Friday finish and starts!

 

This week seemed to go by too quickly and as usual, I didn't get as much done. More time spent getting ready for Easter and getting out on nice days.

I did put a new piece together, I have had it for years and decided it was time to make it. I have most of the pieces cut out, so I could make sure I got the layout right. The design is by Crane Design, called Lighthouse Landing.

I also painted some new rocks. I enjoy doing happy pieces that make me smile and hopefully, will make others smile when they find them.

Last weekend we took a drive to Connecticut. A few nice walks at a few parks.

One park still has the old farm buildings left.

And lots of birds at the parks, but as usual, they hid or flew away when I got the camera out. I found an owl in a tree, he stayed still.

During the week we spent time at the beach, in the afternoon. The tide was always coming in, but I still found some nice treasures and got nice walks in.

Today we got out for last minute shopping and spent the rest of the day, at the beach. This is a Long Beach, so we got a nice walk in and found some nice treasures, which are in the 4th glass photo. We walked as far as we could go, which ended at a rocky barrier. Next time we will have to find a place to park and walk all the way to the lighthouse area.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend and a Blessed Easter Day. 

Weekly Wanderings!

 

As usual the week went by and I still have a million things that didn't get done. Most of the week was spent, repacking the RV and getting things done around the house. We did get to spend time outside, which is always my favorite thing to do.

A day with the boys is always the best. We took them to a park that has a bike path, so Nick and I got to enjoy riding together, he loved it.

There is also a playground, so Alex got to have fun with Grandpa and Nick joined in after our ride. Anpd then we stopped at the ocean for some fun in the sand.

My favorite thing was playing with Alex in the waves, every time a wave washed over him, he would jump up and down and laughing. It is such a joy to see him having so much fun.

And we spend time at the ocean, beach combing. While there I enjoyed watching the Common Terns, while they dove for fish. They are amazing aerial acrobats.

And a lot of life in the inner marsh.

I also did a bit of shopping. I found the perfect lantern to hold glass and with a set of tea lights, I now have a night light for my bathroom.

If you are looking to do a little decorating inside or out, the craft stores have some really great sales, right now. I was able to get two new bird houses, for only 10.00, a piece.

I also love backyard birding. I have not seen any Cedar Waxwings this year, but I finally found them. They are hiding in the back area with other friends, enjoying the Mulberry trees.

And we seem to have a lot of Robins this year, my yard is covered in them, especially after a rain. You can see the different colorings on these Robins, the young ones haven't gotten all their color yet.

And a new visitor this week, my first sighting of an Orchard Oriole. I hope he comes back to visit again and I can get a better shot. I hope everyone had a wonderful week. I may do an extra posting next week since we will be on vacation and of course I will be taking lots of photos.

Friday Finishes!

This week I made up some more pillows for lavender. I love doing the simple designs and they make me smile. It seems easier to do simple, small projects with the heat we have been having. The designs are free and can be found on the Facebook group, Primitive Folk Art Quilts and Projects.

I also made up more masks, these will be the last of the camping types. I found the fabrics for the at Walmart and they are not as thick as my good cottons, so I added a third pocket layer. This adds enough to wear as is, or the person can add a filter for added protection. After this I need to find some fun fabric for the boys, in case they go back to school and I would like to make extras for kids who cannot afford nice ones.

And I was able to spend some time with the boys this week. While mom and dad went out, we all enjoyed some time playing outside and keeping cool. Bean loves it when the boys come, I think he gets more excited than them.

Tomorrow we go camping for the weekend, and as usual my body decided to crash. I cooked our meal for the weekend, and most things are packed and ready to go, so I plan on just relaxing and enjoying our site on the water. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and stay safe.

Friday Finishes!

Finishes or should I call them  foibles? This has not been my week, on meds so my brain is scattered and my arm is no cooperating so I do not have a steady hand, but even so, I love to create, even if I mess it up.

This month's stitchery from Kathy Schmitz was a bird bath and I thought it would make a nice pillow to go with my bird house. I guess I made it a bit large, it is larger than the birdhouse, so it will go in another space.

I used fabric from her line, which goes beautifully with her designs. I did not have much left, so I had to sew some pieces together and it is a bit crooked. The stuffing is way too puffy, I got it by mistake and using it, but I think I will have to get more of the softer kind.

