Friday Finish!

 

I made my last piece for Halloween this week. It as a free design by my friend Kelley and it was just right for a little wall hanging for an empty space on my wall. I seem to have fewer of those, with all the pieces I have been making.

I colored it for a fun look but still kept it prim with the fabrics. The pumpkin fabrics was gifted to me, years ago, from Kelley, as well.

Last weekend we were able to get out for some bike rides. The first was in a town in Connecticut, along the Quinebaug river. It was a nice ride, not too long and it ended at the dam.

Since it was a short ride, which I later learned was over 5 miles, we decided to go to the trail we did last week, but from the other end. It was a nice trail, fairly flat and went by several ponds and mostly wooded.

I had a destination, to end at the reservoir that we stopped at, from the other end. I did not realize how far we had gone on the first ride and this one was longer than I realized, so I was getting tired each time I had to try to go up hill on the cross overs and of course I fell, not once but twice. The first time I fell on my tailbone, but I have no sense and kept going. Then I fell again when I died on the hill and fell over on my knee, so I realized it was time to give up, lol.

Luckily I always carry bandaids and taped up my cuts and walked around the area to relax before we headed back. I found a beautiful farm on the road we stopped at and took some photos. The lady came out and told me about her farm and what they do. They have rescue horses and also a working farm with meats and fresh produce. They have programs where you can learn about the horses, have a picnic and they even have bikes if you want to ride a portion of the trail. If you are ever in the Connecticut area and looking for something different to do, you can visit their website, Hidden Springs farms.

After that day, I decided that riding was out for now and we went for drives. The first day we rode up the Shetucket River and visited a few waterfalls, along the way. The first stop was the boat launch at BUtts Bridge. The scene was beautiful from the main bridge, but at the launch, it was so overgrown  that I had a hard time finding a spot to shoot from.

The next stop was in Occum. The views were beautiful but the river was high, so another place that was hard to find a place to stand.

Next was Baltic, the river was just as high there and the places we usually sit to relax and enjoy the river, where flowing with water.

And on the way home, we stopped at our favorite falls. It started to rain at this point but I was able to get a few shots before it got worse.

Our last day, we headed to Coventry Connecticut. Our first destination was the Nathan Hale Cemetery. It was was a beautiful old cemetery and of course I took photos of all the interesting stones.

 

Our last stop was the Nathan Hale home. I was surprised at how big the area was, lots of land to walk around on and they even have trails you can hike on.  The museum was closed but we enjoyed walking around the grounds. The rides we take are nice this time of year since there are pops of colors every so often. 

This weekend will depend on how much I can walk. My tailbone hurts if I bend too much and my knee hurts if I use it too much, but I will still get out and enjoy the scenery and maybe find some new places to explore. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Rough week Sale!

I had a rough week and ended up in the er, so a bit off these days, but slowly getting back to normal.
Not sure what symptoms are from my episode or the drugs they shouldn't have given me, but I can say I will never go to that hospital again. Since I realized I was better off if I left, I had to sign out on my own and now it isn't covered, doesn't seem fair.


So, this weekend I am doing a buy one, get one free epattern sale. Buy one pattern and get any other of equal or lesser value for free. Just let me know which one you want for free in the comment box.

Wash-N-Gone Test

I was at our Walmart and they still carry things in their fabric department.
I found some Wash-N-Gone on sale, so I bought what was left.

I like to do stitcheries and wanted something that I could use on darker and thick fabrics or wools.
I decided to try my horse, something quick and easy.
I cut out pieces of the Wash-N-Gone to fit the pattern design and drew the design on, with my black artist pen.

I did not find it easy to draw with that and I found it hard to see with the shiny surface of the paper.
I pinned it on and started stitching. I found it harder to make my stitches line up and the paper moved a bit while I sewed, so it came out all cockeyed, lol. I was rushing, so I am sure that had something to do with it;)

I made up three, one on thin wool, one thick wool and one heavy weight ticking.
Here are the pieces with the paper still on.



Next I put them under water. It says any water temperature, but I found I needed warm water to melt off the paper.
The warm water melted the paper away. After that, I put them in my front loader to dry and when they came out, I saw no paper, but I noticed the stitches were stiff, like they had glue on them.



I didn't bother with the dark, heavy piece, you can hardly see the stitches. Next time I need to use more strands or thicker floss. Even with the stiff stitches, it still comes out nicely. I did not have any extra paper to pull off, it all came off in the warm water. So, if you want an inexpensive paper for stitchery, the Wash-N-Gone is a good one to try.

Next time I will try and use some spray adhesive to hold the paper closer to the piece. I also got a new book for felting and it uses this type of paper, so it will be fun to try it for that, too.

Antique Horse Penny Rug!

I finished my penny rug tonight and hope you like it too.
The punch needle is my version of an antique rug and I made the penny to match, but with a different layout.
I did a little simple stitching on the pennies, I need practice, so fun to try new stitches.

Both pieces will be for sale. I was thinking of putting them on ebay tonight.
I am also making a cross stitch to match and hoping to make a triple pattern from these pieces.



Here is a closer look at the penny rug. I like to keep them simple and primtiive, using recycled wools to give it an authentic look.

Those were the days! Giveaway week!

Well, I have been working on several projects that will be gifts, some I can show, some I cannot, until they are received.
I was going through my old files that I had stored and pulled out some oldies, but badies, haha.
My sister sent me a box of slides and I scanned them in, but most are damaged and full of lint.
Someday I plan on redoing the nice family ones, so I can send them to my sisters and brothers.

I have always loved riding and as you can see, I would ride anything. The older girl lived down the road and she would ride her burro to visit the kids in our neighborhood.



Then I grew up and rode the real thing, lol. I loved to ride and I was lucky enough to have friends with horses, who let me ride whenever I wanted.



And this one is a nice memory. I have shown you photos of our walks at the falls, and this is me and some of my brothers and sisters at the falls. At least I think it was, maybe it was camping. I see the twins have sweaters on and my other sister is wearing what looks to be a bathing suit. So, someone there is dressed for the wrong season, lol. So, the first person who can tell me, how many kids were in my family, wins a free epattern of their choice.

Anniversary Sale!

Starting tonight and running till next saturday, I will be having a sale on all of my patterns.
Two patterns for only 10 dollars, all patterns are included.
This is your chance to try some of my patterns and make some wonderful items for yourself or as gifts, or for sale.

On the 21st of June, my husband and I will be celebrating our 35th anniversary.
We are taking a much needed mini vacation and it did not cost a cent, love those hotel points;)
Hopefully a change of pace and some fresh air and I will be back with new ideas and I will have new patterns for all those who have been waiting.

To take advantage of this offer, email me with your choices and I will send a bill with the correct pricing.
The rug shown is from my pattern booklet; Fraktur Horses. You can find my patterns with the link in the left column, at ecrater.