Friday Finish and Fun on the Fourth!

I hope everyone had a good week and a fun holiday. We went low key, stayed home for the weekend and spent the fourth with my Sister in Law. I did manage to finish one project, a new stitchery from the One stitch club, by Kathy Schmitz.

I decided to put my rustic birdhouse on a shelf and thought this design would be a nice piece to go with it. I made it into a pillow and antiqued it to match the feeling of the birdhouse. The stitchery club is fun to do, one design a month and they work up quickly.

We did have a nice time at the party. My SIL has access to the beach, so I was able to go for a nice swim and enjoy some time with Nick at the beach. He loves throwing rocks and he got soaked when the waves got him a few times, but seeing him laugh and get excited at things he sees, always brings joy to my day.

I also spent time with Alex, and he has become much more social, and he seems to be such a happy little guy, I am blessed with them both.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, filled with joy and adventure. Bill has to work all weekend and my son wants to do a yard sale in my yard, so I may throw some  junk out and start cleaning out the basement.

Friday Finish!

This week flew by, seems I spent most of it, cleaning and shopping and getting ready for my new project, but I was able to make the newest block by Suzy's Sitcom, Words to Live by. This is a fun one to do and I think it will make a nice gift, so it keeps me motivated.

I also started my canvas boards for the painting class, that I won. It is offered by Teresa Kogut as part of her courses, Gather, Dream, Create. This one is called Angel Strokes and she also has one that offers several others. Of course my boards are different sizes, one is slightly smaller than the original and I also made a mini one for practice. I also cheated and used art pens to trace the designs, so they are wobbly and messed up, but paint will cover us those mistakes;) I am not at my best this week, so I will let them sit till next week and then start painting. The weekend is here and time for another adventure.

I took a photo at my art table, I think it is time to finish my room and start decorating the rest, so I can enjoy using it this summer. The room is a lot cooler and will be nice since I won't have to use the air conditioner. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, filled with adventures and creativity.

For some reason things look crooked, so I have to look at it, maybe we hung up a crooked, or the wide angle made it look off. You can see the mini board in front of the larger one.

Friday Finish!

Posting early today, since we are going off grid, this afternoon. The weather has changed back and forth all week, and now it looks like a great weekend for camping. The bad thing is, I thought it was going to rain, so I let my Son host the dinner, which he wanted to do, so no picnic, and now it is going to be 79 on Sunday, ugh. It also means, we come back to the house and get things ready and Bean can stay home while we spend time at their house, then back to camp.

I Cooked up a pot of Goulash and some corn bread, so we can just relax and heat up dinner. Baskets for the kids are done and now we are just doing some finishing things and waiting for the milkman before we take off.

One reason we are going away is, it is not only Easter, but Danielle's birthday on Sunday, so it would be too much to sit home and think about the fact that she is not sharing it with us. She loved camping, so this will be a time for us to relax and be with her in spirit as we walk the beaches and enjoy nature.

I worked on a pillow, an idea I saw on a website, who made a pillow to ease her grief. She lost her daughter right after birth and spent the day, loving her and saying goodbye. I can only imagine her pain, for each of us grieves in our own way.

I made my heart with some of our clothes and some of hers, a special memory and inspiration as I walk this journey called Grief.

I also finished my eyeglass case, it is a bit smaller after sewing and I like a roomy case, makes it easier to get them out. It is also good for pocket cameras, too. I used old blue jean material behind the felted piece, and for the backing.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a Blessed Easter.

Friday Finish!

This week I worked on a new projects and finished a couple of Christmas stitcheries. I had made a bunch up, so I decided it is a good time to finish them. I will wait to make them into something, probably later in the summer, so I can concentrate on finishing more seasonal projects and maybe make some new ones.

I am working on a new inspirational pillow in memory of my daughter. I found the idea on a blog, so I will be sharing that, next week.

This design is by Kathy Schmitz, from her One Stitch at a Time Club. I wasn't sure what to make it into and then I got the idea to add a saying. A saying makes it into a nice pillow that I can give as a gift, for now I will enjoy looking at it on my shelf;)

I used art markers to color in the quilt, just a little touch of color.

It looks like spring is finally here and I hope it stays. I am ready to get out for long walks and hikes, though my body is still not recovering, as well as I would want, so I may have to take it easy.

