Friday finishes!

 

This week I finally finished the hearts I made. I tried a different way to sew the first one and messed it up, so just three for now. I use wool for the backs and sew them in reverse, then I cut a slit on the back and turn them right sides back. Then I stitch up the slit and cover it with a wool heart, that I blanket stitch. I kept it simple and made them into bowl fillers.

I also made two new pieces, a kitty doll and a kitty pillow. This time I changed up the pillow to give it a little more character. The little kitty looks bigger since it is in the forefront of the camera.

Today we went for a ride so I could get some more felt. After we drove around. the beach areas. With the snow and ice, we couldn't get into any parking areas and it seemed all the birds are further in the coves, since the inner areas are frozen.

We stopped at the boat launch and I went to the cove side, but it was covered in snow and ice.

I did catch a seagull as it was flying off with a clam.

After we stopped at the breach way and watched, as they piled more rocks along the sides. It is great for protecting the inner areas and the boating passageway, but sad to see the area we used to park out, disappear, along with the dunes. I do hope they clean it up and restore it, when they are done.

At home, I have been visited by a few hawks. This Red-shouldered Hawk was in my big tree, watching the birds at the feeder. Not as many critters out in the yard with the snow, so they start going after the birds.

A fun thing I found last week was an online app, called chatGPT. It is free to use but you can only do a few photos without paying. I hate taking pictures of myself, but this way is fun. since my hair was pulled back, it changed it to pure white. Bill and I are so fair, so it tends to wash out our hair in photos.

I hope you all had a nice week. We had plans with the kids, but as usual, they are sick. So, hopefully we can get out this weekend and enjoy a few nicer days. You know it has been cold, when 40 degrees seems warm.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I have been working on hand quilting, so that will take awhile. I have a box of projects that I made, but never finished, so I took two out and finished them. I made them into little pillows and added a yarn edge. The fox will be a Christmas present to a friend. I have a lot of finished pieces, so I may need to do a craft sale someday.

Last weekend I was still recovering, so we did a few rides to get out, and then rain. Today I was ready to get out for a bit and wanted to get some apples before they ran out. It was not too crowded, so a good day to go. I got a large bag and a smaller one for the kids.

We took the scenic back roads home and made a few stops. One is a pond with an old sawmill. With the drought, they have not been able to open for visits, since the falls are not flowing. It is a nice spot to stop and walk around the pond.

There were a few Mallards enjoying the pond and this couple had a friend, sharing their log.

We drove by the farms.

And a stop at another pond. Lots of colors popping in Connecticut, but a lot of areas have narrow roads and no place to pull over, so I couldn't get shots in a lot of areas. Hopefully tomorrow I will be up to a bike ride or a walk, to catch more foliage.

I hope everyone had a good week and can enjoy the fall weather in your area.

Friday Finish and Fun!

 

It seems the week goes by too fast and I never get half of the things done, that I had planned. But I have been getting a lot of outdoor time, so that is good. I did finish the second free design, by Theodore Cleave Designs. 

It is a small pillow and I added a few touches of glitter thread to this piece.

I also got to spend time with the kids last weekend. We all went to the sunflower farm. They have a field with pathways that you can walk through, to enjoy the flowers.

And I thought these were funny. The birds feast on the seeds and I guess they have a sense of humor.

And these are some of the birds I was able to catch, along with a butterfly at another park. There are a lot of beautiful birds, but they come and go so fast, it is hard to catch them.

And of course, I took photos of the family. Trying to get them to stand still and pose nicely at the same time is impossible, so this is what I ended up with.

Most afternoons we spend at the beach and I have gotten some nice pieces of glass. I also take a swim when I can, sometimes the waves and pull is too much for me to get into, but the cooler air is always refreshing. I was able to catch the local Osprey family on one day.

It looks like three young made it this year. One is a bit shy.

Mom coming in with dinner. One osprey was yelling at the other, so when mom came in, she gave them a good talking to.

Bill took the next week off, but we have no where to go. My cat sitter is going through some things with her dad and I mentioned we might want to take off, but she never said anything. Usually she says she will be happy to watch the kitties, so I think she may be too overwhelmed at the moment and I don't want to ask her, and make her feel obligated. Hopefully Bill and I can find some fun things to do on a hot week and maybe get some fun beach days with the boys.  I hope you all have a good weekend.

Monday Makin!

This weekend I tried some new things, kitty beds. I wanted to make something for Moki, since he has decided to sleep on the table. I have been using old towels, but now he has his own bed and he loves it. It is big enough to cover the table and he can stretch out in it.

