Weekly Wanderings!

 

This week went by fast and we got out to enjoy some nice weather and a few rainy days. I have been working on my quilt and hopefully, it will be finished next week.

We got out to the island for a walk around the lighthouse after the rain stopped, so it was a nice way to get out and walk on the road and stay out of the wet grass. Always beautiful views and lots of birds.

We also went to the beach a few times, but the tide was always high, so not as much to find, just cool walks on the beach.

Even with high tide, walking along the edge, I find a few things that get thrown up. A large piece of pottery was a big find, it even has the rounded handle on it. I am thinking it was a bean pot.

At home, my feathered friends are alway a delight to see and the bunnies are out more this season.

And the local turkeys showed up and showing off their brood, quite a few this year.

And today we had the boys for the afternoon. We took them on our boats to a little island in the local cove. They loved being able to swim and a picnic on the beach. It was too windy to go to the point, but we were able to paddle a bit in the inner coves to show them the wildlife. Alex found out why you don't lean over in a boat, he and Bill went over, sure wish I had a photo of that, lol.

The kids came over for dinner and finished staining our porch, so now I can do the finish work and put it all back together. I hope you all had a nice week and enjoy the holiday weekend.

Friday Finish and Weekly Meanderings!

 

I hope everyone fared well, through the storm. It was not bad at all here, we got a lot of rain but not much wind. We had plans to go camping today for a long weekend but I cancelled since I wasn't sure if it would be bad and there is rain, on and off, this weekend. This way I can relax at home a bit more and get out for a few hours of fun during the nice hours.

I was able to finish some new pieces this week. The new stitchery of the month is always fun to do and I will sell a few and gift others. On these I did black stitching on one and matching colors on the other. I would like to see if I can find a stiffer fabric so I can color and blend better. 

When Bill gets home from work, we go to the beach on the island. I always love the ride and it is never crowded, later in the day. We had a lot of fog this week, but I love the cool air. I used the iPhone for these photos. This is a view to the left of the beach.

And looking back to the right side.

A view from the small beach at the end. You can get to it by climbing through a little tunnel, but it is collapsing and I don't think I will fit, much longer.

Today we waited for the storm to calm down and headed back to the beach. We got a little wet when showers came by, but it kept me cool. We also went to a beach on the Northern side, it was nice to have the place to ourselves.

I have been collecting beach finds this week. Not as much since we tend to hit the higher tide, but we were able to find a bit more today, the glass on the left side. A couple of pieces of old pottery and a little bracelet. The tide was low but with the storm, the water levels and water was higher, so it was taking more debris than it was giving.

And I had some new visitors today. A couple of Turkey moms and their babies. I caught them walking across my long fence but by the time I grabbed the camera they were heading off and took off when they saw me. 

Have a wonderful weekend and I hope that you all find a little joy and adventure in your lives.

Friday Finish and Fun!

This week I worked on a stitchery. It is a pattern from Kathy Schmitz's, One Stitch Club. It is fun to get a new one each month and they make wonderful pillows. The designs this year have a bird theme and are all the same size, so those who want, can make them into a quilt.

I made a pillow, something I can decorate with or give as a gift. It measures 10" x 10". I wanted it a bit larger, so I added a little border.

Last weekend we took the boys to the aquarium and then to the owl sanctuary, as well as a picnic. The boys loved seeing the outside areas, now that it is warm enough. The sanctuary was a great place to play and explore.

We went for a picnic in between and I wanted some place close that wasn't crowded, so we went to the Mystic cemetery, which was nearby. It was a beautiful day to sit and enjoy watching the boats and the boys were fascinated by the gravestones. The funny thing was, I told Bill to stop at a place that had an open area and parking, and when we got out, I noticed the gravestone in front, said Daniele. Spelled differently than my daughter's name, but a strange coincidence.

At the sanctuary, they noticed that the different trees, made different sounds when they banged a stick on them.

And a few of the critters we saw at the aquarium, as well as, a Tom who was showing off to the two females in my yard. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finishes!

This week I kept busy with some new projects. I started with a little hut style house. It is from Lin Wellford's painting houses book, so I basically followed her pattern and added some of my own touches. The roof on hers was done with wood putty to make it stand out, but I just painted mine.

Then I decided I wanted to make something quick and easy, so I did some ladybugs. She also has this pattern in one of her books. The large one is for the garden and the little ones are to hide, when we go hiking. Hopefully the boys will go out with us tomorrow and Nick loves to hide the rocks for me. I really don't hide them, I like people to see them as they walk along a trail.

I also finished a stitchery from Kathy Schmitz's one stitch club. It is not really a design I would use for display and I will be doing americana soon, so I kept it simple and put lavender inside, so I can use it as a sachet.

This week I have a lot of visitors. We put up some peanut butter suet and some cheap wire holders and the birds love it. Of course the squirrels and other critters are enjoying it too, so I won't be replacing them everyday. The other day I saw the guinea hens under the feeder and they had company. This guy is huge and he is all alone, not sure why, but someone said he is an older turkey, the beard which is hanging down in front, is long, which helps to tell their age. I learned something new.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I also wanted to let those who comment know, I do read and appreciate all of your comments, but I cannot always respond if they are no reply or email that I can respond to.

The day after!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, or just a good day for themselves celebrating in their own ways. We had a nice time with the kids, it wasn't perfect but spending time with the family is what was important.

