Working on!

 Last weekend we finished our camping trip and on Monday, I woke up sick. At camp, lots of people stopped to pet Bean and talk and a few wanted to look inside our trailer, so not sure if someone gave it to me or I got it while shopping. It's been a rough week but I am finally at the end of it and feeling better today. 

Since I did not want to just sit and be miserable, I made up a project to keep my hands busy. I took snowflake fabrics and made up a table topper, for my side table. Just basic stitching and I will probably just do an X in the centers. 

On the last day of camp, we got a nice walk in at the beach. The tide was low, so we were able to walk to the end.

And I was able to spot a Semipalmated Plover on the rocks.

And they I decided to go to the bike store and check out the electric bikes. I ended up getting a good deal on a basic street bike. It is easy to peddle and when I need to go up hill, I just hit a button and the motor kicks in. You have to peddle for it to work, but going up hill is like going on a flat surface, with the peddle assist. So, now I can bike and go up hills, but I didn't think, it is a street bike and I felt every bump, so not sure if it will do well on trails. For now I can ride on easy roads and build up my strength, then I can use my mountain bike, with shocks, on the paths.

Today I was feeling good enough to walk at our favorite beach. It is private but no one cares after the season. It is mainly flat and a good place for Bean to play and swim.

And when I got home, I was visited by a Praying Mantis. He was just hanging out and resting. Then a Dove came up behind it and a sparrow landed in front. They were just coming to the feeder, but the Mantis went into attack mode. It is funny, because both birds took off.

I read that they bring good luck and right after, I went onto the computer and found a waterfront opening at the campground, so that is where we are going again, next week. 

I hope you all had a good week and not affected by the rains and flooding. Prayers for those that are.

Friday Finishes!

I was able to finish two things this week, and working on others. There are so many free designs being offered, it is keeping me distracted but busy. The first one I did was a design by Cheri Saffiote offered on her Facebook page.

It is called Rejoice and was fun to make. I had a piece of quilted material from my friend Kelley. It was a set of blocks that she had sewed and not put into a project, so I had the perfect size to make the wall hanging. I think I may have an angel theme going and they will be nice to decorate my spare room with. It has always had cats all over, but it is time for a change.

Then Kathy Schmitz offered a paper doll and we could cut her out and then take a photo and say where she is living now. A way to socialize with others while we are stuck at home. The good thing is, she is offering it on her website, as well. It is colored but my printer isn't working right and it printed out in a light bluish shade. I colored mine in with colored pencils.

Last weekend we got out for walks, and enjoyed going to the same place, but on different trails. It is nice to find back trails and we usually have them to ourselves, so we can keep our distance with others.

On the first day we walked around the pond, down the bike trail and another back trail and got over 5 miles in. We also found an old abandoned home in the area.

On the next day, we found this beautiful waterfall with a nice sitting area for a picnic. A good place to bring the boys someday.

While walking through the fields, I spotted a small cemetery and after that, we took a ride into Connecticut and checked out an area where I had spotted a waterfall. It was an old mill town and not much else in the area, most moved to the larger town nearby.

And while taking photos, I spotted these Common Mergansers. They were at the end of the falls and kept trying to get up. It was fun watching them swim up and get swept back, but they were determined and finally made it to the next level.

I hope everyone is staying safe and finding peace and calm amidst the chaos of this horrible situation. I did get to see the boys when they stopped by with some supplies for me, so I talked to them for a bit without  getting close and gave them some presents I hadn't gotten a chance to give them.

Halloween pieces!

This week I finally found my pattern that I won from one of Stacy's, Buttermilk Basin, promotions. It is from the series Wool Crazy for October. I wanted to make it easier, my favorite way to say I am lazy;)

I had a large piece of stiff Eco felt in black and I thought it would make the perfect background for the cat. I wanted to hang it on the wall, so the stiff felt was a good base and I found it easy to sew though.

Instead of making the whole kitty in patchwork, I just added a few pieces for fun, and kept it close to the original.

Here is my version of the kitty. Yes, it is a bit crooked;) I had to use the phone, need to charge my camera batteries.

And here is the original pattern.

