Friday Finish!

 

This week I wanted something small to work on and I do need some new lavender pillows, as I redo boxes and storage. It really helps to keep the musty scents away. I took two patterns from my Fraktur design booklets, Horses and Rooster. These two make nice stitcheries and fun to color in. 

To color on cloth, I use freezer paper. After coloring, I use a paper stylus to rub the color into the cloth. With these two stitcheries, I used two new threads. The horse was done with cheap black floss, not the best floss and a bit fuzzy. The rooster was done with Anchor cotton floss, that comes on a spool. I like the Anchor on a spool, so much easier to use and no messy skeins to store. It is a bit thinner, but nice if you want more defined lines. On the horse, I used antique ink, spattering it on with a brush.

The cold has settled in and that makes it hard to get out for walks. We do enjoy driving around the beach areas. You never know what you will see and the water views are always nice, especially in a warm car.

The Breachway was a nice spot to see a few birds, but it was so windy and cold, I hate to take a few shots from the window. The gulls across the way, were feasting on something that must have died in the storm. Most beaches still have debris and damage, but slowly rebuilding the beaches and cleaning up.

At home I enjoy watching the birds who come to visit. The Red-bellied Woodpecker is very shy, so he stays in the tree and waits for me to leave. I have also spotted a few hawks this week, this one was checking out the grounds, behind our RV.

A few of the birds who visit the porch. The Sapsucker is making holes in my maple tree, he will have some nice sap, come spring.

And the ground feeders. Since the ground is frozen, I can throw some feed out, so they don't have to find scraps that fall to the ground. They have been coming up to the porch more, with snow on the porch, it is more natural for them, to forage. I noticed the White-throated sparrow is missing a toe.

I hope you all enjoyed your week and can enjoy your weekend. We have bitter cold coming in, so car rides will be all I can handle. 

Working on Friday!

 

I wasn't able to get my new piece finished, but I am almost there. I won a pattern in a Facebook group, called Church Cat and I still have to do the binding and finishing touches. I also made up a quick wheel chair top and plan on doing another, these two will be for guys and I plan on hand quilting them. Normally I would use the machine, but I was able to get a camping spot at the state park, so I wanted something to work on while camping. 

I have been spending more time at home with heat and enjoying the birds, a Chipping Sparrow, Black Capped Chickadee and a Goldfinch in my neighbor's yard.

And to my surprise, one finally came over to enjoy the seeds on my Cone flowers.

And I have seen more House Finches lately.

And my resident Cardinal is letting me know that he is not happy, that the feeder is empty. 

We also got to spend a day at my favorite beach, the harbor is always busy with boaters.

And I never leave without a nice little treasure of beach goodies. I hope everyone has had a nice week and cooler temperatures. We have gotten better with a few rain storms, so it is nice to be able to open the windows again. May you be able to get out and find your own peace of heaven, in your area.

Friday Finish!

 

This week has been slow with crafting. With a long weekend, I tend to wear down, so I rested and caught up on things around the house. I decided to paint some more rocks, to hide. They are fun to do and this way I will have some, each time we go out. I only hide a few at a time in different places, that way, one person doesn't find and take them all, that does happen.

I have been finding designs on the web, I browse Pinterest sites for ones that interest me and are not too hard to copy. 

I did make a mess of the kitty in the pot, his side hair is not in the right position, my brain went on hold for a bit. Not the best photo, the light makes them look wonky.

To enjoy some time in the nicer weather, Bill took Friday and Monday off. On the weekend we had one nice day and one rainy day. On Saturday we took a ride up state to see a Blue Heron Rookery. Not as many as I expected and the sun was directly in front of me, so I had to do a lot of editing to get a few decent photos.

This pair was fun to watch and the closest. He brings her sticks and she places them in the nest, doesn't look too comfortable.

And while shooting, they decided to get started on their family.

Sunday we got to the beach for a bit and Bean was happy he got to get out to his favorite place. We also went to the beach this afternoon. A bit cooler today and the wind was kicking up, and the tide was high, so we only had a small area to search in.

On Monday we went to Connecticut. I wanted to see a few places where the ospreys were coming in and visit a few parks along the way.

Our first stop was our last stop, we went to the river, where there is a boardwalk into an estuary.

