Friday Finish and Fun!

 

Another week has gone by and I feel like I just started. I was able to get a few things done this week, one was the stitchery by Kathy Schmitz. She offered it along with the design for the monthly club and I thought it was perfect for the sewing room.

I also made some more masks. Some extra for Bill since he is working and does the shopping, he can use at least two a day. The others are for my son, he is using Gaters and they do not really offer protection. He has a larger round face so the mens didn't fit him. I went up a size and used blue jean fabric on two and black broad cloth on the others, so we will see if they are big and stiff enough for him.

Last weekend we took all the boys out, my son wanted to go for a walk and we ended up tiring them all out with a hike at Barn Island, for 4 miles. 

On Sunday, Bill and I went to the Patchaug forest in Connecticut. We took a new trail that took us down some old fire roads, then a path through the woods to the overlook. The cabin is a shelter for hikers, nothing fancy but nice when you want to get off the ground.

We also took some short walks up paths on the other side, to see what they were like. I will definitely want to come back to the boardwalk when the flowers are in bloom. The long trail with the pines goes for miles, so we may try more of that path, the next time.

At home I have been enjoying the birds. I got a new feeder for them, so hopefully I can get clearer photos of them. It is one of the joys I can enjoy at home. A Tufted Titmouse, a red Breasted Nuthatch and a Downy Woodpecker.

And the leaves have fallen, which is Bean's favorite time. It is useless to rake with Bean around. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and stay safe and enjoy some adventures of your own.

Weekend Wanderings and Surprises.

We had rain on saturday, so no day trips. Instead we went to Best Buy to look at cameras. I wanted something small and simple and of course nothing fit the bill. When you have a good camera, it is hard to compare with the smaller models, but I found the new mirror less cameras that give the same quality with a lot less weight. The camera fits perfectly for me and I can hold it without shaking, and it does take beautiful pictures. But, I am noticing by comparing online, that I am missing some parts and cords and since I took the floor model to save money, I am realizing, it looks more beat up than I thought, so considering taking it back. The following photos are taking with the phone and the new camera, so you can tell me what you think. I do need to learn the settings better, I am sure I could get better quality if I get that figured out.


Since we were getting high wind gusts in RI and Massachusetts, we decided to go to Devil's Hopyard and avoid the winds. The foliage hasn't turned much, but it was still beautiful and we got in a good hike, mostly uphill.

Lots of old bridges and underpasses in the park. Taken with new camera.

The main feature of course, is the waterfall, never fails to amaze me. I would love to just sit there and relax, but it seemed everyone was at the park. Trying to  take a relaxing walk with Bean and people and dogs, can be rough on my arm. Taken with my IPhone.

Of course we have to cross on the covered bridge. Taken with the new camera.

And for fun, a crop of the above photo, the new camera has a higher resolution so it is great for cropping to get close in.

Our final destination, the overlook. You can see the foliage is just starting in the valley areas, so we will have to go back when it is full. We hiked a new path which was going in the wrong direction, so we had to hike up, then down and back up to get to the main path, so we did over 5 miles. Taken with the new camera and a filter, I think the filter washes out the colors a bit.

To end our day we stopped at the apple orchards. They are nearing the end of the season, so all the apples were at the end of the orchard. They offer free rides, so we too advantage of a little fun ride. Of course I felt bad since Nick missed out on a tractor ride;) Taken with my iPhone.

The rest of the photos are from the IPhone. The other bad thing about the new camera is no built in flash and my old flash doesn't fit the mount, so another thing to buy, it does add up.

Kelley has been working on some gifts for me. I wanted to make hit and miss chair pads with stars to use up my stash, but Kelly wanted to make them to get back into hooking again and use up her worm stash. She read my mind and made them better than I imagined, here is one on the extra chairs. The others go at the table and I need to design a nice table topper to match them.

She also made me two runners, love them both and surprised me with some sand colored hearts sachets, perfect for the beach room. I put them on the table for the photograph, but they do look nice there too. They look much better in person, bad lighting for photographs in that room. Kelley does such a beautiful job with prim cuts, and she is also offering free designs this week, so be sure to visit With Hook and Needle.

And I also won Sandi's giveaway, she sent me a beautiful fat quarter. I guess I need to start planning some quilts and table toppers.

Monday Finishes!

This weekend didn't go as planned, both Bill and I woke up sick, so we spent the weekend at home. The good thing was, free HBO this weekend so we watched movies and I worked on some stitching.

I am having fun making stitcheries from the kindred Spirit's books, and made two more pieces, this time I made them into pillows. I think they would be great bowl fillers or a shelf sitter, great to tuck into those primitive gatherings and nice for gifts.

I added the X's and 1,2,3; I have an obsession with filling in empty space;)

Also, if you like free patterns. Theodora Cleave has the last of her free patterns. They are additions to the original ones that she offered. The designs can be done in a quilt or as small quilts since the designs stand on their own.

