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!

 

This week I finished a Thanksgiving piece. I needed something for the holiday, for the front entry area and this was perfect. The design is by Cheri Payne and a fun one to do. 

Last week We went for a drive to see if we could find some fall foliage. Not as much yet, but we did find a few spots with splashes of color. The first stop was a reservoir with a dam, but with less rain, less water coming down. It was still beautiful though.

We took a walk along the path to the old bridge. 

Our next stop was Old furnace park, across the border in Connecticut. It is a bit of a climb up to the cliffs, but worth it for the view.

There are more trails that run along the side of the pond, so we took a walk part way to enjoy the views.

The next day we took the boys out. We took them to the bird sanctuary for a shorter walk on the pond side. They enjoyed walking along the paths.

And seeing all the critters along the way.

And we spotted two Praying Mantis along the paths. Love the look this one was giving me. It is always fun to explore with the boys and good to get them away from their electronics. 

This weekend we have a storm coming in and of course I seem to have gotten a flu from them, so taking it easy for a few days. I hope this finds everyone well and enjoying the cooler fall weather.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I wanted to try something new, a silverware holder for our table setting. I didn't have any good fall fabric, so I used a christmas one, that looks a lot like a fall one. They were not hard to make and I did them in a day. I cannot remember where I got the original pattern from, but I just used it to get the idea and figured it out myself. Here is one with diagrams you can use, if you want to make your own. You can also do a search and find a lot of different types. I definitely plan on making more for Christmas.

Last weekend we took the boys for the day. We stopped at a farm that was having an event, but everything cost money, and the rides were more for toddlers. They did have fun feeding the farm animals and they got apple cider slushies, which they loved.

Since the farm had their own brand of corn meal, we headed to Kenyon mills, the only one I will use. I got our supply of corn meal and then we got to take the boys to the mill for a little tour. This mill still does stone ground cornmeal.

The next day we headed to a new place in Connecticut. I was interested in finding, what was left of an old mansion in the woods. Luckily it was easy to find, though the trail was rough and rocky. It was a cool old mansion that was there during the mill days. It is also said that they had their own electric system in the house. 

The trail was too rough for me, so we headed back to the parking lot and we walked a little way up the road, where I saw an interesting wall and my instincts were right, it was an old cemetery.

From there we walked to the old mill area, and then across the street on another path. It is an interesting area, with rivers and ponds, so it is another place I will go back to in the spring, when the birds come back.

I hope you all had a good week and can enjoy your holiday. I will be busy with cleaning and cooking, so hopefully I can get all that done and another unfinished project done, during the week.

Friday Finish!

 

I can't believe that it is November, the months have flown by. The good thing is, we are getting unseasonable nice weather on the weekends, so we get to enjoy being out for a bit longer. This week the new stitchery came out, so of course I had to make that. It was perfect for Thanksgiving and I can use it to place a hot dish, on the. table.

I added extra border stitching for fun, and I like how it came out. I can never seem to get the right colors in a photo, it is bright, but in a nice way.

Last weekend we got out for a ride, closer to home. I was able to stop at the quilt shop and pick up some nice Christmas fabric and a panel to make a nativity. On the way home we stopped by the Veterans Cemetery. The trees were bursting with vibrant color.

On Sunday we went to Connecticut to check out a new area. We went to a park on the river, but ran into an event, so it was a bit crowded. We walked around a bit and watched as the Scullers came in. This is definitely a place to come back to, perfect place to go kayaking.

As we passed through the town, we saw beautiful foliage and a few fun Halloween displays.

The last place we stopped was an old mill site. It was a nice walk through the woods, following the river and seeing what was left of one of the old mills.

I hope you all had a good week and a fun weekend ahead.

Friday works and Fun!

This week I didn't get anything finished, but I was able to work on a new project. I think I needed a rest and time to get ready for the holiday, so I made up a new stitchery that I can use as a pillow this season. The design is by Kathy Schmitz from her Christmas book and I was lucky enough to find a copy from a local library and copy some of the designs.

I am using three strands of floss so it will stand out more, I think this will be a fun pillow to display.

Today I wanted to get out for a hike, but my body wasn't cooperating, so we went for a ride to the quilt store in Connecticut. The boys have some events coming up at school and need fun masks, so I got the gnomes for them, then I found the cars and thought that was perfect for the guys. I loved the skate material and glad I grabbed a yard, I do have the same black with mittens and one with trees, so I will use it for a quilt and add some greens and reds to the mix. 

