Friday Finish!

 

I finally finished a piece I started, made with one of my patterns, Catch of the Day. I made them for punch needle or rug hooking, but most work with stitchery too. I like to have simple things to do at night, while I watch tv and during the day I try to work in my room with the machines and prepping pieces. I really need to start pulling out all the old and unfinished projects, a few that I really want to finish for summer.

We are finally getting some nicer days. Bill had an early appointment this week, so he took the day off and we headed to the beach. The tide was lower, than usual and it was good for Bean to get out again.

At another beach, I walked along the length to the rocks. When the tide is super low, I can walk over the cliff area to another area, on the other side. Lots of rocks in this area, looking down to town. I wear heavy winter hiking boots, so it makes it easier to walk on the rocks.

I have been looking for glass and beach treasures, when we go out. Not as much with the strong tides, but here are a few things I have found, from a couple of trips. 

I hope everyone had a nice week and can enjoy some nicer weather. I do see that some of you are in the storm's paths for tornadoes, so my prayers are with you all.

Friday Finish!

This week I wanted something new to do but something that didn't take too much work. I decided to remake a bunny from my Bunny Buddies pattern. This time I went with bright and fun, using old scraps and floss from the ones I got for the kids to make bracelets. It is also a bit larger than the others, so a fun piece to decorate with. I actually made it for my sister, who is going through medical problems and I wanted to make her something happy to cheer her up. She had asked for some when I first made them, so I hope she likes this new version.

I added the background and the pink bow with photoshop AI. I still have to get out to the craft store to get some pink ribbon before I send it. I have a link to my patterns on the left side column.

Last week I wanted to go back to find the elusive rare bird. We didn't see it, but on the way back out, we saw a bunch of cars and cameras pointing toward the field. It took me awhile to find it, but finally with the help of others, I was able to catch it in the back field. This is a Northern Lapwing, usually found in Europe and Asia. 

We also spent time at the beach, where Bean can enjoy some play time and I can enjoy the views and birding.

Lots of Common Eiders this year.

At home, more birds are leaving and our regulars will be returning. I seem to have a new visitor, a Red Squirrel. This one is a new one, it is living in the neighbors yard and I usually spot two of them, running around the wood piles.

I am still unable to walk much. Today it was shopping in my light hikers but it killed my foot, so no walking on the beach. We have beautiful weather this weekend, so I hate that we can't get out for hikes. With the cooler temps it is perfect to be in the woods and bug free. I hope everyone is doing well with the bad weather conditions that come through. 

Friday Finish!

 

This week I decided to make one of my rug patterns into a stitchery. It is from my pattern, Rooster's house. It is perfect to go in my kitchen to match with my other chicken pieces. I used my phone and no matter where I shot in the house, the colors were off. 

Last week's ride took us along the coast. At the Marsh, we spotted a few birds. 

Then a stop at the piers, we watched a fishing boat coming in.

And I spotted a seal, popping up for a look.

And at another beach, I was able to find a Drift of Snow Buntings. A single bird is called a snowflake.

At home, I have had a lot of visitors. With the snow and bitter cold, they have less to eat and the feeder helps to fill in the gap. I was able to get a decent shot of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. He has been making a lot of holes in the maple tree, so he should have lots to eat when it starts to run.

It looks like a slight warm up this weekend, so hoping to get outside more. Who would have thought that 40 degrees would be a warm up. Hopefully it will continue and spring will come early. I hope you all enjoy your weekend and improving weather.

Friday Finish and Freebies!

It seems I have more energy to make things at Christmas, even though it is too late to make gifts, some I can hand out to people and others I can save for next year. I actually have a stitchery and punch needle, waiting to be started, so hopefully I can make at least one for next week.

This week I was in the mood to needle felt. The plan was to make a simple gnome santa, one for each of the boys, but I got carried away. He got bigger and then I went off on my own, as usual, so he is simple but more detail than the original which was just a blog with a beard, lol.

I was trying to make his cuff at the bottom, look like it draped over his boots, but didn't come out the way I planned. Some day I want to make a nicer old world santa.

I also made up some ornaments from a design by, Downeast Thunder Farm. She has a lot of nice felt designs that she offers for free and these were perfect for Christmas giveaways. I didn't have any white felt, so I used wool, which isn't as stiff, so I put a piece of felt for the back.

