Friday Finish!

 

I finally finished my angel quilt. The pattern is by Cheri Payne and offered as a free pattern in her Facebook group. I changed it up a little, but it is mostly the same as the original, except for the dragonfly, which was on another pattern in the pack.

Last week we went to the sunflower field. It wasn't as crowded so we enjoyed a stroll through the pathways that cut through the field.

On Sunday we went on a paddle in the cove, at the park on the island. The tide was up so I was able to come around and get closer to one of the nesting Ospreys. The young are getting big and love the look on their faces.

On another cove, I spotted this Loon and it seemed like something was wrong.

I watched as it finally moved and made its way to the water. It wasn't able to walk and dragged its feet. I looked it up online when I got home and found out, Common Loons cannot walk on land and they rarely come out of the water, except to nest. They also need 30 feet of water to take off, so I learned something new. I think it was a young one and just. resting or maybe got stunned while out, but it seemed fine, once it go on the water.

And we paddled into more open waters as we came around. This was one of our views, looking up into the bay.

And lots of boats in the area, this one passing the old lighthouse on Dutch Island.

And at home, more birds are coming to the feeders, migration won't be far away. The hummingbirds are more active, filling up with fuel for their long flight south.

I hope everyone had a nice week and enjoying the last days of summer. 

Friday Finish!

 Lately it seems I never have time to go online and when I do, it is to quickly scan and hopefully not miss anything. I usually try to catch up on blogs on the weekend so hopefully I can catch up on everyones news.

I decided to start an Americana piece this week, a design by Bird in the Hand Primitives. It was fun to do and small pieces are nice since I can add more to my walls. I traced it in reverse, I guess I placed the design backwards on the light pad, but it looks like either way.

And of course we spent afternoons at the beach when we could. Glass collecting, walks on the beach and nature.

One day I got more distracted by the antics of a pair of Great Egrets, so not as much glass that day. 

The gulls like to hang with them, always a chance of stealing food if they can get it.

And at one point they were doing their dance, but it was hard to catch them in the act.

In the distance on a large rock island, I spotted a lot of Cormorants. This is just a portion of the rock and you can see how many nests are there. 

And we finally got a chance to get to the Veterans Cemetery. My parents are there, Bills dad and second wife, as well as his brother Tom. It is a beautiful place to just walk around.

His brother is in the memorial wall, but it is a new section and they still haven't engraved names on any. The old graveyard is in the back and this sad section is the graves that died at Ladd School, formally called The School for the Feeble Minded. They finally closed it down, a time of horrors to the poor and mentally disabled.

Today we stopped at the main state beach to get passes for our cars. While we were down there, we stopped at another beach for a nice walk, perfect day but the tide was up, so not a good time for glass collecting.

And on a sad note, we said our goodbyes to Moki. He as a stray that wondered into my yard one day. Scared and hungry, and scarred up from battles. It took a few weeks before he fully trusted me and then he came in and stayed. We were not sure how old he was, but the vet said around 3 years. He was silly and loving and will be missed, but I know he is better off from his suffering. 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I got a dragon kite for the boys, so hoping we can get out to try it.

Friday Finish!

My finish today was supposed to be my stocking quilt. I need to put sashings on the new ones and then put them together. That way I can see how large it is and if I need more, I think I will just keep it as a large lap quilt.

But, my shoulder went out and I have a bit of a flu bug, so I decided to work on a punch needle. I enjoy doing punch since there is little work to put one together and I have all my floss in boxes so I can sit and relax, without having to look for things.

This design is from Tonya of Mad Hen Primitives, in the Spring 2016 issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects. It is a rug hooking pattern so I scanned in the finished photo and drew from design from that. I added the words for fun, something happy to work on.

I was doing well until my needle broke, the little plastic sides that hold it in the holder. So, I found another and was working but then the holder broke. Luckily I have two, so I used the other, but with the bad needle, I realized after that the punching is a different height, but it still looks ok. I had Bill order me a new one with prime so it comes in tomorrow. I do miss punching and designing, so maybe while I am camping I can come up with some new designs.

We plan on camping next weekend, today it was snowing again, lol. But, the weather looks nice on Saturday and Monday, and maybe rain on Sunday, so I am hoping it stays away. Hopefully I can get my quilt together this weekend so I can hand quilt it at camp.

The pillow is 5 1/2" x 5" and finished off with a piece of rug yarn. I bunch it up, as I sew it on to get the bumpy edge.

Friday Finish!

This week I wanted to make another fall piece and I got the idea of using my star pattern from Buttermilk Basin with another of her appliqués from another pattern. I reduced the size of the pattern to fit the star. The fabric for the star was some old cotton that I over dyed with grungy browns but it doesn't show up too well in the photo.

It is a fun piece to make and you can see more of Stacy's designs at Buttermilk Basin, she has patterns with Christmas and fall, as well as, wool appliqué and stitchery types on stars. She also has a new free pattern on her Blog.

