Friday Finish!

 I was able to finish one thing this week and had another to finish, but last night I cut my finger open so I am just able to use it, wrapped up to type a bit. Hopefully it will heal fast so I can swim again and finish my other projects.

This is a design by Kathy Schmitz for her monthly club. Another lavender pillow and I think it will make a nice gift for an upcoming birthday for a hooking friend.

We get to the beach when we can, the tide isn't always out but one day I found two large pieces hiding in the seaweed.

I also tried getting photos of the local shore birds but they were too far, but I caught this crow as I went into the marsh area.

At home I have been seeing more new birds at the feeder, lots of young who follow their parents. I was able to catch this juvenile Cardinal who is a regular now.

Today Bill came home earlier, so we headed to the beach. It was a beautiful day but I didn't dare get my hand wet yet, so I enjoyed the views and walking along hte beach.

The  tide was higher so not a lot of good glass, but I found a lot of old pottery. Tomorrow will be a day out before the big storm. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and stay safe if you are in the storm's path.

Friday Finish!

This week I worked on some new stitcheries, both from Kathy Schmitz. When she sent out the newsletter, she showed a fun halloween piece, that was featured in, American Patchwork and Quilting. I had received a few magazines from my friend when we camped together and that issue was one of them.

It was a fun piece, so I decided to use fun colors and I even added glitter paint to the cape and hat. I also antiqued it, so it has that vintage look. I like making prim, but a little whimsey and color for the boys to see, when they visit.

My second piece, I did in simpler colors and kept prim. I enjoy making a few new pieces for fall, to decorate with.  This piece was the offering for the monthly stitch club. She also gave us an extra with a pumpkin to put on a tea towel. I only have a red stripe left, so I guess I need to get more, in different colors.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Hopefully Bill and I can find some new places to explore and see the start of foliage. The temps are dropping, so perfect time for hiking.

The two pieces have more dark spotting, but it doesn't show up in the photo.

Friday Finish!

This week I have been getting ready for camping, but I wanted to make something that I could finish in a few days. I admit, I had to push it, to finish it fast enough, but I got it done.

The design is a freebie offered by Lori Brechlin in the punch needle facebook groups. Lori's group is called The Punch Needle Guild, if you are interested in joining her group, but it is offered on the others.

I used floss from my scrap box, lots to use up, that is nesting more and more. The orange is a variegated floss that I bought in a package. It is cheaper and with a coupon, you get a lot more for your money. I over dyed it to antique it a bit and it makes a fun pumpkin shade.

I used the twisted yarn method for the edge, a mix of black wool and a bumpy green. Once done, I antiqued it with walnut ink. It looks lighter and whiter than the actual piece, but I have to lighten some areas so you can see them, which ruins the rest.

We also attended the memorial service for my daughter's friend. They were very open about her death and that she lost her battle with her addiction. There was a lot of sadness and crying and a lot of laughter. I made up a little photo of Jenna and my daughter Danielle, as a tribute to them both. And it was confirmed that Jenna will be buried near my daughter, just a few feet away, so I think that is a comforting thought for both of our families, together again in death.

This is when the girls were little, at Jenna's house. I had never seen this photo, so was happy to see them together, smiling and happier times. The saying  I found online and changed to fit them both.

Friday Finishes!

This week I experimented with colored pencils and tools for blending. I had an extra design drawn up, for the bee skep by Kathy Schmitz. I thought it would be good to use on the crackle fabric, as my first try. The fabric says, 100% cotton, but it has a silky, stretchy feel to it.

I use freezer paper to trace the design and a blue washable marker. The paper keeps the fabric from stretching as I draw on the design. I also keep it on, while I color it in with the pencils. I use Faber Castell Gold Faber pencils. They come in a variety of colors and you can buy them individually at Hobby Lobby or Michaels. The best time to buy is when you have a 20% coupon, then you get that off, of each one.

I usually dull the pencil a bit, by rubbing it on paper, it leaves less marks if it is dull. You also want to color with a light hand, in circles, or you will see streaks, which I do have on some of my pieces. On this piece, I used a blending stump to blend the colors into the fabric and I do like how it works. It is made of compressed paper, so it is hard enough to rub the color and blend if you want some shading. The other benefits are, you can clean it with an emory board, and they are cheaper.

I do like how this one came out, the colors blended into the fabric nicely, though I may have used a bit of solvent at the end. The downside of this fabric is, I had a hard time getting the blue marker off, I had to rewet it quite a few times, to get it to disappear, which faded some color, so I had to recolor some areas.

