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 Finishes!

This week I was able to spend more time working on my projects, so I was able to finish one, make a quick one and start a new one. It is nice to relax a bit and just enjoy the season and make a few new things for fun.

I finished the pillows, a pattern from All Through the Night. I love the preprinted fabric, but find it a pain to sew on. But, it is still worth it, love how the prints look, behind the stitchery and wool. I realize that they are not all the same size, guess I should have trimmed by measuring from the cutting line.

The snowman was a free pattern and I changed it a bit. He looks good sitting by the box and just the right height to be seen. The original was actually a floor size, but I like the smaller version. I also found the Christmas box at at the craft store and like how it looks with the pillows. The dividers make it hard to display them nicely, I may take them out for next year.

I also started something new. I still had leftover gift money on etsy and finally used it. I love Michelle Palmer's designs, she is the one who offered the free fox. I fell in love with this design when I saw it and it is so fun to punch. It is large, 11" x 8.5, so I am not sure if I will finish by Christmas, but I am taking my time and enjoying the process and later if things need fixing, I can change them. Not sure on some of the shading and detail on areas that need more definition, but I can wait to see how it looks, all together.

And here is what I have done so far, using what colors I have and added some height to the cuffs and areas around the hat. I am thinking this would be fun to mount on a peg board, that I can use to hang stockings from, for next year.

I finished decorating but seem to see things, I just have to have. Last week it was another church, a prim tree and a snowman piece, I really need to stay out of stores, lol. It is just too fun to decorate for when the boys come over, Alex is at the age where everything is magical.

Here is a little of what I have around the house.

I also like lights and a bit of glitter. The house is on top of the kitchen cabinet and the creches are on my other shelves. Please ignore the beehive cookie cutter, I forgot I put it there, it goes in the craft room. I have an idea for it, with needle felting, another project for next year.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a week filled with joy and peace.

Weekend shopping!

This weekend was cold and windy, so no walking on the beach or hiking on hills, and we need to get ready for Thanksgiving, so we went shopping.

The problem is, I never found anything that I was looking for but I did find a few new things for Christmas, lol. On Saturday we went to the shop to drop off our tapes, which was housed in an old mill. If you are ever in the Mystic, Stonington area, it is worth a visit.

It is called the Velvet Mill and hours various businesses, including crafts and antiques, as well as, a brewery that has kegs for tables. On Saturdays in the winter, they have an indoor flea market with various food vendors and crafts. A great place to spend a few hours on those cold days.

I didn't find anything interesting, but I knew there was a thrift store in the area, so of course we stopped there and I found a few things to decorate with. The nice thing about thrifts is I can buy things for a couple of dollars and not feel bad when I get sick of looking at them.

Here are the items I found, 2.00 dollars for each item. The ornament has a little girl in a bed with a kitty, I couldn't resist that. The small creche is perfect to add to my collection and I can add some items to it. The tree is a two piece wooden tree, not sure if I should leave as is or prim it up. I do like the fun look and maybe decorate around it, to have something the kids would like.

On the way home we stopped at the antique store, I needed some more lavender. They have a section with new items and lots of booths, so of course we had to walk around to see what was new. I didn't see anything else that I wanted or needed, but I thought these mini cast iron stoves were nice, I know someone who collects them, but too pricey for me.

On Sunday we went to the Bees Buzz, another antique barn with booths that has new and old items. I was thrilled to see a new vendor who had roving, and wonderful curly locks that I can use for sheep or beards. They look yellowed in the photo.

Another vendor sells handmade pottery and I love the coloring, but there is never anything I can use. This time I spotted a toothbrush holder and it is something I need and beautiful blue/brown hues to match my bathroom colors.

Next weekend is a large craft fair at Sturbridge Village and I thinking about going, but they charge to get in. I do not understand that, I am going to buy things, so why do I have to pay to shop? I can go to a prim store or the vendors and buy from them without an extra fee, money I would use to buy something, so I am not sure if it is worth it? One of the vendors will be Sassafras Hill Primitives, her booth looks wonderful.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are hosting the family and friends and I am sitting here wondering how I am going to get this house clean and cook food in three days, ugh. I work well under pressure and good at hiding dirt if I have to, lol. May you all be blessed with friends and family or a nice quiet day enjoying some stitching.

Monday Finishes and Weekend Fun!

I wanted to make more pillows and something a bit quicker, so I made printable fabric pillows. I found some free graphics on the internet and printed them out with the printer fabric. I use the June Tailor, washable and colorfast. I heat set them, then rinse in cool water and heat set them again. Not really sure if they are waterproof or washable and I do notice they tend to run with the red ink. After I rinse them, I blot them with a paper towel and that keeps the reds from running too much.

