A Finish and some postcards to share

Hello from the sunny but cool east coast , it is actually a gorgeous fall day , the calm before the storm that is to hit the province tonight into tomorrow . First off I will share the Skater , all finished thanks to some suggestions from Karen  who by the way you should go visit as she is having a giveaway right now .  Thanks Karen for your suggestions to finish off the skater , I am so pleased with how she looks .

 As I think I mentioned before this pattern was in a Fons and Porter special edition magazine , not sure if it was last year or not , I simply can't find my magazine , very sad face here as there were other things in there that I had wanted to make . 

Here is a close up of my quilting , some echo quilting around the skater .

 I also finished off the OOM for this month a pattern given on a FB group by Trish 

Oops I see I forgot to add a snowflake for his tassel , must remember to do that . 

 Now for some postcards , one of my partners for this swap was Virginia , no blog who is leaving for Florida soon so I sent off her postcard early and it has already arrived but before I show you what I sent her I will share what she has sent to me , it has just arrived and I love it .

A three dimensional leaf postcard , lovely colors and a great job . I was amazed this came without an envelope and was in perfect shape even though those leaves are protruding over the edges . The little pumpkin pincushion was part of my program for the guild this month , I found the instructions here . 

Thanks Virginia !

I was a little off season with my postcard , I guess part of me wishes it was going to be summer rather than heading into winter so I did a little beach scene .

I forgot to take a photo so had to ask Virginia to take one for me .  

 So how is everyone getting along making their postcards ? I still have one to make and I know it should have been in the mail but life got in the way and I will get it done and off in the mail real quick . Remember the due date is November 15th so you still have a couple of weeks to create and send that postcard , thanks .

 Thanks for stopping by today  hope you are having a great day .

 hugs Sheila 

A little more Ireland and what I am working on ..

I guess you thought I had disappeared but you know that darn virus just kept on keeping on and I didn't feel much like being on the computer at all so I must apologize again for not visiting or commenting , hopefully I am on the mend now . So just a few more pictures of the beautiful country of Ireland .

After visiting the Ross Castle in the above post we had a carriage ride back to the hotel , this was really great fun .

one of our views along the way , love those mountains in the background .

            See the thatched roof on this charming little building , it was cut real fancy .

A large church in the distance , There are lots of stone churches .

The three sisters in front of the mountain view plus there were some gorgeous horses in this field .

We stopped at a museum which depicts life as it was in Ireland many years ago ,however this peat is still used in some parts of the country for fuel . It is similar to coal , not quite as hard as coal but the next step would be coal .The bus driver explained the process of gathering the peat and today their methods are much different than when he was a young boy helping his dad in the peat bogs , it was very hard work . They also use the peat for peat moss which is used in gardens .

Donna warming her toes in front of the peat fire , I regretted going in there , it was so smoky and I was already congested , but it was worth it as I love antiques , after all I am almost one myself lol.

Couldn't resist taking a picture of this poor old machine , it has seen better days for sure .

Each of the homes that were open to us had old hutches for their dishes , I have one very similar to this but mine has doors on top ,

These items were under glass , isn't that little dress just precious ..

A couple of beds with quilts , not sure how old they are but it was neat to see and just look at the cradle and the baby carriage , probably a doll carriage ,

A little further on up the road we stopped for a photo shoot and this character was busy creating a Celtic cross of sorts and he had his donkeys and one of them had a dog on for a ride :-)

                                                         A better view of the artist .

                           Some heather , isn't it pretty . I brought a few sprigs home with me .

This was along the Kerry Ring , a beautiful drive with the combination of mountains and the ocean , reminded me of the Cabot Trail a little , not quite as beautiful in my opinion but then I am a bit bias .

A peat bog , you can see it in a pile and out in the field you can see where they have been cutting it . There was a group of school aged teens obviously on a school outing walking out to view the bogs.

A beach in Waterville , quite nice and it was a warm day which made for a nice stop for photos .

                                         Donna and I arm and arm with Charlie Chaplan .

This is Grafton Street in Dublin , our last full day in Ireland and a really fun time was had by all . The street is closed off to traffic , at least the vehicle traffic  lots of two legged traffic . This the only time we were warned to mind our bags as Paddy our bus driver told us . Great shopping here and lots of street vendors as well as shops . There were some buskers as well , great entertainment .

