Friday Finish!

 

This week I finally finished the baby quilt. I hand stitched around the designs, to keep it simple and I wanted it to be puffy and soft. The panel was gifted to me by my sister in law, so I would say it is vintage. The only problem with it is, there is a tiny dark spot on one of the outer edges. I washed it and it faded a bit, but still there, so hopefully the recipient won't mind.

For the back, I used a cute flannel. Slowly using stash I got, and this flannel was perfect for a soft backing.

Last week we got out for another walk at the farm. It was beautiful with all of the lupines, lining the pathway.

We also took a stroll down the back road, that follows the river and back around to the farm. A lot of beautiful homes along the way, with views of the river. 

Lots of birds along the way and this Song Sparrow, followed us a bit and sang to us.

Today my husband got stuck at work so we didn't get out for a paddle. Hopefully we can get out tomorrow if it is not too windy. I have been painting a few more rocks and started another project, so hoping to get those all done, next week. I have a lot to do around the house and getting the trailer ready.

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer weather and not in the stormy areas. Here is has been too hot, so I can't get outside as much, but on weekends we can get down to the cooler end near the ocean.

Friday Finish!

 

I finally finished a piece I started, made with one of my patterns, Catch of the Day. I made them for punch needle or rug hooking, but most work with stitchery too. I like to have simple things to do at night, while I watch tv and during the day I try to work in my room with the machines and prepping pieces. I really need to start pulling out all the old and unfinished projects, a few that I really want to finish for summer.

We are finally getting some nicer days. Bill had an early appointment this week, so he took the day off and we headed to the beach. The tide was lower, than usual and it was good for Bean to get out again.

At another beach, I walked along the length to the rocks. When the tide is super low, I can walk over the cliff area to another area, on the other side. Lots of rocks in this area, looking down to town. I wear heavy winter hiking boots, so it makes it easier to walk on the rocks.

I have been looking for glass and beach treasures, when we go out. Not as much with the strong tides, but here are a few things I have found, from a couple of trips. 

I hope everyone had a nice week and can enjoy some nicer weather. I do see that some of you are in the storm's paths for tornadoes, so my prayers are with you all.

Friday Finish!

 I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. As usual, it came quick, and went by quick, but I enjoyed the moments. I never took any photos, I like to enjoy the moments and not worrying about posting photos. I also feel for those who cannot spend time with family or have lost loved ones, who are not with them, so I kept it low key this year.

I also got sick as usual, but took meds and rested for a few days. I made up a stitchery, so I had something to keep my hands busy and was able to finish it, just in time. I am not sure who did the design, but it was offered on Facebook. 

We also got snow before Christmas, so the kids came over and went sledding on the school hill. I bought sleds last year and we never got to use them. 

Bill gets the whole week and a half off, so we got out for short walks and rides. Jamestown is always a fun place to go to. Views from every side and we were able to go for short walks, before we froze. There is a path that goes uphill to a point and I decided I wanted to see how far it went. It was a nice path and easy to traverse and came out to the end of the point, so we had nice views from a higher vantage point.

Looking back into the cove. 

After we stopped at the state park and looked for glass, not much luck these days. On the way out, I spotted a group of Snow Buntings, a nice surprise.

Today we did a ride around the southern beaches. When it is cold, places that we can drive to and see, without getting out, is always nice. In one area, we have a view of the pond where the boats and ferries go through. Today we spotted some fishermen, throwing in their pots. Not sure if they were crabbing, but looked like crab pots.

In the marsh, we spotted these guys running around the mud flats. 

Rain is predicted for the next 3 days, which I don't mind, it will keep me in and I can start working on finishing some quilts. I plan on finishing one Christmas one, and others that need finishing and binding. I have several with a summer, Americana theme, so those will be in the next batch to finish.

I hope this finds you all doing well and would love to know what your plans are for the coming year. 

Friday Finish and Fun!

