Kayaking the Peconic River

It has been hard to get out on the river for a ride by myself since we got the puppy, but I have had a few afternoons when Ken was home and he sent me to the river to relax and enjoy some quiet time.  Sometimes I stay close and just sit in the kayak while reading a book or magazine. There are tons of little coves and nooks where I can pull in and just sit.  Othertimes, I will take a few hours and head through the tunnel to one of the bigger parts of the river.  That is what I did on this particular trip.

This picture is for Kenny.  He loves fall so I had to take a picture of a tree starting to turn red.  In a month, this will be a river of red, orange and yellow. 

The picture below is of a duck blind that I found.  I really like the little room for the dog!  It even has a ramp for him to climb up after he gets the bird!  Kenny thought it looked like a haunted house when I first showed it to him, which made it even more exciting.

Can you believe that blue sky?  The clouds looked so beautidul.  It's like that today too, which is why I will be heading out to take a long ride again this afternoon.

Here is the tunnel I have to ride through to get to the other side of the expressway (which is what is above this tunnel).  There are zillions of spider webs in the corners which is kind of creepy, but I don't usually touch tham.  Sometimes I can feel them on my hair though!  Not often.  It is always cool in the tunnel.

Well, tomorrow I am officially back to work,  I have been in a few times to set up my room, but that was at my leisure.  We are off for four days after tomorrow and then the kids will be in!  That is always the best part!  They make me laugh and they keep me on my toes, which is always a good thing.

Batty table topper

This is another project from that Halloween magazine.  I made it in a few hours and enjoyed doing it from beginning to end!  Notice that it is quilted and has the binding on it!  I am turning over a new leaf! There are coasters and place mats too, which are my next project this week.  I am only doing two of each of those since it is just Ken and me now at dinner time.  Seriously, if you can get that magazine, it is so worth it.

Today I went up to school to welcome back the principal we had two years ago!  He is a great principal, so we are all very excited to have him back.  I have been working hard all summer on curriculum now that the state is changing everything (I am not unhappy about the changes...it will just take time to rework everything we do a little bit).  I have also become addicted to WEBINARS!!!  They are interactive online classes that you take with other people from all over the world.  With all the changes being made nationwide, they offer so much information and lesson plan ideas, etc.  You just sign up, get your computer, ipad, iphone, etc. out and you are attending a class.  Awesome stuff!!  Plus you can ask questions and give out information too. 

Also, today I finally got out in the kayak for a few hours!  I took tons of picures with my iphone and will put them on here tomorrow so I can go back to them in the dead of winter when I am longing for a trip down the river.  It's like another world right across the street.  Peace and quiet with nature...makes me relax and chill out! 

Pillowcase fun! And a lot of other "Stuff...ing"

This is the scene of our living room floor every single day at least twice!  Our puppy has decided that there will be no stuffing in any toy in her basket.  Funny thing is that the older dog, Penny, has realized how much fun being a puppy was and has joined in with great joy!  That's her in the background surveying the damage.  When she first started getting caught up in this madness, she would run upstairs and hide when we walked into the room, but now she is just like, "So?" and watches me clean up! Then she goes over to the basket, gets another toy and starts squeaking it to entice little Emma!  It's like watching naughty children!  You want to be mad, but you're laughing, which makes them do it more!

 I like to make pillowcases for every month/holiday/event!  Here is my August pillowcase with corn on it! 

My mom loves to make pillowcases too and made me a pair of these for my birthday.  I have it folded in half here...it is not crooked!  Isn't this pretty!!??

She made this patriotic one for my Kenny!  He is a true patriot and loves his country, so he got this one from her.

I made this one for myself for July!  Chickens!  And chicken wire for the cuff.  No mistaking whose this is when it's time to make the bed!

I made this one for Ken for July 4th!  He loves that I made this one and my mom made him another one with the same theme.  He said he is not using the corn one until he has used these two for a few months.

Making pillowcases is so much fun and super easy!  It's the first thing I teach my non-sewing friends to do when they are interested in sewing for the first time.  I make mine using the burrito pattern which is available as a tutorial on Youtube!  Just go to Youtube,  look up rolled pillocases from the Missouri Quilt Company and it takes like 9 minutes~!!  Seriously!  You can make a bunch in one sitting if you want to make gifts, or some for yourself.  The Missouri Quilt Company has TONS of great tutorials on Youtube.  I love their videos!!  Go see for yourself!  Right now!  I mean it!

