Friday Finish!

 

This week Kelley Belfast offered a free pattern to show support for Ukraine. She is a cat lover and a lot of her patterns have cats and this one is a wonderful primitive piece with the kitties and the sunflowers for Ukraine. I pushed it a bit with my. bad arm, but once I get going, I cannot stop till I finish, with punch needle. It is a fun piece to punch and a great way to remember those in Ukraine as we send our prayers to them.

I was also able to see my first Snowy Owl. She is living at the old base and I found her resting in the airport. It won't be long before she heads back to the Arctic.

Another day we spent some time at the beach and I found a few new treasures. Finding a marble is always a bonus.

And at home, the birds are becoming more active. This cardinal lives in my yard, he is very territorial so no other cardinals are allowed in my yard, just his wife and their kids, which was a thrill to see this year.

I hope you all had a wonderful week.

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.

Tuesday Finishes!

This week I had planned on showing you fun photos, at the beach, with Nick, but that didn't happen. I have learned that if I go up and tell him we are going to the beach, he is eager to go. But, his parents decided they were going out so they could drop him off, and of course, the minute they stop at our house, he goes into his crying routine and saying he didn't want to go. Not really sure what that is about, since we always have fun and last time, he actually wanted to stay longer, so instead, I spent the weekend at home.

Luckily it was the first of the month on Sunday, so a new stitchery to enjoy. I love getting out, but with this heat and the crowds, it is just too much.

The design is from Kathy Schmitz's, One Stitch Club and I thought it was perfect for a set of sachets and a nice gift idea. They are 5" x 6" and I stuff them lightly, then add some lavender and finish off with a little more stuffing.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday tomorrow. We are going to my SIL's. I like my SIL and her husbands family is nice, but I have no desire to cook and bring my own food, so I will wait till I get home to eat. They are on the island, so I will be able to go swimming and paddling if I want. Bean is coming, I know the neighbors will be shooting off fireworks and I am afraid to leave him alone too long. I know Bean will love that, he has gone before and loves all the attention and beach time.

Friday Finish!

My finish today was supposed to be my stocking quilt. I need to put sashings on the new ones and then put them together. That way I can see how large it is and if I need more, I think I will just keep it as a large lap quilt.

But, my shoulder went out and I have a bit of a flu bug, so I decided to work on a punch needle. I enjoy doing punch since there is little work to put one together and I have all my floss in boxes so I can sit and relax, without having to look for things.

This design is from Tonya of Mad Hen Primitives, in the Spring 2016 issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects. It is a rug hooking pattern so I scanned in the finished photo and drew from design from that. I added the words for fun, something happy to work on.

I was doing well until my needle broke, the little plastic sides that hold it in the holder. So, I found another and was working but then the holder broke. Luckily I have two, so I used the other, but with the bad needle, I realized after that the punching is a different height, but it still looks ok. I had Bill order me a new one with prime so it comes in tomorrow. I do miss punching and designing, so maybe while I am camping I can come up with some new designs.

We plan on camping next weekend, today it was snowing again, lol. But, the weather looks nice on Saturday and Monday, and maybe rain on Sunday, so I am hoping it stays away. Hopefully I can get my quilt together this weekend so I can hand quilt it at camp.

The pillow is 5 1/2" x 5" and finished off with a piece of rug yarn. I bunch it up, as I sew it on to get the bumpy edge.

Friday Finishes!

I received my issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects and I loved the hooked rug by Mad Hen Primitives. I decided to try it with punch needle so I reduced the design to make a pillow. I was trying to keep it toned down and similar colors, not sure if I really like how it came out, but not too bad.

My arm has been bothering me more this week, so I don't have the control I would like and it tends to make me stiffen up, so my punching gets tighter, as you can see by the various blobs of hoops that got smashed into it;)

I used two pieces of rug yarn and twisted them as I whip stitched it on. I also gave it a light coat of antique stain. It is a 6" pillow and I think it does look better in person than in a photo.