 

It seems this week flew by, but we did have an extra day off, so it meant we were out and about. I am working on a new stitchery and I was able to make a few new masks. My son is using the store bought type that have no protection so I made him some box masks to try. When I went to the store to get more flag fabric, I couldn't resist getting a little for the boys. Nick loves bright colors and glitter and the dots you see are bit of glitter. I also used ribbon with glitter in it. I also tried one With a Christmas print, that I have,  I will have to fussy cut to show off more of the fun designs.

On Sunday we took the boys to Fort Getty. It is the perfect place to spend the day with them. We park in the campground area so the boys have plenty of space to play and water views on both sides.

And the beach is there, so they spent time playing and Nick has become quite the glass hunter. Not sure what he will do with it, but he told me he needs a lot to make something. Alex is just happy playing and running around.

On Sunday we went back to Machimoodus park, I wanted to hike the trail we missed. It was a beautiful place to hike and the views from the top of the hill were stunning, but too many trees in the way to get a clear shot of the river and the foliage along the banks from the upper hill.

We also went back to Fort Getty when Bill got home, a little glass collecting and stunning sunsets. 

With another day off, we decided to head to Devil's Hopyard to see the falls. They weren't running as heavy as they usually do, but still beautiful. It was also sprinkling on and off all day so between that and the crowds, we only stayed for a quick walk along the path.

From there we headed to Eagle Landing. There is a coffee shop on the other side of the river and a nice place to sit and relax.

We didn't see any eagles, but this Northern Mockingbird stopped by to say hi and get his photo taken. It as drizzling again and the main storm was getting closer, so we headed home before it hit. It was definitely a busy week of exploring and it is time to do it all over again. I definitely need more time in the day, or I will never get anything done at home. I hope this finds you all well.

Friday finishes and Fun!

 I have been working on a couple of projects that I am still working on, so the only finish I did, was some more masks for the family. I made the glow in the dark ghosts for the boys, something fun they can play in  as well as practical. Then I made matching kitties for me and the boys and they flags for Bill. I like the box style, even though it is tough to do a nice job on the ends, but they fit much better and not only can I breath in them, I can talk in them. That is nice for the boys, as well, since they can talk in the classroom without removing them.

I added a photo, wearing it, to show. you how it stays away from the face. It looks more pronounced from the side, but looks fine from the front.

On Saturday I sent Bill to the store to get me a new camera body. I told him the two choices and a list of questions to ask. Well, the store had no one that knew cameras so he went with the expensive one. I really wish I had more time to think on it, It is a nice camera, but more for a professional than for what I need. I do like how it syncs up with photoshop, so my edits are getting better, but it does seem like the photos run on the darker side. I guess I will just have to learn how to use this one, lol. The good news is, today I was looking at their website before Bill went up to take in the old one and mine was on sale, so Bill was able to get the discount taken off of our price, so I saved money. 

We decided to go to Fort Getty to walk and take some photos. It was dismal out, but with a little editing, I was able to brighten them up.

A picture of the lighthouse on Dutch Island.

A close up of the lighthouse. The photos have a higher resolution, so I am able to crop in closer and still retain most of the details.

And on the beach, I thought this scene was quintessential New England.

The next day we had plans but the boys wanted to play again, so we took them back to the island. They loved playing on the beach and Nick found more treasures than I did.

And all the boys had fun, just being boys. The campground is closed, so we had the place to ourselves, just a few visitors who come to walk around.

It was a wonderful weekend and I always find my greatest joy when we take the boys with us. I had taken a photo of Alex while he was walking further away and cropped his face for a close up. I was not trying for a portrait, but love how it came out, so I will practice more with portraits. I think that is one of the benefits of this camera, it can do nice portraits, so something new to learn.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and find time to find your joys and happiness in these trying times.

A Day Early Finishes!

We are headed off for a long weekend tomorrow so I thought I would post a day early. I lucked out and got a spot by a river, surrounded by trees, so nice privacy to relax and work on my quilt.

The first thing I finished this week was more lavender pillows. They are free designs by Deborah Cade for a Facebook group, Primitive Folk Art quilts and projects. These are so fun to do and the next ones will be roosters or chicken, something my brother and his wife love to collect.

