Friday Finishes!

I hope this posting finds you all doing well. I know for most of you, Easter will not be what you planned, we are eating alone, but I ordered fresh clams for tomorrow and plan on making chowder and clambakes. It is something we both love, so at least we can enjoy a special meal and hopefully some FaceTime with the kids.

I kept busy this week, finishing one project that I needed to make some fixes on. I used what I had and wished I had gone and gotten more light blues, I think the design would have stood out more. I also forgot on some places to raise the heights, so some are higher than. others. But, it came out ok and it was a fun project, even though it took longer than most.

The design is by Michelle Palmer and it was in an older issue of Punch Needle and Primitive Stitcher. I like that you can order online issues, and they do have a lot of nice patterns. By ordering a past year,  you save money.

Another project I finished is a free stitchery by Theodore Cleave. This one I left as is, I wanted it to be bright and happy. I also added the word hope, we all need that.

It is getting harder to find places to hike. Last weekend we went to a cemetery, which was nice and quiet and we found some interesting buildings, as well. Then people started coming in and we left.

Then we went back to the Boy Scout area, it was crowded and the roads and trail heads were packed with cars, so we kept going. Down a side road we found another hiking trail to a pond and no people, so we got to enjoy a walk by ourselves.

And on the way home, we went down another back road and found this wonderful fishing area, which is also where you can rent kayaks and paddle up river, we are definitely coming back.

And we did something at home, I got a new barn wood wall in the guest room. The wall was horrid and this way I can hang quilts and my paintings. I set up my desk from my beach room and will work on a new painting next week. Bill is going on 4 day shifts so they can keep the shifts apart, so that means he will be home more and I will have a place I can hide away in.

May you all be blessed with good health, as well as your families.

Monday Finish and Fun!

I finished a piece on Friday night, so today I can show it to you. I made this months ago, but never finished it, so I decided to leave it as is, and make a pillow. I meant to tone down the snow, but forgot, but I am still happy with it, it was a big piece to work on.

The design is by Michelle Palmer and is 10" x 8".

This weekend was cold, so we went for a ride to Connecticut to do a little shopping and watch the ferrys at the point.

On the way to the point, I spotted this guy in a nearby pond. It is times like this, that I wish I had a larger zoom.

One place I love is the thrift shop, I found some fun goodies. I like buying little things that they boys can play with and not worry about breaking, the total cost was four dollars, can't beat that deal. The house is a music box and the santa flies around it, Alex loves watching it.

And to end my weekend, the boys stopped by for a late Birthday dinner. The boys gave me the best present ever, hand made cards and a mug that brings a smile, every time I use it. And that is about how I look and feel in the morning, haha. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday week.

Friday Finish and Finds!

This week I finally finished my snowmen and geese piece. But, I am not sure I like how it looks, some areas are too dark and not enough contrast in some, so the geese get lost. I am thinking on it, I also don't like the off white I used in the clouds, seems too yellow for a winter sky. I may fix a few things, but not go too crazy.

I like the green in the trees, it is an over dyed floss that I did. The darker area is a mix of brown to green that I also overdid, but maybe too dark. This is a design by Michelle Palmer.

My piece is 8.5 x 10.5, an inch shorter on the sides since I cropped a bit of the background, on mine.

I have been busy, getting the rest of Christmas down and cleaning up as I go, so I needed a rest day. I decided to make another punch by Michelle, this one is a free design. You can get a copy on her site or the punch needle sites. I changed the colors a bit, I use what I have, and I do like how the variegated red looks in the background.

While I was cleaning, I found this piece, at the bottom of my chest, hidden beneath a ton of fabrics. This was probably one of the first, so called quilts, that I made. No idea what I was thinking, it is a rose flannel and the squares and hearts are felt. I blanket stitched them on, so not exactly a practical material for a quilt. The flannel is nice though, half is unfinished, but I think if I rip off the blocks, it may ruin the flannel, will have to try one. The flannel would make a nice backing for a baby quilt.

And we got a day of treasure hunting in. I basically scan the length of the beach areas, hunt a little and once my hands go numb, we quit, lol. I was thrilled to find the two pieces of turquoise at the bottom. No beach hunting this weekend, it is below freezing and I need to go treasure hunting in the consignment stores, my house looks sad without the decorations and it was time to get rid of old junk, so hoping to find a few new things to decorate with.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Finishes!

This week I made a new project and finished one I had started. The first one is a design by Kathy Schmitz for her, One Stitch at a Time Club. Each month she sends a new design to stitch, for two dollars, a month. I decided to join since I love her stitcheries and it is fun to get something new each month. There were a couple, I never did, but I still have the designs that I can do another time, but I do love ones I can make for the holidays and ones I can give as gifts. You can also buy the designs for a dollar more, after she releases them, if you want to buy individual ones.

This one I made for me, loved the design and I happened to have a little hanger and christmas clothes pins. Perfect to hang on my peg rack. She had three words to choose from and I love to use Joy, though I did the word myself, so not the best layout, but good enough for me. I used her crackle fabric and then antique medium, love how it came out.

Another piece I finished was a quilted wall hanging with a design by Cheri Saffiote. This was a free pattern on her Facebook page, Quilts by Cheri - Friendship Group. This will be a gift and I wish I could have gotten a better photo, but the lighting is bad in my house and it is freezing outside. The wool textures don't show up as nice or in true color. It is a little wonky and I used scraps for the border, not perfect, but made with love.

I added the words in the upper two areas to fill in that space. I also received a wonderful gift from my friend Karen. She had made a top with sailors and never finished it, so she gifted it to me with the backing, so I can make something for my beach room. I love it so much, I may make a quilt with it, or a wall hanging, something fun to work on.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We have snow coming in tomorrow, so it will be a stay at home day. I will finish up cards and things and then I can enjoy the rest of the season and work on new projects for fun.

