Friday Finish!

 

This week I was finally able to finish the quilt I made for the kids. I had to wait for my finger to heal more so I could do the quilting on the border. They got it tonight and loved it, so that made me happy. Hopefully I can get more quilting down now that it is getting cooler.

The design is by Kathy Schmitz and I added the extra hearts in the corners, to fill in the empty space. 

Here is a close up of the quilting, I used a darker green that blended nicely with all the colors. I like to hand quilt to give gifts, that personal touch and only use the machine for the border piecing.

And we spend time at the beach. Higher tides which are nice for swimming.

The surf was also rougher so most glass that I found was thrown up as I walked. The beach is becoming more popular with collectors so they clean the beach before we get there.

And School has started. The boys got their first day photo and no way to get out since their road was flooded. It was so bad in their area, they closed the school too. Today they were able to go and I heard that Alex cried when he had to leave Nick, he loves his big brother.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend. For us it means too many people and backed up traffic at the beaches, so we will find some quiet places, inland.

Anniversary Week!

This was not our best week to take off, it rained a lot of the time, so I was afraid to make any good plans, just to get washed out. If it was free, I might have, but for the cost of going to the island or Newport, I hated wasting money. Of course when we stay home, the sun comes out and when we go out, the rain comes, can't win.

We usually head north for the week, but with Moki on shots, I would have to pay more for our sitter or leave him with the vet, so for now, easier to stay close to home.

This year makes Forty Four years. It is funny to see how we looked then, Bill with his full head of hair, my dad told him he had to cut it, if he wanted to marry me, lol. That is short compared to the long mane, he had.

We spent most of our dry time, at the beach. The good thing was, we had the beach to ourselves, most of the time. Just being outside in the fresh air was a nice change.

Yesterday we got out late, after the rain stopped, but the fog was thick.

We did find some nice glass on Monday, we spent 5 hours that day, a bit of clouds and sun, so it was a nice day to hunt and enjoy the beach. We also walked the entire length of the beach, so I got some exercise too.

Yesterday we walked more, than hunted, but I did find some nice treasures. The blue piece is my favorite and Bill found a green heart shape. The oyster shell has two holes in it, not sure if it is natural or a piece of lost jewelry.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We finally have sun and heat coming in, but that also means, the crowds will be back.

Friday Finish!

I have a habit of seeing something new and wanting to make it. And with Cheri's free patterns, there are way too many to keep me distracted. This week I made the wedding pillow, perfect for a gift, for an upcoming anniversary.

This was another fun one, done in wool and stitchery, and I added my own fabric touches for the clothes, as well as, faces and buttons. The finished pillow is 12" x 11". If you haven't joined Cheri's Facebook group, you can visit and sign up at, Quilts by Cheri.

The rest of the week was spent taking down Christmas and cleaning out my sewing room. I am thinking of taking out the large table and the kids need one, so they can have that and Bill will make me a skinnier cutting table with stock cabinets, and I am thinking wheels so I can pull it off the wall to work on quilts, so it will be nice to design one to fit my needs and space.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We have some warmer temps, so hoping to finally get out for some beach combing.

Oldies but Goodies!

Nothing new this weekend, Bill had to work and I just crashed, so I rested most of the time and redid my drawing to get the rocks right and straighten out the buildings.

I also wanted to color in the design to see how it looked but I couldn't find my colored pencils, they seem to have disappeared. So, I used my watercolor pencils which are limited but it gave me a general idea of how the lighter green and rocks looked against the sea, much better contrast.

I over painted on the right and top, was just fooling around with colors and contrast but I do like how the light green pops and then the rocks will be more defined. Now to start the new punch, though I may change something else before then, we never know;)

One of the reasons that my pencils are limited in colors is because I use them for frakturs. I like using the pencils to start and then I use the better water colors for definition and shading. I thought I would show you some of my old frakturs, something I used to love doing but not so sure I can keep a steady hand now.

I like to find old designs and redo them into something new, this was a fun one to do. I used to write sayings in fraktur style, now I forget what it meant;)

This one was done for a friend, for her anniversary. I always enjoyed making custom pieces for special dates.

This one was based on an old fraktur with a few of my own touches. I usually sold them on eBay or gave as gifts.

And I also enjoyed painting boxes as gifts. This one was made for a friend who had collies. I think it says friendship. With the script I used, not sure what letter that is, my brain is mush. I hope you enjoyed seeing my pieces, another creative side of me.

The real me!

So, you want to see what I look like now? Well, that depends on what kind of day I am having, lol.
I always have the camera, so it is rare to get a picture of me, never mind one I would show to the public;)

Last year we went to NH for our anniversary. So, this is the most recent picture I have of myself.
Don't be jealous of my skinny legs, especially with those big feet.



That was my little buddy, he was following me around the beach. Here is Bill, in his all sun proof clothing.
He does have some hair left, under that hat;) I have a hard time getting shots in the boat, between my shake and the water motion, not an easy thing to do.



Now, I guess you want to see the real me, well this is it, haha. This is the real me, I could live in my boat, I love to paddle and be on the water and right now I am so so sick of the rain. Hopefully it will clear in a few days and we can get out this week. Then if Bill can get a picture that doesn't make me look like a real chicken legged dork, I might just show it;)

Don't forget, comments today will count as an extra chance to win this weeks prize.

Happy Anniversary & A Contest

Tomorrow is our Anniversary. I was supposed to have pictures of our wonderful drive to maine today, but you know what they say about the best made plans;) So, we are staying home and will enjoy the things we can do close to home. It is hard to believe that 34 years has gone by.

This is what happens when you get married in the 70's. My father said Bill had to cut his hair, so this is the result. It was hanging to the middle of his back;)



And Tomorrow is also father's day. We both lost our parents a few years back and we miss them, but the good memories of the times spent, will always be with us. This is my mom and dad.



And now, in celebration of our Anniversary, I am giving away a free pattern or booklet, you choose. All you have to do is leave a comment on my blogs from now until next friday. You can leave one comment in each blog I do and get that many chances to win.