The second project is a summer quilt, another freebie from the group. I have it all set to quilt, so I can sit and relax at the camp, and work on the quilting. It looks a bit flat in the photo, so I will have to take a nice photo when it is done. I used some of my new fabric with the blue wood, for the side edges.

We also got out for a bit on the weekend. I wasn't feeling up to too much activity, so we went to Beavertail and found a nice side spot with views of the ocean. It was nice to just sit and relax and we got a few walks in, as well.

I have also been seeing a lot more birds in our yard. I was surprised when I went out and saw two females with their young, eating under the feeder. There are 16 babies, in all. One just had three little ones, and the other had 13 or she may have adopted from another female, I did notice the male is not with them. They tend to run back and forth across the road and there are lots of predators in the woods, so they do lose a few of their young, but seem to keep the flock growing.

I hope. you all have a wonderful weekend. In these trying times, I try to keep up my spirit by keeping busy and trying new things.

Friday Finish!

This week I worked on a table runner. I am trying to use things that have been lying around and finishing other projects and this was a perfect project to use blocks and have something for my side table.

The blocks were gifted to me by a friend but a bit large for the table size, so I cut them in half and then arranged them into a windmill pattern. I usually go with smaller blocks but I also wanted to get it done so I could use it, so they are still a bit larger than I like, but it looks nice on the table.

I machine stitched the blocks and hand stitched it afterwards. I got the penny idea, because the blocks had been sew and recut, so they centers were a bit stiff and bumpy. The pennies cover that area and I was able to stitch around the bumps, instead of going through them. I did the quilting with just the batting and added a wool felt backing, afterwards.

I tried photos of it, in different areas, but it seems the light in my house is horrid and with larger pieces, it is hard to place it so I can get better lighting. I put it in this area so I could shoot at a better angle, so it is a bit smooshed at the ends, to fit the area.

Last weekend the weather wasn't the greatest, but we got out and enjoyed some exploring. On Saturday we drove up state and visited a few ponds, but no eagles. We enjoyed seeing some new areas and getting out for a bit, after the rain.

On Sunday, we visited Connecticut and started in a new area and came down river. No eagles and the roads on the map were not back roads, but dead ends, so we lost a lot of time, turning around and starting over. We did find a few new graveyards and I got glimpses of the sunset, as we headed home.

It is funny how we look all over for eagles and as we are driving down the road, there is a red tail hawk, sitting on a telephone wire. He was not happy that we stopped in front of him and flew off into the bush, but I was able to find him in the bush and get a shot before he took off again.

Tomorrow we get a new tv, the beauty of having a protection plan, they are well worth it. Sunday will be our day to get out, and I found some new graveyards along the river, so we can look for eagles and see some unique stones. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finish!

I actually had two to finish, but life got in the way. I have been sick as usual and thought it was the lyme acting up, but it seems the tooth I have been complaining about, finally had it's last run. So, I had to wait to get in and finally had it pulled. Hopefully all the weird symptoms I have been getting are from that, for now I am waiting for the pain to wear off. You would think in this day and age, they would have come up with something with ripping teeth out with pliers, lol.

It is also a warning if you get a root canal and have it capped, to know that it can still get infected. In fact, it is more prone to get infected in the space that is left and since the nerves are cut, you do not feel the pain. It can go on for years and make you sick, mimicking a lot of other diseases, so something to consider if you have doctors telling you there is nothing wrong and it is all in your head;)

I was able to finish off my angel painting. This was the first one I started by prepping the papers and drawing on the angel, but I never painted it. I had messed up with the drawing, so I finally redid the lines and followed the tutorial for the face.

The problem was, my brain went on hold and I totally lost track of what I was doing and what she was saying, so I messed up on the coloring and shading. Since I did a nice enough job on the painting, I decided to just keep it simple and in a more folk art style. I added a hand and boat, and made stars on her halo, so a bit americana.

Then came the finishing and crackle. I had crackle on hand, so used that and it did not work, it actually blobbed the finish, so I used warm water and washed what I could off. Luckily there is a gloss finish on the painting, so it didn't do too much damage. I ordered the right crackle and finished it with that, and I got some nice crackling in some areas and blobs in others.