At the end there is a higher platform to see the nests in the area. There were a few already nesting in the area. We also spotted a few in areas further down, it is a place I would like to get out and paddle, to get closer to the sanctuary area.

We also found another area for a hike and bird viewing. 

Our last stop, which is last since we went up and travelled back down, towards home, was at Rocky Neck Park. It is a large park with camping and picnic areas, a bird sanctuary and a beach. I would love to camp at their parks, but they do not allow dogs. 

A few views around the park.

A lot of birds in the inner marshes.

And to make my day, an eagle. I had decided not to take a ride around the river and do more hiking than driving or hunting for eagles. While I was shooting, I heard a commotion. A flock of birds was trying to chase another bird away. I had to take a few quick shots, but when I got home, I was able to see, it was a juvenile eagle.

I hope everyone had a good week and fun plans for the weekend. 

Friday finishes!

 I have been busy getting ready for Christmas, taking down fall and putting up Christmas decorations. I used less than I usually do and rearranged a few things for a little change. I have definitely have too much and today my sister went home with a box of goodies.

Last year I made up two stitcheries by Kathy Schmitz in two color schemes and I finally finished those off. My son said he loves the blue one, which is my favorite too. The little stars are done in glitter thread. Then I used the glitter thread on the border stitches.

I also used most of the balsam by making simple little pillows to give out or add to a package. I found the moose buttons last year and this was a fun way to use them.

I have been enjoying watching the birds from my porch, a new one I haven't seen is the female, Brown Headed Cowbird in the larger photo. I guess she got left behind when the rest headed south.

And one of the pesky squirrels who steal all the bird food.

A few of the decorations I have put up, a bit of this and that, primitive and fun pieces.  I  hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friday working on and camping!

 

It seems this month went by fast and the end of the month is here, last weekend of camping at this campground. The good thing is, I might get more done now. I have been working on a project that I was hoping to finish for my Daughter in Law's birthday this week, but still working on it. The good thing is, we postponed the party till next week so I may still be able to. 

I plan on doing a nice floral print border and making a wall hanging with it. The design is by Kathy Schmitz, one of the patterns I got with my winnings.

Most of my time at camp is spent on the water or going for walks with Bean. I just love hearing all the birds around me, I just wish they would sit still. Even so, I was able to take a few photos last week.

I was finally able to catch the Baltimore Oriole, and hopefully I will be a closer, clearer photo one day.

I also enjoyed watching the Great Blue Heron, fishing. That is until, another larger one came diving from the nearby trees and attacked it, and chased it away. I guess that was his fishing spot.

And I always know when a Blackbird nest is nearby, the males yell at me, the minute I get close to one. Not the smartest way to keep the nest a secret, lol. Most just yell a lot, but the one near the bridge, has decided to dive bomb me, when I paddle by.

One day we went for a ride and decided to come back along the fire road and stopped at Hells Hollow Pond. We were lucky enough to come when a family of Geese were swimming nearby.

And another nesting pair, Mallard ducks. Today we got to camp early, so I was able to get some photos and spend time outside before the rains. I will save those for next week. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend and find something that you love to do.

Friday Finishes and Fun!

 

This week I worked on my table runner, it is finally finished! I like to keep the runners simple for now since the cats sleep on them and occasionally a claw gets into them, so sadly, they don't last. I hand quilted this one, then I added a blanket stitch around the edge. It has a middle halloween block and pumpkins and fall around it, so I can leave it out for the month.

I also made a small lavender pillow with the monthly stitchery by Kathy Schmitz. This was a fun one to do and of course I changed a few things to simplify it.

We also had some adventures last weekend, though we keep it low key, just getting out and enjoying a few places was enough. We went for a ride and ended up at the castle, always a nice place to walk around and plenty of parking spaces. There were pops of color here and there and we even spotted an eagle, flying over the river.

On Sunday we headed to the island. Rain was predicted and I didn't want to waste what time we had, driving around. It was a great day for the beach, very few people and we got a nice spot with views.

And of course, we went to this spot to find some glass. The tide was going out, so we spent time searching and time, just enjoying the views. 

And I spent some time enjoying my feathered visitors. There are a lot of Black Capped Chickadees that live in the pines and they love to come when I put a bowl of seed on the porch.

And quite a few Tufted Titmouse. I think there was a boom in breeding this year, I have never had so many as I have this year. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and find some ways to find joy in the area where you live.