On the second test, I made some little bunnies for the boys. I modified the bunny pattern from Kathy Schmitz to make it work for a boy and added a little pail with their initials on it.

I did get lazy and colored in lines, in some areas, which you can see on the pants. The bunny on the left was done with a solvent blender. It is double sided with a brush and a hard point. I used the brush, which releases a solvent as you go over the colors. It breaks down the pigments in the color and makes it more like water color. The downside is, it can bleed if you use too much, but it is not hard to control, once  you get used to it. It is also harder to add more color, once you use it.

The bunny on the right was done with the stump blender. I think I had more control shading, with the stump. As you can see, I was more concerned with making them, than the quality of my work.

I decided the bunnies were too light, so darkened them up and added things I forgot, then brushed fabric medium, over the colors. I wanted to make sure they could be cleaned. Unfortunately, I didn't realize I had brushed my hand onto the bottle of black stain and it go on the pants.

I really don't like the fabric medium, it gives it a stiffer appearance. The other test, the blue marker came off with a dab from a wet rag, so working on muslin, is better with markers, than on other fabrics. But, the crackle has a nicer look with the pencils, not sure if it is because I did a nicer job on coloring or because of the fabric differences, so I will have to try some more on the muslin and take my time.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Finishes!

I finally finished my angel. The design is by Teresa Kogut and was an extra offering for her angel tutorial. Of course I changed the look and went with a patriotic dress and I have to admit, I lose focus when watching videos so to finish her face, I just went for it and did what felt right.

This is the finished angel, before I aged her. I really like how the background came out, I mottled it by double dipping the brush and patting it with a paper towel. In some ways I like the softer look, before aging, but If I was leaving it as is, I would do more detail.

And this is the angel, after I aged her. The process is from the tutorial, so I cannot explain it to you, but I did use crackle and antique medium for this look. I was happy that the crackle worked this time. Before I add the aging mediums, I do sand it, to get the worn look and expose some paper.

Here you can see the crackling, it is a nice effect for primitive pieces.

In this, you can see a little of where the paper got exposed, with the sanding. I use different colors and prints. I really had fun doing this and more fun when I just went out on my own, so I might start trying more of my own paintings with my photos. The class really helped me to explore a new medium for painting.

I had another project, but it was giving me fits, the blue marker would not come off, but I finally got it to come off, but I need to rework the colors that faded, so I will finish that, next week. I did work on a new punch needle project. I found the pattern in a thrift store for only 50 cents. It still had the printed weavers with it, but I wanted it larger, so I redrew it on my own backing.

The pattern is by Pine Mountain Designs. I went with a patriotic look, seem to be doing that a lot lately. The original has more muted colors, and I wanted it to pop more. I think this would be fun to do for a babies room too, making it without the stars and adding the babies name to the top or bottom. I also have wool floss, so making the sheep pop with fluffy wool, would be fun.

We were also able to get to the beach last weekend, an hour after a storm, was the perfect time to go. Lots of glass in with the rock piles, so we got a nice haul, this time.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Seems another flu is going around and the kids are sick again. I really wanted to take the boys to see the mermaids this weekend. so hopefully I feel better tomorrow and do a little beach combing, till my hands go numb;)

Friday Finishes!

This week I am still experimenting with photo art and one type I tried is, attaching the photo, face side up. I had Bill cut out a piece of wood, but it is thicker than I would like to use. I like the thinner slat boards for art like this, but I wanted to test it first, before I do anything on good woods.

I like it in one way, but not sure if it is the thick wood, but not thrilled with how it looks. I think trying it on a white slate board, would look nicer for this technique. It is fun to try my photos in art, though.

With this one, I used decoupage to adhere it to the wood and then a coat, over the piece, then finished with a glaze medium. I also aged it a bit before I glazed it, with antique medium.

Another test was with a butterfly photo. I used the glaze medium this time and when I pressed the photo down, the colors started oozing out, so not the best medium to use. But, I was pleasantly surprised to see their was a nice print underneath.

I also used regular printer paper, which is thinner, so that may have left a better print but it was a pain to get off, the paper adhered with the glaze, so I had to be careful not to rub the design off. Overall it worked nicer than the first one with decoupage. I do think a heavier paper is nicer, so I will see if I have one without ridges. I will also try a heavy gloss gel medium, that I have. I have plenty of mediums, so fun to use what I have, to save money as I experiment. Most people seem to use the gel in this method, so hoping my heavy will work. I will also try the glaze with a heavier paper, I do like how it came out, overall.

