Friday finish!

 

This week I decided to try something new with braiding, a heart wall hanging. I used scraps of fabrics and a one inch strip, since I wanted to make small ones. Well, I made my starter piece too large, so it came out larger and longer than I wanted, but I still like it. Since it was bigger, I added a stitched word and a bow for fun. I enjoy braiding and rag braids are easier, since I just tear the fabric and make a slit to attach the pieces. A great relaxing craft, while watching tv.

The colors are off but the bow is the red in the heart.

I also finished one panel of my Christmas quilt. Even with lines, I am still wonky. Hard to work on a long piece, so it takes longer than a regular block. I also need more space on the couch, so I can only work on it when my husband goes to bed. The yellows are not as bright as they look in the photo.

We got out for a ride last week. As always, I enjoy the ride and ocean areas, as well as catching a few birds along the way.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend and doesn't get too snowed in. They are predicting up to 8" in our area. Tomorrow we will get out during the day, before it hits.

Friday Finish!

 

This week seems to have gone by too fast, but I have been busy putting away the Christmas decorations and cleaning as I go. I also had to get the basement cleaned up quickly since we discovered our heater is too old to replace parts. With no idea how long the fan would hold, it was time for a new one. Today they were here all day and got it all done, along with a new air conditioning system. I have wanted one and this way it was included with price and labor, so made it more feasible. Our house has windows in the wrong places for air to circulate properly, so now I can stay cool, no matter what room I am in. 

One thing I needed was another sunglass case. I throw them in my purse and they tend to get scratched and ruined. I found a cute design on the internet and made it up on a wool backing to felt. Nothing fancy, but fun and kept my hands busy. The photo makes it look messy and fluffy, but it is flatter and nicer in person. After felting, I did a simple wet felt to smooth the fibers.

Another thing I did was, prep a couple of projects. One is a long pillow with appliqué that I am working on now, so hoping to have that done by next week. Another is two more panel for the Christmas quilt. The appliqué is on black background, so I tried a little trick. After cutting out the appliqués, I laid the freezer cut out on the background and traced around it with white chalk pencil. This way, when I go to needle turn, I know how much to pull under by keeping under the line. Not the perfect method, but it works for me.

And this is how it looks when done. The pencil stays on long enough for me to work the appliqué. 

I hope everyone is not affected too much by the storms coming through. We will not get much, maybe a dusting when it reaches here. My prayers go out to all those who are devastated by the fires in California.

Friday Finish!

 Christmas is coming and as usual, faster than we would like. I have done my shopping and the house is decorated and packages and cards are all done. Now I can relax a bit and plan our meal, we eat at our house on Christmas Eve with the kids and give them some presents, then on Christmas we go to their house and I save some presents to open then. 

I am working on finishing up my cheater quilt and after going through some of my old books, I decided to make a small piece from a Whimsical quilts book. It was fun to do and I still have plenty of wool to use up, so I grabbed most of it from my scrap drawers. I added the snowflake buttons for fun.

Last week after shopping, we drove around the beach areas. We saw a boat coming in.

And one going out. 

And as we drove by the town beach in Narragansett, we just missed seeing Santa, as he rode by.

With Bill working days, he gets up early and falls asleep early, so hard to get out at night to see the lights around town. He does have a long week off for the holiday, so hopefully we can get out more to see them before they are gone.

I hope you are all enjoying the holidays and can enjoy some time for yourself and Christmas around your area.

Friday Finish!

 

I finally finished my quilted wall hanging. I added a few snowflakes and thinking about adding a few more on the empty black border. It is another wonderful design by Cheri Saffiote. Just in time to hang on my window rod, for Christmas. I do wish I could get a better photo of my quilts, more prim in person.

Last weekend we went to the seaport to see the events. It seems whoever put the event on Facebook, put the wrong place. It was actually at the village so we missed that. But, we got to see the Mystic firemen in action. One of the buildings caught on fire, but they were able to get it under control without too much damage. They think an ember from the nearby fireplace, might have gotten on the roof.

It was a nice day and only a few people were around, so it was nice to walk around. We even found another building that was open with more displays. I also had fun taking photos of Bill.

We had a lot of flooding after the rains. The beaches and ocean areas had the ocean running across the roads, but most of the mess has been cleared, so we were able to spend some time at the beaches. A bit cold but nice for a quick walk.

It is a bit too cold for glass hunting, but we did get some time in this week. I got a few pieces but higher tides, when we went. We did spot this odd scene along the cove, not sure what they were thinking with this guy.