Another ornie I made was these fun stockings. I saw them on  pinterest and I saw that they are being sold from an import company, so I took the liberty to make my own version. I just traced out some mini stockings and added things by hand cutting, so no pattern. Simple enough to copy to make your own and put your own touches to. Mine are about 3" long. I may try some with carrot buttons, I do have a lot of chenille that was gifted to me.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I still need to come up with a good idea for the boys. I have bought them some things, but Nick wanted an electric guitar. I don't know if he will take it seriously, so I want to get him something with strings, but also fun buttons and I can get Alex a button one, but so far, they all have bad reviews. Not sure if it is worth it, so will see what the stores have, at least I can take it back if I have to.

It is also a time of remembering, not a day goes by that I don't think of my daughter and Christmas was always her favorite holiday. This guy is a frequent visitor when I sit on the porch.

Friday Finish and Freebie!

This week I made another stocking from the stocking design I found at Cheri's facebook group. I used designs from her old books and added my own touches. Now I have one on each side of the skinny walls, that are on the big, useless opening in our kitchen. The wall will be coming down and we plan on putting in an island.

For now it is a great place to hang things. I hung it on a knob with better lighting, but I can never get a good shot of wool items.

Tuesday was a beautiful day and I wanted to get out. No crowds and Bean got to enjoy getting out too. This is how Bill looks for glass, I was digging too, lots of rocks with glass, hiding underneath.

And we found some nice pieces this time. I really need to organize what I have found lately and start making things. Winter is a great time to create, so hopefully I can get more done this year.

And for this week's freebie, a fun little star that I saw online and no idea who made it, but it did have a pattern. I redid it a bit and made the hat simpler, as well as changing the face. I like things I can make up quickly, since these are things I give away. I think it will definitely bring a smile, to the recipients face. Something fun to make and you can change it to suit your needs and change the expressions. I may do some with button eyes.

And here is the pattern, simple to make with felt or wool. You could even sew some with lighter fabrics. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finishes!

This weekend we went for a few drives and found out, one store was closed on Monday, but the good thing was, Colchester Mills was open and I was able to get some nice muslin and a new pattern, as a treat.

This design is by Blueberry Backroads, called Just for You! I love the fact that it is small and has the perfect saying for gift giving. I made the first one into a pillow, but they also have a flat version. I think the flat one would be fun to fill with balsam but I didn't get any this year. It is also nice since the flat version can fit in a small yellow envelope, along with a card.

I gave it a little color and some bells.

My freebie for the week was a design I found online, a simple tree with cut out hearts, but I decided to try some of my buttons. It was simple and quick to make up, so a great giveaway item, and something simple enough for kids to do. I think I like the smile face trees, better.

I saved the site these came from, but it seems to be an iffy site, isn't taking me to the same post, so I am including the pattern I downloaded and it does have the name of the site it came from. I wouldn't bother though, I already cleaned out my cache to be safe.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. It is going to be cold again, so we won't be hitting the beach, anytime soon.

New Pattern Winner and a freebie for all!

I was able to finish the new pattern this week, though it took longer than usual. The last fall landed me on my elbows, so my arm is still recovering from that. I made it larger, which actually makes it harder for me, I am better with smaller designs and detail.

The punching is not the best and I wish I had gone out and gotten new floss, but I love the design and how it is a bit of history and a bit of whimsey.

The lighthouse is the Ledge Lighthouse which is off the coast of Connecticut, which is reported to be haunted. The perfect place for the ghostly sailor to sail by.

And to add to the fun, guess what number the generator picked? Lucky number 13, lol! So, the winner is Rugs and Pugs! Please send me an email and I will attach the pattern to the return mail.

The finished piece is 6" x 7". I have added a button to the side bar that links to my selling site. For some reason, PayPal is not letting me use their code for a link, so this way you can see the pattern and link to that, to purchase one, if you would like to make your own. This would be fun as a rug, or applique, which I may try myself.

The colors are better in person, I needed to keep it light for the pattern and printing.

And for those who want to make something fun for Halloween, I have gotten permission to share this older pattern. I did the piece and the write up for the magazine, Mercantile Gatherings, from Tiffany's design. I miss her website, lots of freebies and wonderful prim designs.

Have fun and remember to give credit to the designer, when posting a photo. You can use Primitive Blessings, which is her old store name.

Have a wonderful weekend!

New Pattern: Jonah and the Whale!

Today was a busy day and I almost forgot to post. Bill had his second surgery to fix the eye, they did cataract surgery on and all went well and he is seeing much better now.

