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 finish!

 

I hope everyone has done all they need to, so they can enjoy some time before the holidays without the stress. As usual, I seem to have picked up another flu bug, but doing ok and will be fine for Christmas. I am glad I got all my shopping and wrapping done, so I could relax this week and not do too much.

I hung the new quilt I was working on, on the banister. It is a cheater piece and I added a border to make a lap sized quilt. It was something I could work on at night, by quilting around the black lines. Nothing fancy, but the design is fun and a nice way to greet people when they walk in.

We were able to get out for a bit last week, mostly driving since it is too cold to be outside for long. I finally caught the Horned Larks in the parking lot, at the beach.

In the breachway, there was a large group of Common Eiders. The black and white male seemed to be the leader and wherever he went the females followed him.

We also take drives around the island. It is even colder there with the ocean breezes, but the views are always beautiful and a way to get out of the house for a bit. We ran into this doe, that was walking down the road.

Today I tested a recipe, cranberry cornbread. I wanted to make something a little different for Christmas and the cranberries make it more festive. I really liked how cranberries gave it a bit of tartness. I use Monks sugar and the recipe called for buttermilk. I don't use that but a trick I learned. I warm up milk and then put a bit of fresh lemon juice into it and let it sit, instant buttermilk. If you want to try the recipe, you can find it at Spilling the Tea. 

Tomorrow will be a rest day, we got a bit of snow, so hoping to get out and get some photos with snowy backgrounds. Then it will be time to get the house ready and start cooking for Christmas Eve. The kids come here for dinner and we go to their house on Christmas. I give them presents at our house, then save some for their house. 

My hope is that everyone has a wonderful holiday, no matter how you celebrate it. Even if you cannot get out or be with family, take the time to make the day special, for yourself. Christmas blessings to you all.

Friday Finish!

 Another week zipped by too fast. I spent most of it, decorating the house. I have a mix of prim and fun around the house. One thing I wanted to try was a rag garland. I looked up ideas and found one that I could base mine on. You can find it at Ikorn crafts.

I used up the scraps and smaller pieces to make it, and used a red twine to tie them onto. I was going to put it on the banister, but it was too thin, so I used it on top of my curtain rod.

And I decorated with what I had in the basement, and there is more that I had no room for. 

I found a new place for my Grandmother's quilt.

And some of my nativity collection with a bit of cats mixed in.

And a few trees. This year I decided to put up my cat collection. I could only do so many and I have a lot of larger ones, that don't fit on the skinny tree. I have quilts hanging on the banister and decorations in the kitchen, so it is fun for the boys when they visit.

I hope you are all enjoying the holiday. I am finishing up my cheater quilt and next is getting my cards done. After that I will work on my other quilt, even if I can't finish it in time. 

Friday Finishes!

 I finally finished my pillow. It was a large design, so lots of stitching. It is 36" long and I love being able to have it done and displayed on the back of the couch. The design is by Bird Brain Designs.

I also finished a piece that has been sitting in a box, way too long. It is a gift I made for a friend and this is the year, she will finally get it. This is a design by Kathy Schmitz.

Last weekend we went to the seaport to see the Mayflower. It came from Massachusetts to have some repairs done at the seaport. She is docked for now, but they have a large dry dock to put her on.

We walked around the village and saw the decorations on the buildings.

And the old Mercantile.

We also got to see the Garda. Last time it was in a spot, we couldn't see it.

And the fascinating story behind her.

Another building we were able to access was the museum. This is one of the examples of the glass models. Some are so realistic, you cannot tell the difference. These were done in the 1800's.

I hope you all had a nice week and are enjoying the holiday season. We have gotten most things done, so I can enjoy it more without the stress. I still have to do up cards and a few gifts that are going out.

Friday Working on!

 I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. We had a nice meal with the kids and for my birthday, they got me a new, larger bird feeder, just what I had been looking for. I didn't get as much work done on my projects, too much cleaning and cooking this week, to catch up, after being so sick.

I have been working on my large piece, a lot more work than I realized, but I will get it done this week, I hope. I am doing the main design and the details will be some glitter threads along with buttons.

Last weekend we got out for some short walks and bird watching. At one beach, I was able to spot a flock of Snow Buntings and a Cormorant sitting on a piling in a marina.

At our next stop, at the breakaway, I spotted a few seagulls on the roof of a restaurant. They know where the food is.

Then we went to the breakers and climbed the hill to check out the views. The lighthouse at Point Judith.

On the way home we went down a side road and noticed something large in a tree, in the woods. A Great horned owl, a first for me.

Today we got out for a ride, a short walk at the bird sanctuary and then a walk at the beach. The beach was

actually warmer with a cool breeze, which was a nice change. It seems most of the birds have left the areas and only a few remain. I actually spotted the hawk down the road from our house. I hope you all enjoy your weekend and can enjoy the upcoming holidays.

Working on Friday!

 

This week I am working on three projects. I am working on a wool project but wanted to start my new stitchery, so I can work on that too. Then I had another that I realized is on a disk. It was actually a machine stitchery, but nothing on the package said that. So, I got my son's player and was able to print it out. Since it is a halloween piece, I am working as fast as I can, to get it done by halloween.

