In the works!

 

This week I have been getting some pieces ready to finish for Christmas. I have a lot of unfinished projects, so for now, I am working on ones I really want to finish. Then I can decide what to do with other projects later. 

One project was a tree skirt. I made this years ago, all pieced by hand. I decided to sew it inside out with the batting and backing. My idea was to do ties in each hexagon, but not so sure now. I am wondering if it would look good if I quilted around the design elements from the outside in, then left the gold pieces, as is. Any suggestions are appreciated, but I am lazy, so simple is best, but I want it to look nice. I messed up the center, it's a bit wonky, but not noticeable when it is around the tree.

The second project is a large wall hanging. I have a rod hanger over our front entry, so this will be perfect to hang there, hopefully it will fit. I have the stockings and stars done, so next is sashing to piece those together. Next will be side pieces with trees and stars, then the top and bottom will have a saying. I realized I didn't have enough of the original black, so hoping to find the same type at the store this weekend.

I decided I wanted to have fun this halloween. We don't get kids anymore and live on a road, so no one stops by. So, we went to the kids and got to have fun with them. I changed my look a bit, went with an ugly witch look. The black spots on my face are spider stencils and I used the face paint to enhance my wrinkles. The kids live in a rural area, so the houses were more spaced in some areas. We took our truck and I got out with the kids and walked to houses when they were closer.

The funniest thing was, Alex would not go near me when I came, I guess I was a bit too creepy for him. Once he realized grandma hadn't turned into a real witch, he was fine.

Some of the neighbors had some cool displays and at one house, they had beer and pizza for the adults. It was fun to see the boys having fun and see the displays and other kids. This is one of the best displays we saw, they had a lot of other items in their yard and a fog machine.

I hope you all had a fun halloween and enjoy your weekend. 

Busy week!

 This week I have been catching up from camping. Lots of cleaning and getting ready for Halloween events. The kids have a trunk or treat so I may go to that and we have some activities in town, so I decided I wanted to have fun this week, and dress up.

I have lots of black clothes, so I have a black skirt, hooded shirt, lace sided jacket and black tights, along with black booties. I also found a hat that I can decorate, I am waiting for black gloves and accessories to add to hat. A bit of mousse and I can frizz or curl up my hair to make it stand out.

I am not sure if you recognize the look, but I was going for the Stevie Nicks look, but most think I am a witch, lol. She has long blond hair with bangs, but I had trimmed mine recently and I refuse to cut my hair into bangs.

We had a nice weekend, a bit cooler and windy, but nice weather for getting out for walks. One beach I never go to is nearby, so we went there and walked on the boardwalk and along the beach. The tide was coming in and the seagulls were waiting for things to wash up.

We also went to the fishing beach to check out the waves. I was watching this boat and as it came around the rocks, it seemed to stop and get rocked around by the waves. It finally started its motor and was on its way, not a good place to stall out.

On the last night, I was on the hill to see the sunset. As I was waiting, a flock of Great Blue Herons flew overhead and were caught by the setting sun.

At another beach we checked out, I spotted a few crazy people, fishing as the tide came in.

I also spotted a group of Cormorants, hanging out in the channel. 

We also got a day to explore the river ways and the foliage. It was raining in the morning but we got a break in the afternoon.

An old mill that sat beside a waterfall dam, but they redid it so the kayakers could get through easier and to help prevent flooding.

And on the other side of the bridge.

While out we went shopping and couldn't resist getting Bean a present. He loves it but hates having his photo taken.

And I am lucky enough to be on a high porch in the back, so I was able to catch the comet. It is still visible but not as much, each night, till the end of the month. I hope everyone had a good week and can enjoy the weekend. 

Halloween fun project!

 

This week I got an idea for a Halloween banner. I found some fun ghost templates and printed them out on card stock. I left them uncut until I painted them, to save on mess. I used glow in the dark acrylic pain and brushed 3 coats on them. When dry, I added the faces and then cut them out. Simple and fun to do.

I used yarn and threaded it through the tops of the ghosts until I covered the area, I was using.

And this is how they look in the dark. And this is where you can find the templates. 

Last weekend we took the boys to the orchard to pick apples. It is always more fun with the boys.

I let Nick have his own bag, he loves apples. Alex wasn't in a good mood and he wanted a pumpkin, so I let him pick his own and he was much happier after that. 

Another day we got to walk on a new path. The path goes by a camp and has a path along the fence line. It also goes along a beach area. 

It is a beautiful area, very quiet and I could see the lighthouse on the island, a new perspective.

At the end we spotted a few fishermen, braving the surf.

Last night I was hoping to see a bit of the lights from the Aurora. I didn't expect it to be so bright and so beautiful, it was mesmerizing and I could see it in all directions from my porch. This is one of the photos I captured, with my iPhone.

And another with a different hue.

Today we got to camp. As usual it was windy, very windy. Since I seem to have caught something else, I am taking it easy, no biking or paddling. We went to the fishing area to see the sunset tonight, something we can do from the car or the hill, without walking too much. The clouds turned the sky into beautiful hues of yellows to red.

Looking to the light, the sun cast a reddish glow. Luckily we got a waterfront spot so I can enjoy relaxing and enjoying the views. I did bring some sewing so I can work on that. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finish!

