Friday finish!

 

It took two days of constant stitching, but I finally finished my quilt. This quilt was made, years ago. I had originally made it too long, so I took a few rows out and added the border to make it more of a lap quilt. I had planned on quilting it last summer, so it would be done for my friend's birthday. Unfortunately she passed last spring, so I gave up on making it for a while, but decided I wanted to finish it now. She will not be able to receive it, but it will be my memory of our friendship over the years.

I used an AI program to add a different background, but it added a thin dark piece to the edge, so that is not really there, just the green border. 

Last weekend we went out for a ride around the beaches, something fun to do when the weather isn't great. We were able to see a few of the locals, while there.

On Sunday we went to the fish hatchery in Connecticut. They have cut down more areas, so there were more paths to walk around. We were lucky to spot the resident eagles in their usual spot on the telephone poles. 

Lots of birds in the area, but it was hard to get close enough without them flying away. Here are a few, I was able to catch and some scenes along the river. There was a new Osprey, nesting on a pole, the eagles were not too happy about it.

During the week we had a nice day, so Bill came home early and we headed to the point in town. Beautiful views of the bay.

And in that photo, in the far background to the right, this is what we came to see.

And this rock was loaded with seals. There were others on smaller rocks and in the water, so we got to enjoy watching them, even though they are far away.

And Bean got to enjoy the walk and playing in the bay. Way too cold, but he has no sense. I hope everyone got to enjoy their week and the eclipse. We had a good view from our porch and I was able to get glasses in time, to watch it. Enjoy your weekend and hopefully Spring will be staying this time.

Working on Friday!

 

Not much going on this week. It has been so hot, that we have been staying home and out of the sun. On weekends, the beaches are so crowded, that it isn't worth going. One more day of heat and the weather will be better, so we can get out more.

I have been working on a new project. It is a design by Cheri Saffiote and I got it from the group, Quilts by Cheri on Facebook. I wanted something quick to work on, that I can use now and this was the perfect piece. It is actually a pillow, but I am making it into a wall hanging. With it being so hot, smaller projects are best.

I have also been practicing on my new machine. Free motion is something I need to practice to get the right speed. I am waiting on a table to fit it, so that should make it easier. I also like the idea of doing machine appliqué for kid's quilts and modern ones for the family.

I hope you all have a nice weekend. This seems to be the worst summer, lots of rain, then smoke, now high heat and humidity. Hopefully next month will bring better weather for all of us.

Friday Finish and Finds!

Last weekend we got out for a little shopping. On one of the back roads we travel is a small thrift store, that is packed with goodies. I always like to stop to see if I can find any new treasures. It seems someone was destashing, so I was able to get some patterns for only a few dollars.

I always like jar quilts and this way I have all different types that I can use in projects. The angels are cute and I will probably use them, in small projects. Of course the nativity is great to make for gifts. And the stitchery is a nice saying and the first one I did.

I did it on linen and then antiqued it. I am not sure if I want to frame it or make it into a pillow. As a gift, pillows are easier to make and send. What do you think?

I was also on the hunt for fabric, that matched the nautical piece, that my friend Karen sent me. You would think with all the blues, it would have been easy to find something that matched it, but most blues were too bright and the one I found that was an exact match was a fat quarter. Then I found this, I love the fake wood, goes nice with a nautical look and the darker shade will be a border edge. What do you think of my choices?

I may add a saying or some appliqué to the barn wood blues. I will be adding more to the top and bottom of the quilt, to add more length.

And last week I won a contest and received it this week. It was hosted by Doreen of, Vermont Harvest Folk Art. A wonderful bundle of goodies to use for new projects, wonderful scented candles and a gift certificate. I will have to use the wool threads in a special project.

I also decided to get back to my paintings. Not the best timing, my back and arm are getting worse, so I have a hard time keeping my hand steady and not dropping things. Time to make an appointment with a specialist, before I loose function. I am doing touch ups and adding a few more details, as well as a saying. I am not sure on the lettering, I am leaning towards a shadow outline to make it stand out better. I will be sanding and antiquing the piece, so I can always hide any flubs that I make.

I based it on a photo I took, it is simple and a cloudy day. I may add a little detail to the ground, even though there is none in the photo.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and stay safe if you are in the storm areas.

Friday Finishes!

I was able to get a few things done this week and it is nice to finally make some progress on my unfinished items. The first is a BOM by Buttermilk Basin. I made the blocks, except for the largest one, so that got done and I was able to put it all together.

