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.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I wanted to try something new. I had seen a quilted ghost and thought it would be fun to try one. First I sewed 41/2" blocks together. 

Then  I used a coloring page ghost and printed it out on printer paper, so it was a bit small. Then I put it on freezer paper and traced around that and retraced again to make it larger. Then I put the freezer paper cut out onto the back of the fabric. Added a backing and batting, right sides together with the batting on the back of the back piece. I left the freezer paper on and sewing outside the cutout and just went about it to add a little extra sizing and curves. I cut off the excess after sewing. I left an opening on the side, then turned it back to the front sides. I sewed along the outer edge with a machine, closing the opening.

I hand quilted it with floss and added eyes and a mouth. A fun project that you can do in a day and a great way to use up scrap fabrics. I use rug tape on the back and stuck it to a wall.  

Last week we went for a bike ride on a paved path. We tried a new route that went through a lot of woods, so it was nice and cool. It was shorter and with an electric bike, I had enough energy to go a little more in the opposite direction. We went by a pond and took a break there.

I spied a Blue Heron in one of the coves.

Another day we did a couple of walks at the park by the ocean. 

I spotted an Egret, trying to catch fish, but ended up with weeds.

And a Green Heron in the pond.

Today we went to the island. Bean hasn't been out with us as much, so we thought he needed a fun day. We took a walk around the lighthouse area, where he got to meet new people and pet by the kids.

After we took him to the beach, so he got to walk in the water, while I looked for glass. The tide was high so not much to find. 

I hope you all enjoyed your week and are enjoying the nice fall weather.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I realized that my hoop idea wasn't going to work. The large hoop would go tight, so I had to come up with another idea. I looked online for ideas and found this one by The Old Tattered Flag. I have a larger frame, so I used the idea and on the part that I had punched, I laid a piece of batting on the frame, to keep the teeth from digging in. I was able to stretch the rest of the fabric on the teeth to hold it tight for punching. It will take me longer, but it works much better now and I will have more even loops.

Since I like to have something simple to work on at night, I made up a couple of stitcheries. These are from a larger design, by Kathy Schmitz,  that I have done and the smaller designs in it, work perfect for lavender sachets. The fabric is something I aged years ago.

This week has been hot and muggy, so not as much time outdoors. Last weekend we went for a ride around the beach areas and even though it was misting, went for a walk along the park path. The paths are dry and the views are always beautiful.

In the last photo you can see the marsh area. In the distance, an Osprey was eating his meal.  We like this area since we can go to several places along the route, to enjoy the views and the birds in the marsh. Lots of egrets this year and always fun to watch.

We tried a day at the beach on the island. The water is freezing, so I had no desire to go swimming. I walked up and down and enjoyed the cooler air. As you can see, we were the only ones left on the beach.

I hope you all had a good week and enjoy your weekend. We have rain tomorrow, so no outdoor fun till Sunday.

Friday working on!

 It seems I haven't had as much time to work on projects lately. I spend more time cleaning and reorganizing and figuring out what to get rid of, I have too much stuff. I work on hand quilting at night. This is an old quilt, I had sitting on the shelf. Now I wish I had used the machine, the quilt was made on an old machine and not the best quality, but I find hand quilting relaxing, so I do that for my more primitive quilts. I am just doing an outline stitch, and working a row at a time, so slow going.

We get out when we can, but with so many storms, the ocean areas are getting slammed with damage. A lot of the beach parking is closed as they clean them up and tonight we have another storm coming. Some areas are still under water and the river areas are just as bad. 

We are able to enjoy some birding in the pond areas, they move further in, in the winter. I was thrilled to spot a Merlin at the cove.

And a few of the birds, we say along the way. I even spotted a seal, but he went under before I could get a shot.

Today we had a nicer day and went to the island. One area was still undergoing clean up, but our favorite beach was a protected area, so we got to enjoy time on the beach without any people.

And I found a few treasures. The dark heart is green glass, I found a few pieces of dark green today. Even a dog tag, which I have an idea for. Hopefully I can get organized and start making some art pieces with my finds.

I hope you all have a nice weekend and the weather calms down, so much destruction in so many areas.

Friday Finish!

This week I have been working on my stitchery, and made some progress, so hopefully I can finish it this week, so I can have it ready to use when I do Christmas after the holiday. I always like to do small projects for fun and try some new things for the holiday.

This is a needle felted project that I did, from an idea I saw on the internet. I used a cookie cutter to make the original shape, then added the features for the Santa. It was fun to make and I have a few other ideas I can use for more star shapes.

 

Last weekend we got out for a ride and stopped at a few places. One place was the Umbrella factory, I wanted to take a photo of the Emu. For some reason, there was only one now and it was enamored with Bill.

We also stopped at the Breakaway. In season it is also a camping area, but now you can camp for free, so maybe if we get a nice weekend, we will try an overnight. The beach is nice and as long as it isn't cold or windy, a great place to be.