 

I was able to finish my new piece, just in time for Halloween. This is a design by Bird Brain Designs. It was fun to do and fun to do in color. I am also working on a larger piece with snowmen, and another, so hopefully I can get those done, along with a few quilts in time for Christmas. 

We were able to get out for a ride, last weekend, to enjoy some foliage and some short walks. I didn't have a lot of energy and I guess I was coming down with a flu or the new version of covid, so have been fighting that off, this week. Hopefully the meds I got will knock it out so we can get out this weekend.

This is one place we stopped, a river in Connecticut. Not as much foliage as we had hoped.

The next place we stopped, had more color. A view up river from the boat launch.

The falls were not running as full, as they usually are.

And a view, down river. It is a nice area with a drive along the river, in different towns. I am not sure how much or where the foliage is now, but it is always nice to go for the ride and hopefully some hikes. I hope you all have a nice weekend.

Friday Finish!

 

I finally finished my Santa hanging. It is a design by Cheri Saffiote. The fabric I used is very dark, so I used lighter floss so it would stand out. I decided to add a few touches of color with the pencils to make those areas show up better. Then I used glitter floss for the x's, to give it a vintage pop.

Last weekend we went to the Seaport with the kids. They had a folk art music festival going on, so as we walked around, we got to listen to various types, at the different stages. They also had ethnic food booths, so the older kids enjoyed that, the boys had their usual chicken fingers. 

Of course Alex had to pose on all the anchors.

The next day we went back to Mystic with Nick. Poor Alex was worn out from all the walking, the previous day. It was nice to have Nick by himself so he could have more attention. We took him to the village to enjoy the displays and let him pick out some fun candy and T'shirts for him and Alex.

This was one of the strange ones.

The reason for the return was to go back to the seaport, for Indigenous people's day. They had the Eastern Medicine Singers do traditional songs and drumming. It was really wonderful music and a nice way to relax and enjoy the rest of the day.

We also spent some time at the beach, which is always Bean's favorite. Even Bean found something on the beach, he loves that ball and had to bring it home.

Today we went to the local orchard and got a bag of apples. There trees are smaller, but full of apples and I think they are much better tasting then the other orchard. After we went to the beach and found a few fun items I can use in doing art pieces and always nice to get a good walk in, in the fresh air.

Tomorrow we are planning on going hiking with the kids, to the waterfall, so hopefully all goes well. It is cooler, so there shouldn't be any bugs out. Then rain again, so hopefully not a wash out on Sunday. I hope every is doing well and enjoys the coming week.

Cooking and crafting

 

This week I have been working on my new project, but I still have a bit of stitching to do. I also had a few  birds hit my sliding glass doors, so I need something to put on the upper half. I found a fun site that has Halloween cut outs, so I made a few and taped them to the window. So far, no bird strikes, so hopefully that did the trick. 

The ghosts are really simple to do and would be great for kids too. For the witch, I cut out the design from the print out, since it was black ink. You can find the pattern and others here at Love Paper.

I also made some Chalupa. I still have some tweaking to do, to get mine right, but it is not hard to make and it tastes delicious. I use mine as a snack and add homemade blueberry or apple jelly in mine. I also used it to make an egg sandwich, so a great bread to make as a treat. You can find the recipe at Cooking Carnival.

I had a new visitor to my yard this week, an Eastern Phoebe, a first for me.

We were able to spend an afternoon at our favorite beach. Now that summer is over, we can park in the private area and we have the beach to ourselves. Bean was loving being off leash and playing in the water.

It is also nice for birding, I actually had a Belted Kingfisher, stop long enough to snap a shot. 

And a pair of Laughing Gulls. 

We also stopped at the park, and I spotted a group of Great Egrets, of course they flew off, the minute I pulled out the camera.

We found more glass at the private beach but Bill found a large piece of blue glass at the park, so that was a fun find. More colors this time, off season is always better for hunting. 

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. We have more rain tomorrow, so hopefully we can get out on Sunday and find some early foliage. 

Friday Finishes!

 I spent more time at home this week, so more time to finish things. The weekend looks like a washout, so no big outings for me. Today we went for a ride to the beach areas and I was surprised that the private ones, are still keeping people out, so I wasn't able to get to the long point for bird watching. It seems they are keeping parks and beaches open, longer this year. 

My first finish was my Halloween piece. This is another design by Cheri Saffiote for our Facebook group. It had several designs to put into a quilt, but I just wanted this and the other I made, for a set on my wall. As always, it was fun to do and add a few of my own touches. I added a quilted star in the left area, but hard to see in the photo.

The second project I did was a Halloween cat, done with needle felting. I started with a cookie cutter and then added a little more bulk and detail after I got the main shape, felted. I think I do better without a shape, it does limit me, but I wanted it for my wreath, it sits in the middle area.

Over the weekend we got out for a few outings. I am always watching the Semipalmated Plover and wondering what they find in the seaweed. Now I know, there are worms, that come in with the seaweed.

Another day we went to the forts on the island. It was nice to walk around and they cleaned up the area so more open spaces and better pathways to walk on. Beautiful views from the top. I hope everyone had a nice week and have a good week ahead.