Friday Finish!

It was a slow week with the flu, mostly watching tv, resting, cleaning and working on my projects. I had to redo the background for my snowmen, better than before but not what I wanted. At this point, I am not redoing it again, so I will fix a few things on the main design and leave it as is.

I do enjoy stitching when I am sick, easy to do and few supplies to gather. I made up some more lavender sachets with a design by Theodore Cleave. She used to offer a lot of nice free designs, but she still sells some nice ones. They are great as gifts and I still have a batch of finished stitcheries, for a quilt or I may make pillows as gifts, since the saying are so nice.

I loved making this one, and fun to color in. I tried some buttons on one and glitter floss in the middle of the other flowers. I also used glitter thread for their wings. I usually get lavender from a local shop, but since I am stuck at home, I decided to order some online. I was surprised at how fragrant it was, much better than what I have gotten. I think 2 pounds will make plenty of sachets to place around the house and some in the new trailer.

Last weekend we were able to see eagles at both ponds. The problem was, my camera was acting up and wouldn't focus, so I think I am pressing the button on the side by accident, so I have to watch my settings when I shoot. Most of the photos came out blurry from the first spot, so hopefully I can get better ones, the next time. He flew close a few times and then he flew off with a hawk, following behind.

I also enjoy watching the birds in my backyard. It is the time of year when large flocks gather in the area. There is a flock of robins and a lot of different blackbirds, they fill the trees around me.

And one day I noticed that one of the squirrel's nests had gotten twice the size. I looked with my binoculars to see what it looked like and this is what I saw. A squatter took it for a safe place to sleep, but he did leave the next day. I rarely see raccoons, but I think he was startled by something or at night and wanted somewhere safe, to catch up on some sleep.

We haven't been glass hunting lately, it is way to cold and breezy at the beach. We decided to go for a quick look and grabbed what we saw as we walked down the beach and this is what I found.

And I decided that I needed to make early reservations if I wanted to get a spot at Wolfe's Neck in Maine. It is a working farm on the ocean, so we can relax, bike ride and paddle, and lots of places to visit in the area. We stayed there fifteen years ago and even though I can't paddle the long distances, it will be fun to paddle in the coves.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finishes!

This week I got the flu, first real flu in years. I get a lot of them, but usually I can keep going, this one has me worn out, so I am resting more than usual. Though for me, that means, laundry, cooking dinner, dishes, and I still have to vacuum, lol. With a nice weekend coming up, I really want to get out and get some eagle shots and spend a day with the boys, so hopefully the meds will kick in by tomorrow.

I cannot stand sitting and doing nothing, so I made up a few easy projects for the week. I did work on my punch needle, but I still have more to go and not sure if I am happy with the background color, so thinking on that.

Michelle Palmer offered a free design on her Facebook page. The punched piece I am working on, is also one of her designs. This one can be done in any medium, but I decided to do a stitchery. I had fun coloring it in and doing a little shading, to make it a bit more artsy, which her originals are like.

The next piece I had gotten on one of our trips to Connecticut. They have a wonderful quilt store, but not a lot of patterns, but they do carry a few from my favorite designers. This one is by Bonnie Sullivan of All Through the Night. It is part of a set, for a full sized dog quilt. This one was perfect by itself, to make into a pillow.

The pillow measures 13" x 9". A nice size to sit on my chest, with my bunny pillows.

Last weekend we lucked out and found an eagle, at a pond in RI. This guy was across the lake, but still fun to see him. I also found out where the photographers are getting shots of a pair, that are closer to shore, so I am hoping to get up there, tomorrow.

We also stopped at a few places and found a new bike path. Hopefully I can find a doctor who actually treats patients and get back my strength, I really want to do more biking this year. A lot of the bike paths in Connecticut are old railroad lines, so they cross over trestle bridges.

   

And we ordered a new trailer. I was disappointed with the small class C. It had everything we needed, a real bedroom with storage, a decent kitchen, but the only seats were the table and it was hard and stiff, so not great for comfort. It would be great for day trips and weekends, but way too tight for longer stays, I need my space, lol.