I know my piecing is wonky, it always is, but I can live with that. I added a single border to keep the main fabrics from raveling while I did the stitching, that will be trimmed down and another darker border will go around that. I did a feather stitch on the seam lines, hard to see in the photo, but I will take better photos when I finish it. I plan on quilting around the designs with a matching thread once I put the batting and backing on. There isn't a lot of room, so I think an outline, would be enough for this one.

I also finished some more pillows, using stitcheries that I made last year and some simple snowflake ones.  I have two more bags of balsam, guess I need to make a lot more and most will be with regular fabrics like the snowflake pillows and some with other designs, that I have in my stash. Some will go into gift boxes or as gifts and some will be hidden for others to find.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and holiday. I am finally feeling better from another bout with the flu and Bill has it now. I am hosting dinner so I will have to spend time getting the house rearranged and clean for company.

Testing and Finishes!

This week I practiced on some glass jars and tried some new mediums. I previously used spray on, sea glass paint, but that only works if it is nice out and no wind. So, I tried another product by Ceramcoat, frosted glass paint.

I was able to get some at our local Michaels, but it is hard to find different colors in the store, so I ordered more this week from Create for Less. I had a green, called sea grass and was able to find Jade, which is more like a blue.

In the photo, the ones on the left and right were done with the glass paint, mixed with antique decoupage. The ones in the middle are done with just the glass paint. It is hard to see in the photo, but I found that the straight paint works best, with decoupage, the glass chipped off when I was working on it. You can also bake them, after you let the paint set and that makes them washable, so I will have to try that next.

Here are the results of the paint and the colors.

I also tried another product from Golden, called glass gel bead. It makes a nice sparkle on the glass, which looks pretty with a candle or lights in the room. I have been using flicker lights for now, later I will try a candle, outside, to make sure it doesn't cause fumes or explode, lol.

I loved the thicker blue shade and thought it was the perfect background for painting on. I used a design from one of my books for the ship and the lighthouse came from a free pattern at Artist's Club.  My sister is already trying to buy them from me, but she also is having a light weight flute made by a tribe member in her area, so I will make her a box of goodies in exchange.

I also wanted to try some simple ornaments. I was able to find the wood pieces at Michaels, I like the white tag the best, it is a nice size to work with and already painted. The angel on blue was another experiment with the glass bead gel. It shines when you move it around, so I think that will be nice to add to ornaments with the tree lights, shining on them.

I used a new glue too, tacky clear gel. It is not as thick as the regular tacky, so it took some patience to place things and keep them from moving, and on the brick, it does show where I moved the arm. I am also wondering how the glass gel will look on items like the white pottery dress, another thing to try.

We went out for some rides this weekend, but the foliage was being elusive. It seemed some areas had nice spots of color, while others were still green. Tomorrow is going to be stormy, so hopefully their will still be some foliage left on Sunday.

This is in Rhode Island, outside the village of Westerly.

In Connecticut, we saw some foliage at Goodwin Forest.

And we ended the day with a visit to Mansfield Hollow, with a view from the top of the dam.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, filled with your own adventures and experiments.

Monday UFO Finishes!

First I want to thank everyone for your comments and support. I have been trying to keep up by mailing each one, so if I forgot someone or you are a no reply, I do read all the posts and appreciate each one.

Today I decided to do some old pieces, that were sitting in a box. I wanted another pillow for my chest and knew I had a star piece and found the perfect one to offset the square pillows. It was a block for a nautical quilt that I was making and now that I have seen the other blocks, I will not finish, I will start over.

I realize how bad the stitching was on the appliqué, bad choice of backgrounds and the lighthouse is crooked, lol. I rather chuck the ugly blocks and make a new one. This piece was good enough to make a quick pillow and nice to have one more thing out of the box.

The pillow is 20" long and I stained the light fabric, when I finish stuffing it.

While I was going through the box, I found two more pieces I never finished and I had the perfect use for them. Two more lavender sachets. The pattern is from Sandra Cadwell of Babycake Designs. I won the design, years ago. Then I made these two pieces, years ago and they have been sitting, ever since.

I colored them in and then stitched around them, I like the outline look with color. Not sure how I colored them, looks like marker and maybe some watercolor. These I did not wet since I am not sure what is on it, and for sachets, they will be fine. I was thinking, this design is so fun, maybe I should paint it on some rocks.