I think one thing that wore me out was, the hike we did last weekend. I wanted to try a new trail and hike for a bit to see how far we could get. I was having so much fun finding new ponds and enjoying the hike that we made it all the way to the end, Hell Hollow Pond. We ended up doing over 10 miles, so the longest yet, for me.

And the next day we went back with the boys. The weatherman lied, the rain came early and just as we got to the first pond, it came down. Luckily the trail back was tree lined so we stayed dry until it stopped. We took another short walk and headed to the campground for lunch and relaxing.

I have been watching the birds and practicing manual focus, so I can get the birds in the trees. The camera always wants to focus on the branches, so I was able to catch this Cardinal who visits the feeder.

And the male Downy Woodpecker is getting more used to me. I am still trying to get a shot of the Carolina wren, it comes and sits and chatters at me, but never when I have the camera. 

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. We had a simple, traditional dinner with the kids. 

Friday finish and holiday fun!

I didn't get a lot finished this week, I did get my Christmas hanging quilted, so now I just have to finish it off. I also made some pillows and realize I need to make a lot more since I have two more bags of balsam, so I need to get busy on that.

I have a few relatives that love snowmen, so I made up some with a fun print and some simple ones. I do have a lot of the snowmen left, so I think I should use more of that, it makes it fun and most people seem to like bright and happy.

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. I started cooking and at first I thought I had used bad cornmeal, it was old, so I threw it out. The next day I had more pancakes with my blueberry sauce that I made from frozen berries. And, it happened again, but worse, sneezing non stop, coughing and blowing my nose and then nausea. So, I am assuming it was the blueberries, I know the pancakes were fine, all from scratch with fresh ingredients. I am still coughing and notice when I eat, I get worse, so I know it triggered off my mold allergies.

But, I was still able to get the rest of the food cooked and the house cleaned and enjoy the day with the kids and Ivy's friend. It is nice to have the extra company and we all fit around the table nicely. Which by the way, is new. We went out last weekend and found  larger table with an extension and comfy chairs. It is designed to look like reclaimed wood and the chair seats are padded.

Alex is growing fast and such a joy, he loves my home made popsicles and the card Bill got me, it has a kitty in a basket and when you pull it out, it meows Happy Birthday. Annoying to me, but watching Alex laugh every time he pulled it out, was the best present ever.

And we attempted to get family photos and ones with Santa, that didn't work out too well with the bad lighting, but we had fun trying. Santa was being more of a problem than the kids, lol.

Today I got all the decorations down and started with Christmas. It was cold but I really wanted to get out and hit the beach. We got to enjoy a few hours before the winds got too cold. Of course I came home tired so I didn't get much else done. 

We found some nice pieces of glass and nice to breath in some cool fresh air. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I am hoping I can get things done and get all my projects done in time.

Holiday Weekend!

I guess you could say I have been busy and enjoying my company, since I didn't get many photos. We had a house full and everyone doing their thing, especially the kids, so it was hard to get anyone to stay still for too long.

I rearranged the dining area and made room for everyone at the table, a bit snug, but we all fit.

Today was a nice day, a bit cool, but a nice day to get out for a walk. I wanted an easy day, and no stress, so we went to the bird sanctuary. I love the paths and the beautiful views of the pond and ocean.

Coming through the back path, I almost bumped into this deer. She was standing at the edge of the path and seemed used to people. I also noticed when I looked at the photo that she has a large hole on her back left leg, so I will send it to them, not sure if she caught it on something or a coyote tried to get her.

On another path I hurt a racket and discovered two squirrels, running up and down a tree to gather more leaves for their nest. Hard to catch them, they run at top speed, back and forth.

Back at the center, they have a little porch with a bench. A great place to sit and relax, while the critters enjoy the feeders and bird baths. It was a nice way to spend the day and we stopped at some small local gift shops, but nothing worth bringing home.

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and a fun weekend planned. I am working on my stitchery and decided on what projects to make for me, for Christmas.

Monday Finishes and Weekend Fun!

