Friday Finish!

 I hope everyone had a nice holiday. We had dinner with the kids, but we were all sick, so had a nice dinner and spent a little time together. The kids all wore masks and I wore mine when we sat together, but I am sure we all got the same one, since they are the only ones I spend time with. 

I got a new set of templates so I could try some bowl cozies. I got them on eBay, a cheaper set and it came with quite a few sizes, so I can make late ones for the table and smaller ones for bowls that come out of the microwave.

These are what they look like. They are not as thick and hard as regular rulers, but strong enough to do the job and a lot less than the name brands.

I made a large cozy to test them out, perfect for my large dish on Thanksgiving. It is a fun way to decorate the table, as well. I have plenty of fun Christmas fabrics that I can make, so I will work on those this month.

The boys made me some birthday presents. Nick has been collecting glass with me and they used what they had found. I love them and have a place to hang them, so that was a nice surprise.

At home, the birds have been busy at the feeder. A lot of the winter birds are coming back and new ones from nesting season, so it is busier than usual. The female Cardinal was kind enough to sit still for a photo.

I hope you all have a nice weekend and are blessed with good health. Lots of flu's going around this year.

Friday Finishes!

 I definitely need more time in a day or better organized time. So much to do in a week and I never get half of the things done, that I wanted to. I have several projects going on right now and more things to get ready for the holidays. 

I like having easy, smaller projects to do in-between other projects, so I made up a couple of pillows, stuffed with balsam. I have made balsam pillows, but most of mine are older and I need new ones. I also like to gift a few.

I also tested some new acrylic paint markers. I actually like them, but wish they had more prim colors. I did these up quick and it was a lot faster than painting and I only needed one coat, so a great way to do rocks without spend days, making them. They also work on fabric, so I may try them on a little pillow. These are the ones I used, Paint Markers.

Last weekend, we went for a walk at the bird sanctuary. Always a nice walk and lots of wildlife in the area. I was able to catch two new birds this time, an Eastern Bluebird and a Blue-headed Vireo. We also went to a few beaches, the wind was up and so were the waves.

And at home, a visitor who is watching and waiting for lunch. They do not like being watched when hunting, so he took off, which is good for the birds at my feeder. Cooper's hawks will go after birds when rodents aren't around.

I hope everyone had a good week. My day was spent, over cooking my cookies and then after spend the afternoon making homemade soup, a dish I took out of the oven, exploded. There was glass everywhere and the soup lid was off, so that killed all the work I did for dinner. Luckily the extra chicken was not in the area, so I can make weekend dishes with the rest. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finishes!

 

This week I was testing products for review, so I made a few things from the supplies I got. The first was a needle felting kit. It came with plenty of roving and nice instructions to make 4 snowmen, so I made one for now. I rushed a bit to get it done, so it is not like the original, but I always like to add my own touches. It was fun to do and a fun piece for Christmas. 

Another product I tried was Arteza transfer markers. You are supposed to use transfer paper, which I didn't have, so I used parchment paper. It also recommends using white cloth and I used a darker fabric, so the colors were a bit dull. You use an iron to transfer it to fabric, so something fun to try. I think I prefer to color them in myself, but it will be fun for the boys to use, maybe some t-shirts. I made it into a lavender sachet.

On the weekend we did some biking. The first trip was back at the airline trail, starting from the end point in East Haddam. It was a nice trail and went over two Aquaducts.

We went on this section and continued onto the next section and ended at the Colchester end. It was a beautiful day to ride, even though the foliage was almost gone.

On Sunday I decided to do a shorter ride, over the border and do an undeveloped part of the trail. It ran along a river which was beautiful, but it was also, bumpy and rocky and then we ran into long areas of water. We had to walk our bikes over a foot path, over steep hills and back down, on slippery leaves, not fun. I do hope they finish the trail system, it runs from RI, into Connecticut. 

When we got to the end, I decided I did not want to ride back on the trail, so we went on the road. That was a lot easier, but it was also, uphill most of the way back. That definitely wore me out, so this weekend I am taking it easier. 

I hope you all have a nice weekend, a few views of the moonrise over our town of Wickford, this 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 Finish!

