Friday finish!

 I hope everyone had a nice holiday and can enjoy a relaxing weekend. We have cold and windy weather, so not great weather for being outside too long. Since I was busy with the holiday, I decided to make a few pillows with an old pattern, I had done before. 

This is a design by Red Button Company. My buttons were a little larger than the original ones, but they still worked.

We had a visitor to the yard this week. I was trying to get closer, but it spooked him and he flew away. It is a Pilieted Woodpecker.

We also had a nice dinner with the kids. Today my son came over to help my husband, with a new bathroom vanity for the basement. We need to work on our main bathroom, so I wanted a better vanity I could use when they start working on the other. Unfortunately they found mold and damage from a leak, so they had to put in a new floor and we will have to get a real plumber to fix the pipes.

I hope you all have a nice week and finding time to enjoy the coming holiday weeks.

Friday finishes!

 This week I actually got more done, the good thing about being laid up a bit. I still have a black and blue foot, but the swelling is down and I can walk on it, as long as I don't push off on my toe area. But the good thing is, I was able to make up some projects to keep my hands busy.

I tried another Easter egg. I saw the floral design on Pinterest and figured it was ok to copy it, though mine didn't come out as nice. I added a blue butterfly for an added touch. I can never get decent shots of my felted pieces, they look all fuzzy, but not in person. I started with a foam egg and wrapped the white roving around that, then felted it in, so it did warp it a bit. 

I also had one more stitchery to finish. Since I was sewing that and making lavender sachets, I decided to pull some scraps with fun designs, to make more.

I also spent a few days to finish my puzzle. It was not the easiest one to do, lots of details.

Last week we had a nice ride around the beach areas, always nice when I can't walk and it was still cold, but I could get out enough to get some shots. Lots of the ocean areas were fogged over.

At one beach we spotted the Horned Larks and another, I just caught the Kingfisher as he flew away.

We parked by a breachway and ended up sitting in the truck as a flock of gulls kept flying over us. It looked like a few had missing legs, and one with a broken one. They are constantly fighting over food, so they do get hurt.

And at another breachway we watched the Mergansers, fishing. In a pond I was shooting at the ducks and noticed a lone Merganser following the pair. I think it got separated from its flock and being younger, decided the ducks were his parents.

We stopped at another beach since I could get out and stand on the boardwalk, while Bill took Bean for a play on the beach. 

The last stop was at the wall to watch the surfers. It was really windy, the surf was rough and the surfers were not doing too well. I got a lot of shots of surfers in the surf instead of on it and a few legs sticking up in the surf.

This weekend will be windy and nice, so hoping we can get out a bit when it calms down. It is also my son's birthday, so we will have them over for dinner on Sunday. Next week we have nice weather coming in, so I am hoping I can get out and see if I can do a little biking on the paved bike path. I am really getting out of shape with all the injuries I keep having, so that might be a good way to get out until my foot heals.

I hope you all enjoy the coming week and enjoyed following along with me.

Friday Finish!

 

This has not been my week. On Saturday we went out to fix my skis and ended up getting a new pair, with hopes of going out on sunday. Then we went shopping and got a bag of items. Then I got home, picked up the back and it broke open. The heavy lazy Susan bowl set fell sideways on my foot, so now I have a broken toe near the joint.

I hate emergency rooms in our area, so I put up with the pain, but couldn't walk for a few days. Over the week I have been icing it and then I taped around the joints and am able to walk flat footed, as long as I don't use the toes. Hopefully it will heal and I can get out again. The weather is getting better, so I was looking forward to hiking. Skiing is out, so the skis will have to wait till next year. 

Since I cannot sit for long, I made up some small projects to do, while I rested. I have a few more in the works, so those will be done next week. I took some patterns from a large one, by Kathy Schmitz and used those to make mini sachets. Nothing fancy but something mindless to do.

While we shopped at the south end, we stopped for some birding.

Today I wanted to get out for a ride. Riding around the island is always nice with the views. We stopped at one beach and watched a tug bring in a ship.

We also stopped at the east end, the docks are always a nice place to check for birds that may be visiting on the rocks.

Our last stop was the marsh. There has been a sighting of a rare bird to our area, but I never did see it. There is always activity there, plenty of birds stay for the calmer waters and fish that come in and out with the tide.

