Friday, December 20, 2024

Friday finish!

 

I hope everyone has done all they need to, so they can enjoy some time before the holidays without the stress. As usual, I seem to have picked up another flu bug, but doing ok and will be fine for Christmas. I am glad I got all my shopping and wrapping done, so I could relax this week and not do too much.

I hung the new quilt I was working on, on the banister. It is a cheater piece and I added a border to make a lap sized quilt. It was something I could work on at night, by quilting around the black lines. Nothing fancy, but the design is fun and a nice way to greet people when they walk in.



We were able to get out for a bit last week, mostly driving since it is too cold to be outside for long. I finally caught the Horned Larks in the parking lot, at the beach.



In the breachway, there was a large group of Common Eiders. The black and white male seemed to be the leader and wherever he went the females followed him.



We also take drives around the island. It is even colder there with the ocean breezes, but the views are always beautiful and a way to get out of the house for a bit. We ran into this doe, that was walking down the road.



Today I tested a recipe, cranberry cornbread. I wanted to make something a little different for Christmas and the cranberries make it more festive. I really liked how cranberries gave it a bit of tartness. I use Monks sugar and the recipe called for buttermilk. I don't use that but a trick I learned. I warm up milk and then put a bit of fresh lemon juice into it and let it sit, instant buttermilk. If you want to try the recipe, you can find it at Spilling the Tea. 

Tomorrow will be a rest day, we got a bit of snow, so hoping to get out and get some photos with snowy backgrounds. Then it will be time to get the house ready and start cooking for Christmas Eve. The kids come here for dinner and we go to their house on Christmas. I give them presents at our house, then save some for their house. 

My hope is that everyone has a wonderful holiday, no matter how you celebrate it. Even if you cannot get out or be with family, take the time to make the day special, for yourself. Christmas blessings to you all.



Friday, December 13, 2024

Friday Finish!

 Christmas is coming and as usual, faster than we would like. I have done my shopping and the house is decorated and packages and cards are all done. Now I can relax a bit and plan our meal, we eat at our house on Christmas Eve with the kids and give them some presents, then on Christmas we go to their house and I save some presents to open then. 

I am working on finishing up my cheater quilt and after going through some of my old books, I decided to make a small piece from a Whimsical quilts book. It was fun to do and I still have plenty of wool to use up, so I grabbed most of it from my scrap drawers. I added the snowflake buttons for fun.



Last week after shopping, we drove around the beach areas. We saw a boat coming in.



And one going out. 



And as we drove by the town beach in Narragansett, we just missed seeing Santa, as he rode by.

With Bill working days, he gets up early and falls asleep early, so hard to get out at night to see the lights around town. He does have a long week off for the holiday, so hopefully we can get out more to see them before they are gone.

I hope you are all enjoying the holidays and can enjoy some time for yourself and Christmas around your area.



Friday, December 6, 2024

Friday Finish!


 Another week zipped by too fast. I spent most of it, decorating the house. I have a mix of prim and fun around the house. One thing I wanted to try was a rag garland. I looked up ideas and found one that I could base mine on. You can find it at Ikorn crafts.

I used up the scraps and smaller pieces to make it, and used a red twine to tie them onto. I was going to put it on the banister, but it was too thin, so I used it on top of my curtain rod.



And I decorated with what I had in the basement, and there is more that I had no room for. 



I found a new place for my Grandmother's quilt.



And some of my nativity collection with a bit of cats mixed in.



And a few trees. This year I decided to put up my cat collection. I could only do so many and I have a lot of larger ones, that don't fit on the skinny tree. I have quilts hanging on the banister and decorations in the kitchen, so it is fun for the boys when they visit.

I hope you are all enjoying the holiday. I am finishing up my cheater quilt and next is getting my cards done. After that I will work on my other quilt, even if I can't finish it in time. 



Friday, November 29, 2024

Friday Finish!

 

Well, I just realized it was Friday and I almost forgot to post. Quite the hectic week with holiday preparations. We had a nice dinner with the kids, and today we mostly rested.

This week I Finished a nativity, that I started last year. I thought it would be fun to try and have something different to add to my collection. 

The bad thing with this panel was, the pieces did not line up exactly so I sewed them by following the front facing pieces since they are the ones that you see. I stuffed them and sewed the bottom after, seemed easier for me to do it that way.



One new thing I did this year was, make corn bread with a mold. I like how they looked and fun for the table. They actually tasted better than when I do them in a pan. The silicone mold was also nicer since they popped right out, no sticking. 