Believe it or not this statue is real , yes those are real people who stay perfectly still and my Mom swore they were not real until someone threw some coins in their pot and they waved , I thought poor Mom would faint .
So that is my quick overview of Ireland and a wee bit of Scotland , maybe some day I will go back , that would be a very good thing .
Now for what I have been working on , a few things I can't share but I will share some wool work I have been doing .

I just finished this penny rug which is a pattern by Primitive Gatherings , it was a fun one to do , lots of work but so worth it !

September BOM for Buttermilk Basin , got caught up on them this week .

                                                    Octobers BOM for Buttermilk Basin
 And finally I have dug out this UFO to get a little work done .

This little Skater has been on the shelf for far too long so I did the applique this week and have now started on the quilting , I wish I had the skill that others have for FM , I have no clue what to do here . So far I have just stitched in the ditch around the applique but not sure what to add to the background , any suggestions ?? Oh this is from a Fons  and Porter special issue Celebration issue maybe last year ? For the life of me I can't find my magazine anywhere .
 Thanks for hanging around to read this lengthy post and hope you have a fantastic and creative day .
 Hugs Sheila

A wee taste of Ireland ... plus postcard info

I have so many photos of Ireland due to the fact we spent more time there so today I will share a few and maybe a few more another day if you wish to see them . Ireland was incredible in every aspect , the scenery , the people and the food , what more can you ask .

We took this ferry to Ireland , it was smooth sailing and took approximately  a little over an hour . We had our lunch on board and did a little shopping too .

Here is our first hotel in Ireland , the Slieve Russell , beautiful !!

This beautiful girl graced the stairway .

 The grounds around the hotel were amazing with many gardens and interesting things to see . 

Interesting vines.

This is  apparently the smallest church in the world , super tiny , squeezed between those buildings .

This was the floor inside , do you see a quilt pattern ?

                      Knock Cathedral , a famous church that has been visited by the Pope

                                 This golden  Rose was gifted by the Pope to the Cathedral 

                                              Donna and Mom enjoying the entertainment  

A mixture of song and dance in this performance  , we had excellent entertainment . 

Now we are  in Bunratty Castle Hotel , another lovely place to stay .

Some of the housing in the area , you don't see wooden houses here , all stone or brick .

Love the fences .

Donna enjoying some time with the horse , I am sure she was missing her own .

I had a chance for a little pat too , as you can see it was a little cooler this particular day , I had several layers on but was comfortable .

A beautiful castle we went to visit , I should have kept a journal so I could remember the names .I just didn't have time to be honest , I did bring along a journal but the only thing in it is a sprig of Heather .

 Well I will leave it at that for today but before I go I have given a little thought to the Postcard exchange and the fact I am so unorganized so lets put the date ahead to November 15th  . If you already have your postcard made that is wonderful , I hope to get names assigned by the end of this week and if anyone else is interested please let me know  as soon as you possibly can with your info . I didn't realize it would take me so long to return to normal after my return home so I am sorry for this delay but I think it will all  work out for the best . Thanks for your understanding .

 Thanks for stopping by and I will share a little more of Ireland another day .

 Hugs Sheila 

I'm Back !

It is great to be home , the trip was amazing , I would highly recommend a tour to Scotland and Ireland , we spent considerable more time in Ireland and I truly loved it there , it is true it is so....... green !!  I am a little under the weather at the moment as I picked up a bug of some sort along with many others on the tour  but I will share just a few photos today to show you some of our time in Scotland .

 From the window of the plane as we fly into Glasgow . It was a great feeling :-)

 I don't remember where this is but I like the photo and the reflection in the water .

Not the best quality as it was taken through the window of the bus but you can see little bits of colour from the Heather , and yes I did pick just a little .

 We are up in the Highlands here and I love the different colours .

This particular day it did rain , our only rain actually , the Gods were with us . I love the look of the mist over the mountains , very pretty indeed 

It was genuinely raining here but I got out and took the photo anyway , a common sight are the stone fences , standing the test of time !

Edinburgh Castle  , it was quite the climb to view this .

Lots of people visiting the castle , quite interesting for sure .

The final photo for today is of the four of us sitting outside one of the hotels we stayed in . Me, my Mom, sister Donna and sister Jacqueline . 

 I will share a few more later on but wanted to touch base and tell you I am home and had a terrific trip.

 Thanks for stopping by today , have yourself a great one .

 hugs Sheila