Friday Finish!

 

This week I was busy getting the trailer ready. It seems I take all week with packing and planning and cooking, on top of taking care of the house but I was able to get it all done and not forget anything. During the week I got a chance to finish a small pillow. Another stitchery I never finished off, so bit by bit, I am whittling down items in my box.

Last week we went to the island for some beach combing. I noticed a goose, close to shore and was able to get close enough to see it was in distress. He has wry neck and that can be a sign of Avian flu. It cannot raise its head, so it is unable to fly. I also saw two dead birds on the shore, so it is possible with the large flocks of geese and gulls in the area. I contacted a few organizations in the area, so hopefully they could help it.

Lots of Ospreys have come back and new ones are nesting so not sure if this is a regular or a new one who may be thinking of nesting in the tree.

Today we got to camp. We got a nice spot on the cove, so it's a great place to relax.

After we set up, we went to the beach and enjoyed some time beach combing and the cooler air. A storm was coming in, so we couldn't stay out long.

Back at camp, I enjoyed relaxing and watching the storm as it rolled in. With the tide being so low, I was able to walk out further in the marsh with my boots. Tomorrow is cloudy and cooler, perfect for bike riding. Sunday will be rain, and I paid for the night so we could stay all day, so it will depend on the rain.

I hope you all had a nice week and can enjoy some nice weather, though I saw there are some bad storms in some areas. 

Friday Finish!

 

This week I took some things out of my, to do list. This one was all stitched, just needed to be finished. I decided to make it into a pillow. It is a pattern by Cheri Saffiote and this one I did in red work. The fabric was a tea stained muslin but my lighting turned it a bit red.

Today I finally got a chance to hike to the Blue Heron rookery. The path had a lot of downfall and new growth so it was a maze to get around things.

At the pond, I noticed there were less nests and less Herons. The storms this year, really did a lot of damage to the nesting areas and I guess it hit here too. Add the colder temperatures and I assume most are still heading up. 

Not sure if this one was nesting or just taking a rest. 

This one is waiting for its mate. Very sad to see so little activity. It is usually teaming with birds and nests. One problem was, I had to walk through narrow paths in bush to get a clearer shot, so I spent a lot of time picking ticks off my pants. Once we got home, we took all our clothes off and did a body check. Bill did find one on his back, so glad we found it before it did any damage. I guess this is not a good time to be in the bush.

This area is also home to a lot of barn swallows. They are beautiful to watch, but I do wish they could build a platform on the pond, so I could stand in a clear spot to enjoy the birds. They have a main trail that is kept up, but the side trail to the birds, is not taken care of.

I hope everyone had a nice week and enjoying nicer weather. We are warming up and have a camping trip for next weekend. 

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 finishes!

This is the second time I have come in to post my blog and it wouldn't let me. I find the solution is to clear my cache and restart, then it works again. 

This week I worked on some more ideas for a pillow and a doll. I like trying different ones, to see what ones I like, before I make more. 

The first one is a kitty pillow. I need to reshape it better to make it a bit larger and better placement for the face. It looks wonky because of the angle. Today I redrew the face so I can use that for the next ones.

Another fun one, was a silly monster doll. I wanted to try the extra kid's fabric and it is fun, but a bit busy, so hard to see the details.

With the cold weather, we are home more than out, but we were able to get a decent day during the week, to spend time at the island. It was a beautiful day and I did a little glass collecting and bird watching. The birds were eating what they could find in the seaweed.

Today we got more snow, so another day in. Now it is freezing and windy, so not a good time to be outside. I hope everyone had a nice week and our weather gets warmer.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I tried a comfort pillow. It is something the kids can hug and use as a pillow, so perfect for kids who might have to go to a shelter in an emergency. It is fairly easy to put together and can be done in different types of fabrics. I hand stitched the details, by using a tighter blanket stitch, so it is durable and will hold up to snuggles. I do need to tweak the pattern, his ears are too pointy, so I will round them off.

It has been too cold to get out for walks, so we go for rides along the ocean towns to enjoy the views. The cove at the point was frozen over.

At home I have had a lot of birds visiting the feeders and for that reason, more visits from the hawk. This guy was a big one, he is way up on a tall tree, half way across the yard.

And lots of snow, for once it didn't rain and the snow has stayed. The bad thing is, the cold has made the snow hard and dense, so it's too much for Bean to play in.

