New Hampshire Beauty and Fun!

We packed a lot in a week and I took lots of photos, but I will show you some of the highlights. At one place a woman asked to take a photo of us and she must have hit the wrong buttons and I took a few photos before I realized they were messed up. Of course the photo she took was chopped off and looked horrible, so I won't show that one, lol.

One of the things I wanted to do was to drive along route 302 and see the tall waterfall that cascades down the mountain. Maybe my memory was bad, but it wasn't even worth a photo, just a small stream coming down but we enjoyed the ride and saw some other nice places along the way.

We found this roadside park and stopped to enjoy the views and a walk with Bean. It is a small pond and only kids are allowed to fish in it, a nice place to go with small children.

They also have a bridge and waterfall that goes to a nice picnic area and hiking trails.

We came around to route 3, where you can see the basin which is free and the flume which has a fee, but well worth it, if you have never been. We went to the basin for a walk around the main path, which follows the falls and river to the basin.

The next day we went for a paddle on Lake Chocorua. It is just right for an easy paddle, with wonderful views of the mountains.

Bean is loving going paddling. He realizes it means he can also play in the water when we find a quiet little island at the end.

We did a morning paddle and had all afternoon, so it was the perfect day to go to Diana's Baths. We just hiked along the trail along the falls and I did dip my feet in, but too cold for me to swim in. Lots of people were swimming, so not too many private spots, that day.

The next day we had a storm coming in, so we relaxed a little at the camp and then headed towards Center Harbor for some shopping and the sun was coming out by the time we got there. I planned it so we went through the storm and came out on the sunny side;)

We came back on the Kancamagus and had time to stop at Sabbaday falls. It is a short walk to the falls and a little climb up the stairways, but a magnificent view of the falls as you head up and at the top.

The last thing on my to do list, was to hike the Lincoln Trail to Franconia Falls. This is the path we took the kids on when they were little but we just walked a bit along the river and I wanted to make it to the falls this time.

The  hike goes along the river, love hearing the sound of the river as we walked along. The bad thing is, Bean hears water and he is constantly pulling me towards it.

The path is an old railroad, logging road and the woods are filled with beautiful white birch.

We got to the top of the falls and not only were the falls a wonderful series of cascades, there is a giant pool at the end where you can swim and beautiful views of the mountains.

We didn't do too much shopping, I wanted to enjoy being outside, but I did get a few things. At Center Harbor I stopped in Keepsake Quilting, they have a large sale room in the back so I treated myself to a few yards of shirting. Next door is a yarn shop that carries roving, so I got some blue and green shades to use in 2D pictures. On the way home we stopped at Elf Made, it is a wonderful prim shop that also carries local souvenirs and I love their scents. I got some of my favorites and some candles, as well as a few bags of balsam for my Christmas pillows. All of the stores pack your purchases in fun bags and fabric ribbons, a little something I can use in a special project.

I hope you enjoyed my visit to NH, I know I could spend the whole summer there, if I could.

Must be Monday!

It seems I do so much to get ready for a vacation that it takes all week to relax and then it is time to come home and clean up after the vacation, now I need another one;)

One thing that is fun on a vacation is shopping and buying some goodies to bring home. I spent more time outside and enjoying nature but we did hit a few stores along the way.

In Jackson, we found Flossie's General Store. They had a lot of different gifts and local items. I got some Christmas items, a miniature handmade creche and angel chimes that move with a candle flame. I also found more balsam, so I will be making lots of pillows this year. In Center Harbor I stopped at Keepsake Quilting and bought a little wool pillow kit and next door they had yarn and roving, white to dye myself and the beautiful dyed roving will go into some art projects.

On the way home we stopped at Calefs in Barrington NH, which has food related items and Bill got a sandwich and some goodies for my son. Next door is Elfmade and Company, primitive heaven, candles and scents and I was in heaven. I had to smell all the different scents, they have them in bowl fillers and the matching sprays are available so you can use that when the scent dissipates. I got lemon merringue and it smells so good, as well as coconut crunch, I love candy smells. A few small items for gifts and some scented items for my son, he loves their candles. I also got a large primitive pump bottle for the kitchen, now I have something nice to keep my dish soap in.