As Michelle mentioned, most tutorials use laser printers, I am using ink jet, so you will get more color bleeding with that, but it lends to a more artistic look. I am also using cheap mini canvas squares, so not the best surface.

Another little project was a pillow I made, using a design by Ginger of Primitives by the Light of the Moon. It is a free design that she offers on her blog, along with others. I used my colored pencils and was not pleased with the look. I was trying to blend and make it look more like watercolor. I added some extra stitches, so I think that helped cover the flaws.

I did hear about using blending stumps, they look like fun to use and not expensive, so I will try those, on my next colored piece.

This design would be fun to do in punch needle too. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Finish and Finds!

This week seems to have gone by too quick. I had lots of things I wanted to do, while Bill had the week off, but most of the week, I was happy to have a few hours out and rest at home. I really wish we could have gone to New Hampshire to see the foliage, but we were able to enjoy some nice days at the beach and our foliage is still coming, so a few more weekends to enjoy the colors.

I was able to do another stitchery. My niece loved the bee pillow, but I know she is not into prim, so I made one with more color and crackle fabric. The design and crackle fabric is from Kathy Schmitz. I prefer to stitch without something in the way, and I think my stitches look better on this one.

And of course we got lots of beach time in and lots of hunting for sea treasures. On Saturday we found some nice pieces at the ocean.

On Monday we hit my favorite beach without the crowds and found some nice pieces, along with some pottery pieces.

Tuesday was an unusually warm day, so back to the ocean. We got lots of smalls, which will be fun to use in Christmas ornaments, that I have some ideas for.

Wednesday it was back to my favorite beach and we hit it, at the right time. We found a lot of nice pieces and even with a few people on the beach, I found ones they missed. I think I have enough to do a few projects.

We also went shopping and I got some new glass paints and sprays to try. I did a few and some didn't work right and some I like, so I will do a post with a review on the different mediums I have used and what works best, with some how to's.

Here is a photo of my first tries. The light green was a mess, so I washed that off and did a nicer job on the second try. The others are spray on sea glass paint. Never spray on a windy day, it came out too thick, so I will retry on a nicer day.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Friday finishes!

It has been a long few weeks, but my sister left this week and I can finally relax and hopefully get better. My visit to the doctor revealed congestion that is causing me to feel wheezy and out of breath, so he has me back on medicine. I have been resting and getting a few things done, but just having time to myself, has helped and time to create again. I think as artists, we need to create, it is what keeps us happy and healthy.

Bill has the week off and I am still undecided on what to do. Go to NH and hope the foliage blooms this week, or stay home and enjoy our area while the weather is good. I know we will have a pretty good week, not so sure what the weather will be in NH. I guess I better make up my mind tomorrow if I want to make reservations.

One thing I got to do this week, was make a new stitchery. The design is by Kathy Schmitz for her one stitch club. I admit, I was hoping for a halloween piece, but this was a fun one to do. It seems to be popular, since my nieces love it, and I am making them one with a lighter background and more color.

This piece I made using my coffee stained muslin. I love the dark color, but you cannot trace on it, with the light pad. So, I got a piece of my Sulky Solvy and traced it on that. It is easy to trace on and you can use it in a printer if you want. It sticks well, and be repositioned if it is not centered. It does stay on while you are stitching, which is another plus.

Here is how it looked after I stitched it. The bad thing is, it is harder to stitch through. The gummy back also gets on your needle, so harder on your hands and joints, to push the needle through.

And here it is, after I washed it off and made it into a pillow. I was not happy with the results, I see quite a few gaps. Not That I don't have some when I stitch, but areas that looked stitched on the paper, were actually empty.

It washes off easily, but it did leave some residue, so I had to rinse it longer than they said and more than once. I can still see a bit, that didn't come off. Someone did mention that washing the fabric first, makes it wash off easier, so I guess I will have to try that.

Another project I worked on was, painting glass jars. Bill has been getting yogurt in jars and they look just like candle holders. I didn't have time to shop for sea glass paints, so I tried my own. I mixed sea foam green with antique decoupage. Painting it on, left streaks, with brush and a sponge brush, wasn't happy with the results. Then I remembered I had a small sponge and tried that. I like the look of sponging and it has more of a beach look. After the paint dried, I added a light coat of gloss to seal it. I was thinking I could do little sailboats with glass or I may try painting a design on this set.