I wanted to make more pillows and something a bit quicker, so I made printable fabric pillows. I found some free graphics on the internet and printed them out with the printer fabric. I use the June Tailor, washable and colorfast. I heat set them, then rinse in cool water and heat set them again. Not really sure if they are waterproof or washable and I do notice they tend to run with the red ink. After I rinse them, I blot them with a paper towel and that keeps the reds from running too much.

I made the mistake of using a higher resolution on the small pillows, that is why they are smaller. I forgot to change the size to compensate for the resolution. The wagon pillows are done at the lower resolution so they came out the right size. I like the smaller pillows too, they could also work as tree ornaments and if you don't have a real tree, the scent of pine would be nice on the tree.

The thing I don't like is, the fabric is stiff so I had to cut an opening in the back to fill them, that is a pain in the neck. With balsam, it is easier to pour it into the bottom, then sew them closed. I also have to stitch them up and cover the ugly opening I made, so an extra step. It is a nice way to make fun pillows though, and there are lots of free graphics on the internet.

I had Nicholas this weekend so I gave him his new creche to play with. He loves to play with the figures and the start lights and plays Away in a manger, so we heard that a lot, throughout the day.

Sunday he decide he did not want Mommy to leave, so it took me awhile to calm him down, but once he did, he was fine. I decided he needed a table so he had a place to play and a place to eat. He loved the table and played on it all day and loved eating like a big boy.

I guess I will not be online till after Thanksgiving. The kids are coming to our house, after all, so I will be busy cleaning and planning the meal, I have two more days, ugh. I always work better under pressure;) I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with family and good food.

This is an old photo from a Thanksgiving at Waterville Valley in NH. They had santa come in on a dog sled and fireworks at night. The holidays will be hard, but I will treasure the memories.

New Pattern and Giveaway Winner!

I hope everyone has had a productive week and a nice weekend ahead. We are getting rain, I am not happy with that;) I am tempted to head west into Connecticut, the weatherman said the rain will be mostly coastal, so maybe we can find a new place to explore, out of the rain.

I finished my new pattern and love how it came out. I wanted to keep it simple but with a few added touches. It all started with an antique duck rug, that I saw, then I started doodling and I still have a duck, but I went with a fall theme and didn't keep any of the original designs.

I used Dmc floss in this piece and I explain how to get the variations in the pattern instructions. I like to keep my pieces easy enough for anyone to do without having to buy specialized threads and create patterns that look nice in different mediums.

I went with a pillow and it is 6 1/2 x 4 1/2". I aged it with walnut stain and bordered it with two twisted pieces of wool yarn. I had bought a bunch of vintage sears rug yarn and over dyed it, so some still has it's orange hue and works well with fall pieces.

I love seeing all of the comments and your answers to my question. I didn't realize it, but it does look like he is holding a camera, lol. If you look closely, you will see that the shores are lined with blueberry bushes and Bill was stuffing his mouth with fresh blueberries.

The winner of the giveaway is Lauren of Rugs and Pugs!
Lauren send me an e-mail and let me know if you would like the new pattern of another of my epatterns, your choice.

You can purchase my new pattern with the link to the left or on my ecrater site. I have also reduced the price of all of my older patterns and booklets. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!  

Thanksgiving Mouse!

I was the lucky winner of one of Linda's wonderful mice in a giveaway that was hosted by Carol of Firecracker Kid Primitives. Linda has a wonderful etsy site called Heartfelt Ornament Co.  If you love mice, you will love her little costumed creations. She also has an etsy site called Warmth and she has some wonderful new pieces and sweet Christmas mice, wouldn't it be fun to have a few to tuck into your cubbies. You can find the candle boxes at Firecracker Kid Primitives and in any finish you would like.

I was happy that I won the fall mouse, it is perfect for Thanksgiving. I love the little accessories that came with her and the decorations that Linda added to the shelf.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a wonderful day today. We enjoyed the day with our kids and DIL, so it was nice without being too crazy.
This is not a great shot of course, but this is what my family looks like, minus dad who is sitting at the end of the table.
My daughter Danielle, DIL Ivy and son, Billy. Remind me to go out and buy some new silverware and dishes before Christmas;)



And this is what my son thought would be a good dessert, a birthday cake for me. I got to blow out the candles, they got to eat the cake, haha. I am cannot eat cake because of my allergies, so I got to imagine how good it taste;) The cake was from a local Dairy, and called Holy cow chocolate cake, very fitting.