Friday Finishes!

 

This week I was able to finish a little quilt I was working on. I had the striped fabric and some star fabric, so it made the perfect flag to hang on the wall. I added a few patriotic sayings that I like and a couple of wool stars. The little stars are rustic metal and gave it a nice touch.

I wanted to have something to do on my down day, so I made a little felted raccoon. It was a from a kit, so I didn't follow the directions exactly and I messed up with my perspective, but it was fun to do.

Last weekend we took a few short walks. The heat keeps us from doing long hikes, so we went to the park near the ocean. It was cooler in some areas but hot in others. Lots of birds but they always fly away when I spot them. I was able to catch an Eastern Towhee in the bush.

We went down the road to another area that has a path, that leads to a little tower. The views of the beach and ocean from the tower. 

After we went to the pond, but both areas were crowded so it wasn't worth going for a swim. Tomorrow we head to Maine. Unfortunately I got another tick on me, while gardening and this one seems to have affected me. I am back on meds and going through ups and downs, so hopefully I can beat this one too. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week and I may do an extra blog this week, since I will be taking lots of photos. 

Friday Finish!

 

I finally finished a piece I started, made with one of my patterns, Catch of the Day. I made them for punch needle or rug hooking, but most work with stitchery too. I like to have simple things to do at night, while I watch tv and during the day I try to work in my room with the machines and prepping pieces. I really need to start pulling out all the old and unfinished projects, a few that I really want to finish for summer.

We are finally getting some nicer days. Bill had an early appointment this week, so he took the day off and we headed to the beach. The tide was lower, than usual and it was good for Bean to get out again.

At another beach, I walked along the length to the rocks. When the tide is super low, I can walk over the cliff area to another area, on the other side. Lots of rocks in this area, looking down to town. I wear heavy winter hiking boots, so it makes it easier to walk on the rocks.

I have been looking for glass and beach treasures, when we go out. Not as much with the strong tides, but here are a few things I have found, from a couple of trips. 

I hope everyone had a nice week and can enjoy some nicer weather. I do see that some of you are in the storm's paths for tornadoes, so my prayers are with you all.

Friday Finish!

 

This has been a busy week and I am exhausted. I made reservations at a camp in NH on a river, so I have been planning and packing and keeping up with the house. I made time to finish a painting I started awhile ago. Unfortunately I lost the instructions, so I just went by the photo and then added a couple of whales. The original was on a shorter board and my canvas was larger, so added to it. 

I do not have a steady hand so I am a bit messy, a bit wonky, but I am happy to have finished it. It's been a while since I did acrylics, so need to hone my skills so I can finish another I started.

Last weekend we went for a walk at the ocean park. It has longer trails and less people on the backside, so we enjoy that section. It used to be an air force training field in World War II. This path is what is left of the old runway.

Most of the other trails are overgrown and lined with all types of vegetation for the wildlife. We spotted this Snapping Turtle on my section.

Tomorrow is our 50th anniversary. I really wanted to rent a place on the island, but missed the opportunity to get an affordable place in time. The area we are going to has places I want to visit, and we have a river site, so hoping to relax and enjoy seeing some new things. We will be there all week, so next week I will share some of our adventures. I also have my art supplies and embroidery supplies, so hoping to spend time making up designs and stitching them, while I relax.

I hope everyone has a nice week and not affected by all the storms that have hurt so many. We are lucky to have good weather this week, but it will be hot, even up north.

Friday Finish!

 

This week went by fast, so I spent most of the day yesterday, finishing my patriotic mat. It was a cheater cloth so I hand stitched white pearl cotton around the squares and in the middle designs. I enjoy mindless projects when I am resting and watching tv. 

Last weekend we spent a day with the boys. We took them shopping since Nick needed a new backpack and Alex had on shorts, so we bought him a sweatsuit since it was too cool for shorts. They also loved the silly shark sandals, so another treat since it is their birthday week. Of course they had to wear them at the beach.

And even though I got him long pants, Alex rolled them up and went in the water.

Another day we took a walk on the bike path. We start in the middle and walked to the end, where there is a beach.

Lots of Birds along the way, but most are hidden in the bushes.

We also passed a small pond in a neighborhood that had gardens and spotted a few turtles.

Today we walked at the lighthouse. The ticks are bad this year and with all the rain, most of the hiking paths are swamped. A few fishermen were fishing off the rocks, not a place I would stand.

A lot of birds are in the bush along the paths and inbetween. Lots of nesting blackbirds and lots of Song sparrows. It was getting foggy, so I could only get a few decent shots. I love this one, the Song bird is just watching the waves, not a care in the world.

I hope you all have a nice weekend and not in areas where the smoke is coming in. 

Final Finish!

 

This week I finished my wall hanging. I had a few touches I wanted to add, one being the stars I forgot. I also added some buttons to the flowers. Then I finished with an outer stitching on the edge. I also started a punch needle piece, that I started years ago. I had it in a hoop and left it on and crushed some of the floss areas, so I took those out and doing a bit at a time. Another project I found, is an old quilt I made a long time ago, so I just need to add a backing and do some quilting, to finish it. 

I also found another punch needle piece, the exact same one I just did with the sheep. Well, now I have two and the first one is one I like better. It is narrower and better contrast, so that I will keep to make a key rack with and the other will be fixed and sold.

Last week I was able to get a few good hikes in. One place we went was a pond walk. It goes in and out of woods, along the pond, into a farm field and back around the pond. With all the wind storms and flooding, there is also a lot of downfall.

We were sitting on the deck, overlooking the pond and I spotted this guy. A Great Blue Heron, too busy to notice me as he was fishing. 