And if they have a candle in them, the design or glass would light up. This is with a tea candle, but I did not paint the insides, so you can burn a candle in them. Hopefully this weekend, I can find some frost paint and I also read that enamel is good, as well. It is a great way to reuse the jars and something anyone can do. You could also decoupage paper designs from your computer or ones that are found at the craft store.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend.

Friday Finish!

My finish today was supposed to be my stocking quilt. I need to put sashings on the new ones and then put them together. That way I can see how large it is and if I need more, I think I will just keep it as a large lap quilt.

But, my shoulder went out and I have a bit of a flu bug, so I decided to work on a punch needle. I enjoy doing punch since there is little work to put one together and I have all my floss in boxes so I can sit and relax, without having to look for things.

This design is from Tonya of Mad Hen Primitives, in the Spring 2016 issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects. It is a rug hooking pattern so I scanned in the finished photo and drew from design from that. I added the words for fun, something happy to work on.

I was doing well until my needle broke, the little plastic sides that hold it in the holder. So, I found another and was working but then the holder broke. Luckily I have two, so I used the other, but with the bad needle, I realized after that the punching is a different height, but it still looks ok. I had Bill order me a new one with prime so it comes in tomorrow. I do miss punching and designing, so maybe while I am camping I can come up with some new designs.

We plan on camping next weekend, today it was snowing again, lol. But, the weather looks nice on Saturday and Monday, and maybe rain on Sunday, so I am hoping it stays away. Hopefully I can get my quilt together this weekend so I can hand quilt it at camp.

The pillow is 5 1/2" x 5" and finished off with a piece of rug yarn. I bunch it up, as I sew it on to get the bumpy edge.

Friday Finishes!

I always love a new month, it means a new stitchery from Kathy Schmitz's, One Stitch at a Time Club. This was a fun one to do for Valentines, I may even make a few more to give away, maybe try one in red work.

Kathy framed her piece, I made a pillow. It is much easier to find spaces for pillows. I also added a few of my own touches and the word love.

I also finished the last three stockings. I love how they look, just wish they looked as nice in a photo. I say finished, but I have to fix something, I wasn't paying attention on one piece, can you guess what it is?

Next is the row that goes in the middle, it will have stars going across. I hate points, so I may use a fusible to make it easier for turning the points, ahead of time. I will also use the patterned black for that and the outer borders.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, we have rain and snow and cold and not fun weather for being outside.

Friday Finish!

I have a habit of seeing something new and wanting to make it. And with Cheri's free patterns, there are way too many to keep me distracted. This week I made the wedding pillow, perfect for a gift, for an upcoming anniversary.

This was another fun one, done in wool and stitchery, and I added my own fabric touches for the clothes, as well as, faces and buttons. The finished pillow is 12" x 11". If you haven't joined Cheri's Facebook group, you can visit and sign up at, Quilts by Cheri.

The rest of the week was spent taking down Christmas and cleaning out my sewing room. I am thinking of taking out the large table and the kids need one, so they can have that and Bill will make me a skinnier cutting table with stock cabinets, and I am thinking wheels so I can pull it off the wall to work on quilts, so it will be nice to design one to fit my needs and space.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We have some warmer temps, so hoping to finally get out for some beach combing.

A Day Late Finish!

This week I wanted to try something from a  free pattern by Lori Bechlin, on her Facebook group, The Punch Needle Guild. It seemed simple enough and I thought I could finish it over the weekend. I made it larger than i had planned and I didn't get any work done this weekend, so I got it done yesterday and the finishes today.

I made them to hang on my prim tree for Valentines. I also used what I had in my scrap box, so kept it simple and antiqued it to mottle the colors. I finished it by trimming the edge to 1/4 inch, then I folded that to the back and tacked it down with stick glue. Then I cut out a wool heart and stitched that onto the back of the heart. I made a twisted cord to add to the edge and left enough to use as a hanger. I still have to sew it into a loop and trim the pieces on the front, forgot to do that.

I tried some leaves on one, but I like the one with just hearts, better. I also did them in different sizes. the top one is done in 3 strands of floss and the bottom in 6. I found the 3 strands easier to work with and easier on my arm.

Today was actually warm enough to go outside without freezing. Bean was very happy, even though Dad takes it out during the day, he still wants to play with me.

His soccer ball is perfect to play in the snow with.

Soft enough for me to kick in the air and easy to catch for him.

And who needs a ball when we have all that snow on the ground to throw around.

And when you are stuck in the house, you find ways to entertain yourself. Izzy wasn't thrilled with being my photo model. I used my phone, will have to see what outfits I can get on her and use my good camera;)

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finish!