We did shorter rides lately, not as many birds to see, so no photos. Next is pulling out all the holiday decorations and getting the house ready, Christmas is coming fast. I have done a lot of online shopping, so most of the gifts are here and I can enjoy relaxing a bit and getting my cards out. 

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday and can enjoy the upcoming holidays.



Friday, November 22, 2024

Friday Finish!

 

This week I wanted to try something new, a silverware holder for our table setting. I didn't have any good fall fabric, so I used a christmas one, that looks a lot like a fall one. They were not hard to make and I did them in a day. I cannot remember where I got the original pattern from, but I just used it to get the idea and figured it out myself. Here is one with diagrams you can use, if you want to make your own. You can also do a search and find a lot of different types. I definitely plan on making more for Christmas.



Last weekend we took the boys for the day. We stopped at a farm that was having an event, but everything cost money, and the rides were more for toddlers. They did have fun feeding the farm animals and they got apple cider slushies, which they loved.



Since the farm had their own brand of corn meal, we headed to Kenyon mills, the only one I will use. I got our supply of corn meal and then we got to take the boys to the mill for a little tour. This mill still does stone ground cornmeal.



The next day we headed to a new place in Connecticut. I was interested in finding, what was left of an old mansion in the woods. Luckily it was easy to find, though the trail was rough and rocky. It was a cool old mansion that was there during the mill days. It is also said that they had their own electric system in the house. 



The trail was too rough for me, so we headed back to the parking lot and we walked a little way up the road, where I saw an interesting wall and my instincts were right, it was an old cemetery.



From there we walked to the old mill area, and then across the street on another path. It is an interesting area, with rivers and ponds, so it is another place I will go back to in the spring, when the birds come back.

I hope you all had a good week and can enjoy your holiday. I will be busy with cleaning and cooking, so hopefully I can get all that done and another unfinished project done, during the week.




Friday, November 15, 2024

Friday Finish!

 

As usual I am working on several projects and started a new one. Most are taking time, so I always like to have a smaller project to finish for the week. I found this design from Dearie Dolls, who seems to have disappeared from the web, but still has her blog with freebies.

I made this for the kids, so I wanted it to be fun. I am still trying to get the blue pen out, but once that is set, I will use glitter in the snowballs. It is still wet, so it looks discolored.



Last week we went for a ride and stumbled onto a ceremony at the Westerly cemetery. It was for an area that only had one grave and later it was found out that there were 172 people buried there. They had veterans from each era represented and this group did the 3 gun salute.



On the weekend we drove into Connecticut so I could get some fabric and then stopped at a park for a walk. Lots of birds along the river, most were far away or constantly moving, but I got a few decent shots.



After we drove to Eagle landing on the Connecticut river and I was surprised when I saw the nesting eagles, hanging out in the trees nearby.



The next day we went into Connecticut again to visit the fish hatchery. They have paths along the river and into fields, so a good place to walk and enjoy the birds. 



Today we went to Jamestown, a nice place for a walk and enjoy some beach time, Beans favorite. I caught this bird, hanging out on a rock. I hope everyone had a nice week and nice weather for this weekend. 



Friday, November 8, 2024

Friday Finish!

 

Since I am working on several large projects, I like to have something that I can make up quickly. This Christmas mat is a pattern from BareRoots. I have been gifted a lot of items on top of things I have bought over the years, so trying to finish them, a bit at a time.



Last week we went to the pond, to see if we could find the eagles. None in sight this time, but I did catch a Killdeer at the water's edge.



After we went for a walk at the bike path. Would love to try my new bike there, but it is either too cold or too windy lately. Lots of Chickadees at the park.



Today we went to the lighthouse. It was windy but warmer. Lots of seagulls were enjoying, floating in the winds.



We ended up taking the back paths and found out they go a lot further in the opposite direction, so we got a nice long walk, along with views of the bay. 



Most of the foliage is gone now, but we still see pops of color, here and there. My backyard came in late, so this was last week and now they are bright yellows and falling with the wind. I hope you are all safe from the horrible storms, crossing the middle states. We have good weather this weekend, so hoping to get out for long walks and maybe a bike ride.



Friday, November 1, 2024

In the works!

 

This week I have been getting some pieces ready to finish for Christmas. I have a lot of unfinished projects, so for now, I am working on ones I really want to finish. Then I can decide what to do with other projects later. 