Another thing I did, was paint more rocks. I know, I said I wasn't going to do anymore, but when you spend a week at the beach, it is hard not to collect rocks.

The problem is, the group I belonged to is not what I thought it was. I am seeing more people making rocks for themselves, wanting the attention for what they paint and a lot, I feel is inappropriate. The group is about making rocks and leaving them, to brighten someones day. I do not see how making rocks with advertising, especially one that had the back end of a man's butt crack for plumbing is something you would put out for kids to find, as well as creepy designs, that does not say happy or smile to me. The thing that got me riled was when someone posted a photo of rock art they made, not to give, but to keep and it was done by copying a design on the internet.

So, I left a nice post about copyrights and that Pinterest is a place for inspiration, not a repository for free designs. I was being nice, not mentioning designs being used and said that people should be careful and check the source of the designs to make sure they are not from artists who are trying to make a living with their designs.

Well, not the reaction I expected. The remarks were nasty and I was basically called a bi.... and Pinterest is for people to find designs and I could see I was not getting through to them and going nowhere, so I deleted the posting. I didn't need to hear that kind of negativity or meanness from a group who states they are there to make people happy. Then I quit the group.

Now here is where you come in, I am wondering if I should start a new group. I have been wanting to do something like this, I love the idea of leaving gifts for people to find, like when I did pillows for Christmas. If I do a group and use RI in the name, it is just for my state, so maybe a name that anyone can use and add their state abbreviation, or country to that. My original idea was SmileRI, and using a heart instead of a dot above the i. Then when you make something, you can put the name on the back or on a tag for sewn or handmade items. It will be for the joy of giving and  the fun of seeing the person who finds it.

For now it is an idea, and I would like to know what others think, if there is enough interest and I can work out the details and set up the site on Facebook. Please let me know your thoughts and ideas that you would like to see, in a group like that.

For now, here is what I am working on. I thought it would be a quick project but the orange did not want to go on nicely, so I have been putting on coat, after coat. I will be putting silly faces on them, so that will have to be done and then the finish, so they will have to wait till next weekend to get hidden.

They are not perfect in the color bands, but I think they will look fun with the faces. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Fabric Apple Tutorial!

Whenever I see a new free pattern, I just have to try it. The apple tutorial can be found at Fabric Paper Thread. But.... we know I don't follow patterns, lol. So, I looked at Lorrie's pdf file and then I looked at the pdf pattern of apples that I got as a freebie, from Tennessee Ridge Primitives and went with the simpler version, since it only used 4 larger pieces. I guess you could say that mine are a combination of both patterns with a bit of my own style.

The one thing I did different on mine, was to tack down the center, after I stuffed it, to give it the depth on the top like a real apple. I cut out a leaf with wool, but you could use a fake leaf or pick one from outside. The stem is from a vine that grows along our fence, just right for an apple stem. I gave them a light walnut wash to tone down the fabric, so it give them a nice shaded effect.

Pineapple Quilt

I wanted to make a quilt to hang on my dining room window and thought something with pineapples would be perfect.
I found this pattern in a Better Homes and Gardens, American Patchwork and Quilting magazine. It is in the April 2001 issue and is a pattern by Kris Kerrigan.

This one called for proper placement and overlays, so I decided to use wash away and glue to set the first pieces down and get them straight. As you can see, it didn't help, I am still off and crooked, lol. I think it is easier to sew without the wash away, but it would be a good product to use for machine applique. I am used to needle turning as I go and as you can see, I messed up in spots and lost my shapes and some parts don't fit together right. I really need to fix that one flower, way too square on one side. I still have to add borders and it will be setting at an angle once it goes into the back piecing. It isn't perfect, but it will do and a good test for the wash away. I am wondering what happens when I wash it and how the appliques will look then.

Doll Quilt

I decided to make a doll quilt, something quick and easy.
Only I, could mess up such a simple thing, lol.
I machine sewed the pieces and used lana wool thread for the stitching.
I antiqued it, but I really wanted it to look old. Well, I accidently spilled some water from the bottle on it and noticed it when I took the picture, nice stained look;) So, I will spritz it a little here and there to get more of an aged look.
I was wondering whether I should be little black ties on it? What do you think?

