Wooded paths and no noises to scare him. He met a few people and dogs and as usual, he wanted to follow them. It is hard to get a nice photo of Bean, I get him in one spot, go to take the shot and he wants to jump up at me and the camera.

He seems to have a thing for the dishwasher, at least the dishes are already dirty;) He also likes to jump up to see what I am cooking and he really loves to share what I am eating. One of his favorite treats is apple slices. Today he watched me vacuum, he had no fear of the noise or the rug cleaner, but when I turned on the blender to make bread crumbs, he ran into the other room. He is also afraid of train whistles, he runs away from the sound. He also gets upset when we get near cars in the parking lot, but I have a suspicion that it might be because, he knows it is time to end our walks;) I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Monday FInish!

No wandering this weekend, we got lots of wind and rain, so it was mostly shopping and a car ride in the rain, to get out. I didn't get anything done this weekend, but today I finally made a pattern, I have been wanting to make.

The pattern is by Blue Moon Beginnings and if I recall correctly, I got it for free from an issue of Rusty Tin Roof's magazine. You can download the latest issue or any of their back issues. Each issue has free patterns in it and some will work and some won't, from the older issues. If you don't subscribe, it is free and you will get their seasonal issues.

The pattern is more prim and I cheated a bit on my faces but I will try the actual pattern and different versions for fun. I used a coffee stained muslin for the cat and a tea stain for the snowman, then I added more stain to the snowman. Valerie has a lot of fun, prim patterns and they do come as epatterns, so if you are interested in seeing what she has, you can visit her Etsy Shop and see what other patterns she has.

The photo came out lighter, so the cat is not as dark brown, as he actually is. It also makes the streaks of stain on the snowman, more pronounced.

It was so miserable at the lighthouse, even this seagull was not happy. He decided that a puddle was better than being in the windswept ocean.