Friday Finish!

 I am finally at the point of finishing my long pillow, but I still have the details with glitter threads, to do. I like putting a pop of glitter on some pieces, especially for Christmas pieces. I wanted to try a few ornaments, so I made up a couple this week.

For the snowman head, I used a foam ball to start and wrapped it with roving and felted it in. I placed it in some greens for the photo, but I will add a topper so I can hang it on the tree. The star started out with one idea, but I couldn't get it the way, it was in the photo, so I just made a simple hate on mine.

I am still trying to get good shots with my camera, not sure why I cannot get one, but most were at a distance on cloudy days, so that is one reason. I know I tend to move when I press the shutter, so I need to be more still, it's a shame since I had lots of great bird shots but they were too dark and blurry.

I decided to try some in my back yard, that way I had a sunny day and I could brace myself better. I have a lot of winter visitors and a group of doves who like to hang out in a tree by the feeder.

I also have way too many sparrows, they keep multiplying, every year. This one was in the back and nice enough to sit still for a photo. These came out a lot better, so I know I need light with this camera, to get sharper photos. 

I hope you all had a good week and enjoying the holiday month. I got a lot done early, so I can enjoy working on a few projects for fun and most of my shopping is done, so I can relax and enjoy it more. 

Friday Finish!

 I am still working on finishing my two quilts, but almost there, just the binding left. I decided to take a break and try an idea I had. I was thinking of making penny ornaments with needle felting and fill them with balsam. Not so sure they will work with balsam, it might fall out and what I had thought in my head, didn't quite work out, a bit cutesy. I tried to put too much in a small space and didn't have enough room for detail. But, it was fun to do and helps me to decide on what to try next.

Last weekend we spent a day with the boys. On the way to the farm, I remembered the alpaca farm had an event for the weekend, so we stopped there first. The boys loved seeing the alpacas and I got myself a few bags of wool felt, from the alpacas.

Nick got to try out weaving on a loom, he loved it.

Then we went to the apple farm, always a fun place for the boys.

The boys got their own bag to pick and take home. Nick loves apples and Alex enjoyed helping him by picking out of a few of his own.

On the way home we stopped at the mill. Next month they will open for demonstrations, so we will go back.

The boys had fun exploring.

Sunday we decided to go  to Groton, Connecticut. We stopped at the point and enjoyed watching the boats and ferries.  Then we went for a walk at the boardwalk that follows the river. It was a nice walk without crowds.

We also spent some time at the beach this week. So much nicer without the crowds, even though it can get a bit chilly. Today I found some nice treasures, a piece of pottery and the top of a red glass bottle, probably from an old perfume bottle. 

I hope you are all doing well and safe from teh storms that have come through. We are getting the rains tomorrow, so a good day to stay in and finish my quilts. 

Friday Finishes!

 

This week I have been busy, being Lazy. I spent more time working on projects for fun and got a few new things made for the boys. The first finish are a pair of pillows with Balsam filling. I love having some for the house and giving them as gifts, nice for those who don't have a real tree.

The design is by Robin of Bird in the Hand Primitives. She offered this as a free design years ago and again on her Facebook page. It is a fun design to do and would be fun in punch needle too.

I also dabbled a bit with needle felting. I bought a pack of cookie cutters and used them to form a base for some little ornaments. I do find it easier to free hand but it is fun to try the cutters to get started.

I saw a cute little reindeer and wanted to try one for the boys. Mine did not come out the same, and this photo does make it look funny, but it is cute in person. I have a variety of wool roving and some is harder to work with. I think it would have been easier if I didn't use a scratchy wool.

And on nice days we spend our time at the beaches. Not as much glass lately, but just walking along the beach is enough.

This area has another beach we visit, beautiful views of the bay and Newport.

And during the week I enjoy sitting on the porch and watching my feathered friends. This is the brother and sister of the adult pair, I guess they decided to stay. The yard photo was enhanced a bit, but it was beautiful with the setting sun, beaming down on the tops of the trees. This week will be busy, cleaning and cooking, for Thanksgiving. I hope you all have a wonderful week and holiday.

Friday Finish!

Another week has flown by and I hope this post finds everyone, doing well.  With the cooler temps and shorter days, it means more time inside to work on projects. This week I found some fun new projects to do from Farmhouse Friends, on Facebook. 

This design is one of the freebies they are offering each week and a design by Heart to Hand.

I am not great at following directions, but I stuck to the original design and used glitter thread for the leaves and berries, it adds a nice touch to the piece and will be pretty when the lights, hit it.

We also got out for some nice day trips last weekend. We decided to go up the opposite side of the Connecticut river. Our first stop was an old cemetery that sits on the river. Beautiful views but no eagles on this day.

The second stop was another cemetery. A beautiful place to walk around and there were bits of color, here and there.