Wanderings and Working on!

We had a nice weekend, and of course we had to take advantage of that, and get out for some walks. Since we went on a no dog walk, we decided to go somewhere with Bean, then we decided to take Nick too.

We took them to Tillinghast pond, which has a nice walk around the pond. It wasn't as easy as I remember it, but then again, we had Nick who I watch like a hawk with all the rocks and tree roots, lol. Then Bill put on Bean's short leash which is not a good idea on walks when he needs to explore back and forth. I am not sure who got tired out more.

Nick loved hiking, loved climbing rocks and jumping over trees that had fallen. On hills I worry about him falling on a sharp rock or sliding down an embankment, so I told him grandma needed help because it was hard to walk up the hills. After a few times, he would see a hill and turn around, and say, let me help you, I don't want you to fall, lol. The boy warms my heart, he is so caring for his age.

He and Bean played at the picnic area.

Here is a photo at the beginning of our hike, and one near the end, quite a difference in his expression. Actually he would not sit still for a nice photo and then said, I have to go to the bathroom, so that is, I have to go look.

We did 3 miles over rough terrain and he does really well, I think we need to get him a pair of good hiking boots for next year. Sadly we both started feeling sick when we got home, and Nick was throwing up all night, guess we were at the verge of a stomach bug and over did it.

We decided to buy a pencil tree, fits perfectly in the corner without taking up too much space. I realized my cat ornaments are heavy and bulky, so I am going with a rag tree. Today I made rag candy canes in a red check and then I will do mini rag balls with yellow and maybe blue, depends on what I have in my stash. For the candy canes, I took two chenille stems, folded them over and twisted them together, then wrapped a long piece of homespun around them, quick and easy. I used a glue stick to tack down the end piece.

I will add a few primitive ornies too, I have a few that were gifted to me, over the years and they will go  perfectly with the rag look. Now I have to decide what to put on the top. Maybe I can make a raggy angel?

Monday Finishes!

This weekend Bill had to work so I used the time to get caught up on my blocks from Buttermilk Basin. One block was a pumpkin and I decided to change mine to a turkey and pumpkin for Thanksgiving.

I kept the candy cane simple, but I did add some jingle bells, not sure if that is a good idea for a quilt and not sure how big the quilt will be, but I think it will be more for display than use or maybe I may end up gifting it, if I don't make a mess of it. I had fun with the mitten, added a few embellishments for fun. I am thinking about the sashings and border, maybe blue?

Here are all the blocks with the layout. I think I have some out of order, but I think this looks good, do you? The blocks are a bit larger than the original, so I will be cutting them down to size.

On the home front, I have been trying to get ready for Christmas, and with only two days left, I come down with a stomach flu, such is life. We are going to go with turkey again, that way Bill can do the cooking and I will do a few dishes, so I can get the house done and not over do it.

Ever since I was young, I have had a believe in Christmas wishes and miracles. Today I was granted two of my wishes, one was for a friend of my daughters who was coming home for Christmas and missed her flight, but today she made it home, so that made me happy. She was one of my daughter's best friends so it will be good to see her again.

The second wish was for my daughter's gravestone to be in by Christmas. Well, two days left and no word from the company. Bill called and they said it was there and ready to go in and when we got to the cemetery, the caretaker was just pulling up to pour the foundation. He told us that it will be ready to go on, Christmas Eve. What a wonderful Christmas present for us, yes Christmas wishes do happen.

I want to wish everyone A Merry Christmas and blessings to all who have followed me this past year, been there for me, during the good and bad times and lifted me up when I was low. May all your Christmas wishes come true!

Moki Heaven!

I think when Moki dreams of heaven, it is filled with climbing towers and candy canes. I was wondering where I put the rest of the chenille for candy canes, Moki found them.

Looking for a new Valentine Cross Stitch to make? Visit Create and Decorate's blog and check out their newest freebie.

Old Cats ... New Cats Giveaway!

I had a request to show the quilted piece that I made with the new design. This piece was done a few years ago and I added other things to this piece to make it into a wall hanging. For the pattern, the design is made to fit an eyeglass case, but it would also be nice to make into a hooked rug to hang on a wall, as well.

Moki is still fascinated by chenille candy canes, he loves playing with them and one of his favorite games is catch. So I throw it onto his tower and he climbs up to get it, he does need the exercise, he is a very big boy, lol.

As you can see he can stretch out with his long body. I measured the area that Moki is in and now you get to guess how many inches the area measures, from his toes to the top of his head? The person with the right guess will win a free epattern of their choice and I will pick a winner from all of the guesses, to win a free pattern, as well. I will announce the winners on Wednesday, the 16th. 

Christmas Pillows From Free Designs!

One of my favorite places to visit is Dearie Dolls. She has been posting her designs for free and this past month has put up a lot of wonderful Christmas designs. They are fun to make and a lot of them are in series so you could make a whole quilt with a set of them. You can also do a search for a particular type, try typing in snowmen, enough to keep you busy all year.

This one was from her series, twelve days of Christmas, he is two turtle doves. There were some extra critters in the design, but I kept it simple. The snowflakes are done with a gold glitter thread, I wanted to try a little sparkle.

I added a hanger since this is for residents, I wanted something they can hang on a door or their bed.

This one was a fun one to stitch, it just says happy and makes you happy as you stitch it. She has silver glitter thread for her snowflakes.

VOTE NOW! The voting has started at This-n-That Fabrics for your favorite Christmas quilt. Be sure to visit and cast your vote for your favorite quilt, lots of wonderful pieces.