I also have plans to get out this weekend, warm weather and the leaves are turning, so we are heading up towards Massachusetts and hopefully hit the foliage. I wanted to have some rocks to hide as we travel, so I whipped up a quick batch. I do think the ghosts are fun and they are easy to make, maybe I should see if I can find some more of those shapes and make some for next weekend.

I did try a new pen, it is the same brand but it was a brush tip. I found it hard to see where I was going and it doesn't dry like the thin pen, so I couldn't clean around it without smudging it. I do like it though, for rocks it would be nice to color them in but they are not cheap, so I will stick with paint.

If you are interested in making your own rocks or other items to hide, for others to find, you can join my group on Facebook, DSmiles4miles.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, I plan on enjoying the nice weather.

Friday Finish!

I received a copy of Kelley Belfast's new booklet and as always, I love her designs. Of course I had to make one. I did change it up a bit, the kitty is in the middle instead of the end so it would fit the size I wanted. This is an eyeglass case, there is a pair inside.

The beauty of making them this way is, I add a lining on the punched piece, then I attach a wool backing with blanket stitch to that and it makes a nice cushy case. It is also nice for cell phones or pocket cameras.

If you are interested in visiting Kelley's blog, you can find her at With Hook and Needle. If you are interested in her booklet, you can email her and she is also offering the designs on linen, through Saundra at Woodland Junction.

I realized I need more background colors, so I used what I had, I think it is a bit dark and too green, but a little walnut ink, helped with that.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I am hoping to get out, but might be a rainy morning tomorrow.

Friday Foible!

I have been doing the blocks for Words of Wisdom by Suzy's Sitcom. They are fun to do and I made mine smaller, which I wish I had made slightly larger. Since I made so many, I am just keeping them small, and hoping with some sashing, it will make a nice lap quilt size.

I finished the latest one and took a photo. That is when I noticed the difference in color, duh. I used dark red on this one and the others are a brighter red. So, maybe I will have to do another one, or maybe I will keep the darker one in, maybe make another one or two in dark so I can mix them up, what do you think?

Here are the blocks, all together. I will have to go through my stash and find a red print to go with them. The newest block looks darker than it actually is, I haven't washed out the blue marker yet and the flash focused on the others.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. The boys are finally getting their birthday party tomorrow, so we will be celebrating that and Sunday, hoping to get out for some paddling.

Monday makings!

This week I got a surprise from a friend, a box of goodies and lots of patterns to work on. I was in the mood to make something new and the punch needle patterns were just what I needed. I made up two and finished this one today.

I plan on leaving it flat and attaching it to a wood board with nail pegs, to hang the keys on, at the front door area. It is a pattern by Primitive Spirits. I was lazy and took phone photos, so not the best, but I will take a better one when I finish it off.

With the holiday weekend, we didn't get out, way too many people headed to the beach and way too many accidents. It was a good weekend to get our backsplash in. I didn't want to do anything too permanent since we plan on adding an island in the future and also nicer counter tops, for now we just got stock counters which Bill was able to put in himself. The backsplash is fake tin, and easy to put it. They come in large squares so fit our area perfectly and the ones we had to size, cut with a razor knife and we put them on with heavy, double backed rug tape. So much better than the ugly walls and when we are  ready to redo the kitchen, easy to pull off.

I went with tin, the copper was darker and a bit busy, and our kitchen is small, so this was lighter. I hope you all have a wonderful fourth of July. Our neighbors are shooting off fireworks and poor Bean is hiding under the table.

Friday Finish!

Not a lot done this week, mostly resting or more like, saving my energy to do what cleaning and cooking I can, so not as much crafting. I have been reading tutorials on watercolor pencils, I would like to express my creative side in paints and work on new designs that way. And of course, dreaming of warmer weather.

I finished another stitchery from Suzy's Sitcom, called Words To Live By. It is a fun stitchery to do, and lots of stitching, but mine is reduced in size, so it takes me longer to make smaller stitches and not mess up too much;) I am also using 3 strands of floss to make the design show better and be stronger in a quilt.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, we have one partially nice day, so hopefully I can get out for a short walk before the rains come.

I took a phone photo, so not the best quality shot.

Friday Finishes!

