Friday Finish!

This week I have spent working on my rug and my hand quilting, still lots to go. I have been wanting to make something felted, so yesterday I worked on a stork. I got a book from the library, but you know me, I looked at the pictures and did my own thing.

I also have been wanting to try a wire form, so for this one I used chenille. I made a body part, wings and feet and then I wrapped roving around the main frame, to get started. Once that was done, I added the roving to form the stork.

It was nice having a form to work around without thinking about attaching the pieces, but it also made it harder to felt, since I had to work around the chenille and once I hit it and broke a needle. I think I enjoy free form felting better, I have more control over shapes and forming the shape to get depth and details.

Not what I wanted to happen, but not too bad. I think I will go back and fix a few things, definitely his big feet, lol. I can cut off the excess and reform with new roving.

Since I have made a long length of braid, I started sewing it together. I tried following the directions for sewing properly, which didn't work for me. The braids are smaller and not formed perfectly, so I have to sew under some and through others. As long as I can't see the thread and it is sewed tightly, I am fine with that.

This is what I have done so far, it is taking a lot longer than I remember. I work on this for a bit during the day and my hand quilting at night, eventually both projects will get done.

Here is a close up, I cannot get the true green. It is bright, but more a blue/green shade, with dark blue and medium blue.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We have a nice day tomorrow. I have decided it is time to get out for more hiking and less bending over the beach, so hopefully I am up for a good hike tomorrow.

Free Easter Bunny!

This weekend I took a break on Saturday since it was windy and cold. It gave Bill a day to work on the bathroom, though I am not sure how much he really did, lol. On facebook there is a group called Homespun Whimsey - Woolen Friends. She offers free patterns and block of the month. When I saw the bunny, I knew I had to make one.

I used what I had in my stash drawers and did more prim stitching, but I wanted to add a pop of color too. I like having things that the boys enjoy too, so more color in my pieces, lately. It was fun to make and I put it on the wall with rug tape. A great way to hang pieces without wrecking the walls.

On Sunday the boys had plans with mom and dad, so Bill and I went exploring by ourselves. We went to a small wooded park, that has paths and along the way, artwork by local artists.

It was a short walk, but fun to see something different and I left a painted rock along the path, for someone to find.

I was in the mood for a longer hike, so we went to the bird sanctuary at Trustum Pond. It was more crowded than usual, but we could still enjoy some quiet hiking along the paths and the local wildlife along the way. There are fields that are off limits for hikers, but I spied this guy and snuck in a little way to get a shot. A red tailed hawk, perfect spot to watch for mice in the fields.

The turtles are still hibernating, but we spied this beaver in the pond.

At the entrance, there is an area for birds with feeders and water, so a great place to see varieties of birds that are coming and going for the spring migration. This little Tufted Titmouse sat just long enough to get a shot.

The tide was going down and I wanted to check out the beach nearby. It was windy and cold, so I did a quick look in the immediate area and grabbed what I could, but too cold to stay out too long. The beach was covered in rocks, I know there was tons of glass in there, hated to leave, lol. The larger round piece was so clear, I grabbed it, thinking it was probably a rock, but I realized it was glass, so a nice find.

Hopefully I can get in the creative mood this week and start working on some art projects.

Friday Workings!

This week I have been working on old projects and starting a new one. I have tons of wool, especially scrap wool, so I plan on using the wool that is not great for hooking or appliqué and making scrap rugs. I was gifted wool, years ago and decided to start with that and making a braided rug.

The great thing about braided rugs are, they are not hard to make and you do not need any tools, if you use what you have. There are various methods so it is a great way to use up junk wool and fabric scraps, as well.

I couldn't find my braid aids, but I did find an old set that was still in the box and it even came with a measuring tool and flat needle for threading. I get old supplies from friends and relatives, so sometimes I don't even realize what I have. It is a nice set and never been used, so I can use it for future rugs. For this one, the strips are too thin to get a nice braid with them.

This is what I have gotten done so far, a bit thinner than I like, but I have enough rolled strips to make a small throw rug, so once I use up this wool, I will finish it off and if I need a little extra, I know I have plenty of similar wools.

I am using my hands to turn the wool under, as I go, so slower going. It also twists as I braid, so I have to untwist it, as I go, so that slows me down, but also gives my hands a rest.

While I was looking for the aids, I found items I had forgotten about. To finish and paint the floral rug, or sell to someone else. The cats would be a fun one for the kitty bowls. And, it is one rug the cats won't claw at. The dog piece is another oldy, I really need to clean out my supplies, lots from the 80's.

And we got to spend time at the beach on the weekend and a few days during the week. The glass photos to the right are from my favorite beach, we found some nice treasures. The smaller photo on the left is from a local port beach, not a lot of great glass, but a few fun finds, a domino and an old local beer cap. Now I need to make time for working on some art pieces I have been thinking about.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finish!