Speaking of unfinished pieces, this is another one, I did years ago and it has been sitting in a closet. I have given up using hooked rugs in the house, the cats destroy them. I am not sure if I should continue with my rug hooking, I need to cut back on things, or I will never get anything done and I still want to quilt and sew, as well as punch and needle felt and now painting and rock art. I really have a problem, lol. So, I may start selling off my rug equipment, I have regular hooking materials, punch rug and locker hooking supplies. As much as I love them, there is not enough time in the day, so I may sell all or keep some to make small rugs and mats.

This rug is 52" x 24".

Friday Finish!

This week I worked on my baby quilt. I wanted to hand quilt it and I actually find that relaxing, though it does take longer than machine quilting, so not a good idea if I want to make charity quilts. I noticed that I was not going through the backing, so I decided to just quilt the top and attach the back with the ties.

It made it a lot easier and faster to quilt, but not the best way to attach the back, since there are only a few ties. I did quilt the back on the outer edge. It is not perfectly pieced, but I like how it came out. The outer edge is a darker black, the flash messed with the colors and print. The finished quilt is about 34" x 28".

And here is a close up of the stitching. I decided to add a heart in the center of the solid squares.

And here is the back. Here you can see where the problem with attaching the back last, has happened. Once I washed and dried it, it puckered up, worse on the outer edges. I am not sure what to do with the quilt, I really don't want to take it apart and not sure if anyone would want it. Time to start using my quilting machine.

Monday Finish and Finds!

This past week I was working on some small stitcheries offered by Theodore Cleave. She lists free stitcheries from time to time and I still have to make my garden ladies into a quilt.

This was one of those stitcheries and I reduced it, so I could make some small lavender pillows to put in my wool boxes, yes, I have quite a few of them. This was fun and quick to do and I did two different types. One is basic stitching and the other I colored. I think the coloring makes them fun. I use Faber Castell watercolor markers. They go on nicely, are steadfast and archival.

These would make nice gifts for friends too, especially filled with lavender. You can find this and other freebies on Theodore's Blog, by typing in free in the search box. This one is found on the second set of blog posts.

This weekend I was planning on starting my new paintings, but life got in the way, lol. Saturday Bill had to work, so we went to the beach in the morning which was perfect, since the tide was low. I got a nice stash of glass and a few stones, upper left pile in the photo. Then they cancelled, so we could have gone out again, but I was too tired. Sunday they cancelled again, so this time we went to the island for more beach combing. The problem was, there were scattered clouds, so one minute the sun was out, the next it was snowing. It was a bit tougher with the wind and snow, but with no one at the beach, we were able to find lots of old glass and stones. This time we dug into the piles of stones and found some nice ones hidden underneath. The piles on the lower, left and right, are from Sunday. The larger rocks are for painting on.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and hopefully Spring will be here to stay.

Friday Finishes!

This week I was browsing for new design ideas and stumbled onto a site that I hadn't been to in years. It is called North Pole Christmas and they have a lot more patterns and crafts than they used to and a great place for designs that you can use in any medium, as well as crafts and cards that you can print out.

I wanted to do angels so I picked some angel designs that I liked and tried them in stitchery. These were fun to do and I added sayings to go with them. I think they would be nice with rusty  bells attached too.

I also want to do brighter ones so I will be trying something else with some new ones I found, we shall see how they turn out. I like to make things I can give away and I think it would be nice to have some fun ones for people who prefer that, and a nice idea for nursing home patients to have something they could hang in their room.

I can see doing these in appliqué mixed with stitchery and punch needle, as well. I hope everyone has a nice weekend. We have nice weather with a mix of rain so hopefully we can get out for some new adventures this weekend.

Weekend Wonders!

With the holidays and getting things done around the house, the week flew by, so I decided we needed to get out and enjoy the last weekend. It was a bit cold but the weather was beautiful and the skies clear, so a perfect weekend for enjoying some sunsets.

Saturday we went to Beavertail Lighthouse and watched the sunset from the cliffs. There were clouds on the horizon so we were treated with a show of colors as the sun went down between the clouds. A wonderful way to end the first day of the new year.

Sunday we went to church and I had forgotten that they were having a concert after service. We stayed and enjoyed beautiful Christmas music from the adult and youth choir. I started getting too sore to sit any longer so we missed seeing the children in a reenactment of the nativity, so I stole a photo from our church page.  A wonderful way to end the Christmas season.

