Friday finishes!

 

This week I am still working on my stitchery, but was able to make up two new stuffed pieces. The owl is a remake of the first one I did. The wings are a fun addition and I changed up the face a bit. The problem was, I over stuffed it which changed the shapes, and then my ladder stitch at the bottom is a mess. I plan on taking it apart and re-stuffing it to flatten it out a little and make more room for the closing stitch.

The dog, I made the mistake of cutting it out on the wrong grain. So, when I went to stitch it up, it started to ravel at the edge and I couldn't get a good stitch to close it. I ended up pinching it together and resewing along the first stitch and that helped, but not sure if it will not fall apart. I learned not to cut like that again.

Last weekend we did our usual drive around the beach areas. Way too cold to get out for a walk, so we stopped at spots with views. At the docks, we caught the gulls, going into a frenzy when the boats were coming in. The fishermen throw out the unused bait and they are all ready to grab it.

On the way I home, I spotted two white birds, mixed in with the doves. They are domestic pigeons that are bred to be white, then released at events. Sometimes they get lost and don't find their way home, but these two knew, there is safety in numbers. They were moving too fast around the field to catch them together.

Today we got out for a walk at the bird sanctuary. It was warmer, but closer to the ocean, so the breezes were a bit chilly. There is a lot of downfall, so we had to climb over a few trees. Not too many birds have come back yet, so no photos, but an enjoyable walk.

I hope everyone had a nice week. We have rain tonight, so not sure if we can hike tomorrow, most trails here are in swampy areas. I hope you have nicer weather and can get out to enjoy it.

Friday finish!

  

This week I tried a new stuffed owl. It is a fun pattern and easy to do. I didn't like how the ears came out with the inset and the bottom piece, kept me from being able to keep the opening on the bottom. So, I redrew it a bit larger for a pillow size and changed it up a bit. Hopefully I can get another done next week.

Last week we took a drive around the ocean road and made a few stops, but it was too cold to be outside, too long. We stopped at the docks and watch the boats and birds in the channel.

The next day was slightly warmer, so we went to the island so Bean could enjoy some time out. It was foggy most of the time. Looking across to Newport.

Not too many birds lately, but I have seen a lot of Mallards. 

And of course, I couldn't resist picking up treasures on the beach. The large dark piece is green and I found a few glass hearts.

And at home, I have been seeing the Red-shouldered Hawk. This one was jumping down to the ground, trying to catch something. Not sure if he ever got anything.

I hope everyone had a good week and it seems like another week of cold weather. Hopefully spring will be here soon.

Friday Finish!

 

I finally finished a piece I started, made with one of my patterns, Catch of the Day. I made them for punch needle or rug hooking, but most work with stitchery too. I like to have simple things to do at night, while I watch tv and during the day I try to work in my room with the machines and prepping pieces. I really need to start pulling out all the old and unfinished projects, a few that I really want to finish for summer.

We are finally getting some nicer days. Bill had an early appointment this week, so he took the day off and we headed to the beach. The tide was lower, than usual and it was good for Bean to get out again.

At another beach, I walked along the length to the rocks. When the tide is super low, I can walk over the cliff area to another area, on the other side. Lots of rocks in this area, looking down to town. I wear heavy winter hiking boots, so it makes it easier to walk on the rocks.

I have been looking for glass and beach treasures, when we go out. Not as much with the strong tides, but here are a few things I have found, from a couple of trips. 

I hope everyone had a nice week and can enjoy some nicer weather. I do see that some of you are in the storm's paths for tornadoes, so my prayers are with you all.

Friday finishes!

 This week I made three new pieces. Two dogs and an octopus. I think the octopus is cute and if I enlarge it a bit, perfect as a pillow. The puppies are fun, since I can use fun fabrics with them. 

We haven't been able to get out, first I was sick and then the blizzard. We did lose power, but our solar kept up charged, until it came back on. It took days for the plows to do our roads, but we did get done sooner than most, since we are near a school. Now it is warming up, just enough to melt some of it. 