Friday Finish!

Not a lot done this week, mostly resting or more like, saving my energy to do what cleaning and cooking I can, so not as much crafting. I have been reading tutorials on watercolor pencils, I would like to express my creative side in paints and work on new designs that way. And of course, dreaming of warmer weather.

I finished another stitchery from Suzy's Sitcom, called Words To Live By. It is a fun stitchery to do, and lots of stitching, but mine is reduced in size, so it takes me longer to make smaller stitches and not mess up too much;) I am also using 3 strands of floss to make the design show better and be stronger in a quilt.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, we have one partially nice day, so hopefully I can get out for a short walk before the rains come.

I took a phone photo, so not the best quality shot.

Christmas Pillows!

I loved making the pillow with Cheri Saffiote's free design, that I had to make two more. One was for me, the one with colors and the other two will be gifts. Though, I have been buying new things this year and not sure where I have room for the pillow, lol.

This one is done on a tea towel, I think it would be better if I used towel yardage to fit it better, this was wider than I realized. I also added a few extras to balance it out a little. No tea stain on this one.

I also finished the red work pillow. I like the thicker thread but I think the red is a bit bright, but also nice for Christmas, it will bring out a pop of color in a prim room. Mine was done a little smaller and using more color. I added an extra tree and some stars for balance and they were both done on tea stained fabric by Moda.

You will also notice the star mat on the chair. I was the lucky recipient of the star rugs, that Kelley made to fit my dining chairs.

You can find the design, as well as others, on Buttermilk Basin's blog, still more freebies to come on the hop.

I also had an idea to make a stocking with wool roving. I found a mitten cookie cutter and used that, by putting the roving inside and felting it. I made them too thin, so I ended up putting the two together and just made one. I think it is not worth using my roving on something like this, better with wool or old sweaters.

We did a lot of shopping this weekend. Presents for the kids of course, but I am refraining from over doing it, they are still young, and Nick loves mega blocks, so I am adding to his collection. We also did some antique and thrift shopping, love finding Christmas items that are hard to find and we finally found a tree we liked. My grandmother had a ceramic studio and made a large beautiful tree that I loved and Bill decided he loved the ones he saw in the store too. Most are expensive and we found this 13" tree at an antique store that has booths. It has bulbs and birds and just the right size to put on top of my book case. Of course my red glass angels come out for Christmas.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I am hoping to get all my gifts ready and cards and done by this weekend, so hopefully that works out. I would like to have some rest time this year and I also found some fun snowflake material to make lots of mini pillows to hand out at Christmas. Last year I hid pillows when I went out, this year I want to hand them to people who need a smile or even the clerks at the stores. I can imagine what they go through in a day with all the crazy customers, so they deserve a smile too.

Friday Stitcheries!

This week I worked on two stitcheries by Kathy Schmitz. One will be a gift and one is for me.

The stitch piece is from Kathy's One Stitch at a Time Club. You can still sign up and for 2.00 a month, you get a stitchery each month. A fun project to look forward to each month. It is a needle case. The birdhouse is a hanger which I will use as a welcome on the peg rack and leave open so I can fill it with scented berries. The stitchery can be found on Kathy's Blog as a freebie, make one for yourself and it would make a wonderful gift for friends.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finishes!

I am still making small items, but I am getting antsy to start on my unfinished projects and new ones that I have been wanting to make, so time to get going on those. I still can make small ones in between and it is something I can work on at night when I need a no brainer project;)

I was thinking of my sister when I made these. She loves snow men and always asks me to make more that she can buy for next year, so I let her go through my snowmen pieces and pick what she wants.

The first is a pillow, something simple but fun to do. I added a saying and a carrot button, as well as, the wool heart. I enjoy putting little touches on each piece, though I think the nose is a bit big for this guy. I use Faber Castell art pens to color with, they are archival inks, waterproof and have a longer tip so they color in nicely without bleeding. I wet the pieces to remove the washable ink and then use walnut stain on them and the ink does not run.