First I want to appologize to those who haven't gotten comments from me, on their blogs. For some reason I cannot post if I do the security questions, they just keep coming at me, so I just comment and it shows up as going through, but then I get returned mail, saying it didn't. So, I have been visiting and commenting, just need to figure out how to get mine to go through.

This week I had some tries that didn't work, projects I couldn't start and one project I got to finish. The design was offered by Homespun Whimsy on Facebook. She also has a block of the month with sheep, if you are interested in checking out Homespun Whimsy on Facebook.

I reduced the pattern by 20% and made a little pillow, that measures 9" x 6 1/2". I trace my design with a blue embroidery marker that washes off. Then I color in the design with colored pencils, then I stitch the design. This time I didn't use fabric medium but the color stayed when I wet patted around it to get the blue marks off.

And then there was the project I wanted to come out nice. I used Americana decoupage on this one and it bled more than the others. I also messed up on the sizing to fit the canvas. I really love the photo and saying, so I will have to try it in a different type of art piece.

And the project I couldn't get started. I was gifted the rolls of braiding wool and decided to make a scrappy rug for the kitchen. But, I cannot find my braid aids. I found 2 small ones and the box, but not the third one or the larger set of three. I am worried they went out with other items I gave away. I can braid without them, but I think it would be easier with them.

I will try braiding this weekend without them to see how I do. I have tons of scrap, rough wools so I am going to cut them into braid strips and make small rugs for entry ways and maybe some for the pet dishes. A good way to use up scrap stash that is not really good for hooking and it is more durable for those areas.

And then there is the total disaster. I decided it was time to shave Izzy. She will let me do it for so long, so I give her some canned food and she sits still for a few minutes. The problem was, I forgot to check the blade length so it shaved too close. Then she moved too much, so she is shaved mostly on the top and sides and looks like a lawnmower ran over her, lol. I think I need to get a pill to put her in a sleep state, then I could just get it done quickly and get her nails too.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. We have good weather coming in, so I will definitely be outside as much as possible.

Friday Finishes!

It is nice to have a week where I can get more projects done and still keep up at home. I have been dosing for all the colds and it is helping with my lyme, as well. So, I still have my moments, but I have more energy this week and hopefully it will keep up.

The first thing I made was a pillow. I do enjoy doing stitchery while I rest and watch tv. Lori Brechlin offered a new pattern on the various Facebook groups. She also offered it on her blog, Notforgotten Farm, if you would like to make one of your own. I did half of the design, there is also a basket with strawberries, but I wanted to keep mine smaller.

I also finished painting a box for my new punch needle piece. I glued the piece to the box, which I sanded and antiqued, after I painted it. I like how it looks and might just keep this one. I put it on a table with my painting and now I need to make a topper for the table, to match.

Here is a close up of the box, I use folk art antique medium, mixed with water, to age wood.

And I had time to make the newest stitchery from Kathy Schmitz's, One Stitch Club. It is fun to get something new each month and only two dollars. I liked how the colors pop on this one. I used colored pencils but no fabric medium, so the colors stayed more intense. I had to rinse it off, quite a few times to get the blue out and it held the color.

And yesterday was my son's birthday. I find joy in the memories of him when he was younger and the joys since he has become a father and made me a grandmother. Tomorrow we will have them over for a little dinner party. With the weather and the flu's, I haven't been able to see much of them this winter, so hopefully we will all stay healthy and spring will be here soon.

May you all find your own joys in life and be blessed with good health.

Friday Finishes!

I decided to get last year's issues of Punch Needle and Primitive Stitches to get a pattern that I liked. The nice thing is, you can order back issues at a reduced rate if you get the EMagazine, which is nice, since you can just print out the patterns, that you want. I wish I did more cross stitch, they do have some wonderful stitcheries, as well.

This pattern was in the summer issue, it is perfect for summer. I made mine with a round border, instead of stopping at the rope, which is uneven. I plan on mounting it onto a round wood box, so I will paint and prep the box next.

The design is about 8" round, but worked up quickly.

Another fun thing I did this week was to make a card. The design was a free painting pattern, from the Artist's Club, by Christy Hartman. I did it on watercolor card stock and used my water color pencils.

And I also did another image transfer. This is a photo of my son and husband, when we went for a hike one day. I wanted to make him something for his Birthday, since we always give him a gift certificate. I like to give him something to hide the card in, so I will tape it to the back.

Well, as you can see, it didn't work. I really don't like working on mounted canvas, not enough stiffness to press down the photo. I will have to try wood, next time. And maybe it is time to try some photo transfer medium, to see if it works better.

So, I fixed it. I had another copy, that I forgot to reverse. The photo was redone in a  watercolor filter, so I trimmed off the excess white and decoupaged it over the first photo. I had extra edge showing, that didn't look right, so I sanded and antiqued the edges. Not perfect, but something fun to hide his card in.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We are expecting snow to come in tonight, so tomorrow will be a stay home day, perfect day to work on more projects.