We decided to do some shopping at the south end of the state and I realized we were only a half hour from sunset, so we went to Watch Hill and watch a spectacular sunset from the dunes. It was definitely cold, but well worth a few frozen fingers.

Walking to the top of the dune, the sun beaming down on the landscape.

The sun just as it hit the horizon. No clouds in the sky, the sun looked huge over the water.

The sun appeared to be sinking into the sea and it cast a beautiful glow across the ocean. The land in the distance is Fisher's Island, New York. This is an area that you can see all three states and cross the line if you are in a boat.

Even as the sun disappeared it cast a beautiful glow across the sky. This is a wonderful place to watch the sunset, though you have to hike through the sand to get to the dunes.

Our shopping trip was a bust for items I was looking for, but I did find some fun christmas items on sale. I found feather wings that are ornaments, but I will use them on pieces I made. Another item I loved was this angel, she changes colors with optical lights, hard to catch the true lights with a camera but this gives you an idea of how it looks. This will be perfect to put with Dani's tree next year. I hope everyone had a good weekend and now I plan on getting back to creating again, so hopefully there will be new quilts and punch needle patterns in the coming month.

A Song in my Heart pillow!

This was another one of those weeks. Actually Thursday was just one of those days that I should have stayed in bed, but that was impossible because the first thing I had to do was strip my bed to clean up the cat puke on it. What woke me up was Bean whining, he was getting into things outside and it upset his stomach and he didn't make it out in time, so another mess to clean up.

Then I started cleaning and slipped on the floor and fell on my bad side, so not a good day to clean after all, I hit a few old injuries and made some new ones;) But, that wasn't the end of it, I was under the chair to get Bean's ball and he went screaming into my nose so now I have a really sore nose.

This week I worked on a pillow for our choir director. She was the one who helped me with the songs for Danielle's Mass and some of the songs I chose were not allowed and I was just too tired to think anymore, so I said, I trust you, you pick the rest out. Well, she spent all day going through songs to pick out just the right songs that were similar to what I picked.

I remembered a design by Primitive Blessings and luckily I still had a copy. She does not have her site  up anymore and hopefully she will get a new service and list them again, I love using her designs for gifts. I love the saying on this one and I added an edging and filled it with stuffing and lavender. The back material has angel designs with inspirational sayings. I hope she likes folk art.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Today I got some supplies I needed and hoping to get out for some short walks this weekend. Besides being sore, I am out of shape, and the weather is perfect for  hiking.

This and That Monday!

This weekend was cold, way too cold for long walks. It was good weather to get out for some fresh air and play with Bean. I never have to ask twice, if he wants to go out, that is a given, lol. Our young trees finally turned and the winds blew a lot of the leaves on the ground, and Bean loves playing in the leaves.

He seems to lose weight, right before a growth spurt and today he seems a bit taller and  huskier. I use my waterproof camera for photos since it is easier to carry while we play, so not the best quality photos.

It could be all the exercise he gets, he really gets into play and has strong muscles for a pup. I have to be careful that he doesn't hurt himself, since he loves to do high jumps.

I was also able to get some sewing done. I started this quilt, last year and finally put the pieces together. I still need to do some stitchery and add another border so it is lap size. I used a free design and precut blocks that a friend sent me. Now it is a quilt for another friend of ours.

I sewed my punch needle pieces with backings and got them all stuffed. Now I am doing the finishing work with borders and staining on some. The chicken was a bit bright, so I added a touch of stain to tone it down. Unfortunately the flash lightened them back up. I just may finish in time, after all;)

Monday Finishes and Winner Announced!

First I want to send my prayers and blessings to all those who were in the storm's path.

I finished my pillows today, I was running around all weekend, shopping for fun things to keep the baby entertained. Tonight my son called me on face time and Nicholas was laughing and trying to grab the pad, warms my heart that he is finally seeing me as someone who makes him happy:)

I am better, not great, but not any worse. I did go for xrays, nothing broken, he said it was tendonitis but had no idea what to do. I go to my doc this week, so he can help me out, I hope. I was able to do a lot more today, house is all clean so I can spend the day playing with Nicholas. He comes later, so that will be easier on me.

These pillows were waiting to be sewed and stuffed. I used batting since they are gifts for friends that they can use anytime, so I didn't want to scent them. Sometimes I dab a pillow with cinnamon so the packaged items smell good when they open it.