And a few birds that I spotted; a Hairy Woodpecker, a Black Capped Chickadee and when I got home, I spotted our first Hummingbird.

Our next hike was two new areas. The first was an old road that went along fields and I did notice after, there are lots of trails on the other side, so something to explore another day. Down the road, we found another trail but no parking spots. Luckily I have a trail finder and found another parking spot, on the opposite side. 

It was a beautiful place to walk, lots of birds that I couldn't catch and it opens to a field, where you can do more birding. Another place to come back to and explore more of the trails.

On the way in, I spotted this bird and grabbed a shot, before it flew away. I had to do a lot of editing to get it to show up better, but a first for me, an Ovenbird. 

I hope you all had a good week and not too much flooding this week. Lots of areas here got flooded, so we won't be able to hike in a lot of areas, that are swampy. I also got my garden started and need to do some shopping for more plants, so hoping to get that done this week, while we have nice weather.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I wanted to work on a new project. This is a design by Cheri Saffiote and perfect to add to my Summer decor. The original design is four blocks with the same design, so I made mine into a smaller wall hanging and added the saying. I realized after I took the photo, I forgot to add the stars. I have mini star buttons that I will add on.

Last weekend was Alex's first communion. He looked so cute, all dressed up.

And a family photo at the altar.

One afternoon we walked at the local preserve. It is a nice walk through the woods and down to the bay.

On Sunday we went to a local park that had a grand opening with giant trolls, made from found materials. 

And a second one, hidden in the wooded area.

Today Bill came home early, so we headed to the bird sanctuary. It is nice to walk along the paths without the weekend crowds. We got to see the Ospreys, hidden in the back area.

A first sighting for me, a Common Yellowthroat.

Lots of Catbirds in all of the areas, so there are always a few who will come out and pose for me.

A few more of the birds and critters that I could get a shot of. Most were busy flying back and forth and always in tree areas, so I couldn't focus in on them. I hope you have a good weekend and can get out and enjoy nature in your area. With the warmer weather, a lot of birds are coming in and you never know what you will find, if you look up.

Friday Finish!

 Lately it seems I never have time to go online and when I do, it is to quickly scan and hopefully not miss anything. I usually try to catch up on blogs on the weekend so hopefully I can catch up on everyones news.

I decided to start an Americana piece this week, a design by Bird in the Hand Primitives. It was fun to do and small pieces are nice since I can add more to my walls. I traced it in reverse, I guess I placed the design backwards on the light pad, but it looks like either way.

And of course we spent afternoons at the beach when we could. Glass collecting, walks on the beach and nature.

One day I got more distracted by the antics of a pair of Great Egrets, so not as much glass that day. 

The gulls like to hang with them, always a chance of stealing food if they can get it.

And at one point they were doing their dance, but it was hard to catch them in the act.

In the distance on a large rock island, I spotted a lot of Cormorants. This is just a portion of the rock and you can see how many nests are there. 

And we finally got a chance to get to the Veterans Cemetery. My parents are there, Bills dad and second wife, as well as his brother Tom. It is a beautiful place to just walk around.

His brother is in the memorial wall, but it is a new section and they still haven't engraved names on any. The old graveyard is in the back and this sad section is the graves that died at Ladd School, formally called The School for the Feeble Minded. They finally closed it down, a time of horrors to the poor and mentally disabled.

Today we stopped at the main state beach to get passes for our cars. While we were down there, we stopped at another beach for a nice walk, perfect day but the tide was up, so not a good time for glass collecting.

And on a sad note, we said our goodbyes to Moki. He as a stray that wondered into my yard one day. Scared and hungry, and scarred up from battles. It took a few weeks before he fully trusted me and then he came in and stayed. We were not sure how old he was, but the vet said around 3 years. He was silly and loving and will be missed, but I know he is better off from his suffering. 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I got a dragon kite for the boys, so hoping we can get out to try it.

Friday Finish!

 

Another week zipped by and I didn't get enough done, that seems to be the norm for me, these days. But, I just go with the flow and work on things for fun and eventually I will get to organizing and redoing my room so I can get back to my quilting.

This week I started a few projects and finished one. The design is a freebie offered, by the Old Tattered Flag. I thought it would be fun to try and wish I had added something to the bottom, but it does look nicer in person than in the photo. I will be starting gifts for next year and I also have so many things, that I think I may do some online selling this year.

And I practiced some ideas I had with the masks. I was trying to shorten the sewing time and amount by putting two steps together, but it shortened the masks, so they don't fit me right. They would fit nicely with woman, that have small noses, but mine is definitely too big. 

I took Nick to the fabric store a few weeks ago. I wanted to let him pick some fabric out and he wasn't interested in any of the fun prints, he kept going for the geometrics and strange prints, so I made him some with the squares that I had in my stash.

We got out a bit, last weekend. On Saturday I wanted to take a ride around a reservoir in Connecticut. We drive by all the time, but never around the backside. My instincts were right, no place to park or stop for a shot. But, we did find a nice park on the backside that had open water views, so maybe next time we can go again and catch the eagles.

We did get a nice walk in, nice paths through woods and along the water.

And fun things on the path, as well as an old graveyard nearby.

One thing we saw on the way down was lots of farms and lots of cows. Sometimes just a ride somewhere new and seeing new sights is all I need to lift my spirits.

On Sunday we spent some time at the beach. It was cold and the tide was just going out, but we enjoyed the fresh air and found a few treasures.

And on the home front, the birds are visiting every day. I finally caught a decent shot of the Blue Jay. 

And one of the female Cardinal. The Cardinals are shy, they feed from the side feeder, so hopefully they will come to the porch someday.