What I am working on

I wanted to finish a rabbit, I started last year, but decided I have to think about the layout and what to add before I can.
So, I decided to start a new one. This is smaller and will go nicely on my wall rack.
I used the bunny design from Twigs N Sprigs and made it into a wall hanging.

I used my husband's old jeans, but wish I had gone with dark on the pants and light on the cuffs.
I changed the sign to a basket again, but this time I added flowers. Now I have to decide if I want to leave it plain or add a saying.
I was thinking it would be a fun piece to practice free motion and do little flowers for the quilting.



And for your amusement, here is Dora, doing what she loves best, flying;)
This is what it will be like, now that the weather is warming up. Nothing like a bug covered window to keep her amused. Tonight it was a lone moth.

Testing and Experimenting

I belong to a wonderful quilt group and they have decided to do a signature block swap. Well, I decided not to join. Why? Because I cannot write, lol. I have the worst handwriting, my brain does not connect to my hand during writing, so I scribble. The girls were unrelenting and talked me into doing it with them, so I guess I am going to have to practice my penmanship skills, what little I have, that is. Today I decided to try out some pens and markers, I have, to see how they would wash up.

I should have taken a picture before hand, but I did write the names of the pens, so you can see what ones show up, after a wash.
Some washed right out, as you can see from the blank spaces and ones like the rub a dub and the Zig writer, bled out a bit in the wash. It was a fun test though and I still think my faber castell artist's pen, writes the best and holds it's ink. I also did this on a piece of fabric with no backing, so it was harder to write. Someone mentioned using freezer paper to support it, while I write, so I will try that on a small block to get the hang of writing on fabric.



Another project I am working on is, a crazy block. Every one is talking about making the new wool crazy blocks and I have always wanted to make one, so I made one up to practice on. Some stitches I can figure out, some make no sense. I added a few appliques and will do stitchery and maybe some words in the rest of the blocks. I might just bind it and use it as a hanging, way too much work to make a whole quilt like this;) Taking a picture with flash is tough with so many colors, came out way too bright.

More Work on my Bird Quilt

I finished up the stitching on my bird piece and like how it came out.
It was fun to do this piece, something a little different for me.
I would like to do some more art pieces, but try them from my own sketches and photos, so we shall see what I can come up with.
I am still not sure what to do with the background, I would like to do quilting that works with the design, so any ideas would be appreciated. Thinking clouds for some reason, but not sure how I could quilt that, except to do some free motion cloud like shapes.

The design comes from Carol Armstrong in an older issue of BHG quilting and patchwork.

Dolls on Crack!

I really need to practice making dolls, lol.
I found this free doll on the web, from Little Missy Primitives.
They are for a project called Comfort Dolls, a group that sends little dolls to women's shelters. A woman in one of our groups is heading ours and I volunteered to make a couple, from ugly to crazed, these dollies might really scare the heck out of the recipients.

I realized I forgot the eyelashes, that might help. Another thing is, I wanted to add little wings to the back, but mine are not working out the way I wanted. If I use thin fabic it doesn't hold on its own and I want them to attach to the back, so not heavy with batting. I made one pair with ticking and a piece of batting, but then they would not come out at the tips and using a needle just wrecked them. So, any ideas of wings I could use to make them easier? Would love suggestions. I guess I could pull out my old books, I have a few for doll making, so wings must be in one of them.

Quilting with Dora

I got the brilliant idea to make a quilt for my daughter and started it last week, not the smartest move;)
I did fine on the applique, but then I needed to quilt the top and of course put it off till yesterday. Then people stopped by and people call and machine acts up, but I finally finished it today. I made a mess of it, never again will I make a quilt in a rush. The quilt is wonky, so all the bad stitching blends in;)

Of course Dora decided to help by testing out it's comfort level. She loved winding bobbins and playing with the empty ones.
Now I need to bind it and see if a wash and dry makes it look better, hehe.

Just finished a punch I am making for my DIL, just need to finish the edge and put it on a basket tomorrow. Then Maybe I can slip out for some last minute shopping and on wednesday, it is cooking and more cleaning. Then maybe I can rest, but doubt it;)