This week I made a new piece and made another bunny. The new one is an idea I got from an old postcard. I wanted to try something more 3D, so I used varying heights to have the bunny coming out of the egg.

It is hard to see in a photo, but you can get an idea that there is depth and in person, the bunny is hooked much higher so he sticks out of the egg. I made a few mistakes, and things I would do differently. Right now my arm is killing me and to add to that, I slipped on the snow when I was kicking Bean's ball and slipped, resulting in a slam to the back. So, I am resting for tonight and will see how I feel tomorrow, I don't think I can take one more injury, I am sore enough, lol.

If I feel better, I may do another bunny egg. Not sure if people would be interested in a pattern for this one, but I thought it was a good way to learn about doing depth in a piece.

I also made a larger bunny, they are so fun to make, wish I could make a lot more. I realized I need to rest my arm more or it will never heal, but it is so hard to just sit still;) This one is my favorite, I will keep him for me. I added a bow tie and wood buttons from an old jacket. Flower button are also a fun way to embellish him.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Looks like more snow coming our way, so no long outings this weekend.

Friday Finish!

This week I decided to make a new project to keep me busy while I rested. I have been taking double doses of D3 and I would say that it works much better than any other medicine. My symptoms are bearable and it is boosting up my immune system so I am fighting off the bug, so hopefully I will be able to get out and enjoy another weekend.

While I rested I made a new punch needle, the design is by Lori of Notforgotten Farm and was offered as a freebie to the Facebook groups.

I love the saying and it is a fun design to do, though mine came out a bit wonky. I also think I need to replace my needles, I have been using them for years and I think it is showing in my work.

I also received a box of patterns from a friend, so I am working on another punched piece of an easter design. Our weather has been weird, sunny, then raining, then cold, then hot and yesterday an ominous cloud came rolling over and the next thing I knew it was hailing. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

I took a quick photo to try out my new lens. Yes, I took back the last one and got a new one, lol. This one is 24mm-70mm and better than the one that came with the camera, but not the best one. The best also has a higher price and weight, so this one is just right for me.

Still working on it!

I started my new punch needle and this one is much better with the detail and rocks. I also made it a bit smaller. This is the kind of piece that I think would look wonderful in Valdani threads, since they have a nice variety of shades.

Bill has to work again so I will be working on finishing this piece and getting the pattern ready. I also have ones I have done and need to be finished and made into patterns, one is for fall, so that will be next.

It is so hard to get true colors and this is a piece that looks better in person. The seagulls look large, but that is how punch looks before it is all filled in.

Here are the two together, you can see the difference in size. I still have to do the upper sky and border. I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

The photos are more wonky since they are laying on a curved couch.

Weekend Fun and Sneak Peak!

This weekend Bill had to work on day but we were able to get out Sunday and enjoy some time at the beach. We went later in the day since it is usually too crowded on Sundays and it worked since they had people leaving as we came in and spots were opening up.

This beach is called Charlestown Breachway. The area is popular with fishermen and has a state camping area which is more like a giant parking lot, filled with trailers. It might be nice off season but being on top of each other, is a bit much for me. They reserve one section for parking and we were able to get one right at the entrance to the dunes.

It was a bit crowded but near the breachway there were more open spaces, so that looked good to me. You can see where the people have set up and it continues with people packed together further down the beach.

To the right is the breachway, less people on this side.

And I realized why this section wasn't crowded, the waves are much higher and stronger. With the tide coming in, the waves were crashing down and it made it hard to get in and out.

And this is why they crash down, you can see the drop off. I finally got in when their was a lull in the big waves, I hit a nice large rolling set but it took a lot of back paddling with my hands to hold my ground and not getting pulled out.

I took a walk to the breakers, I love watching the force of the water as it comes in. It is not something I would paddle in. To the right is the area where we come in with the kayaks, there is a calm inlet that we can land at. The beach on the other side is East Beach, we swam there a few weeks ago.

It was fun to try a new beach, but I think this one was a bit rough for me and made it hard to relax and swim in the water. But it was fun too, maybe I will try it at low tide.