The second I made as a pair, but only got one finished and this way I can see how it looks before I dod the other one. I do like how it came out and a fun way to finish a stitchery to be used as an ornament. I did the stitchery with the batting on, then added a backing and did the stitching first, then I cut around the stitching with pinking shears. I had fun adding star buttons to this one. I also added a snowflake to the back so it would look nice if the ornament spins around on the tree.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. We have a nice day tomorrow so hoping to get out for some hiking.

Friday Finishes!

This week I was browsing for new design ideas and stumbled onto a site that I hadn't been to in years. It is called North Pole Christmas and they have a lot more patterns and crafts than they used to and a great place for designs that you can use in any medium, as well as crafts and cards that you can print out.

I wanted to do angels so I picked some angel designs that I liked and tried them in stitchery. These were fun to do and I added sayings to go with them. I think they would be nice with rusty  bells attached too.

I also want to do brighter ones so I will be trying something else with some new ones I found, we shall see how they turn out. I like to make things I can give away and I think it would be nice to have some fun ones for people who prefer that, and a nice idea for nursing home patients to have something they could hang in their room.

I can see doing these in appliqué mixed with stitchery and punch needle, as well. I hope everyone has a nice weekend. We have nice weather with a mix of rain so hopefully we can get out for some new adventures this weekend.

Friday Finishes!

This week I finished two projects. I tend to start things and not finish them or finish something but not quilt it, so time to finish things and I have a large to do list, so a bit at a time.

This quilt is a design by Cheri Saffiote and she has offered it for free on her Facebook Page, Quilts by Cheri. The original had eggs in the basket, but I decided to add simple flowers so I could use it for spring and summer. I did basic quilting around the shapes and edges and I was thinking of tea staining it, but that needs time to soak, so if I do it, that will come later. It does look better in person, much darker and prim, but as usual the outdoor photos were too bright and indoor I get light and dark so it makes it harder to see, so it is still a bit brighter than in person. Now I have to figure out where to hang it, time to take down my Easter pieces.

I also realized after I saw the photo again, I forgot to put the stitching on the border. I can still do that, will be a stitch around the inner edge with a dark tan thread.

This second piece I made and wanted to frame, but it didn't fit or look right, so I added a homespun edge and simple stitching. I gave it a light staining and it makes a nice mini wall hanging. Another piece for my gift box.

Tomorrow is our local quilt show, they do it every two years, so I will be going. Not a big show but fun to see the quilts and hopefully some new vendors from other states. Hopefully I can get some nice photos, usually people stand in the way;) Have a wonderful weekend and I will be sharing some photos of the show on Monday.

Friday Finishes and Winner!

This week I have been working on several projects. The first is a pillow that I made the top for and never finished, so I decided it was time to finish it. The design is from Rebekah Smith's book, Wool Appliqué. This one I did in full size, but I made the pillow back too small, so I ended up cutting off some edges to fit it better.

This one is for me, love kitties and fun to have something new I can decorate with.

The second piece I wanted to finish by today, but it does not fit in the frames I have, so I have to rethink the finish. It is a design from the Spring issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects. It was fun and quick to do, just wish I had reduced it a bit so it would fit in the frame better. This will be another item for the gift box.

The Winner! I used the random number generator and #3, Sandi of Shhdesigns is the winner of one of my patterns. Congratulations to Sandi and you can email me with your choice of pattern or booklet.

Tomorrow is Danielle's birthday, she would have been 31. I plan on getting some spring flowers that I can plant in the front of her grave and grow through the summer, but not sure if the stores have them yet. I also want to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather, a nice walk is just what I need.

I made up a card for her, it is from her first birthdays. I had forgotten a lot of things and seeing the photos brings back such wonderful memories and years of joys that we shared together. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finish!

This week I have been having more done time and the lyme has effected my joints and nerves, so it is hard to do fine work or things that take coordination or strength, so I decided to do some more stitchery.

This time I went though my old files and found a design I had doodled up, years ago and thought it would be a fun one to try. Of course I had to have a saying to go with it and I found an old irish saying and changed the lines a bit.

I was thinking of making it into a design, I need to redo the original and add the saying. I just have to figure out how to get the font to work in the right size and with the photo since my text program had this font and photoshop does not.

As usual I had to do a flash photo, so it tends to be too dark in some areas and too bright in others. I aged it with walnut ink, a fun piece to give as a gift.