The American Made Contest is still running and I would love to see Stacy raise her votes. I hope everyone has a nice weekend. Bill has the long weekend off, so we will be doing some exploring, so we shall see where we end up;)

This was a fun piece to make, and great for a shelf sitter. The star looks light but it is actually a grungy brown.

Welcome Quilt!

I finished another small piece this week, a welcome quilt from Whimsicals. It can be found in the book, From Mom and Me. I have a few of Terri's older books and love her designs and thought it was time I made this one.

It is a simple pattern and I used wool for the applique, so it was easy to make up. It is the perfect size to hang on my wall rack with the heart piece, for now, then it will be gifted to someone.

I made a simple border instead of the one that went with the pattern, but I like the black fabric around this design and with the antiquing it worked nicely.

Here is the piece on the drying rack, love how the walnut ink stained on this piece.  For small quilts, I water it down and then brush it on with a paint brush, it gives it a more aged and spotted look. I also dry it on a rack in the front loader, so it crinkles it up a bit and it also gives it an uneven look, but I don't like ironing it out to straighten it, since it takes the wrinkles out.

Another trick I like to do is, antique the clothes pins. I soak them in watered down walnut ink and let them dry in the sun. It gives them a nice aged look for hanging quilts.

Fall Table Runner Finished!

We had a beautiful weekend but as luck would have it, Bill and I seem to have gotten a flu bug so we sat on our butts and watched tv all weekend. The good thing was, I was able to stitch all day and I got the quilting done on my table runner and then today I finished the sunflowers and binding.

The bad thing is, my brain is messed up and I cut from the wrong point of the quilt and lost my black border and it had to be double folded to make a binding instead. All in all it came out ok and looks nice on the table.

The fabrics were from a charm pack called Posh Pumpkins by Sandy Gervais and the leaves are from one of her older fabric lines. I used the same sunflowers that are in my scarecrow hanging since he will go on the window in this room and now they will match. The fabric was a prize from Sauder's Fabrics and if you visit now you can enter their contest for their 40th anniversary.

And here is a close up, bad stitching and piecing, so you can see, I am definitely not a perfectionist;)

Friday Finish!

Yesterday I decided to try another  tea towel. I used a design by Buttermilk basin so I could make a fall towel for next month. I reduced the design by 20% to fit the towel and sewed it one with a blanket stitch. One thing I am noticing is the towels are bright white, so I might try tea staining one to see how I like it, then I can do some with primitive stitcheries with christmas designs as gifts.

The towels are Aunt Martha's and with a coupon, well worth getting and easy to work on. I might just stain this one with tea, might give it a more prim look. The wool is prim, but I have to lighten it, so you can see the details.

Flower Mat Finished!

I finally finished my wool mat, though I took a few short cuts to make it go faster and get it done. I did not add the bugs or spider web, I just wanted a flower piece for my table. The problem is, it doesn't look good on my table so I need to find a place for it or maybe it will be a gift.

I finished it off by adding a linen backing and a blanket stitch. The original was done with a nice edge, but I am too lazy to make a binding.

Not perfect, but not bad. Pattern is Flower Garden Crazy, by Primitive Gatherings.

For the back, I used a linen that has the feel of wool. I found it in a thrift shop and I thought it would be nice for a backing. I cut out the design and left about a half inch of excess so I could tuck it under and keep a nice edge on the back. I pinned it and turned the edge under as I did the blanket stitch, not perfect, but not bad;) The crooked edge came about when I did the stems, I was a bit tight on the stitching.

Flower Garden Crazy Mat Progress!

This week I have been working on my wool crazy mat and the bird stitchery. I want to use the mat before summer is over and finally getting to the end. Once I finish the last wool appliques, I can add the stems and extra stitching. On the original they added a border, but I am just going to add a backing and do a blanket stitch around it.

I am trying to stay close to the colors they used and using what I have but hard to see the true colors and shades in the photo. The flash makes the colors come out too brassy and the blacks too light. I also find that they way I pieced the blocks made them smaller so I have to reduce some of the flowers to fit.

The pattern is by Primitive Gatherings and I think it will be a nice pattern to keep for the flowers and make smaller pieces with them.

The original also has a spider web, where the white daisy is. I turned it around and left it plain. I tried some pearl cotton on a couple of the flowers on the right, I like the thicker thread for the stems, what do you think? I found it at a yard sale and over dyed it so it is dark and light green shades.

Wool Flower Mat!

First a reminder, the giveaway for a Shabby Apple dress is still going on until friday, so if you have not commented, visit the blog post and leave a comment there. If the dress is not for you, maybe something you could give to your daughter or a friend?

I started a new piece, a wool mat for my table, or maybe a gift, haven't decided yet. It was raining all afternoon so I had to take a flash photo, bad idea with wool pieces, but you can see my progress so far. I am not following the pattern, I could not figure it out and i know my pieces are off, but it is a nice project to work on while I watch tv and relax. I do the basic stitching first, then I will add the stems and details later.