Across the street was a store that was like an over stock store. Lots of Carhartt clothing and miscellaneous items. I found primitive picks at a fraction of the cost and some fun potholders, great place to find some bargains. This is a great place to stop if you are in the area, a lot of fun gifts in one place.

I will use the blue picks in the basket, in the beach room.

I decided I wanted to put some of the scented filler in the beach room, but I didn't have something to hold it in. After church we went down to a gift store that sells a lot of beach items and I almost gave up, when I spotted this shell shaped pottery dish, hidden behind some other items. It is the perfect blue green shade for the room.

And a few more photos from our trip. This was a stop along the Kancamagus, a historical homestead with a walk through the woods to a pond and you can visit the home and grounds, as well. This was such a peaceful place, I would love to live here.

And for those of you who have never gone over a covered bridge, this is what they look like in the inside. If  you ever travel along the Kancamagus, you must stop at the ranger station and pick up a map. It is only two dollars and it shows all of the scenic points and trails along the way.

A day of going no where?

Today I planned a short ride that looped around a small town, to see a covered bridge and a church. We saw the church and I took a few shots, then we drove on the the bridge. Well, we drove for a long time down a long road and no sign of the covered bridge.

We passed by a farm with goats and sheep and beautiful views of the mountain ranges, but no bridge.

Then we came around to the other side of the road and we saw another farm with cows and obnoxious dogs that jumped on our car, and more beautiful views of mountains on the opposite side, but no bridge.

At that point, I gave up and said, lets go back the way we came, hit the main highway and look for the road that leads to the bridge. That worked, we found the bridge and came back the way we came in, so we didn't get lost in the mountains again. It took more time than we planned but well worth the adventure and the views.

It was then that we realized, we were close to the town of Sandwich and I wanted to visit a store that sold items made by local artisans. I saw a lot of beautiful pottery and unique items, but prices way above what I wanted to pay. Since we were close to Center Harbor, we decided to stay in the area and visit Keepsake Quilting and Patternworks. I got a small wool kit to make gifts for Christmas and some beautiful roving to work with. We stopped at the pier to take in the views of Lake Winnipesaukee before heading back to camp.

I took this photo with my iPhone and the panoramic shot, great for getting views of an entire area.

Vacation Fun!

Yes, we are actually having fun this time. It is hot and we are wearing ourselves out, but in a good way and we need that. Yesterday we spent the day riding down the Kancamagus Highway and hitting every scenic point, waterfall, covered bridge and park that we saw, way too many;) We only visited them and walked on the short ones, too hot for long hikes.

Since we have been traveling around in circles, up and down the roads, we have seen a lot of beautiful places and just enjoyed the ride and being in the moment, so I will share a few of our highlights.

You cannot capture the pure beauty of the mountains or the feeling of being up on a mountain top, staring out at nothing but mountains and valleys, it is breathtaking and awe inspiring.

One place I wanted to visit was a river walk, where we took the kids. This is where I took the photo of the family, walking down the path and Danielle turned and looked back, we used that photo as our good bye photo at the wake. I felt a sense of peace and joy, being in an area where we once were together and I know she was with us in spirit.

We had a long day and I was tired and over heated, and the sun was coming down. It was so close to setting that I wanted to stop at the lake to watch it. Bill took the wrong road but we found it led to a public swimming area. So while I was taking photos, Bill jumped in with Bean and I went in too. I think this was the best part of the day, watching the sunset and swimming together in the lake as it made it's final descent.

Bean of course loved it too, he finally got to swim with us and no leash.

Today we went for a ride in our area, around some back roads, to see an old church and some lakes. The area was beautiful and it was a wonderful church on the water, but no place to stop or stand for a photo.

We took the road along the backside of the Saco river today and got to enjoy being close up to mountains and cliffs, towering over the farmlands below. I saw a sign for the ledges and thought, why not check it out. I am deathly afraid of riding up mountains where there are ledges and steep drops, but the road  up was all through wooded areas and it was wonderful. I was able to stand at the top of the ledges and look down on the valley and the distant mountains.

We got to our main activity for the day. Diana's Baths. It was an easy hike along a well maintained path to the falls. We walked along the paths until we found the perfect spot, nicely shaded for sitting and a small pool to cool down in. Of course Bean was in Heaven, he wanted to play in the water all day, but it is cold and he was shivering, so we had to make him play in the shallower water for awhile. It was the perfect place to spend and end the day, just sitting and relaxing with views of the falls and mountains.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of our adventures, tomorrow is another day, we shall see where the road leads us.