I was able to make another whale but my arm gave out from two days of punching, so I just kept it simple and slightly different, than the first. I also made a pattern, if you would like to make your own. You can use any old piece of wood or check your local craft store, they carry a lot of weathered board pieces now.

I just laid this whale on one of my boards, I need to find some more flat drift wood, or I may use a piece from an old bureau I saved.

If you would like to buy this pattern, you can find it at my Ecrater Store. It would also be fun to do as a rug or applique piece and with a change of colors, perfect for a child's room. The pattern includes both whales, since they are a little different.

It looks like a stormy weekend, so hopefully we can get out for a walk before it hits or in between storms. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Summer Ornies!

This weekend, I got bored. So, I decided to make something new to decorate my seasonal tree. Spring still seems like winter, so I went with a summer theme and my favorite subject, the beach.

I made the designs simple to make it easier for making into ornaments and can be machine sewed. I like how they came out and I did them over the weekend, so they work up quick. I also made them so  you can do the sailboats or pails in different colors, a great stash buster, for those floss boxes.

I am getting a lot of requests for a pattern, so I will work on that this week, hopefully I can get them done in a  few days. I always like to make things first, then I make the pattern and adjust things to make them better, where needed.

I put them together for the photo, but I am thinking of adding some starfish lights and maybe some wool starfish, and maybe a nautical flag for the top.

The weather has been too cold to get out, but today I just wanted to walk the beach. It was cool but nice and I was able to find a few nice pieces of glass. This weekend we were supposed to go camping, but now they are talking about a rain storm coming in, so we may stay home and enjoy one good day before it comes in. Hopefully it will hold off long enough to get out in the morning on Sunday, but Monday will be the worst, so I don't think it is worth the trouble of packing up and preparing for a short trip. I have another at the end of the month, so I can add an extra day to that.

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.

Friday Finishes!

This week has been slow and I was working on one of my stitcheries. Then I decided to make a pillow for my beach room and yesterday, I spent most of my day, working on it and finished the pillow top and today I was able to sew it up.

It is a design by Kathy Schmitz for her One Stitch Club, and I made a small pillow but this one is 18" square and a start for my pillows in my beach room. I wanted to use blue jean appliqué with rough edges, but not sure if they will fray too much, I used iron on fusible, so maybe I need to do the larger ones without?

I changed the design up a bit to fit the size and kept it simple, I don't want the pillows to be basic, this one is more than I planned. The others will be a simple blue jean appliqué shape in the same style pillow, in a 20". I saw similar ones in a store and they were asking 60.00 for one, so it is nice to be able to make my own.

I am also working on a stitchery by Cheri Saffiote, a freebie pattern for her Facebook Group. I am making this as a gift and later I will add the names to it, but for now I need to finish the main stitchery and then decide on a border.

I hope you all have a nice weekend. I found a place that will take our old VHS tapes and put them on disc, so we will start out with a few at a time. It is only 10.00, but I want to try a few first and these I know have our kids on them, the rest we will have to sit and watch to see what is on them.

The Ugly Angel: Free Pattern!

I wanted to try an angel and I found a wonderful pattern by CatNap Primitives. She also has a free bunny and other wonderful patterns are reasonable prices. It is a freebie offered on her site, at Patternmart.  If you click on the main menu for patterns, click on free and you will find a lot of other free patterns. I like the idea of making my own but I wanted to try some simple dolls and techniques to get some practice in, it's been a while since I have made dolls.

The original pattern is for a tree top angel, but I wanted to make it for spring, so I changed it up a bit. Then I decided to make a satchel bag to hold flowers, but I made a mess of that. I plan on making a calico one to replace it. It was fun to make, but I definitely need practice on my stitched mouths. I think it would be fun to make them as gifts and customize them, to fit the personality and tastes of the person who receives them, so I will have to work on some of my own ideas. I do have doll patterns and a doll clothing book so I can do different styles.

Another mistake I made is, I forgot, if you wet the piece first, do not saturate it with stain, it tends to pull up in blobs. I was able to tone it down a bit by rinsing it back out.

Tomorrow we are getting a storm. It was a blizzard, then a storm, then it went from 15" down to 6" in our area, so I am not complaining. But, we all know weather has a mind of it's own, so we shall see how bad it gets. Of course I had to get out for supplies, crafting ones, lol. Today we got food items so we are all set. I hope everyone stays safe and warm if you are in the storm's path.

New Bunny Pattern!