I just sewed a square by folding the fabric in half, leaving one side open, then turning it right side out. To stuff it, I put 4 layers of square batting in the middle, pinned it in place and sewed around the edge to hold it in place. Then I stuffed the sides with batting to give it an edge.

It is a great way to use up old fabric and I used batting from previous projects, so it is a cheap way to make your kitty a comfy bed.

Izzy also loves his bed and tried to steal it when he gets out. So, I decided to try another for her. I found a pattern online, which I cannot find now, but you can go to Instructables and find a similar pattern. I made mine a little differently. Once I turned it right sides out, I added a circle of batting, then I sewed around it, to keep it in place. Once that was done, I stuffed the sides, then sewed up the opening by hand. I like using batting for the pad, since I have extra, and it saves on my batting. If I was making more, I would use foam for the pad and a stiffer, cheaper batting for the sides.

This is the result, it is a bit cock eyed, I didn't have a template for the circle, so I got as close as I could. Of course Izzy wants nothing to do with it. I think I need to make her a larger one, like Moki's, she is so spoiled.

I also saw a pattern, where you make the sides with a flat bottom and make a separate pad to place in it, I like that idea.

I realized I needed something long to stuff the sides with, and I found a long metal tool, no idea where I got it, or what it is for. It was too thin to push the stuffing through, so I came up with an idea that did the job, I wrapped tape around the top, which was perfect for pushing it to the back sides.

This weekend we did a little shopping. I have been looking for couch pillows and there is nothing that matches my taste or colors. But, I found these ugly pink pillows, 25" and the pair cost 6.50. Now that is a deal and I can recover them with my own fabric. I am still trying to decide, but I am leaning towards making open back pillows so I can make designs for each season, and change them out.

And I couldn't resist stopping at the beach on the way home. I wanted to get out for a little while and walk on the beach and the tide was down enough to leave some wonderful pieces of driftwood. I will be using the larger pieces as bases for wood or needle felting and the smalls can be used with my art glass ideas.

I clean it in soapy water with bleach, so it is drying. It will lighten up as it dries.

Monday Finish!

Another weekend that didn't work out as planned, but I think if life went too smoothly, I wouldn't know what to do with myself, lol. Thank you for all your well wishes, I had to cut back on one med when I realized that was making me sicker, so today I am feeling more human.

Saturday I felt horrid from the shot and my body just hurt. I decided to get out and do some shopping, love 25% coupons, was able to buy some battings and other items I like to stock up on, on sale and with the coupon, so couldn't miss out on that. Then I went downhill and couldn't make it to the shower.

Sunday I was a bit better and it was beautiful out and rain was coming today, so I had to get out. We decided to go to the lighthouse and walk around. The fresh sea air was just what I needed, it really made me feel better. The bad thing is, I walked around the full loop and that was too much, so I crashed, lol. While the meds are killing off the lyme, I get weaker and my muscles tend to spasm and tighten up, but well worth it.

Bean loved being at the ocean, Bean loves being anywhere where there are people and dogs. He is like a kid, wants to say hi to everyone and their furry companions. It was a good day for dog people, some just wanted to pet Bean and others had dogs that loved Bean too, so good socializing and maybe some day he will meet people without trying to maul them to death.

Today I finished my Kitty piece. The design is by Cheri Saffiote and she is offering it free, as well as other older patterns, on her Facebook page. This week she did a rabbit and I have that all ready to sew, next.

I wish I could have gotten a better photo but it is raining out. The piece is not crooked, it is darker and all crinkled up from being in the dryer, love how it came out and it will go in my sewing room.

And another photo of the ocean. Jamestown is an island between the mainland and Newport, I never tire of going there or just sitting and enjoying the views. The tide was going out so the seagulls were feasting on the rocks.

Monday Finishes!

This weekend didn't go as planned, both Bill and I woke up sick, so we spent the weekend at home. The good thing was, free HBO this weekend so we watched movies and I worked on some stitching.

I am having fun making stitcheries from the kindred Spirit's books, and made two more pieces, this time I made them into pillows. I think they would be great bowl fillers or a shelf sitter, great to tuck into those primitive gatherings and nice for gifts.

I added the X's and 1,2,3; I have an obsession with filling in empty space;)

Also, if you like free patterns. Theodora Cleave has the last of her free patterns. They are additions to the original ones that she offered. The designs can be done in a quilt or as small quilts since the designs stand on their own.