The finished piece is 7" x 11".

Another thing I want to try was rock painting. Our area has been painting rocks and leaving them hidden around the towns, for others to find. I thought it would be fun to try some and hide some myself. I used designs I found online, nothing fancy, wanted them to be fun for kids, who seem to be the ones finding them. With my arm and fuzzy eyes, my painting is horrid and I think I tried to make too much design in a small space. But, it was fun anyways and hopefully the people who find them, will like them. I guess I need to get more paint colors, I tend to have a more prim palette.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Maybe you can find some rocks and paint some yourself.

Weekend Wanderings!

This weekend was beautiful and I finally got out of the house more. Saturday was another party for Nick, the last one was just a few of us and this was his big party with family and friends. It was nice to be with people and spend time with my sweet grandson.

How can you not smile with that sweet face.

Sunday was church, which always helps me to get back on track and fills me with the inner calm to get me through the next week. They also had a fair and we got to enjoy watching the choir sing a few traditional songs. They had a raffle and I donated a basket filled with quilting goodies. I have won so many things over the years and have so many things that I thought It was a good way to share and help the church out.

I bought wrap and ribbon for the basket, but had no idea how to get it on right, so I gave it to the ladies and let them wrap it up. On the bottom is lots of fabrics from my winnings and collections that I didn't use, so all new yardage.

Then we went to the lighthouse. It was a humid day so that is the perfect place to go for a walk and enjoy the cooler breezes. There were breezes but it was still humid.

Bean and I enjoying the views.

Bill enjoying the views, Bean is people watching. 

Today was raining. I called the rental cottages and they do take credit, so I paid for the cottage and sent in the form by priority mail, so I guess we are heading up to Maine on Saturday. Today I started organizing lists for what to bring and getting some things out to clean and get ready. Bill bought Bean a new friend to play with, they are both tuckered out from all the rough housing;)

Working on Giveaway!

This week I started a new punch needle design, adapted from an antique rug. I am keeping it simple and somewhat true to the original for basic colors.

Since I will have a new pattern, hopefully by Friday, I will have a giveaway of one of my epatterns. It can be the new one or any of the epatterns on my ecrater site. I will pick a name on Friday and announce the winner on that posting.

Can you guess what might be in the design?

Today was cleaning day and my bed. The kitties like to sleep on my bed and after a week, I get tired of inhaling cat hairs. I shut the door so they can't get it dirty before i got to sleep and Moki found another favorite place to sleep. My kitty dolls make great pillows.

Then he decided to sleep on the dog's blanket. Bean let him enjoy it for awhile but it didn't take long for him to get up and give Moki, the please play with me look. Bean still doesn't understand that kitties do not throw balls. Though mine do steal his and roll them down to the cellar.

New Pattern and Giveaway Winner!

I hope everyone has had a productive week and a nice weekend ahead. We are getting rain, I am not happy with that;) I am tempted to head west into Connecticut, the weatherman said the rain will be mostly coastal, so maybe we can find a new place to explore, out of the rain.

I finished my new pattern and love how it came out. I wanted to keep it simple but with a few added touches. It all started with an antique duck rug, that I saw, then I started doodling and I still have a duck, but I went with a fall theme and didn't keep any of the original designs.

I used Dmc floss in this piece and I explain how to get the variations in the pattern instructions. I like to keep my pieces easy enough for anyone to do without having to buy specialized threads and create patterns that look nice in different mediums.

I went with a pillow and it is 6 1/2 x 4 1/2". I aged it with walnut stain and bordered it with two twisted pieces of wool yarn. I had bought a bunch of vintage sears rug yarn and over dyed it, so some still has it's orange hue and works well with fall pieces.

I love seeing all of the comments and your answers to my question. I didn't realize it, but it does look like he is holding a camera, lol. If you look closely, you will see that the shores are lined with blueberry bushes and Bill was stuffing his mouth with fresh blueberries.

The winner of the giveaway is Lauren of Rugs and Pugs!
Lauren send me an e-mail and let me know if you would like the new pattern of another of my epatterns, your choice.

You can purchase my new pattern with the link to the left or on my ecrater site. I have also reduced the price of all of my older patterns and booklets. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!