Friday Finish!

 This week I wanted to make a little mat for my side table. I also wanted something with reds for Valentines. I do enjoy hand quilting at night, so this was the perfect project to keep my hands busy and make something I needed. It was also a way to start using up old stash and these were precut mini squares, so they were perfect for a small mat.

Last weekend we went to the southern beaches for a ride and look for birds. Lots of birds, but always hard to catch them. I lucked out and found a hawk who was hanging out in the area and stayed long enough for a shot.

Another day we took a trip to the island. At one beach we enjoyed watching a tow boat bring in a larger boat with a long tow rope.

Once they got closer to the bridge, the tow pulled the rope in to be closer to the larger boat. They do this when they get into the narrower channels, for better control.

At another beach I spotted a couple of crows, hanging out on the icebergs. It has been raining today and then cold again, so I am hoping it will warm up so we can go on more walks and less riding. I hope you all have a nice weekend and enjoying the winter months by catching up on your own projects.

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.

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.

Friday Finish!

It took me all week, but I finally finished my table topper. My friend Kelley sent me the piece and I decided to make it into a Christmas mat. I added the green border, which is fabric that she sent me, as well.

The finished piece measures 26" x 17". I did the hand stitching with black pearl cotton. I antiqued it with walnut ink, that was diluted to a watery consistency in the bottle, so I could spray it on. I wanted to give it a light touch but enough to give it a slight aged look.

The colors are off, since I didn't get a photo until tonight. As you can see, it has my trademark, wonky borders;)

Here is a closer view of the borders. I did stitches around all the inner and outer edges and for the skinny border, I added a zig zag stitch and tree shapes in the larger border. Nothing fancy, but a nice project to work on at night.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend. I am looking forward to the day after, when the crowds are gone and Bill will get some days off so we can enjoy paddling at our favorite places.

Indigo Blue Table Mat!

I finished my table mat this weekend and love how it looks on the table. We got a slate blue couch and just having something that matches, really warms the area up. The table is really an old cupboard top that had a stained glass front, but that got broken and now it is used as a table top with shelves to put my things.

This is the top, as is. I had to wash it to get rid of the chalk marks, yellow is not easy to get out. It shrank up and warped a bit, but fits the spot perfectly. The mat measures 23 1/2" x 13".  I stuck the candle on top so you could see the colors. I have a reproduction pencil box that sits there and holds my scissors and other items.

I decided it was too white and bright, so it got a walnut ink wash. I dried it in the sun and it got spotty, so I rinsed it down a bit and resprayed, then dried it in the dryer and now it has just the right aged look. The extra washing and drying, warped it more, but is is laying flat now, on the table.

Here is a close up of the staining and my stitching. I used DMC floss, 2 strands of #612. A great color for when you want a lighter, primitive shade.

I also decided my rooster was too light, I do like my darker prim look. I used walnut on the main colors and then tried java ink on the orange, but it muddied it on the outer edges of the tail, but it does look old now. Now I have to decide how I want to finish it. Today the summer UFO's went in a box, they will have to wait till late winter. Now it is time to get going on Christmas, I am hoping to have projects finished in time, this year;)

Repurposed Table Mat!

My friend Kelley sends me boxes with scraps and stash and I decided to make a table topper with one of the scrap pieces she has used on another project. The nice thing was, the blocks were already put together, I just added a border. Then I hand stitched the squares with a simple outline stitch in the blocks, then went across with an X in each one. for the outer edge, I used a reverse blanket stitch to edge the line and give it a little added touch. I had some old material that was given to me, that had apple prints, in a large and small version and thought that would make a nice theme for an appliqué. I used some scrap wool I have in a drawer and added the apples in each corner.

For the border, I always make it a big larger so I can fold that to the back instead of using binding. This time I used a mahogany stain, gives it a slight reddish brown tint, so an aged look without being too dark. Now I think I need to make one with Easter colors and a matching appliqué. It is fun to make small mats with your scraps and something you can use on a side table to change with the seasons.

I just added a few things for display, but this will go into the fall box once I make a new one for spring. I was thinking it would be cute to add an A+ in each apple and use as a teachers gift, you are welcome to use the idea.

Hexagons, Halloween and Hokie Mokie!

I finished my hexagon topper, at least I think I did. Should I or shouldn't I, tea stain it?
 I hand sewed them together, so they are not perfect. I learned from making these, to mark my 1/4 mark on the back, so I could sew more evenly;) It is all hand sewn except for the border, which I attached by machine. It measures 22 1/2" from end to end and the hexagons are 1 1/2". This is a great lap or traveling project and by using smaller hexagons, you can make a lot of different design variations.

Here is a close up of the stitching. I used black pearl cotton and stitched inside of each hexagon. I used my new camera, so the colors are better, but I still need to learn how to use the settings to get true color shots. The feather stitch was done with some of my hand dyed floss, so it goes from dark to light green. I am not sure if I will use it for a topper, not sure if I have a table it will fit, lol. I think it would make a nice base for a prim, table top tree.

I took out some decorations and threw them on the table;) I took the rag balls I had and just added orange and gold fabrics around what I had, so they would be bigger and I could use less fabric, that way. Plus, when I am done with fall, I can take it off and they will be red and green again;) The wonderful candle mat was made by my friend Kelley.

And for the Moki fans, this is for you. Not sure where he was, but doesn't say much about my cleaning;)

Star Hexagon Topper

I finished my star hexagon, finally!
It takes a long time to sew, such a small piece together.
I love using hexagons, but wanted to try something different, so using hexagon paper, I tried different designs with colored pencils and this is the one I liked. I was thinking it would be a nice table topper with a prim tree on it.
I am still deciding on the edge. I will trim it straight and then I was thinking of adding an edging or antique lace.
It measures 21" across. I am also going to leave it as is, and just back it without batting, so it will lay flat for the tree.

Also, I have gotten no response from the winners, so I will be picking new winners if I do not hear from them before my next posting.