The next stop was a riverside park where you can launch your boats or sit and enjoy the views. It is also a stop for the tourist trains. 

Our last stop was the ferry, across from the castle. We had the truck so we were able to finally take a ride across the river. A fun way to get across and quicker than going around to the bridge.

On Sunday we were able to get up early and head to Hammonasset Beach. The park is huge, lots of parking areas, walking areas, birding and camping there. I definitely want to go back with the kids. We spent our time at the point which is the main bird sanctuary.

Just that area is so big, we spent all our time walking on the paths and along that section of the beach. The only regret is that we couldn't spend more time there, but we wanted to head back before it got dark.

We left before it got dark but enjoyed a pre-sunset sky.

And we also got to our beach, on afternoon. Another bad thing about the time change, we only have an hour before it gets dark, but the good thing is, we get to watch the sunset. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and upcoming week.

Friday Finish and Fun!

 

Another week went by too fast, but I did get one thing done and lots of outdoor time. I saw a new free design to do from a Facebook group, called Christmas by the sea. Each one is an ornament for Christmas with a beach theme. I made mine and wasn't sure what to do with it and got an idea.

We were taking the boys out for the day and I decided to whip up a drawstring bag for Nick to put his treasures. I wish I had thought of it since I sewed the ornie, then had to attach it by sewing it down, so not quality work but good enough. The only thing was, the cord was way too thick to draw the heavy jeans, so I took it out and used a piece of jute.

We ended up turning around since the road was backed up with traffic and took the boys to our town beach. No glass collecting but the boys had fun in the shallow waters.

Alex is at that fun age, he loves the water and even if he was going backwards, he still tried to do some surfing.

Mom and dad wanted a night out, so today we got the boys in the afternoon and were able to take them to the glass beach. Nick loved his bag and finding his own glass. 

And Alex is becoming quite the water lover, he likes to go deep and let the waves crash into him.

We also got out by ourselves during the week. The tide was high so you can see the area were Nick is in the previous photo and how high the water goes up, not the easiest way to find glass.

I stand at the water edge and wait as the waves come in, then grab whatever the ocean leaves me.

Even with the high tide, I was able to find a few nice pieces. I am also reorganizing my glass and finds so I can start making things with the craft glass. Not as much as I usually find, but I think I have more than enough to make quite a few projects. And the good thing is, I get out in the fresh air and lots of miles of walking up and down the beach. I hope you all had a wonderful week and some fun, outside this weekend.

Friday finish and Freebie!

I hope everyone is done with their holiday shopping and can enjoy some time to relax and enjoy the holidays. We will have the kids over on Christmas Eve, so dinner and gift giving, then on Christmas Day we go to their house. I always save a present for the boys and I will have a little something for guests. 

This week I wanted to try something new, a cookie cutter gingerbread boy. The first one I kept simple and the second one, I added a fun outfit and bells. I love doing these and I think it would be fun to make more as gifts for next year and make them in different styles to fit the person, who gets them.

Another item I made was a gift card holder. I needed something to put the kid's card in and made up a mitten with a nativity scene. The nativity is a design I found on the web and then fit it to the mitten. The mitten is a pale green and the cuff is a green roving that I needle felted, into the felt. The appliqué is all wool, and a few touches that I add as I go. My shapes were different than the original so I just added some facial features to fit. 

The  mitten is a little over 6" long. The stitches are done with a khaki wool thread, but it stands out more in the photo. It's a great, last minute gift idea, that can be done in a day. 

May you all have a wonderful holiday week, no matter how you celebrate, may peace and love fill your lives and homes this year.

Friday Finish and Freebie!

This week I was able to get a few projects done. I got some new colored pencils and wanted to try them out. I wanted to get the inktense, but they are expensive. I ended up getting Faber Castell's Goldfaber pencils. They are 1.49 a pencil, which is nice since you can choose the colors you want and not waste on colors like white or black. For black I prefer to use their ink markers.

The first piece I made was a design by Cheryl Seslar. I traced the design with a washable embroidery pen, then colored it in with the pencil. The material is a stiff white, that I got for punch needle, but it is too stiff and loosely woven. It was ok, but a bit scratchy for coloring on.

Once I finished that, I used fabric medium and a bristle brush to move the colors around. When wet, they do blend in, so nice for more detailed projects when you want to add shading and mix colors. This was a practice piece, so I kept it simple.

It was too white for my tastes, so I used antique medium afterwards and there was no bleeding of the colors.

The second piece is a free design by Lori Brechlin. I really loved this one, the fabric was darker and softer, so the pencils colored more smoothly. I will have to try different fabrics and techniques, in future projects.