So, we went with a larger trailer. It was cheaper and we got a lot more for the price. It doesn't have much more sleeping space, but enough to take the boys with us and the back chairs move, so we can always set up a blow up bed for my son and DIL. The boys are small enough to sleep on the table bed. It will be more for us, something I can relax in, something I can cook in and I don't have to put my clothes in the bathtub, lol.

Here is a little peak of the one we looked at. This is the one we wanted, but of course, someone came in and bought it, the day before. so we have to wait a few months, since ours is from the factory, but will be an even newer model.

Have a wonderful weekend and hopefully your weather will be as nice as ours.

Friday Finishes!

This week I was lazy and I am also working on a larger project, so I made up some lavender pillows to work on, while I watched tv. The designs came from my booklets and I had fun doing some of my old ones.

This one is from the booklet, Spring Flock. I used art markers and colored pencil, to give it some color.

This design is from the booklet, For the Birds. I do miss designing and hopefully I can find more time to work on some new ideas, that I have been thinking about.

I also have been enjoying our little adventures and getting to use my new zoom. On Saturday I wanted to stay close to home and not worry about hunting for eagles, but on the way to the store, a hawk flew by, so we stopped and backed up to where he landed.

I hope this doesn't offend you, but to catch a shot of a hawk with prey, is not something I Have been able to do, so I was thrilled to catch him in action. Even with the zoom, I am still not sharp, it is hard to keep it still, but great quality for a hand held shot. This is a red tailed hawk.

On Sunday we headed into Connecticut. I always look for new places to visit and this time we stopped at a park along the river, and enjoyed a quick, brisk walk along the boardwalk. I can't wait to go back in the spring, when the shore birds come back to nest. There was.a flock of Cedar Waxwings in the parking lot area, but they wouldn't stay still for.a clear shot. We also visited a new cemetery, with stone designs that I have not seen before, so more design ideas.

And since I didn't expect to see any eagles, what did we find? Eagles! While at the cemetery I started scanning the far banks and spotted an eagle, and when we stopped at Eagle landing, I scanned again and at the far side, across the river, I spotted one in a nest. Too far for good shots, but it was still a thrill to see them.

And this week, it seems the hawks are hunting more in my yard. I keep spotting them, but they tend to take off when I spot them. This guy was being harassed by the crows, so he sat still long enough for a shot. He or she, is a red shouldered hawk.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Friday Finishes!

I hope everyone faired well during the recent storms. We got hit with a lot of rain and wind, but so far our power has stayed on.

This week I made a couple of items. I got a book from a thrift store and wanted to make the flag pattern. The book is Handmade in the USA by Kindred Spirits. My original idea was to mount the piece on wood, but I didn't have any good wood so I decided to try it on a canvas frame. I used various vintage papers for the background, but thought it needed to be toned down, and basically, I ended up painting over it and then I did some stenciled stars.

First I antiqued the canvas, then I antiqued the flag and once it was dry, I attached it with a decoupage medium. It worked great, the flag lay flat and it is hardened into the background. The problem was, I had used a little of the black stain for antiquing and the medium made that run throughout the piece. The flag came out too dark and the background lighter, so not the look I was going for. I think another problem was, I rushed to get it all together and should have given the piece, a day to dry thoroughly.

I had to lighten it up, so you could see how the flag looks, so the stars are lighter than the actual piece, as well.

Another piece is a lavender sachet, using Kathy Schmitz's newest pattern, from the stitch club. I have a lot of items in boxes, so I can always use more sachets, though this one is so pretty, it is a shame to hide it.

Last weekend we got out for rides, but no eagles. Of course I found some new, old graveyards and a wonderful old church that will be perfect for an art piece or maybe a new punch needle pattern. I do not show photos of items I will be using in art, but I took a few of the unique graveyards.

And the only bird that I could capture this week was a turkey vulture. I thought it was the hawks at first, but this is what I got a shot of.  It was good practice with the new lens, I wasn't sure if I could get good shots of birds in the air and this guy was also far away, so I am pleased with the results. The good thing about getting a better quality lens is that you can get a better result when editing the photo.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and find your own adventures.