Friday Finishes!

I am slowly getting back into creating again, sitting and relaxing is just not in my nature. Relaxing to me is working on projects while I watch tv and with the cold weather, I will be doing more of that for a few more months.

I wanted to try a punched kitty, like the ones I did with cross stitch. I used one of my cats for this piece to see how it worked. I am not thrilled with how it came out. I used 6 strands on all of it and a higher height for the designs and face and It came out too sloppy looking and the design is too big for the area. So, I will make some new ones with new ideas and designs that I thought of, while I made this one.

I was thinking of making a pair and they could be used as Christmas ornaments or stand alone. If you have any ideas of what  you would like to see, in new patterns, let me know and I will see what I can create. If I use your idea in a pattern, you will receive the pattern for free!

I am also fighting off lyme symptoms again, so my joints and nerves ache, which makes it harder to do nice work, but I will still create. And my brain is on hold most of the time and I just noticed, I forgot to add his bell in the front, duh. I think for the next kitty I will make a collar to go around his neck.

I also finished another block from the garden stitchery. Only one more to go and then I can decide on borders and how it will go together. It takes me longer to stitch since I mess up a lot and have to take it out to fix stitches that are spaced apart, ones I didn't notice at first;)

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. I am hoping to get out and enjoy a ride to the ocean, even if I have to sit in the car, it is nice to just be at the ocean. We may get a warm up, over 40 is going to feel warm.

Friday Finishes!

This week I finished two things, a stitchery block and the newest ornament of the month.

The ornament is offered by Attic Heirlooms and you can get it for free each month. This month was a candle and I kept it simple, but I may add something to it, later on. Maybe when Christmas buttons come back, I can find something fun to add to them.

The stitchery is a free pattern set, offered by Theodora Cleave. I really love working on these, the designs are fun and they just make me happy when I work on them. There are seven garden blocks, so once I am done, then I will decide a layout for them.

This week I have been looking at vacation places. We had planned on a vacation to celebrate our 40th anniversary, now I just want to get away and relax so trying to find something on the water, allows dogs and doesn't cost a fortune. I also like a nice kitchen and bed, I am not into dirty places;) So, at this rate, I may not find anything or if I do, it will be booked for that week. I have found some but it seems they never answer my emails, not too sure how good home away is?

Friday Finish!

I hope everyone is doing well with this weather, I can't remember it being so cold. When it goes above 30 degrees I am happy to be that warm;)

This week I decided to take apart my rug and start over. This time I did traditional rug hooking and I was able to hook it all, in half the time it took me to do the part, I punched. I guess for me, hooking is faster and easier or I am doing something wrong.

The original design is a bit lighter and brighter, so I made mine a little more prim with some fun colors, as well. I haven't finished it yet, still deciding on how I want to finish it off. Mounting it on a board, adding a braided edge or maybe make it into a pillow.

I lightened it up so you could see the design better. When doing photos of my pieces, some colors come out too dark and others, too light. The piece measures 11 1/2" x 9".

Here is a closer look at the hooking and wool shades. Some wools are over dyed thrift and some as is and the background is a black check that has an aged green cast to it.

With the cold weather we have been staying inside and Bean has way too much energy to just sit and relax so we have play times and times in the cage so I can relax for a few minutes. Today we got a blast of snow in the morning and Bean loved playing with it, while I shoveled off the porch. Now if I could just teach him how to push a shovel;) I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Pumpkin Punch Finished!

Last week I started a punch needle piece for fall and today I finished it. I had to work two days straight, but I got it done. I also got all of the applique done on my wall quilt, now I can quilt it and finish it.

The pumpkin is a pattern by Brenda Gervais called Boo and Jack. It was a lot of punching, the finished size is 7" long and I am a tight puncher. I used DMC for the main colors and valdani for the kitty. I love their black shades. To get the multiple colors, I just grab similar colors and punch in random patterns around the pumpkin. I have a collection of tree branches that I save for projects like this, so I used that instead of a pumpkin top.

I hope you enjoy my newest piece and everyone has a wonderful weekend.

My Happy Place!

Do you have a happy place? On days like today, having a place to go that centers you, is the only way to cope with this crazy world we live in. This is one of my happy places, Stepping Stone Falls. It is a place that brings memories of my sisters and brothers, of picnics and hikes along the paths.

I am not in great shape and hasn't been my best week, so I found a new parking spot that is closer to the falls so it was about a 2 mile hike.