This week I started a new punch needle design. It is something I have had in my head and decided to draw out the design and now I am working on that. Hopefully it will be done friday, I am taking my time and making sure I like how it is coming out, one that I change if I don't like a choice, but I am also using dmc so my colors are limited to what I have in my mind. I like to do my designs with floss that anyone can get, so hopefully it will come out nicely.

Can you guess what I am working on? It has a few elements in it, here is a sneak peak at a part of it.

Friday Finish!

I finally finished my new punch needle piece, but I finished it with sore joints and fuzzy brain, so I messed up a bit on my piece. I had an idea for a border and added the braided look, after I punched the piece, so it is a bit off. The actual pattern will have it drawn on paper so it will be done right for the pattern;)

On top of that, I tried to unscrew a top that did not want to open and bruised my old injured fingers, so no drawing for me right now, the pattern will be done next week. I tried to write today and it was basically scribble, so not enough control to redraw patterns.

Of course the flash, brightened up the colors, even though I antiqued it with walnut stain. I was trying the fake lilacs to get the camera to see the colors better and it did help. The finished pillow is 7 1/2" x 6 1/2".

Hopefully I can get back to normal after this weekend, time to cut off the meds, they mess me up more than the lyme, it seems.

Today I posted a photo of Danielle and thought I would share it with you and the poem that I found. This is her great grandmother at Easter. Kids tend to shy away from the elderly and Billy would keep busy elsewhere, but Danielle always sat and gave her grandmother lots of love. She had a good heart and truly cared about other's feelings.

Turn Again To Life

If I should die and leave you here a while, 

be not like others sore undone, 

who keep long vigil by the silent dust. 

For my sake turn again to life and smile, 

nerving thy heart and trembling hand to do 

something to comfort other hearts than thine.

Complete these dear unfinished tasks of mine 

and I perchance may therein comfort you.

Mary Lee Hall

With her birthday coming up, I wanted to give a gift in honor of her kind spirit. A friend of mine is doing a walk and a raffle to help raise money for MS, in support of her daughter in law. She is offering a beautiful log cabin quilt for the raffle and each 20.00 gets you one entry into the drawing. I think it is a wonderful thing that she is doing and if you are interested in contributing to her team and getting a chance to win the quilt you can visit Team Triple Threat. The walk is on the 16th, Dani's birthday, so it makes it even more special for me. The quilt is no listed on the website, but she is taking all the names from the donations and entering them into the raffle.

Monday Finish!

This year I plan on doing a Christmas piece when I get a chance and it is a great project to do in between projects or when I want to just relax and work on something while I watch movies on the weekend.

I received Kathy Schmitz's newsletter and she had a free Christmas pattern and it was the perfect project to do over the weekend. I love Kathy's patterns and she does offer more free patterns on her website.

I decided to make the stitchery into a pillow and add the word snow and snowflakes in the corners. This design was really fun to do and you could also do it in different mediums, so her patterns are great no matter what craft you do.

The pillow is 10" x 8" and I used walnut stain, once it was finished.
I hope everyone had a nice weekend and enjoying doing some winter crafting.

Friday Finishes!

I am slowly getting back into creating again, sitting and relaxing is just not in my nature. Relaxing to me is working on projects while I watch tv and with the cold weather, I will be doing more of that for a few more months.

I wanted to try a punched kitty, like the ones I did with cross stitch. I used one of my cats for this piece to see how it worked. I am not thrilled with how it came out. I used 6 strands on all of it and a higher height for the designs and face and It came out too sloppy looking and the design is too big for the area. So, I will make some new ones with new ideas and designs that I thought of, while I made this one.

I was thinking of making a pair and they could be used as Christmas ornaments or stand alone. If you have any ideas of what  you would like to see, in new patterns, let me know and I will see what I can create. If I use your idea in a pattern, you will receive the pattern for free!

I am also fighting off lyme symptoms again, so my joints and nerves ache, which makes it harder to do nice work, but I will still create. And my brain is on hold most of the time and I just noticed, I forgot to add his bell in the front, duh. I think for the next kitty I will make a collar to go around his neck.