I hope everyone faired well during the recent storm. We had a bit of a blizzard and the cold winds are continuing through the weekend. Too cold to enjoy being outside, but perfect for working on projects.

This week I got the newest stitchery from Kathy's One Stitch Club. The design is french inspired and she did hers in light shades with light thread, which I like, but I decided to try it in dark shades. I used coffee stained fabric and on one a yellowed tan and the other a medium tan shade. I used stash thread, so no idea the actual colors.

I like how they came out, they are stuffed with batting and lavender, since I made them to be sachets. The problem is, the blue marker ran into the threads, so I used soap to wash it out and that soaked the pillows. With all that moisture and drying, it changed the coloring on the fabric, I guess it runs and reforms into shapes. It also did something to the lavender and there are stiff spots on the back. I have learned, wash off the marker, before I stuff them;)

I realized I forgot the button at the bottom and I also stamped out the initial at the top, didn't want it showing;) The edges are done with a wool, rug yarn.

I also started one of the stocking blocks. I wanted to try it first, to make sure I wanted to needle turn. Since the stocking is so simple and big, it was a breeze, turning it as I went and sewing it down. I did use a template this time, then traced around the seam allowance with a white pencil. That way I knew to turn it on the line and keep the shape.

I was thinking of adding the fabrics for the heel and toe, but not so sure. This is for the kids, so I want it to be more modern than prim, but I like the idea of making that part more scrappy. Not sure this works with the red snowflake, though. Maybe a white shade? So, perhaps keeping those pieces in solids, since the prints are busier? I may even have some mottled solids that would work nicely, need to go through my stash this weekend.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I need to go back to the store for more black. The one I picked was too thin and the one I am using is a medium weight and not enough for all the blocks. Luckily I got it at Joannes, so I can get more.

Punch Needle Finish!

I have been in a punch needle mood and finished another piece. This one I made into a pillow, so it is finished, the other still needs to have a board made to fit it and some nail hooks for keys. This is also a pattern by Primitive Spirits.

I am using what I have in my scrap box and with this one, went a little vintage with some pops of color. I do wish I could get photos to get better colors, it seems a bit bright on my screen. This one was also antiqued with walnut, and the flash just washes it out.

The original pattern was smaller and done in 3 strands, I enlarged mine and used 6 strands.

Since I was stuck home this weekend, the kids came over to do a yard sale. The bad thing was, I had no time to get ready, so just threw out some larger items and what I could grab. Now I can only have one more, so not until I get the basement cleaned and all the items together. My son sat out and he is great at getting me better prices, so I sold a few things and made a little spending money.

While the kids sat out in the hot sun, I got to enjoy time with the boys. Alex is full of personality and such a happy guy, he was content to play by himself, but of course, I took him out and played with him most of the time.

Nick and Bean kept each other busy, Nick loves Bean and Bean loves Nick, they are so cute together. I hope everyone had a nice weekend.

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.

Monday Work and Wanderings!

The fun thing about a new month is a new design from Kathy, from her One Stitch at a Time Club. This month was a fun spring design and it was something nice that I could work on this weekend and finish today.

I Colored in the bee black and yellow with my art markers, I like the touch of color. I also added the saying. I think this would be a fun inspirational piece for someone who needs a lift, during a bad time. I also added some lavender so I can use it as a sachet, as well.

My flash was acting up, so I had a hard time getting a good shot.

I also realized that I forgot something on my new bunny piece. I forgot his whiskers. I wanted to add them last, so the good thing was, I could add them on with a needle. They are not permanent, but I like how it gives it a 3D look.

Saturday Bill was sick again, so we stayed home and he rested. On Sunday I wanted to get out so we took a ride to Connecticut, so we could enjoy the views from the car, it was cold out. We sat for awhile and watched the boats coming and going, the ferry coming in and a fishing boat, going out.

As we drove out, I noticed the college, it is an extension of UConn for Marine studies. The grounds are beautiful and they have a lot of beautiful old stone buildings, so we drove in and took a look around.

This is the Branford House Mansion, now it is used for weddings and other venues and you are allowed to walk around the grounds. The bad thing is, the geese leave messes all over, so you have to watch where you walk, lol. You can see the moon, up above.

There is also a small lighthouse on the grounds and the perfect place to enjoy the views of Long Island sound. It was nice to get out and nice to see something new, I will definitely go back when it is warmer. I couldn't get great photos since my fingers were freezing. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.