Friday this and that!

No finishes this week, mostly things I am working on. One is the fall table topper, I am hand quilting it, so that might take a few weeks. I also seem to have gotten something, a flu, covid who one of my many weird problems, but I have meds and they are taking care of, whatever it is. Of course this is the week that Bill took off and now we can't go on any trips, just in case. But we can do day trips and with the trailer, I am self contained.

One item I am working on is, a needle felted angel. I wanted to try making one by using a cookie cutter to start, for the shape, but I think I prefer making them on my own. I would have rather made a more artistic angel and had better wings, but it is not too bad and I will add arms and change it up more as I go.

And this is where I stopped with my angel. Having a photo helps me to see what I need to fix and what I want to do. I think I made her look a bit pouty, doesn't match love too well, lol.

 I also enjoy watching the birds that come to my yard, I have three Downy Woodpeckers that visit and they like to chatter at me, they keep me amused.

And a new Cardinal today, have never seen this one. I have a pair that stays here and the male will not let any others in the yard, so was surprised to see it, so it may be one of their young.

And I was able to find some new fabrics, some I found at Joannes along with heavier white for the lining. This batch I found at a local quilt store, she had a lot of nice girl fabrics but not as much for boys. I wanted to get some fun ones for the boys and I can donate the extras.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We have rain tomorrow so I will stay home and rest and then I am hoping we can get over to Newport for some walks at the sanctuaries and picnics at the parks.

Friday Finish!

This week I worked on my painting and got more done, but I also drop my brush so much that I make a mess and have to fix the blobs of paint that I drop, lol. I decided to take a break and give my arm a rest, so I worked on a new stitchery. Yes, I agree, I do not know how to rest, but a brain break to think about my next steps on the painting.

The new stitchery is done with a design by Kathy Schmitz for the One Stitch Club. I do love pieces with inspirational words and this was a fun one to make. I colored the bee but the new colored pens seem to bleed more than the ones I get in the craft store, I don't think they are the same quality. So, a bit of black went into the yellow but I can live with that.

I like making pillows, something I can sell or gift and most people have room for a little pillow, more than a wall hanging.

I also got to spend last Saturday with the boys. The kids dropped them off so we took them to the island. We started with the diving beach, since most people are boating or diving from that spot, so there were only a couple of people on the beach. The boys loved playing in the water, even though it was cold.

After the beach, we drove over to the picnic area and found a nice big spot to park the rig. The boys loved having all that space to run around in and a picnic lunch in the trailer.

After lunch we went for a walk to the old forts. The boys loved exploring the forts and seeing all the graffiti, luckily Nick noticed the drawings more than what some said, lol. It was nice to spend the day with them and Nick told me he had a good day, which makes my day. I hope everyone is doing well and save from the fires, illness and able to spend time with your families.

Friday Finish!

I hope everyone's week went well, with all the bad things going on in the world right now, we all need to find our peace and joy, in our own lives. For me it is crafting and watching the birds in my yard.

This week I finished a Christmas stitchery, made from a freebie by the Facebook group, Love and Hugs from Australia. When I saw this design, I thought of my pet sitter. Since she lives with her parents to help them out, this is something she can put in her room, without taking up too much space. I added my own touches and glitter threads on the clothes and borders, but it doesn't show in the photo.

I also too the time to work on my painting. My brain and arm are not in the best of shape, so I have been base coating to see how I like the colors and something I can change if I want. I have some plans to change it up, but I never know how it will turn out till I am done. The colors are flat looking so I put the photo into a sketch filter, for fun. Once I get the face done and the rest of the colors, then I will decide if I want to change anything. This will be for my bright, happy, room, so I want to keep the colors more bright in this piece.

I am still trying to get a photo of the hummingbirds. This female spent the week watching the feeder and chasing off all the other hummingbirds. She has even buzzed me a few times, since she is getting used to me, being on the porch. Of course I couldn't get the clarity I wanted with he constant motion.

And then I decided to change my settings to get better motion shots and of course, the birds decided to stop moving. With the action setting, I don't get the clarity on still shots. This time the male has taken over the watch and chases the others away. I think I need to get another feeder and put it to the other side of the yard. I think with all this heat, there are not as many flowers and they are all coming to the feeder.

Have a wonderful weekend and may you all be blessed with good health and happy moments in your life.

Friday Finishes!

I hope everyone had a good week, and wasn't effected too much by the storm. We got a lot of wind and a tree in the back lost a big limb, but nothing major and we kept our power.

With the heat, I spend more time inside and that means more time for projects. I made up a project I had been wanting to do, by Cheri Saffiote that was offered free on her Facebook page. Even though she is no longer with us, she is with us in spirit and through all those that loved her and continue to make her patterns.

I did mine with a bit of blue and red so that it will work for summer and into the fall. I decided not to antique it, since it might wash out the lettering, and make it hard to see.

I also made a pillow, getting an early start on Christmas presents. I have a few friends who like Santas and this was a fun piece to make. I used colored pencils and some glitter thread to the clothes and the star. I am not sure if I will antique it, I can always do that later, but it will depend on who I give it to. This was a free design by Old Green Cupboard, offered on the Facebook group, Mystery Quilt Sew Along.

Our weekend trip was good and bad. The spot was perfect, nice views of the water. The bad was, it was hot and the sun was beating on us most of the time, even with the tarp. It is a pull through so less space on this one and no place to put the screen tent. It was also low tide, during the day, so the pond was full of people, clamming. So no paddling but we were able to walk around in the water and let Bean play. I think this camp is best to go, off season, so we can enjoy the area without the crowds and go to the beach with Bean.

Another good was, we could sit at our site and enjoy the sunset, without having to take the rig to the beach. This is a good place to go, to relax and I do have the same spot for next spring.

Another good thing is that it is a great place to bird watch. We saw a lot of birds zooming by and the Ospreys carrying fish back to their nests, but I was not quick enough to catch them. I was able to find the little bird who was chirping in the tree, behind us.

He was in a nest and that day, he decided to leave the next and practice flying from branch to branch. But he is still young, and his mom was close by and bringing him plenty of insects for dinner. It was nice to get away but we ended up coming home early the next day, it was just too hot. This weekend I just want to stay home and relax and maybe take some time to start my painting.