I was also able to do some birding and get a few good shots. I decided to make a card with one of them. I wish all of you, a very Blessed Christmas.

Working on Friday!

 

This has not been a good week for me. I was all ready to have a fun weekend and woke up Saturday, sick with bronchitis. I spent this week coughing my lungs out and today was the first day I could breathe without coughing. So, not much got done, I had no energy and spent more time doing nothing but coughing.

I was able to put together the next pieces for my Christmas hanging. I did some stitching on my other piece, but not as much as I would have liked. 

Today I felt good enough to get out for a bit and I really wanted to get some fresh ocean air. My house has been filling with my neighbor's fireplace smoke, so that hasn't helped with my coughing. It was nice getting out and the island was popping with color.

On the way home, I spotted this Red-tailed hawk, hanging out in the shipyard. My camera wasn't working right and they couldn't fix it, so I got a new replacement. I still need to redo the settings for focus and other things I use to get better shots. I used photoshop to improve the quality.

I am hoping I keep improving and will get out as much as I can this weekend. I feel better when I am out, even if I get tired after. I hope everyone is doing well and avoiding this flu that is going around, not a fun one.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I worked on finishing my wall hanging, so now it is ready for quilting and binding, so almost done. I received the new and last design from Kathy's stitch club, so I decided to make that for fun. She has shut down the club, so now I am thinking, maybe it is time for me to try my hand at making my own stitch designs, so we shall see what I can come up with. This one was fun and easy to do, I love using fun colors in these.

Last weekend we took a ride to pick up some fabric and stopped at one of the beaches. It was a bit too crowded for me, and the water is a bit rough.

We decided to head over to the pond for a swim at the launch area. The water was a bit too warm, but still nice to get a swim in and I tried out the new paddle board. This one blows up, so we can keep it in the truck, so convenient if we stop at a beach when we go out for drives. I was able to paddle a bit, standing up, but much easier, sitting down.

We have been getting to the beach on the island this week, always nice to walk and enjoy the views. The water is a bit cooler than the ponds, so it is refreshing, as well. One day we rode around and caught this sailboat, taking visitors on a tour.

Another day the waves were too rough and the air a bit cooler, so I just enjoyed walking along the beach and collecting glass.

On the way home, we stopped at the local pond to see the Lotus, in boom. 

And the pieces I found during our visits. I am getting more picky with what I take, I like the old pieces and colored pieces, but some I take for art projects.

I hope everyone had a good week and enjoy their weekend. Our weather is getting nicer, less rain and not too hot, so hopefully it stays that way, the rest of the summer.

Friday Finishes!

 

The bad thing about being sick is, you can't get out to shop or the beach, so I am stuck at home. The good thing is, I have plenty of time to work on projects. It seems I have a good day and then downhill again, but at least my body is fighting. Having injuries adding to the mix,  doesn't help and hopefully I can get well enough to get checked out and fix my problems this winter, so I can get out and have fun when the weather gets nice again.

This week I started by finishing a needle felted piece. I saw a design on the web and wanted to try it. I didn't get the exact effect I wanted, but it came out pretty nice. I need to make a wooden board to mount it on or maybe find an old piece I can mount it on. The star came out too thick, wanted it thinner and less bold.

Then I made up some mini pillows to use up the balsam I bought. I gave some as gifts and Nick took a couple home, so the rest will go to neighbors and the milkman. 

The last piece is from The Stitch of the Month Club. I always need hot pads to put dishes on and this will be fun to use at Christmas. I seem to have gone a little wonky on one edge.

I hope everyone had a good week and not getting covered in too much snow. I am hoping to get out tomorrow to do a little stocking stuffer shopping for the boys. I have been shopping online but I want to get a little candy and small items to fill a stocking. I have one more quilt to finish, hopefully by Christmas and will have to put the printed nativity aside and finish that next year. It will be easier to put away without stuffing it, and I need to get ready for Christmas Eve dinner.

Friday Finishes!

 

This week I have been busy, being Lazy. I spent more time working on projects for fun and got a few new things made for the boys. The first finish are a pair of pillows with Balsam filling. I love having some for the house and giving them as gifts, nice for those who don't have a real tree.

The design is by Robin of Bird in the Hand Primitives. She offered this as a free design years ago and again on her Facebook page. It is a fun design to do and would be fun in punch needle too.

I also dabbled a bit with needle felting. I bought a pack of cookie cutters and used them to form a base for some little ornaments. I do find it easier to free hand but it is fun to try the cutters to get started.

