Friday finish!

 

I finally finished my stitchery and it was a fun one to do. The design was a free coloring page by Karla Dornacher. I decided to color it on fabric and stitch around it. I made it into a wall hanging that I could put in my room, something inspirational to wake up to. You can click on the link to see Karla's page and sign up for her newsletter. She makes a lot of wonderful inspirational designs and tells wonderful inspirational stories about her life.

Last week we went on a hike to a forest in Connecticut. It was a little cool but it made for a brisk hike and kept me going. We went to the regular path and part way down, all I could see was a swamp, so we had to take the long way around to avoid that. Our first stop was the pond, along the way.

Our end point was another pond, that had a beautiful little waterfall. A great place to stop for a rest and snack break.

On the way back we passed by a lot of small streams and ponds. All the snow melt and rain, made for a lot more waterways. This is a fish hatchery that is open only to kids. Each year they have a fishing tournament  for them.

As we came through the woods, we stumbled onto the old sheds. Previously when we saw them, we had no idea what they were for. Now they have signs and this one was for explosives.

There is another one, further away. It was used to store the igniters and other tools.

Back at the main camp, we passed by the fishing bridge. As you can see, this stream was overflowing, so no one will be picnicking there, anytime soon.

I hope you all had a nice week. This week I will be getting ready for Easter. We always cook the meal since I have a special diet. I hope you all have a nice weekend and it looks like it might be warming up for a lot of you.

Friday finishes, finds and food!

I decided this week that I will be posting on Fridays only, unless we do something special on the weekends. Then I will bore you with photos of our adventures and the kids, on Mondays. I have so many projects that are in the works and ones the I want to start, that I want to concentrate my time, working on those and having more time to visit blogs.

This week I decided to paint some more rocks. I haven't done it in a while and it usually takes me a week to finish them. So, I kept these simple and did them free hand, so they may not be perfect or art works, but I think people will enjoy finding them and hopefully put a smile on their face.

If you don't know about my facebook group, it is for people who like to make things and hide them for others to find. It doesn't have to be rocks, it can be any item and the purpose is to make others happy, nothing else. We need to spread a little joy in the world. If you would like to join my facebook group, DSmiles4miles, you can read more on what it is about and join in on the fun.

I was also able to get to the dog beach, for a few days. Bean loves it and Bill gets in some exercise by swimming in the bay. I get to do lots of walking, while I look for glass. I found a few nice pieces and a lot of craft glass. The junk glass I am putting aside to give to a friend who does art pieces and stained glass. I did have a couple of nice, large chunks, but I met a girl who was looking for any glass and I took most of it, lol. I gave her a couple of the nice large ones.

After eating pancakes for a few days, I got hungry for meat and potatoes. I make healthy pancakes with whole wheat, bananas and blueberries, then I top it with apple, pineapple jelly, that I make, no sugar added. Tonight I couldn't decide whether I wanted apple burgers or pepper burgers, so I made both. I think I found a winner. I cut up one red and one green pepper, small onion and a grated apple. I add a little butter to cook it in. Then I mix that into the hamburger with a cup of bread crumbs and an egg. You bake these in the oven, I did mine at 380 degrees, till they brown on one side, then turn and cook. They come out moist and taste delicious. They don't hold together too well, so I am still working on the recipe, but well worth trying it. It tastes good and healthy way to have a hamburger. I had scalloped potatoes with it and for Bill's, I made his with healthy butter and his fake salt.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Bill is rebuilding his sister's porch. I have no problem helping her, but I think it is way too much work for him and my son to do, and Bill is on blood thinners, so working with power tools is not my idea of a smart thing to be doing. So, I will be home, stressing and keeping busy so I don't sit around, thinking of all the things that can go wrong;)

Twelve Days of Christmas: My Day!

I hope you have been following the Twelve Days of Christmas, each day there is a new tutorial or free pattern that you can make, just in time for Christmas. Thank you to Wendy for hosting the hop and all of the ladies who are participating. You can follow along each day by clicking on the banner.

I love to work with wool and I know most of you, love wool as well. I also love doing pieces with inspirational words and I think Joy is one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy my project and make one for yourselves to remember to keep Joy in your hearts, each and every day, this season.

I have given instructions, if anything seems confusing or you have a question, you can email me, anytime. The bells are about 5" long, but you can make them any size by enlarging or reducing the design.

This is  closer photo of the bells, the garland goes across my windows, with more bells and ties.

Have fun with the pattern, instructions are a guideline of how I made mine, but you can change it to suit your likes.

Instructions:

Materials:

Wool

floss

red berries (Beads, buttons or french knot.)

Rusty bell

2” styrofoam ball.

Red and green homespun 1/4” strips

Jute

Clothespins

Bells:

Cut out 3 bells, 3 bell backs, letters, candle, 2 leaves. Sew on the appliques with a blanket stitch.

Attach berries

Sew back and front with a blanket stitch, starting at the bottom and when you come around to the end, attach the bell with the same thread.

Balls:

Cut strips from the green homespun and wrap them around the styrofoam ball, until it is covered. Take a red piece and wrap it around the ball, twist around at the bottom and come around the opposite side, tie into a tight bow, leaving a few inches of the tail, to hang from the clothespin. 

You can buy pre-stained clothespins or soak them in walnut ink to age them. You can also have fun and paint them in christmas colors.

To make the garland, take a piece of homespun and a piece of jute and twist them together. Add  red ties if you like to fill in the spaces, and you can add larger rusty bells, as well. The length depends on how much you add to your garland and the size of your window, or area that you hang from.