We had a good rain storm that bought a lot of rain in a short amount of time, so I knew it was a good time to see the falls.

Even Bill relaxes when we go here. It is something that we enjoy together and energizes us for the week.

And, at home I do my part to help where I can. This poor old guy likes my porch, it is quiet and there aren't a bunch of dogs trying to bite his ears, so he spends most of his time here. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that he gets cans of food every day;)

Christmas pillow!

I decided to make a hanging pillow for my daughter. She has a new place and I wanted something she could hang on a door and add some holiday cheer. I also added Balsam so she could have the fresh smell of pine, to enjoy. I found the design online, but I can't remember where. If you do an image search, you can find lots of free patterns to make into pillows and ornaments. Coloring pages are also a great source and you can reduce the size of the larger ones.

I didn't prim this one up, since my daughter likes bright and fun things.

Another thing that has been going on is, we have a new visitor. I think this is a female and her bones are sticking out, so not sure who she belongs to and how old she is, but she doesn't seem to be in very good health. It breaks my heart to see her standing at my door every day, she sits there and looks in at my kitties, all snuggly and warm. We have been feeding her, but I need to find out who she belongs to and find her a new home. I have no idea if she has had shots and I have to be careful with my kitties, so I don't dare, let her in.

Punching and Putty Tat!

As most of you know, we got robbed when we were out paddling this summer. One of the things in my purse, was my punch needle sunglass case. So, I made another. This one is a little different with colors and I tried two ways of punching. I usually punch forward or a bit to the side, as you can see on most of the piece. On the sails, I punched sideways all the way around, which is the way you are supposed to punch. I do like the way it looks, the loops are more pronounced and aren't as smooshed looking. The light blob on the boat is my attempt at making mini initials, a failed attempt, lol.

Today we had a visitor, or I could say, I still have a visitor. This little guy came to visit and has decided to stay. My neighbor said it was one of her kittens and she gave it to the guy across the road. I guess he doesn't keep it in the house and he was attracted to my kitties in the window. He is quite the character and full of energy, so he doesn't sit still.

He sure looks like someone else we know;)

And he is still on my back porch, he is scared of what is out there and I feel so bad for him. I got a box and put an old towel in it and hopefully when it gets light, he will go home. Izzy is having a fit, growling and trying to attack him through the window. Moki wants to play with him. 

Still Hooking!

What I thought was going to be a quick project, turned into a two week marathon. I am on the last ten rows though and hoping I can get it done tomorrow, my hands are killing me, lol.  I bought 2 yards of cheap homespun to add to the rug, and all I got was 4 rows out of it, you use a lot more fabric when you get out the outside.

As you can see, Izzy doesn't mind if it isn't finished, it is still a nice place to sleep. That is the backside, my locker hooking skills are a bit lacking, but I like the look and it will look nice in the entryway.

Wedding pillow!

After a failed attempt, I finally got the top, of the wedding ring pillow, stitched. With the advice from a friend, I went with a cream linen. When I got the fabric I checked out the threads and went with a cream pearl cotton. I like how the thicker pearl cotton gives it just enough of a raised effect to show, but blend in with the linen. My DIL is letting her mom make the arrangements and pick out the dress, etc, so I want the pillow to be simple, but nice, and match any type of setting they have.

I will be adding a ribbon with pearls down the middles of the front and on the back, I plan on doing a simple design with names and date, so I need to draw that out tomorrow. I used my pocket camera, so not the best shot to show it off. The camera wanted to turn it yellow, but it is more of a light cream.

The pillow size is going to be 8". The design itself, can be found on this website. It is in french and I have no idea what most of it says, but enough to know that they have wonderful free designs. I modified it, to fit the corners of my pillow and will be happy to share the design with you, as soon as I scan it in.

Before I started stitching I needed to clean the house and Izzy does not like the vacuum, so she ran into the bedroom, but that was where I was going. When she realized that, she decided that this would be a good place to hide.

Joyful Heart Mini quilt!

I decided to make the other pattern that I won from Valerie of The Wooden Acorn. I made it into a mini quilt and on mine, I added a little kitty. It is a fun pattern to do and worked up quickly and I think it would be nice to make a few to give to friends. If you are looking for something new to do, Valerie has some wonderful patterns at her Etsy Store.

 On the home front, the guys are almost finished with the porch and that will be it, for them. Bill is doing the front siding, since that is cedar. The store was able to match the siding, exactly, so now all I have to do if figure out what color to make the door.