Working on!

I have been slowly working on my stitchery, but got more done this week. I need to take a photo with a brighter light to show the glitter that I added, here and there. Once the tree is done, I will do the larger snowflakes with the blue floss and a piece of off white glitter thread. Then I have lots of dots, that I am thinking I will do, once I put the backing on, so it will hold it more like quilting. There are also circles, which I may or may not do, or use some tiny buttons.

Another project I still need to start and soon is, a baby quilt. I bought the panel years ago and never used it. My great niece is having a baby and I decided it was a good time to make it into a quilt for her. The problem was adding a border before I quilt it. I lucked out and found a matching alphabet from a vintage seller and got a few yards for the border. She is having a girl and I think this will work for either sex and hopefully she likes it. I am just going to do quilting around the edge of the blocks.

Last weekend we finally made it to the apple orchard, that is down the road. I didn't realize how many apples I could put in that bag. I ended up giving half to the kids. I eat one a day and try to get another batch before the season ends.

After we got Bean and took him for a walk along the new boardwalk at the beach. The wind was so bad that the sand was blowing in our face, so being on the walk was much better.

Today I am finally feeling better so it was nice to get out for a bit. We dropped off bags of stuff at a thrift store that also has a food pantry. Then we headed to the beach. It was warm today and it was nice and cool at the beach. This house takes it to a new level with an Ocean front beach house. It got a lot of damage from other storms and ended up putting in cement supports.

Behind the house I spotted a pond and a group of Killdeers.

And the farm field was full of gulls. I noticed quite a few young Ring -billed Gulls mixed in with the others. It was nice getting out after all the rain and this weekend it will be cooler, so I may try a bike ride or do some hiking and sight seeing in Connecticut. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoying the fall weather.

Friday finish!

 This week I finished the other Christmas pillow. It was from a design in my Christmas patterns booklet. I did the originals in rug hooking. They are fun to do in any medium and stitchery was something I never did with them. I liked using fun colors, since this is a whimsical design. I used glitter yarn for the edging.

Last week we spent time at the island beaches. It was a little cooler, but still nice to be out.

We spotted this starfish on the beach, it had washed in with the tide, so we threw it back in the water and hopefully it survived.

I also found a few treasures  on the beach, including a little ceramic dog.

This cove always has wildfowl, that winter in our area.

At another area I spotted a lot of White throated sparrows.

Today was a warmer day, so we went to the park for a walk. There was a bit of mud and some leftover ice, but we were able to walk along the dryer paths and got in 6 miles. A bit more than I have done in awhile, but it was worth a few stiff muscles.

After we drove the breakaway and saw that they were dredging the channel. The past storms had washed away all the stone borders and poured sand into the channel, which is where the boats come out to the ocean. They are doubling up on the rocks and getting the excess sand out of the channel, to get the depth back.

And we got to enjoy watching the Long-tailed ducks, diving for fish in the channel. I think these are young ones, they are a bit mottled in color.

I hope you enjoyed your week and are enjoying nicer temperatures, even if for a short while.

Friday finish!

 

I hope every one had a nice holiday. We had a nice time, even though everyone was still sick. The good thing was, we didn't have to worry about getting sick or passing it along, we already did. 

I rested when I could and made up a couple of stitcheries to work on, I finished one. This is one of my designs from the Christmas booklet. A lot of my designs can be changed into stitcheries, even though I made them for rugs or punch needle. I added glitter paint on the star, for a fun touch.

We got out for a few rides, but not as many birds at the ponds. The winter ducks are coming in and even Pelicans have been spotted at the wharfs, so hoping we can get down there before they leave. I was able to spot a Red-shouldered Hawk one day. He flew right in front of us and landed on a post.

We enjoyed our time with the kids. We had dinner at our house on Christmas Eve and the kids got their main present along with others, then we spent the next day at their house and I saved some for them to open then. 

The boys got instruments, Alex was trying out his trumpet and Nick got an electric guitar, but I didn't get a shot of him. 