Bedroom re-do

This is Evy's old room.  We decided to repaint and fix up the two bedrooms our kids moved out of last fall and make them nice for my parents when they came to visit in July.  I painted this room and Kenny did Rob's.   I just want to move into one of these rooms now!  Our bedroom has not been touched in about 30 years, so that will be this winter's project. 

Here is Rob's room all new!  We did it with a sportsman's theme, which is very nice.  The floor is a mess, so we painted it.  I like the way it came out. The rug is old, but still looks good, so it got to stay.

Fun at Fenway

This past weekend my daughter and I traveled to Boston to see the city and take in the Red Sox game.  Evy had gotten great seats, which we were able to share with my cousin Krissy and her husband John.  They are actually newlyweds as of two weeks ago.  

Our seats were by third base only 5 rows back!  We only prayed we would not get hit by the ball or by a broken bat! My prayers were answered and no harm was done.  

We had lunch at Quincy Market and literally walked the city in its entirety to get to Fenway.  My legs still hurt because we kept getting lost and going in circles.  Plus it was soooooo hot.  Anyway, the houses we loved were on Commonwealth!  Big old Brownstones and Victorians.  Lots of trees, statues and great shops close by.

The picture of us in the baseball cart was fun!  When the pitcher used to get taken out of a game, the new pitcher was brought onto the field in this cart and the pitcher being relieved was taken away in it.  Brought back great memories of watching baseball at Nana's!  

Simply Spring Chicken Quilt

Here is a fun quilt made with that great fabric I showed you a few days ago! I enjoyed working with these fabrics because they are so old fashioned and pretty. The pictures are actually a bit darker than it looks in real life. The chickens are much lighter in person so I will quilt them with dark thread to make them stand out.

Evy and I are off to Boston tonight to catch a Red Sox game tomorrow might and to do some shopping! We are meeting family at the game which will be fun!

As Time Goes By Wool Block of the Month!

Have I mentioned like a zillion times already just how much I love, love, love working with wool?  My favorite quilt store in Riverhead, Pieceful Quilting, started a wool block of the month this past spring and I just had to jump right on it.  First we had to make the background wallhanging so that each month we could change the center.  This is August's block.  It was not my favorite at first, but I added a few things that I had in my collection of "stuff" and it looks great to me.  I kept the additions mostly green since that is the color of August to me.  Most of the perennials are done, the flowers are falling off and everything is  green. 

 Kenny and I are excited about the movie "The Odd Life of Timothy Green" that is coming out next week, so I added some green leaf trim to the chimney to remind me of the movie.  Also, I was thinking about the FABULOUS!!! book Garden Spells when I was making this one.  That is what the green is about as well.

 July was cute with the flag and little blackbirds.  These pieces are fun and easy to do in an evening or two.  Everything is portable and done by hand.

 Don't ask me why June went sideways.  Always a rebel in the group.  I added some flower buttons I had and some pink lace around the edges.  Then on the inside I used pink floss to sort of frame it and I tied a little bow in the corner.  My girlie side is trying to bust out!  Can't you imagine me as a girlie girl?  Ha!

 Just how cute is that bee!?  I love him!

 Here is the background that stays up all year.  I got up first thing this morning and put my August piece right on!  My friend Kim actually pieced all of the tiny pieces next to the August block.  I was not feeling too well when we had that class in March so she gave me all of the extras she had made and it was enough to do the whole inside of the quilt!  Behind the monthly piece it is just blue.  I used a piece of my son's curtains as the center to remind me of him.  I had to alter the curtains for his apartment and kept all of the pieces to use in other projects.

I had to show you the green dotted trim!  I think I got it when my mom and I went to Cape Cod last summer.  OMG the quilt shops there are like little villages!!  Guess quilting really did get its start there. The buttons are from Joann's or Michaels I think.  The chicken gets center stage of course!

Our Emma is getting to be a dog now!  She is the most toy-lovingest (hey, don't correct the English teacher--I am allowed to make up words!) hound we have ever had.  I mess with her mind by putting all the toys back as soon as she takes them out.  Then she drags the basket to the middle of the room and literally throws them in the air all over the room!  She is eating the basket these days too.

Summer is half over!! Going by so fast.  Last night we all went to a concert in my daughter's little town (where Kenny grew up!) and sat outside listening to an Eagles cover band.  They were so awesome!! Even the kids said they were the best! They have a concert on the town park every week during July!  We have been to two of them and had a great time.  I am determined to be outside doing summer things (sneaking inside to sew once in a while too!) every day!  The summer speeds by and then....fall!! Happy times!  Gotta go!  One of my great friends is coming over for lunch and a trip to Home Goods in a little while!  She just got a house and we will be looking for treasures for it!