Guardian angels!

I treated myself to a new pattern called Guardian Angels. I thought it was nice as a gift idea and they can be used for ornaments for next Christmas. The pattern is by Bird Brain Designs. She also has some nice free designs.

I made the first two, like the pattern, with batting wings. The thing I didn't like was, the stitching shows through the batting on the other side, so I don't feel it is a very neat finish. I antiqued them and put in the dryer, and I like how they held up and how they look, so maybe a double batting to hide the sloppy stitches on the heart.

I have a new computer, and the photoshop upgrade, so I can use my new camera now. I still need to practice with settings and getting the photos to look the way I want, so I hope they look nice on your computer.

The second pair, I went with extra colors and like how they look. I also used fabric and a piece of batting to make the wings. I also stitched the body using thread and running it along the outer stitch to hid it. I think it has more substance to them and a lot neat on the back side.

Happy New Years!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and have a Happy New Year.
For me, this year is the year to finish projects, I have started and create with all of the wonderful prizes I have won and gifts given by friends. I am truly blessed and plan to make time to make time for myself and for charity quilts this year.

One of the things I started last year was a wool quilt. I have all the blocks sewn, except one, so it is just a matter of finishing that and embellishing the ones I made. The blocks are all different sizes, so I will be putting them on a background wool, that I have made to size and then filling in the empty spaces with scrap wool pieces. Sort of a crazy quilt, and a scrap quilt, so we shall see how it comes out;)

I looked in my old files and only saw one photo of a couple of blocks, so I will share a few more tonight and later when they are all embellished, I will do a group shot and progress. I have no idea what I am doing, just making them, sewing them and seeing what becomes of it.

I hope that all of you and your families  have a wonderful New Year that is filled with blessings.

The blocks are made from various patterns in books and a bit of my own, no one designer, I just used what I like.

New punch and rug

I thought I would try a simple, smaller design this time.
It is one of Tiffany's new designs, from Primitive Blessings.
I did this one in a stitchery and decided to try it in a punch.
I just finished it, and not sure if I want to stain it.
I used two contrasting red, medici wool threads on the dress and valdani on the kitty, the rest is done with dmc floss.
Not thrilled with the way it came out, but too late to change it now;)



Then I got the idea to make a small rug to match. As you can see, I made a mess, lol.
Luckily with hooking, I can take out what I don't like and redo it. I outlined the outfit in a darker shade, but nothing matched for the inside, so I ended up using the plaid for the whole dress. I had to lighten it up, so the colors look like they pop out, but they are more dark and prim. I guess I will have to take out the border lines and use black to make the outline show better. That and fix the faces and mess ups. That is another nice thing about hooking, I can hook in details and then see what looks right or not and redo those parts.

Cats in the Garden Quilt

I finally finished my Cats in the Garden. The original quilt is called "Six cats in the garden," by Linda Brannock. As you can see, I have four. Each one is done to represent my furry babies that have passed on and the top one is Dora. I use the brown paisley to represent my Tortie, then my big white guy and black for my beloved Black. I used a darker thread on Dora so that her face shows more than the others. I think this quilt pattern makes a great piece to memorialize your kitties.

I added a few of my own items, that kitties love to chase. I also added grass, because I placed my kitties in the wrong place, so that was an idea for a good fix it;) The quilt is hand appliqued and then I used free motion to quilt the top. The background pieces are done with meandering stitches and free form designs, and the border was done in a vine with leaves pattern.

I found a great way to draw designs onto your quilt before quilting. This is great for those of you who like to do their own designs and have a guide as you stitch. It is called a chaco liner pen by Clover. It is a chalk pen that comes out as you move the tiny wheel across the fabric. It is refillable and affordable, my new best friend for quilting.



I love how Dora's face came out. I use free motion quilting and draw the faces on with the thread. I even made a few little designs while I was doing the meandering. You can't see it, but there is a duck and a mouse hidden in the quilt;) When I get a chance, I will add tabs and hang it from a stick that I found and hang it over my entryway.

Bunny Hill BOM

I decided to try the Bunny Hill BOM. She is offering a free BOM each month and then the instructions for the borders and finishing. I thought it would be fun to try one and it is a great design. But, as you can see, I mutilated it, lol. It is crooked and my colors a bit dark and I forgot the last leaf, duh.

I wanted to use fabrics, it would have been nicer and I could have used better fabrics. But, I am lazy and those small pieces looked too much to needle turn, so I used wool. I think it would be better if I used a heavier weight backing or wool. My design might have been straighter;)

If you would like to try the BOM, you can go to the Bunny Hill Blog and download the pattern. She has also set up a flicker site for those participating. It is fun to see all of the blocks being made.