Tonight we are getting snow, so hoping it will be clear tomorrow so we can go out for a ride, to enjoy seeing everything covered in white. I hope you all enjoy your weekend.

Holiday Finish!

 I was able to finish my Christmas quilt, just in time. I machine quilted the edges around the blocks and then I hand quilted around the mittens with black and used white in the patterned blocks. I didn't use any pattern, just made up a mitten template and used a variety of wool textures. It was a fun way to use up wool and some fun fabrics I had gotten, last year.

Last weekend we went to the mill to pick up corn meal. I spotted this guy, outside of the mill.

We also made a stop at the thrift store. This store always has fun things and great prices. I found fun snowmen to add to my collection.

And a nativity set, that I couldn't resist.

After some shopping, we drove around the salt water ponds and I spotted this guy. He was busy fishing, so he didn't mind me, taking photos.

Yesterday we went to the island and walked on a few beaches and around the lighthouse. Lots of Common Eiders and a few Harlequin ducks, braving the surf for a meal. A Downy Woodpecker was enjoying the berries at one parking lot.

We also got to spend time with the kids. Mom and dad went shopping, so the boys stayed with us. While here, we did a family shoot so Ivy could sent photos to her family in Malaysia. This was one of my favorites, the background is AI generated.

Now it is time to get ready for Christmas. We have the kids on Christmas Eve and go to their house on Christmas. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, in whatever way you may celebrate. May you find peace, love and joy in the coming days.

Friday finish!

 This week I made up a simple, quick project to keep my hands busy and I needed a table topper for my guest room. I had enough left of a cheater print, to fit the table. I just hand quilted around the blocks, something mindless but relaxing.

The weather is still cold and most of the time, windy. Way to cool to do much, but last week we took a walk at the park on the back side, since it is more protected from the wind. It was an old air force training base, so remnants of the runways are still there.

Along another path, signs still dot the area. It is a nice place to walk with several areas and paths to explore.

Today I stayed home and got my quilt put together and quilted. Now I just need to do the binding and I will do hand stitching around the mittens. I might just finish it before Christmas. I hope you all are enjoying some crafting for the holidays and enjoy your weekend.

Busy week!

 

With the holidays, I have less time for working on my projects. Hopefully I can get to a few last minute things and spend some time relaxing and finishing my projects. I have the house decorated, the cards and packages mailed out and presents for the kids. 

My husband got a new vanity for the basement, but then found mold from using the wrong flooring. So that got redone and everything in, then he got stuck with the plumbing. It needs to be refitted for the new vanity, so plumbers are going to finish the jobs. 

The bad thing this week was, I cannot find my lighted trees and angels. I am afraid someone grabbed that box along with the ones for the church bazaar, so that has me upset, since I have no idea what else was in the box. 

One way I like to relax is to do puzzles. My son got me one last year, so I am working on that. Hopefully I can finish it this weekend, but the solid colors are going to be a pain to fill in.

With the cold weather, we haven't been able to get out as much. We like to take rides around the ocean drives and get out for brief moments and to enjoy the views. The breakaway campground is closed so it's a nice place to park and enjoy the views. They are still working on bracing up the breakaway with more stones. 

The island is another place we can ride around and enjoy the views. We took a walk around the lighthouse and the back paths, which help to keep the wind down. In that area are other beach heads and places to stop to enjoy the views. The winds were picking up when we got to the divers beach. 

                                        

We have a skinny tree, so I only put some many ornaments on it. The kids love checking out the kitty collection. I have been collecting for years, so I have a lot more than I can fit on the tree. Some are too big and breakable, so they stay in the boxes.

Every year I would get a new one from Hallmark, but they stopped making good ones and I have more than I need. I hope you all can finish up your holiday preparations and enjoy time for yourselves and creating.

Friday finish!

 I hope everyone had a nice holiday and can enjoy a relaxing weekend. We have cold and windy weather, so not great weather for being outside too long. Since I was busy with the holiday, I decided to make a few pillows with an old pattern, I had done before. 

