Friday Finish and Freebie!

This week I made another stocking from the stocking design I found at Cheri's facebook group. I used designs from her old books and added my own touches. Now I have one on each side of the skinny walls, that are on the big, useless opening in our kitchen. The wall will be coming down and we plan on putting in an island.

For now it is a great place to hang things. I hung it on a knob with better lighting, but I can never get a good shot of wool items.

Tuesday was a beautiful day and I wanted to get out. No crowds and Bean got to enjoy getting out too. This is how Bill looks for glass, I was digging too, lots of rocks with glass, hiding underneath.

And we found some nice pieces this time. I really need to organize what I have found lately and start making things. Winter is a great time to create, so hopefully I can get more done this year.

And for this week's freebie, a fun little star that I saw online and no idea who made it, but it did have a pattern. I redid it a bit and made the hat simpler, as well as changing the face. I like things I can make up quickly, since these are things I give away. I think it will definitely bring a smile, to the recipients face. Something fun to make and you can change it to suit your needs and change the expressions. I may do some with button eyes.

And here is the pattern, simple to make with felt or wool. You could even sew some with lighter fabrics. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Monday Finish and Fun!

I finished a piece on Friday night, so today I can show it to you. I made this months ago, but never finished it, so I decided to leave it as is, and make a pillow. I meant to tone down the snow, but forgot, but I am still happy with it, it was a big piece to work on.

The design is by Michelle Palmer and is 10" x 8".

This weekend was cold, so we went for a ride to Connecticut to do a little shopping and watch the ferrys at the point.

On the way to the point, I spotted this guy in a nearby pond. It is times like this, that I wish I had a larger zoom.

One place I love is the thrift shop, I found some fun goodies. I like buying little things that they boys can play with and not worry about breaking, the total cost was four dollars, can't beat that deal. The house is a music box and the santa flies around it, Alex loves watching it.

And to end my weekend, the boys stopped by for a late Birthday dinner. The boys gave me the best present ever, hand made cards and a mug that brings a smile, every time I use it. And that is about how I look and feel in the morning, haha. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday week.

Friday finishes and Freebie! - Plus a Holiday recipe!

I have been busy this week, a great way to keep my mind and hands busy while I finish off the last of the flu. My first piece is the second of the set from Blueberry Backroads. I colored this one with pencils, but it didn't pop, so I used my ink markers and love how that looks. I will recolor the first one, as well.

The second piece I finished is a stocking with a design from Cheri's Friendship group on Facebook. The design is free and another member did a design on a stocking and gave us the template to copy. She had machine sewed her stocking and I left the seam allowance on mine, so a little fatter, but it is nice for those wider design elements. The stocking measures 10".

I also tested some recipes, this one is my new favorite. It is Sweet Potato flat bread and so easy to make and only two ingredients. I was doubtful that it would work, but it does and it is delicious. Today I made up some apple - pineapple jam and it went great with them. For Thanksgiving I plan on making small ones and using cranberry and fruits to go with them. It stays moist in a sealed container, so you can make it ahead and just reheat before dinner.

And for Friday's freebie, a cute little reindeer. I found the photo at another foreign site and no pattern, so I did up my own. The wools I used were not as dense as I thought, but they still came out nicely. I will definitely make more of these, great to hand out or add to gifts. These are about 4 1/2 x 3 1/2.

And here is the design that I used. You can add your own buttons, different appliqués and colors. I hope you have fun, making your own. Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Finishes!

This weekend we went for a few drives and found out, one store was closed on Monday, but the good thing was, Colchester Mills was open and I was able to get some nice muslin and a new pattern, as a treat.

This design is by Blueberry Backroads, called Just for You! I love the fact that it is small and has the perfect saying for gift giving. I made the first one into a pillow, but they also have a flat version. I think the flat one would be fun to fill with balsam but I didn't get any this year. It is also nice since the flat version can fit in a small yellow envelope, along with a card.

I gave it a little color and some bells.

My freebie for the week was a design I found online, a simple tree with cut out hearts, but I decided to try some of my buttons. It was simple and quick to make up, so a great giveaway item, and something simple enough for kids to do. I think I like the smile face trees, better.

I saved the site these came from, but it seems to be an iffy site, isn't taking me to the same post, so I am including the pattern I downloaded and it does have the name of the site it came from. I wouldn't bother though, I already cleaned out my cache to be safe.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. It is going to be cold again, so we won't be hitting the beach, anytime soon.

Friday Finishes!

This week I was able to make two items and one is a freebie. The freebie is offered by Michelle Palmer on her facebook page, Michelle Palmer Artist. She offers one each year, and I love this new one. It was fun to do and can be done in primitive wools or bright wools.