I saw a cute little reindeer and wanted to try one for the boys. Mine did not come out the same, and this photo does make it look funny, but it is cute in person. I have a variety of wool roving and some is harder to work with. I think it would have been easier if I didn't use a scratchy wool.

And on nice days we spend our time at the beaches. Not as much glass lately, but just walking along the beach is enough.

This area has another beach we visit, beautiful views of the bay and Newport.

And during the week I enjoy sitting on the porch and watching my feathered friends. This is the brother and sister of the adult pair, I guess they decided to stay. The yard photo was enhanced a bit, but it was beautiful with the setting sun, beaming down on the tops of the trees. This week will be busy, cleaning and cooking, for Thanksgiving. I hope you all have a wonderful week and holiday.

Friday Finish and Fun!

 

It seems the week goes by too fast and I never get half of the things done, that I had planned. But I have been getting a lot of outdoor time, so that is good. I did finish the second free design, by Theodore Cleave Designs. 

It is a small pillow and I added a few touches of glitter thread to this piece.

I also got to spend time with the kids last weekend. We all went to the sunflower farm. They have a field with pathways that you can walk through, to enjoy the flowers.

And I thought these were funny. The birds feast on the seeds and I guess they have a sense of humor.

And these are some of the birds I was able to catch, along with a butterfly at another park. There are a lot of beautiful birds, but they come and go so fast, it is hard to catch them.

And of course, I took photos of the family. Trying to get them to stand still and pose nicely at the same time is impossible, so this is what I ended up with.

Most afternoons we spend at the beach and I have gotten some nice pieces of glass. I also take a swim when I can, sometimes the waves and pull is too much for me to get into, but the cooler air is always refreshing. I was able to catch the local Osprey family on one day.

It looks like three young made it this year. One is a bit shy.

Mom coming in with dinner. One osprey was yelling at the other, so when mom came in, she gave them a good talking to.

Bill took the next week off, but we have no where to go. My cat sitter is going through some things with her dad and I mentioned we might want to take off, but she never said anything. Usually she says she will be happy to watch the kitties, so I think she may be too overwhelmed at the moment and I don't want to ask her, and make her feel obligated. Hopefully Bill and I can find some fun things to do on a hot week and maybe get some fun beach days with the boys.  I hope you all have a good weekend.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I finished another pillow with the monthly design by Kathy Schmitz. The original design had a date and it included a grouping of designs you could add. I loved the cat and dog and thought it would be a perfect gift for my cat sitter. I made the dog a bit more pointy to look like Bean and faces, since the original was blank.

I added lavender, she asked me for some more lavender pillows and she just had some minor surgery, so a happy present while she recuperates.

I also got a chance to make a few masks for the boys. Nick wanted some crazy colored fabric, so that is what he got.

We also got a chance to spend time on the island. We took the RV so Bill could sit and enjoy the views with a few walks along the paved road. Of course I spent the majority of my time at the beach. I got a nice little stash to add to my collection.

The lightening wasn't great and I was getting tired, but I took a few quick shots of the action going on in the marsh area. There is an Osprey nest there and he was swooping back and forth, looking for fish, but too fast to catch him as he got closer.

I hope everyone had a good week and have a wonderful weekend.

Easter Blessings!

This week has been a slow week for crafting, and more of a whirlwind of caretaking, along with my regular routine and of course caring for the fur babies. Bill had to go back in and have his medicines adjusted at the beginning of the week, but he is doing well now and hopefully things will only improve.

As for me, I am doing way too much in a day and wearing myself out. To top it off, a package was delivered and left in the driveway and it was a 40 pound box of printer paper. I had no choice but to bring it in, so paying for that now and fighting off a bug. 

I have been working on some new projects, so I make sure I have some time for myself and creating. I did get to enjoy an hour this week, walking along the river and taking photos. Bill's therapy will be here, so when he goes for visits, I can go for walks in the area. The bike path is close by and a couple of old cemeteries, so something fun for me to do, instead of sitting in the waiting room.

Across the street is an art gallery and someone decided that the tree needed to keep warm this winter.

On the other side is the river, with a waterfall. The area was once home to mills. 

Looking up river you can see the bridge to cross the river and a covered dock to sit and relax at.

It is a great place to enjoy watching the wildlife.

And when I got home, I got a nice surprise. I had made a friend some masks and she sent me a big box of roving. I love the colors and the glitter in the multi-colors in the back, there area some gorgeous maroons and purple in that, and I might even try a little dragon with it.

I hope you are all blessed with good health this Easter.