I made the mistake of using a higher resolution on the small pillows, that is why they are smaller. I forgot to change the size to compensate for the resolution. The wagon pillows are done at the lower resolution so they came out the right size. I like the smaller pillows too, they could also work as tree ornaments and if you don't have a real tree, the scent of pine would be nice on the tree.

The thing I don't like is, the fabric is stiff so I had to cut an opening in the back to fill them, that is a pain in the neck. With balsam, it is easier to pour it into the bottom, then sew them closed. I also have to stitch them up and cover the ugly opening I made, so an extra step. It is a nice way to make fun pillows though, and there are lots of free graphics on the internet.

I had Nicholas this weekend so I gave him his new creche to play with. He loves to play with the figures and the start lights and plays Away in a manger, so we heard that a lot, throughout the day.

Sunday he decide he did not want Mommy to leave, so it took me awhile to calm him down, but once he did, he was fine. I decided he needed a table so he had a place to play and a place to eat. He loved the table and played on it all day and loved eating like a big boy.

I guess I will not be online till after Thanksgiving. The kids are coming to our house, after all, so I will be busy cleaning and planning the meal, I have two more days, ugh. I always work better under pressure;) I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with family and good food.

This is an old photo from a Thanksgiving at Waterville Valley in NH. They had santa come in on a dog sled and fireworks at night. The holidays will be hard, but I will treasure the memories.

Must be Monday!

It seems I do so much to get ready for a vacation that it takes all week to relax and then it is time to come home and clean up after the vacation, now I need another one;)

One thing that is fun on a vacation is shopping and buying some goodies to bring home. I spent more time outside and enjoying nature but we did hit a few stores along the way.

In Jackson, we found Flossie's General Store. They had a lot of different gifts and local items. I got some Christmas items, a miniature handmade creche and angel chimes that move with a candle flame. I also found more balsam, so I will be making lots of pillows this year. In Center Harbor I stopped at Keepsake Quilting and bought a little wool pillow kit and next door they had yarn and roving, white to dye myself and the beautiful dyed roving will go into some art projects.

On the way home we stopped at Calefs in Barrington NH, which has food related items and Bill got a sandwich and some goodies for my son. Next door is Elfmade and Company, primitive heaven, candles and scents and I was in heaven. I had to smell all the different scents, they have them in bowl fillers and the matching sprays are available so you can use that when the scent dissipates. I got lemon merringue and it smells so good, as well as coconut crunch, I love candy smells. A few small items for gifts and some scented items for my son, he loves their candles. I also got a large primitive pump bottle for the kitchen, now I have something nice to keep my dish soap in.

Across the street was a store that was like an over stock store. Lots of Carhartt clothing and miscellaneous items. I found primitive picks at a fraction of the cost and some fun potholders, great place to find some bargains. This is a great place to stop if you are in the area, a lot of fun gifts in one place.

I will use the blue picks in the basket, in the beach room.

I decided I wanted to put some of the scented filler in the beach room, but I didn't have something to hold it in. After church we went down to a gift store that sells a lot of beach items and I almost gave up, when I spotted this shell shaped pottery dish, hidden behind some other items. It is the perfect blue green shade for the room.

And a few more photos from our trip. This was a stop along the Kancamagus, a historical homestead with a walk through the woods to a pond and you can visit the home and grounds, as well. This was such a peaceful place, I would love to live here.

And for those of you who have never gone over a covered bridge, this is what they look like in the inside. If  you ever travel along the Kancamagus, you must stop at the ranger station and pick up a map. It is only two dollars and it shows all of the scenic points and trails along the way.

Friday Freebies!

I usually have a giveaway for my birthday, but this year the time got away from me. I also like to give everyone a gift, so I worked on a design this week.  These are for you, to use anyway that you would like, as gifts or for sale and you can change things if  you like.

I made up three different designs, the first can be done as a punch needle or stitchery.

This one is a star. I was thinking it might be fun to appliqué it with wool, onto a large stuffed star and sit it on a shelf. Or you could do it in punch, appliqué or stitchery and attach that to a large stuffed star.

And the last one is in the shape of a tree. Another piece that can be done in appliqué, stitchery or punched, either on a stuffed tree shape or onto a tree shape if you are punching it. I left the star on top as an idea, for me, I would add a rusty star to the top of the tree. You can use a star button or make a star with wool.

These designs were just done up, so I haven't had time to try some myself, so hopefully I can make some this week. There is no set size, I made them so they fill the paper, when printed out.

Today I had a nice day, relaxing and some fun shopping. One of the things I found today was an old washboard. I loved that it said Yankee on it, and on the other side, it has clearer writing for the company name. The only bad thing is I notice how musty it is. Would love ideas on how to get rid of the musty smell so I can hang it in the house. I know a lot of you buy antique pieces and would love to be able to enjoy them without the mustiness making me sick.

The board is a lot darker in person, the flash lightened it up.