Friday: Another unfinished project

 I am still working on my punch needle piece. I tried pushing it, but wore my arm out, so I had to take a break. I have a lot of projects I do want to finish and one of them is, a child sized quilt, I had made years ago. After I did the boat, I realized there is too much empty space.

Since it is for a child, I want to keep it simple, so I am thinking, a large cloud over the boat. Then I can do swirls in the sky and wavy lines at the bottom end. It would be good practice to get used to my new machine without getting too complicated with quilting. 

Taking a photo helps me to think on what would look good, on it. What would you do?

As usual, we spent time at the beach. Lots of birds are coming in and I see more, each time we go. I spotted this pair of ducks and thought they were a pair. But, a fellow birder told me, the green bill is an American Black duck and the other is a Mallard, both females. 

Jamestown is always a great place for birding, all types live in the bay and in the coves.

One day we went to Barn Island in Connecticut. It was a bit too windy, but we got a nice walk in and spotted a lot of shore birds. Lots of Great Egrets in the cove.

And we are spotting a lot more Snowy Egrets.

Lots of Greater Yellowlegs, hang out with the egrets and a new nesting platform in the cove.

Yesterday Bill took the day off, since he had extra hours. We went to the bird sanctuary for a walk and enjoyed seeing all of the birds that are coming in. My camera was acting up, so I lost a lot of photos to blur. Luckily, a reset fixed the problem. I hope you all have a good weekend and for those in the paths of the storm, safety from its wrath. 

Friday finish!

 

It took two days of constant stitching, but I finally finished my quilt. This quilt was made, years ago. I had originally made it too long, so I took a few rows out and added the border to make it more of a lap quilt. I had planned on quilting it last summer, so it would be done for my friend's birthday. Unfortunately she passed last spring, so I gave up on making it for a while, but decided I wanted to finish it now. She will not be able to receive it, but it will be my memory of our friendship over the years.

I used an AI program to add a different background, but it added a thin dark piece to the edge, so that is not really there, just the green border. 

Last weekend we went out for a ride around the beaches, something fun to do when the weather isn't great. We were able to see a few of the locals, while there.

On Sunday we went to the fish hatchery in Connecticut. They have cut down more areas, so there were more paths to walk around. We were lucky to spot the resident eagles in their usual spot on the telephone poles. 

Lots of birds in the area, but it was hard to get close enough without them flying away. Here are a few, I was able to catch and some scenes along the river. There was a new Osprey, nesting on a pole, the eagles were not too happy about it.

During the week we had a nice day, so Bill came home early and we headed to the point in town. Beautiful views of the bay.

And in that photo, in the far background to the right, this is what we came to see.

And this rock was loaded with seals. There were others on smaller rocks and in the water, so we got to enjoy watching them, even though they are far away.

And Bean got to enjoy the walk and playing in the bay. Way too cold, but he has no sense. I hope everyone got to enjoy their week and the eclipse. We had a good view from our porch and I was able to get glasses in time, to watch it. Enjoy your weekend and hopefully Spring will be staying this time.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I wanted something small to work on and I do need some new lavender pillows, as I redo boxes and storage. It really helps to keep the musty scents away. I took two patterns from my Fraktur design booklets, Horses and Rooster. These two make nice stitcheries and fun to color in. 

To color on cloth, I use freezer paper. After coloring, I use a paper stylus to rub the color into the cloth. With these two stitcheries, I used two new threads. The horse was done with cheap black floss, not the best floss and a bit fuzzy. The rooster was done with Anchor cotton floss, that comes on a spool. I like the Anchor on a spool, so much easier to use and no messy skeins to store. It is a bit thinner, but nice if you want more defined lines. On the horse, I used antique ink, spattering it on with a brush.

The cold has settled in and that makes it hard to get out for walks. We do enjoy driving around the beach areas. You never know what you will see and the water views are always nice, especially in a warm car.

The Breachway was a nice spot to see a few birds, but it was so windy and cold, I hate to take a few shots from the window. The gulls across the way, were feasting on something that must have died in the storm. Most beaches still have debris and damage, but slowly rebuilding the beaches and cleaning up.

At home I enjoy watching the birds who come to visit. The Red-bellied Woodpecker is very shy, so he stays in the tree and waits for me to leave. I have also spotted a few hawks this week, this one was checking out the grounds, behind our RV.

A few of the birds who visit the porch. The Sapsucker is making holes in my maple tree, he will have some nice sap, come spring.

And the ground feeders. Since the ground is frozen, I can throw some feed out, so they don't have to find scraps that fall to the ground. They have been coming up to the porch more, with snow on the porch, it is more natural for them, to forage. I noticed the White-throated sparrow is missing a toe.

I hope you all enjoyed your week and can enjoy your weekend. We have bitter cold coming in, so car rides will be all I can handle.