The angels are designs by Primitive Blessings. The nativity is an old design and I modified it a bit, meant to put a star on it, guess I will do that tomorrow. The two little pillows in front are stuffed with balsam. I wanted to have something that I could make up quick to hand out or add to packages, and I finally found a nice pine design to use. This way they can add it a bowl, place it in a tree, or wherever they want a scent. I made them 4", so small in size, but more in scent.

Mary is on the left, I messed up and cut out the wrong colors for the outfits, she should be in blue, lol.

These ornies are a design by Whimsicals. I have had the book for years and I finally got around to making some. I used marvy markers on two and pitt artist ink markers on the others, but I forgot what, was what, duh. They both worked, they did not run after heat setting, but you do have to be careful when you color in the letters and start away from the line so it doesn't soak out too far. I did the outline stitching after I colored and dried them. The ink doesn't need to be set, but I do it as an added precaution. Of course I soaked them in walnut to grunge them up. The jute is something new at Jo anns, Martha Stewart colored jute, it is a nice dark olive.

And now for the winner. Thank you all for playing along with me, I truly enjoy everyones company since I am stuck home most of the time, I feel blessed to have friends around the world. The winner of a free Epattern or booklet, is Annie of Scrappalachia. Annie, pick any pattern you would like and email me with your choice. Don't forget, Friday is Giveaway day, I will be showing the goodies I will be sending and more about the giveaway.

Speaking of giveaways, the generous folks at Sauder's Fabrics, are giving away a beautiful Featherweight, be sure to visit their Blog.

Christmas Goodies!

Today was a rainy day and I was having one of my bad days, too much paddling  yesterday;)
The mailman bought me an unexpected package, what a way to perk  up my day.
My friend Lauri, Threads of Miz, sent me a box of goodies.

This is a quilt that she made years ago and never finished. It is made up of christmas kitty fabrics with a kitty border and she does the most beautiful piecing I have ever seen. I will just need to add a border for the binding and quilt it, now I need to decide, how should I quilt it? Would love suggestions for designs.

Of course, you know who, had to check it out.

She also sent me finished blocks that I can make into a table cloth or runner, will have to play with them. She made the ear muffs to keep my ears warm when I go for walks, she does beautiful work, and I think that is roving that she made herself, yes she even spins her own yarns.

And a lot of wonderful patterns that I can make and use for gifts, what a wonderful package and lots of wonderful things that I can make. Because I have been so blessed with so many wonderful gifts and prizes this year, I was thinking of starting a giveaway box, filled with goodies that I won't use anymore and have a drawing for those who are interested. Then the person who wins the box, can take what they like, add items from their stash that they won't be using and pass it on in a giveaway on their blog. What do you think, would you be interested in starting something like that?

Angel Quilt Finished!

I finally finished the quilt yesterday. There are things I wished I had done differently and things I could change, but I needed to stop, so I can get it out. If I was making it for me, I would have done more quilting and taken the time to do the blocks, but I also want it to be soft so she can use it, so less stitching is better for this one.

I added some extra stitching around the hearts and some swirls coming out and then added a saying and words to the angel and moon block. Hopefully she will like it and it will comfort her when she goes through the tough days ahead.

The quilt was adapted from a pattern in the Angels book by Jan Patek.
I tried different lighting with the flash, but it didn't work as well, since I had to stand back to get it all.
I also hand stitched tan around the inner black border, but for some reason it isn't enlarging when I click on the photo?

Angels Quilt Top Finished!

Today I finished the quilt top and made my quilt sandwich for quilting. I added a new block with a sisters saying which I found as a friend saying and changed the one word. I added some strips, cut a little here and there and fit them all together. It measures 68" x 47" with the border/binding. When I finish the quilting I will fold the border to the back to use as the binding.

I decided to do this the easy way and used fusible batting, a bit stiff but I wanted to put it together without pins, though I did add a few just to stabilize it  better. My plan was to do black running stitches on the inside of the quilt blocks, but I need to decide how to quilt the rest? I left some things undone, so I can do that stitching with the batting in, to give it more depth and more areas that are tacked down.

My sister is still waiting for a time to have her mastectomy which is the next step, so I have time to quilt it before she goes in and comes home. I will start quilting tomorrow, so any ideas or suggestions are always appreciated.

I had to take a photo in a darker room, but once I quilt it, I can take a straight shot and hopefully show all the detail. The appliqués are from pattern books by Jan Patek; Angels and Say it with flowers, and a few of my own touches.