The stocking is about 9" tall. I think it makes a nice gift that you can add some candy to, or some lip balm, etc. You can find the pattern at the link above. You can see a little shading on his head and tail, I used walnut ink but it faded as it dried, so I can add a little more.

My next piece is a design by Kathy Schmitz for her One Stitch Club. I decided to do it in Christmas colors,  on a tea towel,  perfect for a gift.

This week I was able to get in a beach day. Bill has his laser surgery and a late appointment the next day, so we got in a  few hours at the beach. I got  quite a few nice treasures, that large chunk is an old green piece and the larger rock would make a nice shape to do a nativity scene.

Do you see that smaller dark piece above the green and yellow one?

Well, I got a nice surprise when I put it to the light and saw that it was a piece of red glass with a gold decoration on it.  I almost threw it away, thinking it was a piece of a new bottle.

I hope you all have a nice weekend and not snow bound. It is colder here, but it will be sunny.

Weekend Wanderings!

We had another nice weekend, even though the cold is coming in early this year, it felt nice to be out without getting wet. On Saturday we tried a new area, Old Saybrook in Ct. It is a beautiful town which has a lot of history, but now it is more of a tourist area. It would be a wonderful place to stay in the hotels and condos that surround the beach area.

We explored the town and historical waterfront, then took a walk on the town beach. I found a few pieces of glass, but the tide was coming in, so I am sure there was more at low tide. We also stopped at one of the oldest cemeteries, lots of old stones from the founders of the areas and a view of the Long Island Sound. We started our day here and headed up the Connecticut river, where we passed by Essex, a village with a train museum and you can take rides along the river from there.

We enjoyed some stops at local graveyards and vistas along the river. I had hoped to spot some eagles at an island, they are known to winter at, but nothing on this day. Our destination was Gillette castle, which was open again.

It was nice to get out for a walk, and Bean was happy to get out, and say hi to everyone we passed. Do you see the kitties on the top? The man who built the castle, loved cats.

We got to enjoy a nice walk around the main areas, lots of paths with bridges and a little covered bridge. Some areas still had vibrant colors, but most of the area is turning to dark red.

On Sunday I wanted to go for a ride to Woodstock, they have a prim shop, a Christmas store and an antique consignment store. Not much this time, but the ride is on scenic roads and we got to enjoy a few stops, One at Roseland park, and another at a Rhode Island cemetery. I even found these cute snow dolls, online it said they are snowmen, but I think they look like white owls, lol. I know the boys will love them, they are soft and fluffy. I like to have a kid's display with their nativity, so they have things they can touch and play with.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finish and wanderings!

This week I tried a stitchery from a free painting design at Deco Art. I modified it a bit so it fit into a smaller square, since it is something I will give away as part of my DSmiles4miles group on facebook. The material was horrid to work on and the photo makes it look, even worse.

I think it is a fun design to give to people during the holidays, we can all use a smile. It is a painting on wood, so I maybe see if I can find some mini wood pieces and paint some, It is a fun design and easy to do, even if  you are not a painter. It could also be adapted by making the bird with applique, which I will try too.

We also got an extra day this week, since my husband had to work on Sunday. I picked Tuesday since the weatherman said it wasn't going to rain. It didn't rain but it misted all day, so it was damp and wet and we got out for a ride, but most visits to places had to be quick, so we couldn't enjoy any long walks.

One place I had seen online was Pumpkin town, we took a little detour and I got a few shots from the road. It wasn't worth going in, since it was too wet, but it would be a fun place to take the boys, next year.

This guy was hitch hiking on the side of the road.

We were lucky that the mist stopped long enough to visit the falls. I found a new function on my camera, so I was able to take a nice photo with a smooth look to the falls. It was gorgeous and the area was surrounded by color, but too wet to hike up the hill to the view point.

And no visit to the park would be complete without a photo at the covered bridge.

I got photos of churches and grave yard stones along the way and our last stop was the castle. I really wanted to see the views from above the river and the castle would give me some cover from the mist. Well, it was closed for repairs, so no castle this time. We went down to the ferry landing and watched the ferry go back and forth, this one is fast and always on the move, since it is easier than driving to a bridge area.

I thought it was fun that they decorated the area.

Tomorrow we are going to try another ride, this time going down the coast to an old coastal town, then up river and back across, and hopefully the castle will be open. I plan out our route online and look for interesting things along the way. So, a few old cemeteries, ocean views and hopefully some eagles along the river. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and made it through the last storm without damage.

This is what I woke  up to, but at least no trees fell this time. Bill had started putting up new sides and they made it through, but all the old ones are gone.