Pattern Pieces:

Another fun thing to do for Christmas is baking treats that everyone will love. I have made these for years, they are great for parties and your guests who come to visit. They melt in your mouth and I haven't met anyone who didn't love them.

I hope you enjoyed visiting today and don't forget to follow along each day.

Monday: This and That!

I wanted something simple and fun to make over the weekend, love to stitch at night while I watch tv. I have been following the Christmas Blog Hop hosted by Buttermilk Basin and if you haven't followed along, check out Stacy's blog and you can see what other patterns have been offered during the hop.

On day 3, Debbie of Wooden Spool Designs made a wonder christmas truck ornament. I decided to make mine into a pillow and stuff it with balsam. The design is perfect with the fresh cut tree, for a balsam scented gift and a nice gift for the guys too.

I had a lot of fun making them and they worked up quickly. I decided to go with a fuzzy white wool, but I may try some with a night sky and a different colored truck. I added the word Joy to the pillow, and a button star. You can see in the photos, I did one hell with wool and one with buttons, fun to try different variations.

Since I used a white background and wool, I decided to go with a blanket stitch, but I didn't want the balsam to fall through the edge. I took two pieces of batting and sewed them up to one edge, filled it with balsam and then sewed up the last edge, so it keeps the balsam sealed inside.

I had Nicholas on Saturday. We went shopping, since I am still looking for the perfect booties for my skinny jeans. I want something rugged and waterproof and my style, so I am still looking. Of course I couldn't resist looking at kid's shoes and Nicholas is growing out of his sneakers, so he got a new pair of boots and he loved tromping around in his big boy shoes.

Sunday was a memorial mass for those who have passed this year, in our church. We each got a candle with their name and after the homily, they read the names of each person. When Danielle's name was read, we all walked up and handed the candle to Father David, to be lit, then put on the table. It was a truly moving service,  and the choir sang with all their heart and love.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend and in a few more weeks, another blog hop, so I am working on my piece for the hop and getting new ideas as I make it;)

Christmas Tea Towel!

Last month I won a wonderful book from SewGalGirl. I was so happy to win since it has wonderful Christmas designs and I was able to use one is a quick way by making a tea towel.

The book I won is called Simple Christmas by Gail Pan Designs. There are designs for wall hangings, table toppers, a gift bag along with others. Enough to keep you busy with projects for yourself and gifts for next year.

Since I am short on time, I wanted to make something quick and this cute elf was perfect for a tea towel. The actual design is on a table topper, something I will make this year, for next Christmas. I modified it a bit to add more greenery, going across, and if you can see, he has a tiny, rustic, jingle bell on his hat. I also use wool for the star and added the word joy. I love patterns that I can make as is, or add my own little touches.

This is an outdoor photo, so the colors are true, but seems a bit light to me, much better in person.
I think it would be fun to do the basket in wool too. I might try the gift bag next, that would be fun to make and great to use for a present package.

Don't forget, the giveaway ends on Friday at midnight, so you still have a chance to enter. Make sure you visit This Posting and leave a comment to be entered.

And for all of you baby lovers. We got Nicholas a high chair on wheels so I can bring him into any room and he can sit and play while I do things. It is also nice to have since I started him on his first food, applesauce. He loves applesauce.

Free stitcheries and thrift finds!

If you enjoy doing stitcheries and learning new techniques and stitches, you should visit Mary Corbet's blog. Her posting are full of inspiration and tutorials and she offers free patterns. Last week she did a Christmas piece with the word Joy and I just had to try it. I love how it looks and it is a great gift to make ahead for next year.

I made mine into pillows, but I did not stuff them. I might add balsam to mine, so I will leave them as is, then I can stuff them next year so they will have fresh balsam in them. Another idea for those of you who like to send items with a card, is to leave them flat with an opening so they fit in the card. Then the recipient can stuff them themselves.

For the backs, I used the fabric, Christmas Traditions that I got with my gift certificate from This-n-That  Fabrics. I love how it looks and it is great for pillow backings to give it that added touch.

Another thing I love to do is shop in thrift stores, you never know, what you will find. I found these three patterns, only .99 a piece, not a bad deal.

And I found this guy on a shelf, love the raggedy look. I assume he was left in the sun and it faded his mail suit, but I like the dull color and the worn look. Something fun to sit on a bench. We are finally getting snow, lots of it and everything is covered in white, I love it.

Free Christmas Stitchery!

I wanted to try something quick and simple, so I made a little christmas piece.
Nothing fancy, but if you need something for a last minute gift, this works up quickly.

I did the snowflake with silver glitter floss.

I messed up the drawing, and reversed it, so it came out a bit funky. But, it is simple enough to move the letters or change it up a bit. Also, I realized I forgot berries on the tree, duh.

If you are still in the mood to do some stitcheries, Christmas Coloring pages has a variety of prim stitcheries that are free to use.

The last of the Christmas Creations!

I made up a couple of small things this week to have in case I have unexpected company.
I always like a little something that I can give, just in case. If not, they will be for someone next year;)

The appliques I used for the pillows are from Cheri Saffiote Payne in her older book, 301 Christmas quilt blocks. You can still get copies of her two older books on ebay for good prices, and they are great for making gifts as well as some beautiful projects, that I will make someday.

These ornies I made up from a pattern on Create and Decorate. I found the pattern in their section for pattern corrections. It was for additional snowflake patterns in the December 2011 link. I used the snowflakes and made up some more penny ornies. I liked the patterns on these, nice designs to do up and a nice idea for next year, to add one inside a card or to a package.