And we drove to the next beach and I caught a few birds in the inlets. I still haven't gotten good shots and realized one setting might have caused the problem. I have a touch screen and it was on, so every time I put my face against it to shoot, it messes with the focus, so hopefully I can get some good shots this weekend.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend and a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am doing better, mostly tired out from coughing so much, but today I was able to do a little yard work, so hopefully I can get moving and clean, plan a menu and cook by Thursday. Bill does a lot of the main meal and I do the side dishes, so that helps. 

Friday redo!

 

This has been quite the week. We had reservations for camping this weekend, but I ended up cancelling. We had decided to look at larger trailers and were told that we could get back what we owe on ours, plus get cash back. I decided to cancel the trip so we could get things going on a new trailer. Well, once we picked out what we wanted, they tell us we would get back less money, so it was a waste of time. 

I started a new project, so today I was able to finish cutting out the appliqués and the backing is all ready, so I can start that, this week. I redid an area that had a quilted piece in a frame, so that was my project this week. I added a little border and made it into a mini quilt. This is an old design I had done and have always loved it. 

Another thing I did, was buy a new machine. I got a Pfaff quilt expression 720. I was looking at a pricier one, but this one was on sale and just what I need to get my quilt tops finished. Now I need to list my quilter, so I can get back my space.

At home I have been seeing more occupied nests so the moms are busy feeding and more juveniles coming to my feeder. I saw my first Red Bellied young one, so hopefully it will get used to me and I can get a photo.

We also spent a few afternoons at the beach. The water is much warmer this year, but still cool enough to feel good on a humid day. We have a nice weekend coming up, so hopefully we can find places to enjoy without the crowds. We also have bad water quality from the rains at some ponds and the ocean beaches are littered with debris from the floods on the Connecticut river, that wash down into the ocean. 

I hope everyone has a nice weekend and nice weather. It seems we have all had a year of weather extremes.

Weekend Wanderings!

 

This week we have been busy, getting out and trying a few new places and some old. On Sunday we went to the bike path so I could try a ride. The ride runs along some inlets and end at a beach. It was a nice ride, but I think I need more strength before I do any long rides.

We stopped at another inlet before heading home and I caught a Snowy Egret and a Great Egret, wading for fish.

Yesterday we went to Newport and hiked at the Norman Bird Sanctuary. They have several trails and one took us uphill, along a rocky cliff. Great views and a deer we spotted in the gardens.

Today we went back to the sanctuary and tried a new path. It paralleled the other, but much higher. It came to a high point with a narrow rock, that dropped on both sides. No way was I going across that, so we need the path there. There are a lot of birds there, but most take off, the minute I go to take a shot.

After that, we headed to the next sanctuary. Sachuest Refuge is on a point, surrounded by the ocean. It was a nice walk with cool breezes.

Also a great place for birding. Most are high up or further into the bush, but a few sat still long enough for a shot.

A few more birds and a deer that was hiding in the bush, when I came around a corner. On the way out, we saw a man stop and start feeding this little bird. The bird started following him as he walked away, I wish they would come up to me like that, lol.

And a nice surprise this week. I spotted 3 babies, the House Wren had a good year. My whole yard sounds like a bird nursery, the babies make quite a racket. I hope everyone is having a good week. We have one more good day and then possible storms coming in. I am hoping they hold off till the afternoon so we can get out more. Tomorrow will be a paddle day, so we shall see where the day takes us. 

Friday Finish!

 I hope everyone had a good week and was able to create and enjoy some good weather. I know so many areas are getting hit with tornados and snow still. We have rain and nice days, on and off, so I try to get out when I can and create when I can.

This week I am still working on my needle felting piece. It seems the easier a project, the harder it is for me. I decided to take a break and try some fun eggs to use at Easter. I just made two to try it, so I will make more so everyone has one to place their cup on. It is a fun and fast project and a great way to decorate the table.

Great way to use up scraps. You can find the free pattern here: American Quilting and Patchwork.

Being able to get out, has started to make me feel better. I enjoy being outside and the walking is helping to build up my strength. Last weekend we stopped at a preserve and enjoyed a walk and bird watching. There is also a farm to the side and I love to see the ponies.

We also stopped at the ocean and enjoyed watching the waves and spotted another nesting Osprey.

 

During the weekday, we went to another preserve and walked to the coast, and spotted a couple of seals on the rocks. The tide was higher, so we missed seeing more, since it was later in the day.

Another day we walked along the bike path and into the wooded area, to the bay. We spotted more birds and another Osprey heading back to the nest.

Today we went to the island for some beach combing, not much to find since the tide was coming back in. We did spot more Ospreys, this one was at the park we visit. Also, a couple of gulls sitting on the big rock, in the bay.

Near the park is a farm and another nest was being readied by its occupants. Another Osprey was trying to get into the nest so this one decided to sit it out, while the other two battled it out. I think one was trying to steal the sticks, maybe the one from the first nest. The first nest is usually huge, but the winds blew most of it away, so they have to rebuild.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend and get a chance to get out and explore. With everything that is going on in the world, finding peace in nature, is the best way to unwind and find a balance.