I also finished another block from the garden stitchery. Only one more to go and then I can decide on borders and how it will go together. It takes me longer to stitch since I mess up a lot and have to take it out to fix stitches that are spaced apart, ones I didn't notice at first;)

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. I am hoping to get out and enjoy a ride to the ocean, even if I have to sit in the car, it is nice to just be at the ocean. We may get a warm up, over 40 is going to feel warm.

Valentine Love Pillow!

I decided to make a special Valentine piece, and found this saying that was perfect to put on a pillow.
I added the saying first, then placed hearts onto it, until I got a look I liked. I just used raw edge and stitched them on, keeping it prim and easy to do. Another project that was fun to do and using up more scraps from my basket. The pillow is 7" x 9".

I thought it would be a fun way to give my husband a Valentine, instead of a card.

Have you seen Buttermilk Basin's new BOM? I love the first block and it is another one, I will do. I still need to put sashing on the blocks I made, so I guess I better get busy with quilting this year.

I over sharpened it, so it might look a bit harsh.

Friday Finishes!

This week I have been busy finishing up some pillows and I just had to punch something;) I still have balsam and I was thinking of making some little stockings that I could fill with balsam and hang, so my  house smells like fresh pine.

One thing I love about making stockings is it is a great way to use up the floss nest in the scrap box. I just grab pieces and use what I grab, so it gives it a nice scrappy look. I attached a piece of red wool to the back and then a loose weave wool for the cuff. A little bell  and a hanger and you have a fun ornament that can be made with what you have.

The stockings are 6" long and I used walnut stain on them to grunge them up. I love making these and I think it would be fun to make some all year round, to give as gifts for next year.

Since I have another bag of balsam, I need to use it up since I only use fresh balsam. I bought some material with a fun print and tried some mini pillows to see how they look. These will go to relatives and friends who like brighter colors and I will make extras to hand out, to people I meet and need a smile. I might add a jingle bell to the center. I tried my rusty ones and it looks nice, but I will get some red ones to keep with the brighter colors and not everyone likes rusty bells;)

Looking for something free and something you can color, use for stitcheries or pattern ideas? Check out this ebpage for a Free 98 Page Coloring Book. There are lots of beautiful designs by artists that have shared their artwork for the coloring book.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. We have a nice day for tomorrow and I am hoping we can do one of our drives and see what new places we can find.

Friday Finishes!

I am still making pillows and it is fun to do new designs and with all of the blog hops this month, there were plenty to chose from.

The snowman design is by Kathi, from Heart to Hand. Kathi didn't have a blog so you had to email her for the pattern and it is wonderful and fun to make. You can now download the pattern, on her website. I only did one snowflake on mine since I wanted to keep the pillow size down. I used stuffing and balsam in this one.

Another design I have made before is the Christmas Angel by Pieces from my Heart. I reduced the design to fit on a little pillow. Balsam and stuffing in this pillow, as well.

I am working on the Christmas Hop piece so that will be finished this weekend, but you have to wait until December to see the reveal;) If you are looking for some free designs to do your own stitchery pillows, I found a french site that offers a lot of Christmas designs, some I have never seen before. Check them out at Cathy Creatif's.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I will be spending the day with Nicholas, so I am planning a fun party day with a special dinner and I even got him a present, a fisher price nativity set. He loves playing with my figurines so I thought this would be a fun gift for him and hopefully Bean won't try to eat it.

Friday Finish!

Well, I would call it another un-finish, but I got the stitchery done, so all I need to do if make it into a mini quilt. I thought it was a fun designs and a fun idea for gifting to quilting friends. I am not sure if the design is free, but the person offers the design on their site, so I assumed it was free?  Now I am not so sure, since some have other designer's names on them, this has her name only. There is so much  on flickr sites and I know a lot of it is scanned from books, so hard to tell what is free anymore.

It seems the months are flying by and before we know it, it will be December and time for The 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop. I will be doing a post on day 4 and today I have my pieces all cut out and ready to do this weekend. Don't forget to mark your calendars, patterns and recipes for the holidays!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I will be stitching and keeping Nick occupied, and on Sunday there will be a special memorial mass at church and our son will do the honor of carrying his sister's candle, to be lit.