So, this is how she turned out, not like I planned but not too bad. This is my second one, so maybe the third one will be the charm.

You can see the way it blobbed up in the upper left corner. What you need to know when you use crackle is, buy the right product for the right job. The plaid crackle is to put on top of a painted object like a box, then you add another layer of paint, to get the crackling effect. For a painting, you use Jo Sonya's crackle, which goes over your painting. This is a technique that I learned in the online class by Teresa Kogut, of Gather Dream Create, so I cannot explain the actual process. I thought it was good to know for those who are using mediums, to read up on the types and what they are used for, before you buy.

This is a close up of the actual crackle effect, I love how it looks and hopefully the next one will come out as nice. I plan on doing a simple painting with my own design first, to try out the technique, then I will try another angel.

Weekend Wanderings!

This weekend was good and bad. On Saturday we stayed home, it was raining and we had to wait for my wood to come in, so Bill could work on that. Well, it did not come until 7:30 at night, so too late to use it and that didn't matter, because the wood is junk. I wanted rustic wood, but this was so rough, Bill got a splinter, picking one up. Their were 8 boards in a box, and they were all crooked, so they went back today. We will just get our own wood and do the sanding and painting, not worth the cost of finished when they did a horrible  job on the wood.

Sunday was our day to get out. The bad thing was, I was sick, a combination of fighting off the latest flu and inhaling toxic smoke. I could hardly breath and I was coughing, so I took some med and headed out for the day. The med cleared up my lungs but I am still sick, but at least I can breath a lot better.

We headed to the apple orchards in Connecticut, but our first stop was an old prison building. We always see them on the way and I wanted to get a few photos. There are several building complexes along the road, but this is the only one without fencing. It is falling apart and all the windows are broken, such a shame to let buildings like this go to waste, lots of beautiful architecture on them. Also a bit creepy.

Of course we stopped at the orchard next and I got a large bag of apples and a few pears, they weren't as good as last time. Golden delicious are Bill's favorite, so half the bag is filled with those.

Afterwards I noticed a pull over at the river and then a sign, I can't pass by a historic cemetery. We walked around and I took a few more photos, sadly a lot of the graves are sinking into the wet ground. 

Since I was feeling better, I decided to head down to Groton and enjoy the views from the beaches. On the way I saw a tall stone tower, so we took a side road and headed up to see what it was. What we found was Fort Griswold. It was the site of a battle in the Revolutionary war, involving Benedict Arnold. This is the tower that I saw, it was erected later, as a monument to the men who fought in the wars.

We walked through the gates and entered into a large depression surrounded by earthen mounds. There was a door and an opening, so we checked it out.

It was a tunnel, that led to the other side.

On the other side was the area were the men were stationed with the guns and lookouts for enemies coming up the river. The tunnel was their escape route, they could run up and through, to the area we started in, to protect them from incoming fire.

On the edge of the banks, we could enjoy the views of New London and the ferries.

Some of the buildings are still there, the old furnace, where they heated up the canon balls, so that they would burst into flame, when they hit.

And the powder house, were they stored the munitions. It was a fun place to visit and I left a rock at the gate and it was found by a wonderful family, so they posted a photo of their little boy on DSmiles4miles on Facebook. It is fun for us too, when someone posts and we get to see the smiles.

Our last stop was  Eastern Point beach, it is at the end of the Thames River, so it is a nice spot to relax and enjoy the views and of course the boats and ferries, come and go.

A fishing boat coming past the Haunted lighthouse.

And to end the journey, a funny story. Maybe not for one seagull though. I was taking photos of these two guys, fighting for some reason and the other gulls seemed to be egging them on. Just as I was readjusting my focus, the one gull threw the other one off the roof and the gull went falling down the side. It was comical, especially when the poor guy got up and walked off, the flew away, no harm done. I also left a few rocks on some ledges on the house, on the backside, rough sea areas are not good places to hide things.

I hope you all had a good weekend. I am working on finishing a few more pillows and a new stitchery of the month.