Tomorrow will be another ride, so I have to decide where to go. I like when we can enjoy the views and I can get shots from the truck. We have nicer weather, but cold coming back again. I hope everyone had a good week and our weather brings an early spring.

Friday Finish!

 

I hope everyone is having a good New Year. It seems last year and into this year, I am getting every flu that is going around. My son was sick so I assume I caught it from him. I am not as bad and am fighting it off, but it means resting and finding a new easy project I can put together. I cannot stand just sitting all day and working on something is a good way to pass the time and create something new. I am leaning towards a long pillow to put on the back of the couch, so hopefully I can put that together tomorrow.

This week I wanted to work on something and need more lavender pillows for boxes I will be resorting. I decided to sign up for the new club, PQP Club. You get access to all the back issues of the magazine and 4 new designs each month. I found a valentine stitchery set that was perfect for mini pillows and I reduced it a little more.

We had a few warmer days, warm enough to get out for a bit and walk on the beaches. We went to one of the southern beaches and walked a bit on the point. From there I could get a shot across the water, to the lighthouse. 

At the beach end,  I spotted this guy, trying to keep from being swept up on the beach. He would swim out and then get pushed back.

He seemed to be content to stay at the beach area and enjoy the waters where it was a bit calmer.

Another day we went to the island and walked along the beach. A view of the lighthouse across the bay.

I spotted a flock of geese in one of the yards. I walked up to them, got my camera ready and caught them, just as they flew off.

On another beach I spotted a flock of Brandts. They were not afraid of me and actually followed me as I walked along. On the way home, I spotted a Kingfisher, hanging out on the camera of the Osprey nest. 

I hope you are all doing well this year and not in the storm's paths that are coming through. 

Friday Finishes!

 

The bad thing about being sick is, you can't get out to shop or the beach, so I am stuck at home. The good thing is, I have plenty of time to work on projects. It seems I have a good day and then downhill again, but at least my body is fighting. Having injuries adding to the mix,  doesn't help and hopefully I can get well enough to get checked out and fix my problems this winter, so I can get out and have fun when the weather gets nice again.

This week I started by finishing a needle felted piece. I saw a design on the web and wanted to try it. I didn't get the exact effect I wanted, but it came out pretty nice. I need to make a wooden board to mount it on or maybe find an old piece I can mount it on. The star came out too thick, wanted it thinner and less bold.

Then I made up some mini pillows to use up the balsam I bought. I gave some as gifts and Nick took a couple home, so the rest will go to neighbors and the milkman. 

The last piece is from The Stitch of the Month Club. I always need hot pads to put dishes on and this will be fun to use at Christmas. I seem to have gone a little wonky on one edge.

I hope everyone had a good week and not getting covered in too much snow. I am hoping to get out tomorrow to do a little stocking stuffer shopping for the boys. I have been shopping online but I want to get a little candy and small items to fill a stocking. I have one more quilt to finish, hopefully by Christmas and will have to put the printed nativity aside and finish that next year. It will be easier to put away without stuffing it, and I need to get ready for Christmas Eve dinner.

Friday Finish and Finds!

 

This was quite the week with the storm, but we made it through without any damage, but we did lose power for 2 days. It was a good week to work on a project so I whipped up some mini sachets that I could work on. It is still hard to do things with my finger but where there is a will, there is a way, lol.

I enlarged it a little since these were minis, perfect for little sachets I can add to packages.

We went to the beach, before the storm rolled in. Beautiful time to enjoy the cleaner air that storms bring in.

The storm bought in a lot of seaweed, hard to find glass under all that mess.

The next day, the beach was a lot cleaner. The temps have been on the humid side but always cooler at the beach.

And of course I found some treasures, quite a few large, old pieces.

And another problem with storms, fledglings fall out of their nests. I found this young Robin on the ground so I put her in the old feeder. She is gone now and the parents were around, so she will be taken care of, no matter where she is hiding.

I hope you all made it through the storm without any damage and have a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finish and Weekly Meanderings!

 

I hope everyone fared well, through the storm. It was not bad at all here, we got a lot of rain but not much wind. We had plans to go camping today for a long weekend but I cancelled since I wasn't sure if it would be bad and there is rain, on and off, this weekend. This way I can relax at home a bit more and get out for a few hours of fun during the nice hours.