One project was a tree skirt. I made this years ago, all pieced by hand. I decided to sew it inside out with the batting and backing. My idea was to do ties in each hexagon, but not so sure now. I am wondering if it would look good if I quilted around the design elements from the outside in, then left the gold pieces, as is. Any suggestions are appreciated, but I am lazy, so simple is best, but I want it to look nice. I messed up the center, it's a bit wonky, but not noticeable when it is around the tree.



The second project is a large wall hanging. I have a rod hanger over our front entry, so this will be perfect to hang there, hopefully it will fit. I have the stockings and stars done, so next is sashing to piece those together. Next will be side pieces with trees and stars, then the top and bottom will have a saying. I realized I didn't have enough of the original black, so hoping to find the same type at the store this weekend.



I decided I wanted to have fun this halloween. We don't get kids anymore and live on a road, so no one stops by. So, we went to the kids and got to have fun with them. I changed my look a bit, went with an ugly witch look. The black spots on my face are spider stencils and I used the face paint to enhance my wrinkles. The kids live in a rural area, so the houses were more spaced in some areas. We took our truck and I got out with the kids and walked to houses when they were closer.

The funniest thing was, Alex would not go near me when I came, I guess I was a bit too creepy for him. Once he realized grandma hadn't turned into a real witch, he was fine.



Some of the neighbors had some cool displays and at one house, they had beer and pizza for the adults. It was fun to see the boys having fun and see the displays and other kids. This is one of the best displays we saw, they had a lot of other items in their yard and a fog machine.

I hope you all had a fun halloween and enjoy your weekend. 



Friday, October 25, 2024

Friday finish and fun!


This week I worked on finishing my Christmas mat. I had different snowflake fabrics and I like how they fit together. It still has enough of a prim look to fit in with my decor, and just enough pop to make it festive. The edge on the front is how it looks, the other edges are a bit messed up looking since I use AI to put it in a new background.


 

Last week we did some rides and sight seeing. We headed up state and stopped at the Dam. It is always a nice view.



After, we headed back to another pond. We even spotted the eagle, across the pond.



We got a nice walk along the pathways and stopped at the falls. Most of the falls are starting to slow down, with the lack of rain in our areas.



We went into Connecticut and took a scenic route home. Not as much color as I had hoped, but the farms alway offer beautiful views.




Another day we went to Connecticut since I wanted to get one more bag of apples, before they close. We stopped at the Yantic falls.




Another view of the railroad bridge. Even the falls here were light and slower.




We have been getting some light walks in and today we got a longer walk with rougher terrain and hills. I spotted a lot of birds and heard a lot, but none would stay put for a photo.

It is going to get cooler but sunny here so hopefully we can get more walks in this weekend. I hope everyone is enjoying the cooler fall weather and can get out and enjoy walks in your area.



Friday, October 18, 2024

Busy week!


 This week I have been catching up from camping. Lots of cleaning and getting ready for Halloween events. The kids have a trunk or treat so I may go to that and we have some activities in town, so I decided I wanted to have fun this week, and dress up.

I have lots of black clothes, so I have a black skirt, hooded shirt, lace sided jacket and black tights, along with black booties. I also found a hat that I can decorate, I am waiting for black gloves and accessories to add to hat. A bit of mousse and I can frizz or curl up my hair to make it stand out.

I am not sure if you recognize the look, but I was going for the Stevie Nicks look, but most think I am a witch, lol. She has long blond hair with bangs, but I had trimmed mine recently and I refuse to cut my hair into bangs.



We had a nice weekend, a bit cooler and windy, but nice weather for getting out for walks. One beach I never go to is nearby, so we went there and walked on the boardwalk and along the beach. The tide was coming in and the seagulls were waiting for things to wash up.




We also went to the fishing beach to check out the waves. I was watching this boat and as it came around the rocks, it seemed to stop and get rocked around by the waves. It finally started its motor and was on its way, not a good place to stall out.





On the last night, I was on the hill to see the sunset. As I was waiting, a flock of Great Blue Herons flew overhead and were caught by the setting sun.




At another beach we checked out, I spotted a few crazy people, fishing as the tide came in.



I also spotted a group of Cormorants, hanging out in the channel. 



We also got a day to explore the river ways and the foliage. It was raining in the morning but we got a break in the afternoon.



An old mill that sat beside a waterfall dam, but they redid it so the kayakers could get through easier and to help prevent flooding.



And on the other side of the bridge.



While out we went shopping and couldn't resist getting Bean a present. He loves it but hates having his photo taken.



And I am lucky enough to be on a high porch in the back, so I was able to catch the comet. It is still visible but not as much, each night, till the end of the month. I hope everyone had a good week and can enjoy the weekend.