My son decided he wanted to cook and he wanted to smoke the turkey. Well, he put the turkey in and a few hours later the power went out. It was a few hours, but it finally went back on so we ate a little later, but that was ok. I am not sure what he did with the turkey when the power went out, but from the gastric distress we got after, I would say he might have let it sit out too long;)

We relaxed at home in the morning, still fighting off our own flus so we enjoyed some quiet time and a little Christmas with Bean. Bean loves presents and knows a wrapped package means a treat for him. He loves his new colored balls.

I didn't go overboard with the kids, Alex is too young to care so he got more clothes and Nick got some trucks to go with his big block set. I also got him a coloring set with a magic marker, it only shows color when he draws on the book, so that saves on marks all over the house. Alex has a unique way of opening presents, he uses his teeth but he loved ripping them open.

Alex is also getting his personality, he was making a lot of funny faces at me, maybe because grandma makes them back.

Nick loved all the attention I gave him and the presents. A set of books with an electronic reader, he loves anything electronic, so a good way for him to get into reading, his way.

The boys are ready for dinner, was hoping to get all the family at the table, but the boys were happy to ham it up for me.

Now it is time to get back to normal life again, whatever that may be and where ever my creative motivation takes me. Lots of projects to finish and new ones to start and ideas to try. I hope everyone has a wonderful week and can enjoy creating new things for the new year.  Here is a blast from the past. I got a new dress for Christmas and it wasn't home made, lol.

Monday Finishes!

This weekend Bill had to work so I used the time to get caught up on my blocks from Buttermilk Basin. One block was a pumpkin and I decided to change mine to a turkey and pumpkin for Thanksgiving.

I kept the candy cane simple, but I did add some jingle bells, not sure if that is a good idea for a quilt and not sure how big the quilt will be, but I think it will be more for display than use or maybe I may end up gifting it, if I don't make a mess of it. I had fun with the mitten, added a few embellishments for fun. I am thinking about the sashings and border, maybe blue?

Here are all the blocks with the layout. I think I have some out of order, but I think this looks good, do you? The blocks are a bit larger than the original, so I will be cutting them down to size.

On the home front, I have been trying to get ready for Christmas, and with only two days left, I come down with a stomach flu, such is life. We are going to go with turkey again, that way Bill can do the cooking and I will do a few dishes, so I can get the house done and not over do it.

Ever since I was young, I have had a believe in Christmas wishes and miracles. Today I was granted two of my wishes, one was for a friend of my daughters who was coming home for Christmas and missed her flight, but today she made it home, so that made me happy. She was one of my daughter's best friends so it will be good to see her again.

The second wish was for my daughter's gravestone to be in by Christmas. Well, two days left and no word from the company. Bill called and they said it was there and ready to go in and when we got to the cemetery, the caretaker was just pulling up to pour the foundation. He told us that it will be ready to go on, Christmas Eve. What a wonderful Christmas present for us, yes Christmas wishes do happen.

I want to wish everyone A Merry Christmas and blessings to all who have followed me this past year, been there for me, during the good and bad times and lifted me up when I was low. May all your Christmas wishes come true!

Friday Finishes!

I actually finished something this week, I do miss creating and I am trying to make time for myself, even if it means the house is a mess. I can clean it tomorrow, but for a couple of days I took time to sew and relax.

I have been doing the BOM's from Buttermilk Basin, they are fun to do and I am using woolly flannels for the background and wool for the appliqué. There are 11 in all, so 3 more to go. I am not sure how they will be finished, but I think a sashing will be nice, around each block.

I still need to add some detail to some things, but the main things are done. I had a solid blue, but messed up on some cuts and only have enough for one more, so I used a plaid woolly from my stash.

Here is what I have finished so far. As is, it just looks blah, but I think with a plaid or print woolly around them, it should look nice. I also forgot what order they were in, but this way, I have my backgrounds arranged nicely, but I may change my mind.

Another thing I am doing is, looking for items and ideas for my beach room. I tend to go to stores and see something I like and say, I can make that myself;) I hit the thrift store and found a prim green basket. I will get some nice dried or faux plants to put in them, I was thinking of wild roses like the ones we have on our beaches. For now, I stuck some dried plants in it and I am going to make a punch needle piece with a beach design, on the front.

It seems more critters are visiting my yard, and today it was a family of turkeys. I rarely see them and they let me get closer, but not too close.

While I was sewing, I watched Quilting Arts. I tape them so I can watch them when I want and save shows that I might want to watch again. Today they were talking about using photos in art and taking macro shots. I have a zoom that does macro from a distance, so not quite the same, but it was fun walking around the yard and seeing things through my lens. It is a great way to see shapes and textures and get creative. Maybe this weekend you can try it when you go out for a walk or visiting a town, take photos from a different perspective and lots of close ups of items that interest you.

This was one of my shots today, I like the simple look and the textured wheat against the blurred background. I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend. Bill has to work, so I am going to try and get more time in my sewing room.

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.

New Fall Turkey

I finally got around to mounting my punch needle turkey. I wanted to put it on a basket and couldn't find any good ones in the stores, so I took one of my old ones and repainted it. I love how it came out, it has a nice prim green finish. I made this pattern once as a hooked rug. It came out really nice and it was for a rug swap, that was three years ago, still waiting for mine, haha.

If you like this piece, I have it on ebay tonight and would love to see it go to a good home. I am not sure how much I will sell on ebay this season, but will try to make one item a week. I have lots of friends and presents to make, so will be working on those soon.
http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/kitane