Friday Finish!

 

This week I got another idea, like I need any new ones. But this one is something I can do in my spare time, use up excess fabrics and do something good for others. I found some patterns for little teddy bears and made up a few to try them out. 

I read that police take stuffed toys to give to kids in crisis and also at shelters. They like small items that the kids can carry easily. I will have to check the local stations and find some shelters, to see what they take and what materials I can use. If anyone has experience with this and knows of places in the New England area, I would love your feedback. 

I have collected different ideas, so I will try some to see what works best and easiest to accomplish. Another idea is animal head pillows, something easy to make and something the kids can hold and use as a pillow in the shelters. The original pattern I found for the bears can be found at, Shiny Happy World.

I also finished punching my hearts, now I need to figure out what to do with them. I may make a garland with them.

We got enough snow last week, that I finally got to try out my new cross country skis. Bean loves running around with me, but also wants me to play ball, which is hard to do on skis.

We always get more activity at the feeder, not much to eat in the winter. This White-breasted Nuthatch decided to hang out with me on the porch.

I guess it felt safe with me there, so it took a little nap.

I also got peanuts, the Blue Jays love them and they are gone in minutes. 

Today we did some shopping before the mobs took over. We are expected to get snow starting Sunday afternoon, so we are all set when it hits. 

I hope everyone is staying safe this weekend, I know a lot of you will be hit with various storms as it comes through. 

Friday Finish!

 The past two weeks, I have been busy working on my sister's quilt. I wanted to get it done quickly so she can use it while she rests after treatments. I used two different packs of precut squares, so I didn't have to cut fabric. Then I made a top with an angel, hearts and a saying. The angel came from a Whimsical book and I added a few extra hearts and sayings. I also messed up on trimming down the top, so I added some borders.

After I got it all pieced, I decided to hand quilt it, so that I did this week. It is a bit eclectic with a primitive boho look. This weekend I need to make a label for the back and I found a nice saying to add to it. "Anytime you need a hug, wrap this quilt around you and feel my love." 

I also got mail from a fellow reader, Kelly Cole, who used one of my older freebie patterns to make a hooked piece. She hooked it onto a jean jacket, what a fun and clever idea.

We have been staying home more with projects that needed to be done. Then my son got sick after he was here and gave it to Bill who gave it to me. Seems I catch everything that is going around, luckily I fight them off and hand quilting kept me busy this week.

A lot of the birds are visiting now that the babies have left the nest. Our resident Cardinal is quite the character.

And a lot more Orioles are visiting, so I have to keep the jelly feeder full. This is one of their young.

And a few more shots of our visitors. I even got a Hair Woodpecker, the first I have seen, but too shy for a shot. I hope you all enjoyed your week and out of the heat wave. I am really enjoying the cooler hair and cool nights. 

Friday Finish!

 

Another week has zipped by, but I was able to find time to finish my Christmas stocking quilt. I used pearl cotton to do simple quilting around the blocks and stockings. This is one I will use on the couch and let the boys use, so I kept it simple and durable with the heavier block fabric. It was a great way to use older fabric and scraps.

We got out for a bike ride on Saturday. We rode up to the town of Bolton in Connecticut and rode the rail trail from the park, to the town of Vernon. It was a nice ride through forests, past a pond and into the town of Vernon, a stop on the old railroad. 

On Sunday we stayed closer to home, rain was headed our way and I wanted to go hiking before it came. We hiked around a pond, where the foliage was coming in nicely and along the river.

We hiked along the bike path and old railroad bridge.

And we ended up in the fields, surrounded by amazing fall colors, and back to the pond.

We were getting ready to leave when I spotted a white spot in the trees, across the pond. What a nice end to the day, I was able to get a shot of the eagle just as it started to rain.

Unfortunately Bill and I woke up on Monday with a flu or bug, but we are fine now. Another nice weekend ahead and hopefully more adventures to be had. At home I enjoy watching all the new visitors who have come to stay for winter. This Blue Jay was nice enough to sit and pose for a photo.

May your weekend be filled with blessings and joy.

