Friday This and That!

This week I have been working on my quilt panel, almost there, so hopefully I can have it made into a pillow, next week. The weather has been hot, way too hot or humid is more like it, so my energy level is down and even with the air conditioner on, it only cools down certain areas, so I am limited on what I can do.

One thing about a not so great week is receiving gifts from friends. My friend Kelley Belfast made me a whale rug for my beach room and surprised me with a wonderful heart rug. The whale is perfect to hang on the wall, but I think I would like to frame it somehow, either a barn wood to place it on, that way I can use rug pins and not hurt the rug. Or a frame that would look good against the barn wood wall, will see what area I want to place it on and then decide. The hearts will make a nice table topper, it is a beach room, but also filled with heart items, so they are both perfect.

The whale rug is 23" x 16".

I also was able to get out as the tide was going out. My Sister in laws beach is rocky and on an island, so lots of glass gets trapped in the rocks. I even had double the help, and with the showers that day, we had the area to ourselves.

Bill and Natalie found me lots of big chunks and I found some fun shaped rocks.

I am not sure what I will do with this rock, I may paint it. Can you see what it looks like? It has more definition than shows in the photo.

A fun fact about my SIL's house, it was in the movie, Moonrise Kingdom. In the movie, two kids run away and the local police are looking for them, so they stop at her house to ask if she has seen them. And standing there on the porch with my SIL is Bruce Willis. The movie is shot in Rhode Island, some on the island and some in the boy scout  camp where we hike.

And another fun thing I did this week, shave Izzy, haha. She lets me shave her top areas, she does like to be groomed, but she was not too happy when I started on the back end.

I had to coax her, tell her how beautiful she was looking and I was almost there. Today I got more underneath, and smoothed out the choppy areas, so just the longer hair on her belly is left. Now if I can find a way to get her to roll over so I can get that, she will be all set. She pukes up, all over my house and this is one way to stop that, so well worth the trouble.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finish!

Years ago, my friend Kelley, With Hook and Needle,  sent me some quilt tops and I finally finished one. She wanted me to have some tops that I could practice on my new machine, but this one just screamed, hand stitching. She hand pieced the entire quilt, it needed the same hand work for finishing.

I wanted to try something different and easier to see how it worked, so I put on the backing and hand quilted the flying geese blocks and around the borders. Once that was done, I put on the back and did tacks, down the strips, in-between the flying geese. That way I tacked down the backing without over quilting the back. I will be using it and it makes it a lot smoother and softer on the skin. I used a thin striped brown, homespun for the back, so it is nice to lay under.

I don't think it is the best way to quilt, but it worked and I didn't have to worry about pinning or puckering, if I did. I finished it off with a black edge.

I love how it came out, it is more prim in person, just fits the bed, so not sure how much it will shrink when I wash it. The top has been washed, but not the backing. I realize I should have washed both, to avoid puckering when the new materials shrink.

I laid it across the couch, it will be nice to hang on my railing too.

A little closer look. I had to use my wide angle to get it all in, so not the best shots. The bed is extra long, so this longer quilt was a nice size for it and will be nice for the summer. I used black pearl cotton, #12 on it, I like the heavier thread for doing prim quilts.

The turkeys decided to come through our yard, and I wanted to get a photo of the babies. Of course the babies started walking off, but the parents wanted to grab the goodies that fell out of the bird feeder.

And I didn't realize Bean had come out with me and the minute he saw them out there, he opened the gate and running after them. The babies got  upset and  you can see one as he is flying up to the fence. The rest followed and then the parents were stuck, so they flew the other way and went across the street. I could hear the babies calling to the parents and eventually they came back, but walked through the neighbors  yard, I don't think they will be visiting any time soon.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friday finishes, finds and food!

I decided this week that I will be posting on Fridays only, unless we do something special on the weekends. Then I will bore you with photos of our adventures and the kids, on Mondays. I have so many projects that are in the works and ones the I want to start, that I want to concentrate my time, working on those and having more time to visit blogs.

This week I decided to paint some more rocks. I haven't done it in a while and it usually takes me a week to finish them. So, I kept these simple and did them free hand, so they may not be perfect or art works, but I think people will enjoy finding them and hopefully put a smile on their face.