I was able to finish some new pieces this week. The new stitchery of the month is always fun to do and I will sell a few and gift others. On these I did black stitching on one and matching colors on the other. I would like to see if I can find a stiffer fabric so I can color and blend better. 

When Bill gets home from work, we go to the beach on the island. I always love the ride and it is never crowded, later in the day. We had a lot of fog this week, but I love the cool air. I used the iPhone for these photos. This is a view to the left of the beach.

And looking back to the right side.

A view from the small beach at the end. You can get to it by climbing through a little tunnel, but it is collapsing and I don't think I will fit, much longer.

Today we waited for the storm to calm down and headed back to the beach. We got a little wet when showers came by, but it kept me cool. We also went to a beach on the Northern side, it was nice to have the place to ourselves.

I have been collecting beach finds this week. Not as much since we tend to hit the higher tide, but we were able to find a bit more today, the glass on the left side. A couple of pieces of old pottery and a little bracelet. The tide was low but with the storm, the water levels and water was higher, so it was taking more debris than it was giving.

And I had some new visitors today. A couple of Turkey moms and their babies. I caught them walking across my long fence but by the time I grabbed the camera they were heading off and took off when they saw me. 

Have a wonderful weekend and I hope that you all find a little joy and adventure in your lives.

A Day Early Finishes!

We are headed off for a long weekend tomorrow so I thought I would post a day early. I lucked out and got a spot by a river, surrounded by trees, so nice privacy to relax and work on my quilt.

The first thing I finished this week was more lavender pillows. They are free designs by Deborah Cade for a Facebook group, Primitive Folk Art quilts and projects. These are so fun to do and the next ones will be roosters or chicken, something my brother and his wife love to collect.

The second project is a summer quilt, another freebie from the group. I have it all set to quilt, so I can sit and relax at the camp, and work on the quilting. It looks a bit flat in the photo, so I will have to take a nice photo when it is done. I used some of my new fabric with the blue wood, for the side edges.

We also got out for a bit on the weekend. I wasn't feeling up to too much activity, so we went to Beavertail and found a nice side spot with views of the ocean. It was nice to just sit and relax and we got a few walks in, as well.

I have also been seeing a lot more birds in our yard. I was surprised when I went out and saw two females with their young, eating under the feeder. There are 16 babies, in all. One just had three little ones, and the other had 13 or she may have adopted from another female, I did notice the male is not with them. They tend to run back and forth across the road and there are lots of predators in the woods, so they do lose a few of their young, but seem to keep the flock growing.

I hope. you all have a wonderful weekend. In these trying times, I try to keep up my spirit by keeping busy and trying new things.

Monday Makings and Weekend Fun!

We had a busy weekend, so today I spent some time in my sewing room. I cut up some more masks to sew later and I made some pillow covers for my mini pillows. I use the pillows in the car for long trips, they sit behind my back to keep me sitting straight but comfy.

Now I will use them in the trailer, perfect for long drives and the camper material was fun to use for them. I made two and the back has an envelope opening so I can switch pillows and wash them easily. I had enough to make a few more masks, but that is it, fussy cutting is a pain with designs like this.

Yesterday we took the boys out. They were dropped off at our house, so we decided to take them to the island. We went to the lighthouse first, it was crowded but we found a nice side spot. The boys loved walking around the lighthouse and exploring.

In the beach shots, we went to another area and found a spot facing a cove, so the boys loved that, since they could play on the beach. Of course they couldn't resist getting wet, luckily we always have spare clothes.

Nick also had another treat, fishing at the pond. Alex fell asleep on the way there, so I took Nick down while Bill stayed with Alex in the camper. The pole had a plastic fish for practice, so we practiced and he did great with casting and learning about safety, so next time we will attach real lures.

And Alex is at that fun age, he is just happy hanging out with us. He has a thing for fire hydrants, no idea why, lol.

And to my surprise there was a lot of glass on the rocks and hiding beneath the piles. Lots of great colors and I am sure there was more, but the piles are high and deep, so I just looked below the surface.

Another thing I enjoy is bird watching in my backyard. We have a lot of birds of all varieties but they zoom by too fast, so hard to get shots, but I enjoy watching them. My new friend is a male hummingbird who comes to the feeder and then sits in the tree by the fence. I would never know he was there, if iI hadn't seen him fly there.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and finding joy in your own backyard.