We had a lot of rain and then a lot of humidity, perfect for my flowers outside. I grew Cosmos to attract butterflies. This is the first time I have grown flowers from seeds and they have grown so tall and beautifully.

It was so hot this weekend, that I got sick from paddling, too much hot sun. We paddled to the beach and I jumped in the water. Most of the time I sat in the water or under the umbrella and waited for a breeze to kick in so I could paddle back without killing myself. This weekend will be nice and cooler, so hopefully I can get  some good paddling in.

Wool Quilt Finished?

I got my quilt finished for now. I am still not sure about the side bards and I might add more embellishment to the stars and the sides, but for now it will have to wait. Hard to get a photo and capture the true colors since there is so much going on. It was windy today so that didn't work out.

I did edge stitching on the blocks where the blanket was flat and left it along where they came out. A bit of this and that, just having fun and doing whatever as I went along. The finished quilt is 54" x 43". It is very heavy, so it will be nice and warm in the winter.

I lightened it up in photoshop so you could see the details, but it is much more prim in person.

After I did the top, I pinned it to the backing and cut off the excess. I sewed the black border/binding onto the front and then flipped it over to the back. That was not the best way to do this, the thickness made the wool bunch up on the sides, so I had to make a few fixes. The new larger star over the kitty is one place I needed a cover fix;) I wanted the border to be a little wider, so I folded over about a quarter inch on the back and pinned that to the back, then sewed it down by hand. This way it has a floppy, softer edge. The green is a loose weave wool, that a friend gave me.

Stitching Progress!

I have been working on two projects and hopefully they will get done soon.

I have been adding some embellishments to the appliques and words, so just a few more things and I can put the backing on. I am just adding things, no thought put into it;)

I am also working on this stitchery quilt by Kathy Schmitz. It was hard getting it onto the cloth since i had to do it on a window, so I need to check my edges to make sure they are straight, before I stitch those up.

Wool Quilt Progress!

I finished sewing up the blocks on my quilt and then I realized the last one, was sticking out too far, so I added a row of wool strips going down. I still have to cut and even it out, then I can see if I need to add anything to them, or leave them, as is. If I add anything it will be something simple, maybe more pennies. Which makes me think it would be fun to add strips to the other side with pennies, a suggestion by one of my followers. But at this point, I just want to finish it, I have so many more project to finish and start.

I am adding details now, just some stitchery in the leaves and flowers and then I will probably do some basic quilt stitching in some of the blocks, but I might do that, after I put on the back, so it will hold them together. I also need to add some words to my green blocks.

Using a plain cotton back to attach the wool blocks, made it a lot easier to lay it out and sew it down. I used a simple blanket stitch on all of the blocks, using a pearl cotton.

I tried a lamp and the flash, but it still came out dark on one end, so I lightened it up, which messes with the colors, but you can get the general idea.

Yesterday was a beautiful day, so we drove to the Watch Hill Lighthouse. The road to the lighthouse is very narrow and the storm wiped it out, so it is passable again and most of the damage is cleaned up.

During the storm, this area was covered by water, so the keepers were stranded at the tip.

Heartfelt Thanks!

I am touched by all of the wonderful comments and outpouring of your loving thoughts. I truly appreciate each and every one and it warms my heart to know that I have the support and understanding of so many friends.

Today I worked on my wool quilt. I have sewed most of the blocks, just an edge left to do on one piece and one block of pennies. I plan on doing a little extra embellishing and stitchery on some of the pieces, then I will sew on the back and maybe a black binding.

Moki never sits with me or on the couch, but today, he tried getting onto my chair or actually the quilt. He did not care if it still had pins in it, it is wool and kitties love wool. When I laid it on the couch to take a break, he was there within seconds. Now he is on it again, sleeping soundly and comfy without the pins.

Wool Quilt and New Stitchery Progress!

Today I played around with my wool pieces until I got a layout, that I liked. I had some spaces so I added a patchwork and a striped block and at the suggestion of a follower, some pennies. I also added the green blocks and the plan is to stitch words on those. I am doing a blanket stitch to keep it simple and easier than trying to do too many stitches on one big piece. I did a little bit today and got tired so I grabbed my stitchery to work on and what did I find underneath, a kitty block that I had set to the side. Now I need to rethink how that will fit in, but I am sure I can redo the top area and shorten the long piece. I added the longer piece and planned on making the applique later, which is good, since I will change that out to fit the kitty in.

What do you think? I realized I started this in 2009, time sure flies by;)

Another project I am working on is a stitchery called Blackbird Sings which can be found in Kathy Schmitz's book, Simple Pleasures in Redwork. After I find the stitchery, there will be a border and it will measure 23" x 26", the largest stitchery I have done but perfect to hang for spring and summer.

The original is done in lighter colors with a touch of black, I am going with black and a touch of color.

Contest and Freebie this week at Babycakes Blog, be sure to visit and wish her a Happy Anniversary!