Friday Finish and Feathered Friends!

 

This week I finished my newest stitchery. The design was a freebie offered by Deborah Cade on Facebook. I love coloring in the design but I do wish I had more control over blending, was hoping to make it look more like a water colored piece. I also notice that red is a color that bleeds, no matter the medium, so I have to be careful when using reds since I have to damp it down to get rid of the blue lines.

I added a border and happy how it came out, something cheerful to chase away the winter blues. The design can be found on the Facebook group, Prim Folk Art Quilts and Projects.

And on the birding front, I finally got a chance to see the eagles in action. Unfortunately they were in the middle of the lake on a sandbar, so I was out of zoom range, but was able to catch them mating.

And when the male took off, I was able to get a closer shot as he flew by.

I enjoy birding and watching them in my backyard, but it is getting too cold to stay out for long. Today I watched from the window and spotted this young, female, Downy Woodpecker as she rested from the winds and then went a meal at the suet.

And sitting on the opposite side of the porch was this White Bellied Nuthatch. The wind was gusting and a few times they almost lost their grip, its a good thing they have those sharp talons.

And finally I finished a few more masks. A friend liked the ones I had sent her and wanted more, so I made a few before I found out that she wears bright and busy patterns, so I need to find something that is more toned down to match her outfits. 

I hope you all had a wonderful week and fun plans for the weekend. I am always on the go lately, so it is nice to be stuck inside, working on projects.

Friday Finish and feathered friends!

 

This week I worked on finishing a new piece. I finished the stitching, but I still need to make it into a pillow, or maybe a wall hanging. I am not sure if I want to add a saying, it depends on what it looks like when I cut it down and add a border. The photo makes it look grainy but the colors are much brighter and smooth looking. I was trying to go for a pen and ink, with watercolor look.

We didn't do anything exciting last weekend. We rode around and realized we couldn't stop on the side of the road or down a back road with the trailer, so time to use the truck for exploring. We stopped at a bike path, but no parking so not sure how we can walk on it without parking, but we can park at the other end if we ride our bikes. I really wanted to explore a bit on the end, since that is the part that follows along the river.

I have had a lot of visitors this week, something to enjoy during the week. I think the young Downy Woodpeckers are the most fun. They are less afraid of me and they will hide behind the rails and peak out at me, but sometimes they are still enough to catch a shot of.

I also had a new visitor, a female Red Bellied Woodpecker. I had to shoot through the window, or she would take off. 

Today I was able to catch the male. He is a lot more skittish and it took three tries, just to shoot through the window. The minute he sees me move, he takes off, so I have to be sneaky.

You can see his belly in one photo, that is why they are called, Red Bellied Woodpeckers.

And a few others that I was able to capture. I used a different camera body with the zoom and in some ways, the photos are better, but it seems the camera has problems, so I may have to take it back for a fix. The focus wasn't always working and the menu wouldn't work sometimes, unless I shut off and on again. Luckily it is under warranty. It could be the lens, since I didn't have the problem with the other new lens. I guess I need to read my manuals, lol.

Friday Finish, feathers and fun!

 

The fun thing about a new month is, a new project for the Stitch of the Month Club, by Kathy Schmitz. I really love this months design and wish there were more like it, so I could make a quilt from them. For now I decided to make a fun wall hanging and I added a saying that I thought was perfect for the design.

I used colored pencils and kept it bright and fun.

Last week we got out for some exploring. I have been studying areas with lakes or rivers and possible places where we might find Eagles. We found a beautiful section of river and I could hear birds in the trees, so I went in quietly and waited for them to move around. Not one would come out for a photo and just as I look up, I see something big with a white head fly by. By the time I got out to see it better, it had flown to the far end of the river. 

Not a great shot, but I spotted an immature Bald Eagle.

Our next stop was the state camping grounds, but they had it gated and I was not in the mood for a long walk to the camps. So, we headed to the other camp nearby for a short walk. We ended up finding a new trail and ended up walking for 3 miles. There was a lot of downfall but a nice quiet path, which is rare to find nowadays.

On the way back, we took the old fire road. Along the way we noticed a path that took us to this shed. I have no idea what it is for, but it is too small for anyone to sleep in, but it did have a lock originally. 

Another shack was nearby and taller, maybe an old outhouse? I did read that the CCC did work in the area, so maybe from that era.

Today Bill came home early so we could get out, before the rains come tomorrow. The tide was out, so the perfect time to go beach combing and get some fresh air. I got a nice haul today and I think I could have gotten a lot more if it wasn't so late. Winter weather tends to bring in more glass, so it's the perfect time to go.

I hope everyone had a wonderful week and this finds you all healthy. 

Friday Finish!

 

Another week zipped by and I didn't get enough done, that seems to be the norm for me, these days. But, I just go with the flow and work on things for fun and eventually I will get to organizing and redoing my room so I can get back to my quilting.

This week I started a few projects and finished one. The design is a freebie offered, by the Old Tattered Flag. I thought it would be fun to try and wish I had added something to the bottom, but it does look nicer in person than in the photo. I will be starting gifts for next year and I also have so many things, that I think I may do some online selling this year.

And I practiced some ideas I had with the masks. I was trying to shorten the sewing time and amount by putting two steps together, but it shortened the masks, so they don't fit me right. They would fit nicely with woman, that have small noses, but mine is definitely too big. 

I took Nick to the fabric store a few weeks ago. I wanted to let him pick some fabric out and he wasn't interested in any of the fun prints, he kept going for the geometrics and strange prints, so I made him some with the squares that I had in my stash.

We got out a bit, last weekend. On Saturday I wanted to take a ride around a reservoir in Connecticut. We drive by all the time, but never around the backside. My instincts were right, no place to park or stop for a shot. But, we did find a nice park on the backside that had open water views, so maybe next time we can go again and catch the eagles.

We did get a nice walk in, nice paths through woods and along the water.

And fun things on the path, as well as an old graveyard nearby.

One thing we saw on the way down was lots of farms and lots of cows. Sometimes just a ride somewhere new and seeing new sights is all I need to lift my spirits.

On Sunday we spent some time at the beach. It was cold and the tide was just going out, but we enjoyed the fresh air and found a few treasures.

And on the home front, the birds are visiting every day. I finally caught a decent shot of the Blue Jay. 

And one of the female Cardinal. The Cardinals are shy, they feed from the side feeder, so hopefully they will come to the porch someday.

Happy New Year!

 

I hope everyone has had a nice holiday week. We do not celebrate the new year, just another day for me. I just live for the day, trying to find joy in the moments and keeping busy. I also got a request for masks, 22 of them. I prefer to do a few at a time, it is rough on my arms, lots of cutting and sewing with the 3D masks, but I do like making them. I just wish there was an easier way so I could make more. I see so many people selling masks that do not fit properly and made with thin materials, and they charge more. 

These masks are going to a vet office, that my Niece works at. I made three styles so they can pick the ones they like.

Bill and I have been getting out when we can. The weather is colder and we get rain, but some days are nice enough to do a little exploring.

And we took the boys out,  to the lighthouse. 

It took about five minutes before they decided it as too cold, as you can see from this photo. We headed back to our house and all Nick wanted, was to jump in the hot tub, lol.

Today we got out for another ride and ended up going for a short hike. It was cold but nice to get out and get some exercise.

Along the ride we passed a lot of farms and quite a few Red Tailed Hawks.

And lots of old barns, most were falling down. 

We ended our ride at a pond, where the eagles hang out. We were lucky enough to spot them, but too far away and it was getting dark so I couldn't get a decent photo, but it was still nice to see them.

I hope you can get out and explore in your area, you never know what you will find.