Here are two pieces that I used to try their colorfastness on. The flower was done with a fabric medium, the heart was just colored, so medium used. Once dry, I washed them in dish soap and scrubbed a little, then let dry. As you can see, no color bled out, so either way will work.

This was done with the bad weavers cloth, so you don't get the nicer look that you do on cotton.

Since I love making things from freebies, I decided to make one of my own. I found this saying and it was perfect for Valentines day. I did use the cheap fabric on this too, a good way to use it up. For the stitching I used black #12 pearl cotton. It is a fun and simple project you can do over the weekend.

I hand wrote the saying, so you could do one of your own. It is not exactly like mine, I tend to change things as I go. With primitive stitchery, you want your letters to be a little wonky. I did forget when I was recopying the e's on the third line, so just remember to pull the end down more. You can stitch t he hearts, do appliqué or use buttons, as well. 

And as an added bonus, I found a template online and added the saying inside. You can change it around if you want or add something to the empty spaces, but I wanted to give you one with the shape, that you can use to print out and have fun one.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Finishes and a free pattern!

This week I have been busy cleaning up after the holiday and decorating for the next one. I find myself more in the mood this year, I put out more of my decorations and more lights. I think the kids will love seeing all the decorations and lights when they visit, kids do make the holidays more joyous and I am blessed that I can spend as much time with mine, as I want.

I decided it was time to make one of my patterns from Buttermilk Basin. I love the cut out shapes and they fit nicely on the wall, in smaller spaces. I changed mine up a bit, adding button eyes and snowflakes instead of stars.

Another thing I wanted to try  was an ornament that I saw in my Craft Gossip mail. I followed the link and there was no pattern, that I could see, so I made up my own. I found a similar shape and made a printable, and printed it out on card stock. It isn't real clear, but good enough to print and cut out. I had some music note paper and cut that out in the same shape and glued it on with Elmer's craft stick glue. I used buttons and a button carrot nose, as well as a scarf, all done with the same glue. I wasn't sure if it would work, but everything is staying in place. With the snowflake button, I sewed that on with a thin quilting needle. This was a fun and quick project and you can use different types of paper and items that you have around the house. Great for the kids too.

I am posting the template, that I used. It will print out clearly and you can easily follow the shape, to cut it out. This can be done on a wood cutout, as well, most craft stores carry them. Another option would be to use fabric. Or if you want it to be more prim, you can spray it with walnut spray or add glitter, lots of possibilities. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Weekend shopping!

This weekend was cold and windy, so no walking on the beach or hiking on hills, and we need to get ready for Thanksgiving, so we went shopping.

The problem is, I never found anything that I was looking for but I did find a few new things for Christmas, lol. On Saturday we went to the shop to drop off our tapes, which was housed in an old mill. If you are ever in the Mystic, Stonington area, it is worth a visit.

It is called the Velvet Mill and hours various businesses, including crafts and antiques, as well as, a brewery that has kegs for tables. On Saturdays in the winter, they have an indoor flea market with various food vendors and crafts. A great place to spend a few hours on those cold days.

I didn't find anything interesting, but I knew there was a thrift store in the area, so of course we stopped there and I found a few things to decorate with. The nice thing about thrifts is I can buy things for a couple of dollars and not feel bad when I get sick of looking at them.

Here are the items I found, 2.00 dollars for each item. The ornament has a little girl in a bed with a kitty, I couldn't resist that. The small creche is perfect to add to my collection and I can add some items to it. The tree is a two piece wooden tree, not sure if I should leave as is or prim it up. I do like the fun look and maybe decorate around it, to have something the kids would like.

On the way home we stopped at the antique store, I needed some more lavender. They have a section with new items and lots of booths, so of course we had to walk around to see what was new. I didn't see anything else that I wanted or needed, but I thought these mini cast iron stoves were nice, I know someone who collects them, but too pricey for me.

On Sunday we went to the Bees Buzz, another antique barn with booths that has new and old items. I was thrilled to see a new vendor who had roving, and wonderful curly locks that I can use for sheep or beards. They look yellowed in the photo.

Another vendor sells handmade pottery and I love the coloring, but there is never anything I can use. This time I spotted a toothbrush holder and it is something I need and beautiful blue/brown hues to match my bathroom colors.

Next weekend is a large craft fair at Sturbridge Village and I thinking about going, but they charge to get in. I do not understand that, I am going to buy things, so why do I have to pay to shop? I can go to a prim store or the vendors and buy from them without an extra fee, money I would use to buy something, so I am not sure if it is worth it? One of the vendors will be Sassafras Hill Primitives, her booth looks wonderful.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are hosting the family and friends and I am sitting here wondering how I am going to get this house clean and cook food in three days, ugh. I work well under pressure and good at hiding dirt if I have to, lol. May you all be blessed with friends and family or a nice quiet day enjoying some stitching.