Friday Finishes!

This week I made up some more pillows for lavender. I love doing the simple designs and they make me smile. It seems easier to do simple, small projects with the heat we have been having. The designs are free and can be found on the Facebook group, Primitive Folk Art Quilts and Projects.

I also made up more masks, these will be the last of the camping types. I found the fabrics for the at Walmart and they are not as thick as my good cottons, so I added a third pocket layer. This adds enough to wear as is, or the person can add a filter for added protection. After this I need to find some fun fabric for the boys, in case they go back to school and I would like to make extras for kids who cannot afford nice ones.

And I was able to spend some time with the boys this week. While mom and dad went out, we all enjoyed some time playing outside and keeping cool. Bean loves it when the boys come, I think he gets more excited than them.

Tomorrow we go camping for the weekend, and as usual my body decided to crash. I cooked our meal for the weekend, and most things are packed and ready to go, so I plan on just relaxing and enjoying our site on the water. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and stay safe.

Friday Finishes and Fun!

This week I made a pillow with a design by Kathy Schmitz for the One Stitch at a Time Club. It came with the alphabet so you can personalize it and I did one with a letter for a friend, to get a start on Christmas gifts.

I antiqued it but the photo is making it darker than the actual piece.

I also made some new masks. I found some fun fat quarters which are a nice size, but with the fitted mask, I could only make two adults and one child, but a fun set.  I am setting aside the pieces from the masks and was thinking of making some simple teddy bears or a doggie, and adding a tag and. year for a momento to give to the boys.

Then today I decided to whip up a couple more which is a mistake, I made a mess, but they are still usable. The kid's mask is a 3D style and I wanted to try one for Nick to see if he likes it better than the fitted. I want to make him school masks, so it is important that they are comfortable and breathable for him. It didn't come out right and might be too small, but he does have a small nose, so it may be just right. I also found some fun lodge material and these I added a third pocket layer, so the wearer can put a filter in or leave as is. A good way to make them more protective when using thinner fabrics.

And we had a nice time camping, not too crowded and the noisy neighbors was asked to leave, so the next day was much quieter. I spent a lot of time on the water, sitting in the cove and enjoying the birds. I saw the kingfishers, but they would not come out for a photo.

I was able to catch Eastern King birds, a Lesser Tern and Tree Swallows.

And on the way back, this Cormorant was nice enough to sit still and make silly poses for me.

On Sunday the kids came and we had a cookout, and played games at our site.

And the boys were thrilled they could swim in the lake, Nick is getting better at swimming and Alex goes up to his neck and fake swims, where he keeps his legs on the bottom and uses his arms only. But a big improvement over last. year when I had to coax him, just to get in the water.

It was nice to get away for a bit, but this weekend we are staying home and getting some things done. It is going to be hot again and the beaches are too crowded. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoying the summer as best, as you can.

Friday Finish!

Only one thing finished this week. Seems it has been a slow unproductive week and I am spending the rest of the night cleaning the house and making sure all our gear we take in the morning, is ready to grab.

I did spend a fair amount of time, quilting my summer challenge quilt. I love how it came out and have it hanging in the middle of my front window. I use rod clips to hang it, they are great if you have rods on the windows and a nice way to decorate without curtains on some areas.

The only thing I regret is the way I placed the whale, I think he looks off balanced compared to the other designs, so I may add a little something to the right side, to balance it out. I do love the blue board fabric on the sides, I have more to use in another project.

I was able to get a decent site at our state park. It is a lot cheaper than private but no hook ups. That is the great thing with our new rig, fully self contained and a generator. I have my stitching and drawing bag, so hopefully I can relax and sketch a bit. It is going to be hot, but it is usually cooler down there, so hopefully it will not be too hot. The kids are coming on Sunday so we will get to have some fun with the boys.

I hope. you all have a wonderful weekend. This is where you will find me, on the other side of the little trees, something new they planted this year.

Friday Finish!

I hope everyone had a nice week and enjoying the summer as much, as is possible. I didn't get much done while we camped or during the week, it was mostly catch up when I got home, but I worked on my quilting and finished another little pillow today.

This is another design by Deborah Cade, and I made up two more to do later.

We had a nice time camping, but it was hot. The campground has a pool, but you have to sign up in the morning to get a time slot, so we were able to take a swim on the second day.

This is our spot, right on the river and surrounded by woods and lots of birds, a peaceful place to relax.

Of course being on the river means, I am on the water as much as possible. It is a small river but deep and it leads to a pond. The pond is full of lilies and plants, but the main passages are easy to paddle along and all deep water.

The area in front of me is all state forest, so a lot of wildlife and birds in the area. I had a hard time getting photos since they were camera shy, but I finally came out later in the afternoon and sat in the lilies to catch a few photos.

This Great Blue Heron was there when I went out each day, I was lucky enough to catch him on the hunt and catching his dinner.

Lots of turtles and dragonflies in the lilies, such a calming place to sit as they flew around me.

And on the way back, I caught this Redwing Blackbird, who had made a nest along the river banks.

It is a nice place to camp and they have activities every weekend. For the fourth they had a wonderful Southern country, rock band and a parade of golf carts on the fourth. Most people didn't wear masks but we kept clear of others and stayed away from the other events, but we will definitely camp here again, everyone was friendly and nice.

This weekend we will rest a bit and catch up on things, but also get out a bit for a day trip. The Ocean beaches are so crowded, you cannot move without people so we will stay away. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and you and your families are blessed with good health.

A Day Early Finishes!

We are headed off for a long weekend tomorrow so I thought I would post a day early. I lucked out and got a spot by a river, surrounded by trees, so nice privacy to relax and work on my quilt.

The first thing I finished this week was more lavender pillows. They are free designs by Deborah Cade for a Facebook group, Primitive Folk Art quilts and projects. These are so fun to do and the next ones will be roosters or chicken, something my brother and his wife love to collect.

The second project is a summer quilt, another freebie from the group. I have it all set to quilt, so I can sit and relax at the camp, and work on the quilting. It looks a bit flat in the photo, so I will have to take a nice photo when it is done. I used some of my new fabric with the blue wood, for the side edges.

We also got out for a bit on the weekend. I wasn't feeling up to too much activity, so we went to Beavertail and found a nice side spot with views of the ocean. It was nice to just sit and relax and we got a few walks in, as well.

I have also been seeing a lot more birds in our yard. I was surprised when I went out and saw two females with their young, eating under the feeder. There are 16 babies, in all. One just had three little ones, and the other had 13 or she may have adopted from another female, I did notice the male is not with them. They tend to run back and forth across the road and there are lots of predators in the woods, so they do lose a few of their young, but seem to keep the flock growing.

I hope. you all have a wonderful weekend. In these trying times, I try to keep up my spirit by keeping busy and trying new things.