If you don't know about my facebook group, it is for people who like to make things and hide them for others to find. It doesn't have to be rocks, it can be any item and the purpose is to make others happy, nothing else. We need to spread a little joy in the world. If you would like to join my facebook group, DSmiles4miles, you can read more on what it is about and join in on the fun.

I was also able to get to the dog beach, for a few days. Bean loves it and Bill gets in some exercise by swimming in the bay. I get to do lots of walking, while I look for glass. I found a few nice pieces and a lot of craft glass. The junk glass I am putting aside to give to a friend who does art pieces and stained glass. I did have a couple of nice, large chunks, but I met a girl who was looking for any glass and I took most of it, lol. I gave her a couple of the nice large ones.

After eating pancakes for a few days, I got hungry for meat and potatoes. I make healthy pancakes with whole wheat, bananas and blueberries, then I top it with apple, pineapple jelly, that I make, no sugar added. Tonight I couldn't decide whether I wanted apple burgers or pepper burgers, so I made both. I think I found a winner. I cut up one red and one green pepper, small onion and a grated apple. I add a little butter to cook it in. Then I mix that into the hamburger with a cup of bread crumbs and an egg. You bake these in the oven, I did mine at 380 degrees, till they brown on one side, then turn and cook. They come out moist and taste delicious. They don't hold together too well, so I am still working on the recipe, but well worth trying it. It tastes good and healthy way to have a hamburger. I had scalloped potatoes with it and for Bill's, I made his with healthy butter and his fake salt.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Bill is rebuilding his sister's porch. I have no problem helping her, but I think it is way too much work for him and my son to do, and Bill is on blood thinners, so working with power tools is not my idea of a smart thing to be doing. So, I will be home, stressing and keeping busy so I don't sit around, thinking of all the things that can go wrong;)

Friday Fun!

This was a hot week, too hot to do too much, but I have been working on my quilting and have more than half of my pillow quilt done. Of course the holiday was the big day of the week and we were able to go to my Sister in Laws and enjoy the day with family and some beach time.

Bean got to go with us and the minute we got there he started whining and pulling towards the beach, he remembered there was one down the road and where to go, the boy is too smart. He loved playing in the water with Bill but the waves were a bit higher and he swallowed a lot of salt water.

The beach is rocky, but the views are beautiful. To the right you can see Newport and a lot of boaters out on the water.

To the left you can see the rocky shoreline and the end of the island, she is close to the end, which is the quieter side but you don't get the cool breezes, like the other end.

The tide was going out, so I thought I would see if I could find any glass. I was surprised when I found glass that had washed up and big chunks of it. I found all this in an hour, so I am sure there was more hidden under the rocks, but there were so many sand fleas and they do bite, I didn't bother digging under. I did get a lot of scrap glass, so that I will save for a friend who does glass work, but I found some nice pieces to add to my collection.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and enjoy the weekend. It is finally cooling down here, so I hope the rest of you are also enjoying a respite from the heat.

Tuesday Finishes!

This week I had planned on showing you fun photos, at the beach, with Nick, but that didn't happen. I have learned that if I go up and tell him we are going to the beach, he is eager to go. But, his parents decided they were going out so they could drop him off, and of course, the minute they stop at our house, he goes into his crying routine and saying he didn't want to go. Not really sure what that is about, since we always have fun and last time, he actually wanted to stay longer, so instead, I spent the weekend at home.

Luckily it was the first of the month on Sunday, so a new stitchery to enjoy. I love getting out, but with this heat and the crowds, it is just too much.

The design is from Kathy Schmitz's, One Stitch Club and I thought it was perfect for a set of sachets and a nice gift idea. They are 5" x 6" and I stuff them lightly, then add some lavender and finish off with a little more stuffing.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday tomorrow. We are going to my SIL's. I like my SIL and her husbands family is nice, but I have no desire to cook and bring my own food, so I will wait till I get home to eat. They are on the island, so I will be able to go swimming and paddling if I want. Bean is coming, I know the neighbors will be shooting off fireworks and I am afraid to leave him alone too long. I know Bean will love that, he has gone before and loves all the attention and beach time.