Friday Finishes!

This week I finally got the time to finish one item and make something new. It seems that I spend more time cleaning and taking Bean out, he really is an energetic pup and if i don't wear him out every few hours, he spends his time indoors, annoying me.

My great niece got a giant dollhouse last Christmas and so far she has decorated it with Barbie items, so i wanted to make her a rug for the house. I picked an antique design from Kopp's book and kept the colors in pink and blue, since those are her favorite colors. I wanted to use 3 strands of floss to keep the rug in scale, but it was way too much work and repetition, so I jumped to 6 strands for the background. It gives it a bit of a raised effect and it is not what I envisioned, but I am sure she will love having a real rug for her doll house and maybe someday she will get real furniture for it;)

If it were me, I would spray it with walnut ink, but she is a girlie girl and bright it will be. The rug is 7 1/4" x 6".

Another idea I had, was to make little tea coasters and stuff them with balsam. I thought a small piece like that would fit nicely into a thank you card and I could give them out as little gifts too. I used one of my photos from the trip and printed it on printable fabric, but I misjudged the size and they have become little pillows. I do like how they look and still a nice gift idea. I don't really like the stiffness of the fabric paper and I really do not trust the inks if it gets wet. I did heat set it and then run under cold water but I did notice a bit of red ink. It is a nice idea to use with photos to make pillows or even a mini quilt from your favorite trip.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. We have the annual art show in Wickford and the folk art music festival in Newport, so hoping to get to the art show, I haven't been in years.

Vacation?

Well, things didn't work out as planned and we came home wednesday. A combination of people who take out their frustrations on others, bad cooking arrangements and a moldy house, put me into a state of stress that caused me to get sick again. Add a cute but obnoxious niece who wanted to jump on me in the water and a sprained back put me over the edge;)

The first night seemed to be the start of a wonderful week. The location was wonderful, nice calm cove with views of the mountains.

The house was large and looked wonderful from the outside but the floors and walls were plywood. Add a damp environment and you get mold growth on the wood, which made it hard to breath well.

It was cloudy on the first day so Bill and I took a trip down to the end of the lake, which was a little over 4 miles.

The second day rained so we went for a drive by ourselves, so I could get a break and do some shopping at the outlets. On the way we took a back road and saw this dam that warned, when you hear the alarm, the water rises immediately. I would not want to be on the banks when that happens.

By day three, the sun was shining and it was perfect for paddling but I was mentally and physically exhausted and since it was my sister's vacation, I kept my mouth shut and said I was ill and went home. We took the scenic route and had a nice time enjoying the lakes and mountains and found this old dam at Bear Brook State Park area. It was a nice place to stop and stretch our legs.

The nice thing was, I had extra cash left that I had saved for the trip and I decided to treat myself with a stop at The Quilted Crow. They were off to another show so they were pulling things off the shelves, so the pattern stock was being depleted but I was able to find some nice patterns to make and some fabrics to use in my Christmas projects. I also got some gold eye needles to use. They go in smooth but I notice that gold ends tend to stick as you go through, maybe it is just me? Stay tuned for my 5'th year Blogaversary, coming soon! I am working on one gift and hope to have it done to show you.

Comfort quilt

One of the projects I worked on that I couldn't show, was quilt blocks.
They were made as part of a quilt, we made for a fellow quilter who is going through some tough times.
I made two blocks for the quilt and we all sent them to another girl who pieced the quilt and then it went onto another, who did the quilting and binding. They did a beautiful job on putting it all together and today it arrived to it's destination. If you would like to see the whole quilt, you can visit Nancy's Blog to see all the other wonderful blocks in the quilt.

The theme of the quilt was nature and wildlife, so each block in the quilt depicts various pictures of things Nancy and Jim love.
This block I made from a photo she had. She lives outside of Yellowstone park and has frequent visitors. The photo was of her cat and a deer, kissing. I just had to make it into a block. I added the rainbow from something I read about her loving the rainbow poem.



The second block was from my memory of a picture I had seen of her husband Jim, who was standing in the yard watching something and the kitty was sitting beside him. He also loves the outdoors and outdoor activity and even though he cannot do these things now, I had him hiking with the kitty.