This is Bill trying to keep the main path cleared, while it was still snowing. By the end, it was up to his hips. It took days to clear out areas. I would love to go out on my CC skis, but the snow is too deep and with drifts, you sink up to your waist in some areas. Tomorrow we will go out for a ride and stick to the main roads. I hope everyone is doing well and not buried in snow.

Friday Finish!

 

As usual, someone got me sick, and we have horrible weather, so it's a stay at home weekend. This week I was able to make two more stuffed animals for the kids. And as usual, I cannot post my blog with photos, until I clear my cash and restart Safari.

It was a pattern I found online, they come in a set with a photo of the dog and the dog shape. I added a few of my own touches and a ribbon. I am not sure if ribbons are allowed, but I just tied it on, so it can be taken off. These are really fun to do and they work up quickly. 

Last week we were able to get out, when the weather was above freezing. Still a bit cold, but the bay side was less windy, so it was nice to get out on the beach for a bit.

The tide was coming back in and I spotted a group of gulls, trying to catch some food, on the rocks. 

I hope this finds everyone well and staying safe at home. It seems the whole country is getting hit with bad weather. Hopefully this will be the last of it and Spring will arrive soon.

Friday finishes!

 

This week I finally finished the hearts I made. I tried a different way to sew the first one and messed it up, so just three for now. I use wool for the backs and sew them in reverse, then I cut a slit on the back and turn them right sides back. Then I stitch up the slit and cover it with a wool heart, that I blanket stitch. I kept it simple and made them into bowl fillers.

I also made two new pieces, a kitty doll and a kitty pillow. This time I changed up the pillow to give it a little more character. The little kitty looks bigger since it is in the forefront of the camera.

Today we went for a ride so I could get some more felt. After we drove around. the beach areas. With the snow and ice, we couldn't get into any parking areas and it seemed all the birds are further in the coves, since the inner areas are frozen.

We stopped at the boat launch and I went to the cove side, but it was covered in snow and ice.

I did catch a seagull as it was flying off with a clam.

After we stopped at the breach way and watched, as they piled more rocks along the sides. It is great for protecting the inner areas and the boating passageway, but sad to see the area we used to park out, disappear, along with the dunes. I do hope they clean it up and restore it, when they are done.

At home, I have been visited by a few hawks. This Red-shouldered Hawk was in my big tree, watching the birds at the feeder. Not as many critters out in the yard with the snow, so they start going after the birds.

A fun thing I found last week was an online app, called chatGPT. It is free to use but you can only do a few photos without paying. I hate taking pictures of myself, but this way is fun. since my hair was pulled back, it changed it to pure white. Bill and I are so fair, so it tends to wash out our hair in photos.

I hope you all had a nice week. We had plans with the kids, but as usual, they are sick. So, hopefully we can get out this weekend and enjoy a few nicer days. You know it has been cold, when 40 degrees seems warm.

Friday finishes!

This is the second time I have come in to post my blog and it wouldn't let me. I find the solution is to clear my cache and restart, then it works again. 

This week I worked on some more ideas for a pillow and a doll. I like trying different ones, to see what ones I like, before I make more. 

The first one is a kitty pillow. I need to reshape it better to make it a bit larger and better placement for the face. It looks wonky because of the angle. Today I redrew the face so I can use that for the next ones.

Another fun one, was a silly monster doll. I wanted to try the extra kid's fabric and it is fun, but a bit busy, so hard to see the details.

With the cold weather, we are home more than out, but we were able to get a decent day during the week, to spend time at the island. It was a beautiful day and I did a little glass collecting and bird watching. The birds were eating what they could find in the seaweed.

Today we got more snow, so another day in. Now it is freezing and windy, so not a good time to be outside. I hope everyone had a nice week and our weather gets warmer.