This is the new Christmas stitchery that I am working on. It is by Bird Brain Designs. It is a long one, so it will take me awhile.

We were able to get out and enjoy some foliage last week. We took a ride to the quilt shop, where I got some new Christmas fat quarters to go with other fabric I have and some bargain patterns. Then we made a few stops to enjoy the foliage, and a stop to pick a big bag of apples.

Today we got to enjoy some time at the beach. We are having some warm weather but the clouds were taking over at the island. A view of the lighthouse with some foliage along the back shoreline.

A view of the inner cove. The tide was really low today. Lots of foliage in our area, and hopefully we can get out and enjoy a ride tomorrow to see more, before it is gone. I hope you all have a nice weekend and can enjoy getting out.

Friday Finish!

 

This has been another week of being sick. I guess we got what the kids had and they got what we had, so a double flu. Luckily I have meds that help keep the symptoms down, but it also means I get less done and I am behind on decorating. 

I was able to finish one project and while resting, I am working on a few more. This is a design I wanted to do, to match another pillow I have, so I have them on my chest with a few stuffed Christmas dolls. The design is by Robin Kingsley from her book, Snow Happy.

We were able to spend a day at the beach. I always feel better at the ocean, with the cool salt air. One beach looks across to Newport and we can watch the ships are they come in, this is a barge being pushed in by a tug boat.

Another beach is nice, since we can find more old glass here and Bean loves to play in the water, even when its freezing.

I was able to find a few nice pieces of glass, from both beaches, always nice when we catch the tide, at the right time.

Speaking of Bean, he loves the new toy I got him. It came in a set of 4, so when he destroys one, I can give him another. 

It also makes a fun photo op.

And more feathered friends are coming in for the winter. I finally got to see the Pilieted Woodpecker. She seems to like the dead pine trees on the side of the house. I am hoping I can catch her with a better close up, to get finer detail.

I hope everyone had a nice week and are avoiding the flu's going around. This one is not a fun one and even Bill had to take the day off.

Friday Finish and Merry Christmas!

 First I want to bless all of my followers this Christmas and may you all be healthy and filled with joy this season and in the next year. We spent the evening with the kids, a nice dinner and presents which is always fun with the boys. Bean was just as excited, he has been sniffing around in my sewing room all week, he knows a present when he sees one. Tomorrow we go to their house and I save a few presents for then. Tonight I am all done cleaning up and relaxing, while watching the colorized version of White Christmas.

The family at dinner. As usually I could not get any good photos in the dim light. One thing I plan on doing this year, is to learn how to use my camera settings better.

This week I wanted to make one more thing and took out a pattern I have been sitting on for years. It is a design by Bonnie Sullivan from All Through the Night. I messed up a few things and didn't do a scalloped edge, then I messed up the edge on the bottom. Later I will take that off and recut it to straighten the edge. It was fun to make and a last minute decoration for the wall.

Last weekend we went for a ride to get apples from the orchard store. They keep their apples in a climate controlled building, so always better than the store. After we took a ride to stop at a few places to look for birds. At the inlet to the Thames River, I found a family of swans.

We drove down to a few other places and as usual, Bill took a wrong turn, but I am glad he did. We stumbled onto another hidden area with a waterfall and a few birds. There was a Blue Heron but it took off when it saw me. I will definitely go back when we are in the area. I spotted a Belted Kingfisher, that was my find of the day.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend, no matter how we celebrate,  the meaning remains the same, may love and joy come to all of you.

Friday finishes!

 I have been busy getting ready for Christmas, taking down fall and putting up Christmas decorations. I used less than I usually do and rearranged a few things for a little change. I have definitely have too much and today my sister went home with a box of goodies.

Last year I made up two stitcheries by Kathy Schmitz in two color schemes and I finally finished those off. My son said he loves the blue one, which is my favorite too. The little stars are done in glitter thread. Then I used the glitter thread on the border stitches.

I also used most of the balsam by making simple little pillows to give out or add to a package. I found the moose buttons last year and this was a fun way to use them.

I have been enjoying watching the birds from my porch, a new one I haven't seen is the female, Brown Headed Cowbird in the larger photo. I guess she got left behind when the rest headed south.

And one of the pesky squirrels who steal all the bird food.

A few of the decorations I have put up, a bit of this and that, primitive and fun pieces.  I  hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finishes and Feathered Friends!

 

Even though I do not need more decorations but I cannot resist making new things during the holidays. It is fun and a good way to fill myself with the holiday spirit. This week I finished a stitchery with a design by Kathy Schmitz. It is in her book, Stitches from the Yuletide. I was able to get a copy from our library and I copied the designs that I wanted to do.

This was a fun one, but a lot of stitching. I like making pillows since I can place them on my chest or the couch.

I also made an ornament for the kids. It came out bigger than I wanted, but Nick loved it and I do enjoy seeing the joy on his face when I give them a gift. They also got their boots tonight. Snow came early and they needed them, so they got an early present.

I also enjoyed watching the birds this week. I have been getting more birds since they have discovered the good feed is at the porch.

And with the snow, came more birds.  It was blowing so hard that I kept the porch feeder full and had visitors all day. It is nice to be able to enjoy nature in my own backyard, it is a way to relax and find joy amidst all the turmoil in the world.