It looks like we will be having some stormy weather this weekend, so no outdoor plans. I am so looking forward to warmer weather and long walks on the beach and lots of paddling this summer.

Monday Stitcheries!

With the holiday weekend, I didn't have time to do too many things in the sewing room, so I made up a couple of small stitcheries that I can add to my Christmas box.

They are designs from the Kindred Spirit Christmas book. I didn't finish them off since I just finished them today, but I love the tree piece for a balsam pillow, so I will probably make the pillow, but wait till next year to stuff it so I can use fresh balsam. I think it would be fun to get more prim buttons and maybe try some mini bells instead of the bright buttons. The angel may become a mini quilt. I like the idea of making mini's that I can fit in a small envelope and send as a gift.

No walnut stain on these, the backing is tea stained muslin, so I will probably leave these alone.

Yesterday we had my son and Nick for dinner. I was not feeling great so I took it easy and used all my energy for Nick, but it wore me out. Today was a rest day, just watching tv and a little simple stitching.

I took Nick to the playground and we even went down the slide a few times, though a kids slide is not made for a ladies rear;) He loved his knapsack filled with goodies, especially the flower lollipops. Sadly he started getting a fever before he left and tonight he is worse so my Son is taking him to the emergency room to be safe. I sure hope my sweet little guy is ok. They are leaving early tomorrow morning, so not sure how this will effect that.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finishes!

I am still making pillows and it is fun to do new designs and with all of the blog hops this month, there were plenty to chose from.

The snowman design is by Kathi, from Heart to Hand. Kathi didn't have a blog so you had to email her for the pattern and it is wonderful and fun to make. You can now download the pattern, on her website. I only did one snowflake on mine since I wanted to keep the pillow size down. I used stuffing and balsam in this one.

Another design I have made before is the Christmas Angel by Pieces from my Heart. I reduced the design to fit on a little pillow. Balsam and stuffing in this pillow, as well.

I am working on the Christmas Hop piece so that will be finished this weekend, but you have to wait until December to see the reveal;) If you are looking for some free designs to do your own stitchery pillows, I found a french site that offers a lot of Christmas designs, some I have never seen before. Check them out at Cathy Creatif's.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I will be spending the day with Nicholas, so I am planning a fun party day with a special dinner and I even got him a present, a fisher price nativity set. He loves playing with my figurines so I thought this would be a fun gift for him and hopefully Bean won't try to eat it.

Monday Stitcheries!

Another weekend and no big projects done or exciting outdoor fun. We ended up doing some shopping for trailer supplies and I splurged and got new ceiling fan lights. Our dining one got broken when Bill bashed it with something he was carrying, so that got replaced. Then I got a new one for my sewing room, just simple one with 3 lights, so I can see better. Then I got a nautical style lantern to put in my beach themed room. I tend to neglect upgrades like that and it was about time;)

I did get to finish one of my stitchery blocks, this one was simpler and I am loving how they come out and think it will make a wonderful quilt with floral sashing.

The designs are free and can be found at Theodora Cleave's Blog. She also has some wonderful new designs for stitchery quilts.

Another project I started is a stitchery dish towel with a design by Kathy Schmitz, offered for free in her newsletter. She has free designs on her website, as well.

The bee was colored in with art pens and the photo is blurry. I am still using the mac program and it is limited in adjustments.

A Song in my Heart pillow!

This was another one of those weeks. Actually Thursday was just one of those days that I should have stayed in bed, but that was impossible because the first thing I had to do was strip my bed to clean up the cat puke on it. What woke me up was Bean whining, he was getting into things outside and it upset his stomach and he didn't make it out in time, so another mess to clean up.

Then I started cleaning and slipped on the floor and fell on my bad side, so not a good day to clean after all, I hit a few old injuries and made some new ones;) But, that wasn't the end of it, I was under the chair to get Bean's ball and he went screaming into my nose so now I have a really sore nose.

This week I worked on a pillow for our choir director. She was the one who helped me with the songs for Danielle's Mass and some of the songs I chose were not allowed and I was just too tired to think anymore, so I said, I trust you, you pick the rest out. Well, she spent all day going through songs to pick out just the right songs that were similar to what I picked.