I hope everyone had a nice week and holiday. We stayed home and got some things done, which we usually don't have time for, when we are running around. We have family coming in next week, so plans for a family get together for next weekend. 

I have been working on my seaport piece, still in the works and I may add a few of my own touches. I got the new stitchery from Kathy Schmitz, so I decided to make that this week. I am sticking with a theme for her yearly contest, mine is hot pads. They will be nice for gifts, at Christmas.

This one is a garden bunny and I have a few relatives that like gardening and bunnies. I like giving them a pop of color since others like bright and cheerful decor. I still need to stitch up the outer edge, I like having a bit of a bump there, so they can place things on it, without them sliding off. For some reason the blue marker does not want to go away, so I keep pressing it with a damp cloth and eventually it will go away.

I have been getting a lot of new birds at the feeder, lots of young on their own now, but I still get the ones who make a racket to be fed. In these photos are, a Baltimore Oriole, a Northern Flicker ( first time photo of one in my yard), Red Bellied Woodpecker, and a Blue Jay. 

I hope everyone has a good week. Hopefully I can get out for some paddling and time with the boys.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I started one project, then another and then I got the new stitchery of the month. The second project I made and finished before the others since it is for the boys. It was a design in a Whimsicals book and I did a few in fun colors as bookmarks for the boys. 

I started the new stitchery next, but still working on that, they will be hot pads for me, and perfect for Valentines and Easter, so I will get those done next, then the project I was working on, will get done. With the cold and now an ice storm, I will have a lot more time indoors.

I used some glitter threads and ribbon with glitter on the tags.

I hope everyone faired well in the last storm and the ones coming through this weekend. We had a lot of rain and now it is icing, so the roads will be a mess.

Last weekend we got a few feet of snow, now it has all melted and made ponds in my yard. I have gotten quite a few visitors with the snow and cold, they need more energy to keep them warm. The wind was so bad, I had to put a heavy bowl on the porch, so the wind wouldn't blow it away.

The birds seem to be more active when it is cold or raining. A few more from last Saturday.

Since we have been stuck in the house so much, Bill took a day off, when the weather was a bit better. We took a drive to the beach at the southern coast and enjoyed walking in the fresh air, until the fog rolled in, then it was more like rain.

Before it got wet, I was able to catch a few shots of the Sanderlings. They are busy little birds, so hard to get a shot, it took me 70 shots to catch a few good ones.

Eating and cleaning.

And we found a few treasures. The beach was full low tide and no people, but so much beach and rocks, along with no sun, so harder to find pieces. I did luck out and found a marble and a few old pieces. 

Time to set up a little table so I can play with my pieces and start making some art items. So many ideas and projects, I need more time in the day. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy some crafting time this winter.

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 Finish and Feathered Friends!

 

This week got away from me, I thought it was Thursday, lol. I have been working on a couple of projects and finished one. I say finished, but it needs some fixes and a finish. A friend sent me the pattern as a gift and I think it will be a nice gift to give back to her. I am not sure if I want to mount it on wood as a hanging or make a storage bag for knitting needles, will think on it.

It is a bit of a mess now, I need to trim a bit and redo the areas that got snagged into each other. The design is by Yvonne Buus. It is a bit skewed in the photo, but the design is a bit over 6" x 8".

We got a bit of snow this week, looks like winter is here to stay for the month, more snow coming this weekend and during the week. This is my back yard at nightfall, last weekend.

The birds didn't seem to mind and were extra hungry, so lots of visitors. This female, Black Eyed Junco was nice enough to sit for a photo.

The Starlings are always trying to eat all the food, so I let one have some while I took photos, but I usually chase them away. And the Bluejays are always eating up all the food, but I allow them to have a bit. I do have feeders in the yard that I fill, so they are welcome to that, but they know the good food is on the porch.

This weekend is Bird count weekend. If you have birds in your area, you can join in by signing up at Cornells Bird Lab. They have a lot of information on birding and a site where you can list the birds you see in your area. It helps them to keep track of bird populations.