 

Another week has zipped by, but I was able to find time to finish my Christmas stocking quilt. I used pearl cotton to do simple quilting around the blocks and stockings. This is one I will use on the couch and let the boys use, so I kept it simple and durable with the heavier block fabric. It was a great way to use older fabric and scraps.

We got out for a bike ride on Saturday. We rode up to the town of Bolton in Connecticut and rode the rail trail from the park, to the town of Vernon. It was a nice ride through forests, past a pond and into the town of Vernon, a stop on the old railroad. 

On Sunday we stayed closer to home, rain was headed our way and I wanted to go hiking before it came. We hiked around a pond, where the foliage was coming in nicely and along the river.

We hiked along the bike path and old railroad bridge.

And we ended up in the fields, surrounded by amazing fall colors, and back to the pond.

We were getting ready to leave when I spotted a white spot in the trees, across the pond. What a nice end to the day, I was able to get a shot of the eagle just as it started to rain.

Unfortunately Bill and I woke up on Monday with a flu or bug, but we are fine now. Another nice weekend ahead and hopefully more adventures to be had. At home I enjoy watching all the new visitors who have come to stay for winter. This Blue Jay was nice enough to sit and pose for a photo.

May your weekend be filled with blessings and joy.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I finally got the binding on one of my wheel chair quilts. I watched a video, about 10 times and still messed it up, lol. I think I need to watch more videos so I can do the edges better, but it still came out nicely and hopefully the recipient will enjoy it. The colors are a bit bold on some blocks and dull on others, but it looks nicely together, in person.

If you would like to make some of your own, to give to others, you can find the pattern here: Hearts Creations.

On Saturday we went out with the kids to a local pond near their house. It's a great place to take photos but the river was overflowing, so a lot of the areas were saturated. We got a few good photos for them to use and always fun to spend time together.

This one was one of the better photos of the family, but the background was dull, so I took them out of one photo and put them into one I had taken, without them. It looks nice with the bright colors behind them.

On Sunday we went for a ride into Connecticut to check out an area that has a dam and a bike path. Once we got to Case Mountain, we ended up hiking to the top. It was well worth it, the views were spectacular. We were looking down at Hartford and the surrounding area.

The hike was up and down hills and a lot of rocky cliffs. It also follows a river, so a nice hike with beautiful views. Unfortunately the water was running low at the dam.

On one path, we ran into an old cabin. I can imagine how wonderful this place was, in it's day. I always did some research and found out, it was used in the movie, Animal. I am glad I haven't seen that movie, I might have skipped this hike.

On the way home we stopped at Yantic Falls. Color was starting to pop and always nice to see the falls. I hope everyone has a nice weekend. We are planning on going back up to the same area to explore the bike trail this time, or do some sightseeing if I am not up to peddling.

Friday Finish and Fun!

 This has been a whirlwind week, with the extra days Bill took for the holiday, we have been going more than usual and I only had a few days to catch up before the weekend is here again. I have been working on my hand quilting, for my Christmas stockings and making good progress, but I wanted to make something quick for fun.

I use regular pillows for my back on the couch and decided to make up some quick halloween covers. They are simple to make and fun for a little change. A great way to whittle down my stash. This is fabric a friend sent me and perfect for halloween.

One good thing is, Connecticut has no hunting on Sundays, so it was the perfect day for a hike. We went to a preserve that has five waterfalls and walks along a river. The bad thing was, with the drought, the smaller falls were mostly dried up. It was a nice hike, but a lot a hills, so I got a good workout.

They also had a Fairy Trail, lots of makeshift houses but winds and weather beat them down to the ground. They did have fun, carved animals along the way.

Along the river, were pops of color.

On the way home, we stopped to enjoy some local views.

On Sunday we spent the afternoon with the boys. We took them to the owl sanctuary, a wonderful place to walk and explore. We found a baby snake under a log.

It's a great place to let boys get out their energy, lots of trails to explore and rocks to climb.

We enjoyed one day at the beach. Our weird find was a bowl that looks like something from a restaurant, or maybe it fell off one the the cruise ships, across the bay.

Tomorrow is photo day for the kids. They have me take photos that they can use for Christmas cards and send to family. I hope everyone had a good week and enjoy the weekend ahead. Hopefully I can relax and catch up on blogs this weekend.