This week I was in the mood to make something new and fun, so I made up some Bunnies. I got such a great response from them on Facebook and requests for a pattern, that I made one. I wanted to make something I could use up my scraps on and the quilted bunny uses lots of different colors and the second bunny uses white and brown shades. I also did each one differently and added how I did them in the directions.

I hope you like the new bunnies, they are 5" tall and I antiqued them. If you are interested in making your own, you can order the pattern with the link on the left column.

I had so much fun making them, so I gave myself a rest day, they are hard on my arm. Today I made another one that is 6" tall. I did it in the crazy quilt style, but on this I made a different nose, a raised, punched version. I think I could make a lot more if my arm wasn't hurting and a lot of people want me to make them some, so maybe next week. These are great to make for yourself or shows and make extra for your friends.

I hope you all have a nice weekend. We had snow today and cold all weekend, so maybe a ride. My son's birthday was this week so we are having them over for dinner on Sunday.

Monday Work and Wanderings!

The fun thing about a new month is a new design from Kathy, from her One Stitch at a Time Club. This month was a fun spring design and it was something nice that I could work on this weekend and finish today.

I Colored in the bee black and yellow with my art markers, I like the touch of color. I also added the saying. I think this would be a fun inspirational piece for someone who needs a lift, during a bad time. I also added some lavender so I can use it as a sachet, as well.

My flash was acting up, so I had a hard time getting a good shot.

I also realized that I forgot something on my new bunny piece. I forgot his whiskers. I wanted to add them last, so the good thing was, I could add them on with a needle. They are not permanent, but I like how it gives it a 3D look.

Saturday Bill was sick again, so we stayed home and he rested. On Sunday I wanted to get out so we took a ride to Connecticut, so we could enjoy the views from the car, it was cold out. We sat for awhile and watched the boats coming and going, the ferry coming in and a fishing boat, going out.

As we drove out, I noticed the college, it is an extension of UConn for Marine studies. The grounds are beautiful and they have a lot of beautiful old stone buildings, so we drove in and took a look around.

This is the Branford House Mansion, now it is used for weddings and other venues and you are allowed to walk around the grounds. The bad thing is, the geese leave messes all over, so you have to watch where you walk, lol. You can see the moon, up above.

There is also a small lighthouse on the grounds and the perfect place to enjoy the views of Long Island sound. It was nice to get out and nice to see something new, I will definitely go back when it is warmer. I couldn't get great photos since my fingers were freezing. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Catch of the Day! New Pattern.

This week I worked on a new pattern, I had in the works. I had to wear a wrist and elbow brace so that helped, but I think my punching suffered a bit and I really need to rest my arm this weekend, so light stitching for me.

The finished piece is 6" x 5 1/4" and it was a fun piece to do. The pattern is done in punch needle, but my patterns can be done in rug hooking, stitchery or appliqué, as well. You can order the pattern with the link to the left or visit my ecrater store. As a bonus, anyone who orders a pattern this weekend, can pick a free pattern of their choice, of equal or lesser value. Just let me know on the order form in the comment section, which pattern you would like.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. We have cold weather coming in, so no walks, maybe a nice ride and we can enjoy the views from the car.

New Punch Needle Pattern!

I finally finished my piece and the pattern is ready. I made a few changes and finished it off with a white cording. The finished piece is 6 1/2 x 4 1/2. I think this would make a great gift idea for an ocean lover or a church lover. I may do it in an art quilt with a saying, love redoing designs in different ways.

I had Bill check out my DIL's Facebook page, I still am not on her list, so I have not seen any photos of Nick in months. There were a few and here is one with Nick and the baby, along with his cousins. A few more weeks and they should be coming home, can't wait to see them.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend. Bill told me he can take off a couple of extra days, now that the job is finished. But, all of the camps are full and I cannot imagine how crazy they would be on the last weekend of summer. It is also cooling down, so I told him not to take off time now and wait till next week, so hopefully we can get out and have some fun, after the holiday crowds have gone home.

Still working on it!

I started my new punch needle and this one is much better with the detail and rocks. I also made it a bit smaller. This is the kind of piece that I think would look wonderful in Valdani threads, since they have a nice variety of shades.

Bill has to work again so I will be working on finishing this piece and getting the pattern ready. I also have ones I have done and need to be finished and made into patterns, one is for fall, so that will be next.

It is so hard to get true colors and this is a piece that looks better in person. The seagulls look large, but that is how punch looks before it is all filled in.

Here are the two together, you can see the difference in size. I still have to do the upper sky and border. I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

The photos are more wonky since they are laying on a curved couch.