Friday, No Finishes!

 

This week I have not finished things as much as worked on finishing things. I did make more masks and actually sold some, so that will help with new threads and things I am running out of for my regular sewing. I think I need to get ones done with the material I have for kids and then just make a few if someone needs some, but I have too many unfinished projects and things I havnt had time to make. I also saw a need for quilts for the fire victims and need to start using my quilter and get some tops finished.

I do keep busy with the boys on the weekend and here it is Friday and tomorrow is a day with the boys. I spent the day cooking and made a batch of apple crisp for the boys, theirs has some sugar and a brown sugar topping. I make mine without sugar, so thought it would be fun to make them a special treat.

Last Saturday we went to Jamestown and spent the day at the forts. This time we were able to get a spot in front of the cove, so great views. The boys had fun playing on the beaches and a picnic in the trailer.

On Sunday we headed to Connecticut and took them to Esker Point. There were only a few people in the parking lot and no one at the picnic area. We went across to the street and walked on the beach and decided to head to Groton long point for lunch. It is a beautiful area at the mouth of the Thames river and we watched the ferries as they came and went.

Our last stop was Fort Griswold, another place the boys loved. Lots of exploring and even a bit of history. Nick likes to hear the stories and Alex wants me to read the signs for him, so a bit of learning too.

I hope you enjoyed a bit of our adventures and have a some fun adventures of your own. Stay safe and healthy and enjoy. your weekend. Hopefully I will get back on track and start finishing my projects this week.

Friday Finish and Fun!

 

This week I had more energy so I worked on some new masks. I had gotten some fun kids halloween fabrics so wanted to use them up, so I did a few for now and next week I will use up the fabrics. I saw a notice for someone looking for larger men's sizes so I let the local group page know that I had some and got a request from a lady who works at the school near me. She will stop by Monday to get hers and I will give her the extra kid masks so she can give them out to kids who need them. 

I like the 3D style, it is not hard to make, but the sides are thicker and I am trying to figure out how much I can trip to make them neater and easier to sew. The owl fabric was from Joannes, not as thick as the quilters cotton, I get from the shop. A fat quarter makes two adult and two kid's masks.

We got to get out and enjoy some time with the boys this weekend. We took them to a new place, Fort Shantuck in Connecticut, part of the Mohegan reservation. The park is free and has a pond with walks around the grounds. 

The boys loved exploring and we had a picnic by the pond.

The pond is filled with ducks and wildlife, a nice place to walk and relax at.

On Sunday we had a rest day, and lucked out with a spot with views of the bay. Bean gets to go with us and loved playing in the water and I even found some nice glass, hiding under the rocks.

At home I have been enjoying the birds and was surprised when I spotted this guy watching for mice near the kayak rack. It is a juvenile Cooper's hawk.

I love having the suet on the porch, the Downy Woodpeckers love it and are getting used to me, sitting there. This is the male, I have two males and two females that visit.

And here is a female, you can see her feet and why they can climb up and down trees so well. I hope you enjoyed seeing a bit of my week and I hope that you are all safe and healthy and enjoy visiting places in your own area.

Friday Finish and Fun!

 

This week I have been slow going on my new projects, I finished the stitching on my stitchery but I have to decide on the finish and it may take me a few more weeks at least, to quilt the table runner. I did make time to get some masks made for the boys.

This was fun fabric to work but it is hard to fussy cut and get exactly what you want with masks, since some get lost in the folds. I made 3D masks since I find they are easier to breath and talk in and want to see how the boys like them. I also made two fitted masks in case the others don't fit. It is hard to figure out sizes with kids and the boys are smaller than kids their age.

I was feeling better over the weekend and I know fresh air always lifts my spirts, so we got out for a few walks. My test came back negative so I guess the meds worked. I want to thank you all for your well wishes.

We went out to park at a camp lot, at a casino in Connecticut, the reason is that it is on the river and I wanted to see if we could get a spot with views. Well, they closed that lot and put campers in a back section, so that didn't work. While we were sitting in the lot, security came by to ask me if we planned on camping there and I said no, just taking a break and heading to another park, which is how I found out, no dogs at that park, so that was out. I wanted to walk a bit so we headed to the Fish Hatchery and took a little walk along the river.

On Sunday we headed to Connecticut to check out a few places. On the way to one, we took a wrong turn and ended up at the ocean and found a public parking area at the mouth of the river. It was a nice place to relax and there was a public beach, but Bean was with us, so we rode around a beautiful community on the point and enjoyed the many marshes in the area, filled with egrets. While at the Parking lot, I was getting ready to leave and caught a bird chasing a small hawk. 

The hawk was actually a Merlin, a nice surprise for me, I have never seen one before, that I know of.

Our next stop was an old farm that is now a state park. It was a beautiful place, lots of fields with old stone ruins and lots of paths to explore. We took the path that went around the salt pond and back along a short cut through the woods. We will definitely come back and I know the boys would love this place.

The area is filled with a variety of birds, but most flew by too fast.  This mockingbird was nice enough to pose for a photo.

This week Bill started first shift. It is hard to reset my time, since I am used to staying up late, but I find it is easier to get up earlier, just getting to sleep at night is the problem. The benefit is, he is home later in the afternoon, so we can enjoy a few hours at the ocean. We will be going more now that the crowds are gone and bringing dinner so we can eat at the lighthouse and watch the sunset.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. For those near the fires, may you stay safe and prayers for you all, and for rain.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I finished one piece, two others I am working on. One is a table runner that I am hand stitching and another stitchery for Christmas.

I had plans this week, it was our vacation week and our rates are down, so we can travel to the northern states, but lucky me is sick. I have all the Covid symptoms except the cough, but I have been taking meds that I have on hand for lyme and added a few days of Chloroquine, that is what seemed to push me back to health. I am still tired and weak, but today I was able to do light therapy exercises in the spa. Tomorrow I get a test from the CVS, wish I had done it sooner but if it is negative, then I know I am safe and will be able to take the boys out next weekend when the holiday is over. We will be able to go the the Connecticut parks for free again and it won't be long before foliage tours.

This stitchery is a pattern by Marg Low for the group, Love and Hugs from Australia, on Facebook. I didn't like how the light background stood out with the other colors, so I added a bit of walnut ink to tone it down. Unfortunately I noticed a bit of black where I used my ink pen. I have used them for years and never had it run, but this one is a larger brush size, so I guess they do bleed, so I will not use that again.

I added glitter threads for accents and on the edges, I wish that showed in a photo. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend and stay safe and healthy.