Friday Finish!

 I am still working on finishing my two quilts, but almost there, just the binding left. I decided to take a break and try an idea I had. I was thinking of making penny ornaments with needle felting and fill them with balsam. Not so sure they will work with balsam, it might fall out and what I had thought in my head, didn't quite work out, a bit cutesy. I tried to put too much in a small space and didn't have enough room for detail. But, it was fun to do and helps me to decide on what to try next.

Last weekend we spent a day with the boys. On the way to the farm, I remembered the alpaca farm had an event for the weekend, so we stopped there first. The boys loved seeing the alpacas and I got myself a few bags of wool felt, from the alpacas.

Nick got to try out weaving on a loom, he loved it.

Then we went to the apple farm, always a fun place for the boys.

The boys got their own bag to pick and take home. Nick loves apples and Alex enjoyed helping him by picking out of a few of his own.

On the way home we stopped at the mill. Next month they will open for demonstrations, so we will go back.

The boys had fun exploring.

Sunday we decided to go  to Groton, Connecticut. We stopped at the point and enjoyed watching the boats and ferries.  Then we went for a walk at the boardwalk that follows the river. It was a nice walk without crowds.

We also spent some time at the beach this week. So much nicer without the crowds, even though it can get a bit chilly. Today I found some nice treasures, a piece of pottery and the top of a red glass bottle, probably from an old perfume bottle. 

I hope you are all doing well and safe from teh storms that have come through. We are getting the rains tomorrow, so a good day to stay in and finish my quilts. 

Friday Finish!

 I am still working on my charity quilts and I wanted a break from sewing, so I made up a halloween piece. I find that I can sit for hours while felting, so it is a good activity when I want to sit and rest. I always start with an idea and it comes out differently, but still fun to make and have something new for the season.

I also, finally, put my scrap quilt together, so now I just need a border and get it ready for quilting. This will be another hand project, I want the stitches to show and it should work up quickly enough, that I will have it ready for Christmas.

Last weekend we went for a few walks. The first was at our local bird sanctuary. Always a nice walk and lots of birds in the area.

A few views on our walk.

And a few of the wildlife, we saw along the way.

On the way out, we spotted a hawk, flying overhead.

And also flying overhead, were a group of World War II planes.

The next day we went to a park in Connecticut. A nice walk along the coastline with views of the ocean, along the way.

We spotted quilts a few groups of birds, who are resting on their way south.

And more shore birds along the way.

Lots of Monarchs, flitting about, gathering nectar for their trip south.

And quite a few dragonflies and bees, as well. Unfortunately we also ran into quilts a few mosquitos and I got bit, way too many times. It was a hot day, so to the best time to be in a swampy area.

Today we went to the island to do a little walking and glass hunting. It was a bit windy and cool, and the waves were higher in the inner bay, due to the hurricane, passing by. I found a few treasures and was delighted to see that the black piece I found was a cobalt blue piece.

I hope everyone had a nice week and plans for fun this weekend. A lot of the places we visit, are ones I found by using Google maps and exploring closely to find walks and parks in the area. See what fun things you can find to do, in your own backyard

Friday Finish!

 

This hasn't been a great week for doing things, the kids were sick again and I think I have the same thing, since I was feeling better and it came back, so back on meds for me. The good thing is I spend more time working on projects and making progress on my second wheelchair quilt, so once that is done, I can put both together.

I decided to take a break and work up a quick project. This is a design by Susan who offers the free pattern on her site, Downeast Thunder Farm. I used wool from a thrifted jacket, which is thick and fluffy, so perfect for a black bat. I messed up the face on the first one and the second came out a bit better.  I used rusty wire for the feet and have them hanging on my shelve. I took the photo on the rack so you could see them better.

We were able to get to the beach few days.  I was able to get some paddling in, one day, but too cold to swim.

                                        

I found a few nice pieces of glass, the darker one in the middle is red glass. I hope you all have a nice weekend.

Friday Finish!

 I hope everyone had a nice week and are enjoying some cooler weather. We got a good amount of rain, so everything is greening back up and now we have warm sun and cooler breezes, perfect fall weather. I was still recovering from the flu the kids gave me, so I rested a bit and was able to finish a new piece, while working on my wheel chair quilt. I have a few more blocks to finish and then I can put it together.

This design is another from Kathy Schmitz. It was perfect for a gift box that is going out this month, something fun for fall and practical. It looks more wonky in the photo and I did cut off angle, but in person it looks straighter.

Since Alex and I had the same flu, we took them for a bit during the weekend to give the kids time to get things done at home. We spent one day at home, watching tv and Nick wanted to take photos of the birds, so we sat on the porch and took some photos.

Here is Nick's photo. He was using the kid's camera I got him, a few years ago. Maybe this year I can get him a better one, he loves taking photos.

And one of the cardinal, when he was sitting in the tree, that I took.

The next day I had plans to go paddling, but the boys asked if they could go out with us, so we took them to the beach. I think it did them good, they need more fresh air.

Nick loves the beach and digging holes.

Alex had fun, filling up the bucket and adding water to the hole.

I did some walking on the beach and found a few treasures, my first find was a light blue bottle stopper.

I had plans to take them out on my new board,  this weekend but it seems they have gotten sick again. We have a nice weekend coming up, so I plan on being outside as much as possible. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Working on Friday!

 

This week was spent at camp, so I didn't get anything done, that I wanted. As usual, I spent the time walking and at the beach when we could. Once I got home and got things unpacked and done, I crashed. Perfect time to relax and start on my quilt, so that is what I was working on, until the new stitchery came out. I started that yesterday, since it is the perfect design for a gift box going out this month.

This is what I have been doing on the wheelchair quilt. I am hand stitching with pearl cotton the design stands out. I am doing stars on some blocks and a basic X and triangles in the star blocks. I find it works up fast and relaxing while I watch tv.

At camp we spent time walking at the lighthouse area. Views of the ocean from all sides and we got to watch a few surfers from the beach.

On the weekend, the kids came down for dinner and time at the beach. The boys had fun playing, while mom and dad went treasure hunting. It is always nice to go to the beach after dinner when the crowds are gone and we can watch the sunset.

Going to the beach after hours is also a good time to find goodies on the beach. Some things were dropped and forgotten and others were just left from vacationers who don't want to take things home.

Lots of beach toys for the boys to play with and so many extras, that I will give away a pile to our local buy nothing group.

And I was quite surprised that people left boards behind. These are for skimming at the ocean's edge, the boys will love playing on these.

And sadly the summer days are gone and school has started, but we still have nice weather, so lots of fun adventures with the boys on the weekends. I can't believe that Nick is in fourth and Alex is starting first grade, they grow up so fast.

I hope everyone had a good week and enjoy their holiday weekend. We might have rain coming in but I still need rest time, I always overdo it and need time to recover, which means more time to work on my stitching.