This is a design by Red Button Company. My buttons were a little larger than the original ones, but they still worked.

We had a visitor to the yard this week. I was trying to get closer, but it spooked him and he flew away. It is a Pilieted Woodpecker.

We also had a nice dinner with the kids. Today my son came over to help my husband, with a new bathroom vanity for the basement. We need to work on our main bathroom, so I wanted a better vanity I could use when they start working on the other. Unfortunately they found mold and damage from a leak, so they had to put in a new floor and we will have to get a real plumber to fix the pipes.

I hope you all have a nice week and finding time to enjoy the coming holiday weeks.

Friday Finish!

 This week I worked on finishing my quilt. It is a panel, so I stitched around the black lines of the designs and then used red and green for the smaller areas. It is hard to see the stitching since it is on the lines, but looks quilted in person. I was thinking of doing a couple of large snowflakes in the empty spaces, so I may try to do that this week, before they come for dinner. I really wish I had machine quilted, it took weeks to finish and I have more to do. At this rate, I might get one done.

Last week we went for a ride in Connecticut. The new bike was great on the rougher trails, I do love having shocks. We did a section going up and turned back to the other side and did a few miles on that side. It was a beautiful trail, lots of wooded areas, riding along hills, and along ponds and swamps. We will definitely go back and do more of the trail. 

Today I turned 68 and I wanted to do a bike ride. The weather was a bit cool and my joints a bit stiff, so we went for a walk at the bird sanctuary. It was cloudy and cool, but perfect for a walk. Along the field we stumbled onto this young doe. She was not afraid of me and let me take a close up.

On the other side was her sibling. 

The pond was full of ducks today. I am not sure what we were seeing in the big blocks, but I am pretty sure these were American Widgeons.

We also saw a few that were swimming closer to us. I guess the various ducks flock together as they head south. 

I saw a lot of birds today, but most were high in trees or flew off, when we startled them. With the clouds, I couldn't get clear shots today, so I just enjoyed a walk in nature.

This week I am going to be busy. Three days to get the house organized and cooking. Then three weekends to get the house decorated, get the cards out, last minute shopping and making time to finish at least one quilt. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Friday working on!

 

This week I have been working on a Christmas quilt panel. I am hand quilting it, stitching around the black outlines. It also has some greenery and red that is not outlined, so I am using red and green single floss to stitch those areas. I have a few more small areas and then I can get to the outer border and add an edge, so not too much more.

Last week we took a ride and took a back road route. I wanted to see the old mill area, since they said it was being torn down and made into a park. Well, the building is still there and nothing has been done. I would love to explore it, but there is no way in, the area is too overgrown.

We headed to the beach areas to see if any birds were hanging out. There were a lot of egrets and herons clustered in the middle of the salt water pond, on their way south. On an inlet, I spotted this Great blue heron. He was just hanging out and then noticed the egrets and started puffing up and making funny gestures. 

Then he chased one away.

Then he went after the other and got a whack in the head, as it flew off. I think it was a young one who was being territorial, even though he was just passing through.

Another day we went for a ride into Connecticut. We drove down a road that passes through a reservoir. The colors were getting darker, but still pretty.

Then we stopped at a preserve in the area. It was a farm and they donated it with the stipulation that the farm and animals were kept private. We parked at the farm area to start the hike.

The path we took, went though wooded areas to an overlook.

And this was the view.

Back into the woods we found an old cellar.

We tried the trail on the opposite side and passed old farm equipment, a river and it ended up at a pond. With the droughts, it was more of a marsh. It was a nice walk and another place to revisit in the spring, when the birds come back.

We have rain coming in, so we will try and get out during the clearings. I got a new bike coming in, something better for trails, so I am giving Nick my mountain bike, and today we picked up a new one for Alex. He had his stolen, so now they will both have good bikes that fit their size. Tomorrow we will take them riding after the rain stops, so can't wait to surprise them.

I hope you all had a good week and can get out and enjoy the good days, before winter sets in.