Today we got out for another ride and were able to see the remains of a shipwreck on the beach. This is the area that has the breakaway, that is being repaired. The storms have uncovered this ship and it is estimated to be about 40 feet wide and 100 foot long, but no other data on what ship.

The rest of the ship is in the water, under sand. It's amazing to see and wonder what it was like, before it went down. 

I hope you all had a nice week and not snowed in. We are missing the next big one that is hitting the south, but still under frigid cold conditions. A great time to stay inside and work on projects.

Friday finish!

 

I hope every one had a nice holiday. We had a nice time, even though everyone was still sick. The good thing was, we didn't have to worry about getting sick or passing it along, we already did. 

I rested when I could and made up a couple of stitcheries to work on, I finished one. This is one of my designs from the Christmas booklet. A lot of my designs can be changed into stitcheries, even though I made them for rugs or punch needle. I added glitter paint on the star, for a fun touch.

We got out for a few rides, but not as many birds at the ponds. The winter ducks are coming in and even Pelicans have been spotted at the wharfs, so hoping we can get down there before they leave. I was able to spot a Red-shouldered Hawk one day. He flew right in front of us and landed on a post.

We enjoyed our time with the kids. We had dinner at our house on Christmas Eve and the kids got their main present along with others, then we spent the next day at their house and I saved some for them to open then. 

The boys got instruments, Alex was trying out his trumpet and Nick got an electric guitar, but I didn't get a shot of him. 

Tonight we are getting snow, so hoping it will be clear tomorrow so we can go out for a ride, to enjoy seeing everything covered in white. I hope you all enjoy your weekend.

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!

 

This week I worked on another project to get through my patterns. This one is from a Simply Need'l Love book, called Scare the Crows. It was a fun project to do and a great way to use up more wool from my stash. 

Last week we spent time at the island, on the beach. The water was rough, so it was hard to swim, but fun to ride in the waves. Always something going on, on the water. A tug boat pulling a working barge up the bay.

A few sail surfers were out, enjoying the wind and waves.

Today we went for a walk at the bird sanctuary. The state beaches at the ocean were all closed, due to rip tides, so no swimming today. I spotted a friendly pair in the pond.

Lots of chipmunks were along the paths today.

And more turtles sunning on the rock. It was a nice day for a walk, but got hotter as we went along. Warmer weather coming in, so we can get back to the beaches and enjoy the last days of summer. 

I hope everyone had a nice week and enjoying the weekend. We want to get away but have to wait till after the holiday and my husband has to be back at work on the next Monday, so we will have to slip it in, between the holiday and the following Monday, so I need to decide where and what to do. 

Friday Finish!

 

This week I have been working on finishing a pillow. It is the same design I did on a kitchen towel, but I wasn't pleased on how that came out, as a present. My sister is going through new treatments and I wanted to make her a happy present. 

When I was little, my mom would get me something when I was really sick, to cheer me up. I love keeping that tradition by giving gifts to cheer others up, when I can. 

I am also working on my quilt, the edges are all done and it is ready to quilt. Then I put together rows for another quilt for my sister, as a comfort quilt. I will be putting an angel at the top and squares on the rest. Lots of projects to sew next week. 

The pillow is a design by Bare Roots. My sister loves to bike and has done a lot of biking vacations in Europe and still uses her bike at home when she is up to it. 

I hope everyone enjoyed their week. We had a lot of heat, but cooling off now, so it is a nice relief. 

Friday Finish!

 I realized tonight that I forgot to post my blog. It's been a busy week with unpacking and cleaning from the trip, to getting ready for the weekend. We have been taking it easy and getting some things done and spending some times with the kids. I got a bag of fireworks for the kids and let them have some for their house last night and tonight we had them for dinner and outdoor games, then a few more fireworks. I got all kid friendly and from a shop in NH, so I knew they were safer.

I had started a needle punch project a few weeks ago and finished it this week. It's been a while since I have done punch, so I made some old mistakes in my color choices and in the lettering, so not perfect but good enough. It is a pattern in an issue of Primitive projects by Tonya Robey.

Hinsdale, a town down the road from our camp, has a few historic buildings. One is their town hall, a beautiful building but hard to get it without warping, using a wide angle.

Another building is the oldest Post Office, still in operation in the US. New Hampshire has a lot of beautiful towns, historic mill towns that are sadly, run down, but a lot of buildings still remain.

I hope everyone had a nice week and enjoying the holiday weekend. It is sad to see the floods in Texas and I hope you are not affected by that.

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.