I really wasn't going to do it, but today I saw a new bird and decided to list what I saw, in a half hour. I had quite the list, it was very busy today. And this guy, he is a Yellow Bellied Sapsucker. I saw him yesterday and thought he was a bit large and different than the Downy Woodpeckers. I was able to catch a few photos and was happy to see I had a new feathered friend.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and maybe you can enjoy birding in your own backyard. A suet feeder is the cheapest and easiest way to start. One thing that most of the birds love is peanuts, a great way to attract a variety of birds.

Friday Finish!

 

Another week zipped by and I didn't get enough done, that seems to be the norm for me, these days. But, I just go with the flow and work on things for fun and eventually I will get to organizing and redoing my room so I can get back to my quilting.

This week I started a few projects and finished one. The design is a freebie offered, by the Old Tattered Flag. I thought it would be fun to try and wish I had added something to the bottom, but it does look nicer in person than in the photo. I will be starting gifts for next year and I also have so many things, that I think I may do some online selling this year.

And I practiced some ideas I had with the masks. I was trying to shorten the sewing time and amount by putting two steps together, but it shortened the masks, so they don't fit me right. They would fit nicely with woman, that have small noses, but mine is definitely too big. 

I took Nick to the fabric store a few weeks ago. I wanted to let him pick some fabric out and he wasn't interested in any of the fun prints, he kept going for the geometrics and strange prints, so I made him some with the squares that I had in my stash.

We got out a bit, last weekend. On Saturday I wanted to take a ride around a reservoir in Connecticut. We drive by all the time, but never around the backside. My instincts were right, no place to park or stop for a shot. But, we did find a nice park on the backside that had open water views, so maybe next time we can go again and catch the eagles.

We did get a nice walk in, nice paths through woods and along the water.

And fun things on the path, as well as an old graveyard nearby.

One thing we saw on the way down was lots of farms and lots of cows. Sometimes just a ride somewhere new and seeing new sights is all I need to lift my spirits.

On Sunday we spent some time at the beach. It was cold and the tide was just going out, but we enjoyed the fresh air and found a few treasures.

And on the home front, the birds are visiting every day. I finally caught a decent shot of the Blue Jay. 

And one of the female Cardinal. The Cardinals are shy, they feed from the side feeder, so hopefully they will come to the porch someday.

Friday Finishes and Feathered Friends!

 

Even though I do not need more decorations but I cannot resist making new things during the holidays. It is fun and a good way to fill myself with the holiday spirit. This week I finished a stitchery with a design by Kathy Schmitz. It is in her book, Stitches from the Yuletide. I was able to get a copy from our library and I copied the designs that I wanted to do.

This was a fun one, but a lot of stitching. I like making pillows since I can place them on my chest or the couch.

I also made an ornament for the kids. It came out bigger than I wanted, but Nick loved it and I do enjoy seeing the joy on his face when I give them a gift. They also got their boots tonight. Snow came early and they needed them, so they got an early present.

I also enjoyed watching the birds this week. I have been getting more birds since they have discovered the good feed is at the porch.

And with the snow, came more birds.  It was blowing so hard that I kept the porch feeder full and had visitors all day. It is nice to be able to enjoy nature in my own backyard, it is a way to relax and find joy amidst all the turmoil in the world.

Monday works in progress!

This weekend I worked on the latest free BOM from Buttermilk Basin. They are really fun to do and work up quickly, I can't wait for the next one, it will be a double, so I can't wait to see what she has planned for the extra longer block.

The original calls for a female cardinal but I saw a lot of Blue Jays being done and since my letters are red and we do get a lot of Blue Jays in the winter, I made mine into a Blue Jay.

This is what I have so far, I love how they look together and it will be nice to have a beautiful quilt, I can hang for next Christmas.

Another project that I started is, a freebie from Cheri's Facebook Group. I am doing mine with scraps and homespuns and will decide if I want to make changes, after I sew the blocks together. There are flowers and a chicken that will be going on, so I will sew them together next and add those and see how it looks.

This is what I have so far, can't wait to finish and hang it on the wall. The pattern is called Jane's Baskets.

I wanted to thank you all for your good wishes. I am always sick or in pain, but when you live with it as long as I have,  you get used to living with it. It has just been a tough year and this is a tough month, and having the support and love from my online friends, means a lot to me.