I remembered a design by Primitive Blessings and luckily I still had a copy. She does not have her site  up anymore and hopefully she will get a new service and list them again, I love using her designs for gifts. I love the saying on this one and I added an edging and filled it with stuffing and lavender. The back material has angel designs with inspirational sayings. I hope she likes folk art.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Today I got some supplies I needed and hoping to get out for some short walks this weekend. Besides being sore, I am out of shape, and the weather is perfect for  hiking.

Happy Present!

Sometimes when we feel down or sick, we need something to cheer us up. When I was little my mom would get us a happy present when we were sick and stuck on the couch all week.

Last month I won a giveaway hosted by Brenda of The Rusty Thimble. Brenda makes the most wonderful prim items, from pillows and ornies, to dolls and holiday items. This month she is giving away a wonderful americana piece. If you love prim items but don't have the time to make your own, visit Brenda's Etsy Store, she has a lot of wonderful items for sale and she changes her stock regularly and seasonally.

Brenda waited to send my gift and I am glad she did, I was not ready to get a gift but today it arrived and it was perfect timing. I needed a happy present to lift my spirits, it has been a long day and lots of laundry and organizing clothes.

My bunny is so wonderful, I love her looks and clothes and she is a lot bigger than I realized, so she sits beautifully on the shelf with the antique crazy piece. I think she will stay up for the rest of the season and maybe she can be my garden bunny for the summer.

I have also been stitching this week, slowly but I am in no hurry, it keeps my hand and mind busy and it is nice to do something normal when I can. We also went to church with our son and my sweet grand baby, having happy moments with him helps me to get through the tough moments. I appreciate all of your comments and support and I do have future plans that I will work on when I can catch up on sleep and my mind is not so jumbled. I cannot dwell on the pain and the senselessness of it all. I will be starting a new blog in memory of my daughter to help others and for future charity events.

I hope you enjoy my little stitchery, it is a block by Theodore Cleaves and she has graciously offered the whole set for free. I love the designs and they make me happy as I work on them. I may make smaller quilts or a larger one, but for now I just stitch and enjoy the process.

Blessings to you all!

Snowman Candle Mat Free Pattern!

Today Jenny of Jenny of Elefantz found the pattern for the snowman mat, that I stitched. She was wonderful enough to do a search and now everyone can use it to make their own mat. Be sure to visit Jenny and thank her for taking the time to help out and she also has a lot of wonderful patterns of her own and freebies that she shares with her visitors so be sure to sign up for her newsletter.

You can find the design for the mat, among others at: Daily Coloring Pages.

Friday Finish and Life with Bean!

It seems it takes longer and longer to finish things, these days. With only a month to go for gifts that get mailed, I cannot make one thing a week and get things done, ugh. The good thing is, Bean is having more calmer moments or moments that he plays by himself, that I will get more time to work on my projects as he gets older.

I found this design online, no idea where I got it. I printed it out and threw away the file without thinking and I cannot find it again, so if I do or if someone knows where it might be, I will share the website with you.

It was a fun design, but a lot of stitching. I used dmc floss on tea stained fabric, though it doesn't show well with the photo. Since this is more of a fun piece, I didn't add extra stain and will leave it, as is.

This week we have had some nice days, and the cooler weather makes for nice walks at the pond. Bean loved this walk. Wooded paths and no noises to scare him. He met a few people and dogs and as usual, he wanted to follow them. It is hard to get a nice photo of Bean, I get him in one spot, go to take the shot and he wants to jump up at me and the camera.

He seems to have a thing for the dishwasher, at least the dishes are already dirty;) He also likes to jump up to see what I am cooking and he really loves to share what I am eating. One of his favorite treats is apple slices. Today he watched me vacuum, he had no fear of the noise or the rug cleaner, but when I turned on the blender to make bread crumbs, he ran into the other room. He is also afraid of train whistles, he runs away from the sound. He also gets upset when we get near cars in the parking lot, but I have a suspicion that it might be because, he knows it is time to end our walks;) I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finishes!

This week I finished my sailboat wall hanging. The design is from a book by Sarah Sporer called One Summer at the Shore. I added a few details to the lighthouse and some stitched seagulls to mine. When I finished, I added a bit of walnut stain to age the muslin more.

I also made a felted lighthouse for fun, a few months ago. Today I finally finished it and made it into a small case, perfect for sunglasses.