Sunflower Gatherings Blocks Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen

I've been busy stitching blocks during the week while watching TV. I finished blocks eleven and twelve and I like the way they turned out. I am so excited that I am getting this quilt done. If you knew how many kits I have that are just sitting there waiting for me to work on them you would agree that this is quite an achievement. I really like the way that Lisa designed this quilt. If you want to purchase this block of the month, Primitive Gatherings started a new program in October. It has been fun and very challenging, I have really enjoyed working on this quilt.

I finally reached the last block - block thirteen!!

I decided that I wanted to change this block as I didn't want my initials or the year in the center. I took a few of the flowers from the other blocks and incorporated them in the center. You can see the original pattern then the changes I made to the center. I am happy with the way it turned out.

I still have the inner borders to sew and then the outside border to complete so I really need to calm down ... but I made it to block thirteen!

Montana!

Our first snow fall of the year! We went for a drive today and took some pictures of Lake Como. Montana is really a beautiful place to live, we are very lucky to live here.

Some of the leaves are still on the trees. Today was a very sunny day with no wind. The temperature was around 24 degrees. Tonight we should go down to around 13 degrees. It was much colder earlier in the week, but today is great!

Sunflower Gatherings Blocks Eight, Nine and Ten

It has been awhile since I updated my blog. I have finished blocks eight, nine and ten. I have three more blocks to get done then the boarders, I am happy with my progress!

I really like the dragonfly, this block took a long time to cut out all of the small pieces. I have a lot of stitching to do, but I am getting it done! 

Sunflower Gatherings Block Seven

It has been a very nice weekend here, I got some yard work done on Friday. I also finished putting together block seven, this block has a lot of embroidery to keep me busy.

I included a photo of another pin cushion I made earlier this year, again using a 25 cent find from the thrift store. I just finished block three embroidery and now on to block four. Little by little I am getting this done.

Sunflower Gatherings Block Six

Block six took longer to cut out all of the wool, I like the way it turned out although I have a lot of stitching to do on this block.

I have finished stitching two blocks and almost done with the third. I made another pin cushion I found this cup at the thrift shop for 25 cents. I think it turned out cute!

Thrift Shop Finds

I found this hand carved expandable book holder made in India for $2.00. The book holder can expand from 12 inches to 22 inches depending on your need. The wood was very dry so I washed it with Murphy’s Soap and polished it up with the wood butter. If you missed my previous post with the recipe I highly recommend going back and taking a look, I have found several uses for it this summer.  

I can’t believe the difference; the detail of the carving really came out you can see the difference in the photos above. It is a fun find and will be perfect for my old cook books.

Sunflower Gatherings Block Five

Here is block five, I think this blog really is helping me achieve my goals and finish projects!

When I first started posting about my blocks I mentioned tools that were handy that I had purchased and never used. This little iron by Clover is one of those tools, it gets really hot and is helpful in getting the Heat n Bond to adhere to the fabric.

This project includes several blocks that are just sewn and don't have wool attached. It takes a little while to put these together. They are 10 1/2 inches square and I have completed four so far. It is going to be a very colorful quilt. I included my first block that has the embroidery finished. Every block has the blanket stitch around all the wool, and some vines that need to be stitched in.

That's all for now I have to start stitching!  

Sunflower Gatherings Block Three and Four

Here is block three, I like the basket and flowers it takes a while to cut all of those little pink flowers! The most important part of making this quilt is pressing each patch with the seams going the correct way!

Here is block four and my little scrap bird bowl!

I finished stitching block one and well on my way to finishing block two. It is a nice project to do while watching TV.... happy stitching!

Sunflower Gatherings Block Two

I have decided to post each block as I go ... so I get this done! Block two is done now all I have to do is the stitching around each piece.

I stopped off at the thrift store and found this cute little advertising piece for a quarter. When I looked it up on Google I found that it is a 1950's unmarked Japan Miniature Chamber Pot. It is very tiny measuring 1 5/8" tall by 2 3/4" wide. I decided to make a pin cushion out of it.

That's all I have for now - just need to get the stitching done!

Sunflower Gatherings Block One

This summer I signed up for the Sunflower Gatherings 2014 Block of the Month from Primitive Gatherings. I am just now starting block one! I have to say this is going to be a beautiful quilt; Lisa Bongean is very creative and I am very happy with the first block.

It's funny I have bought lots of tools over the years and have not used them...but of course had to have them right away. I can honestly say that this project has put a lot of those tools to work and I am very happy that I purchased them!

Now that I have it put together I need to clean up my mess and start stitching!

Wood Preserve

The wood preserve (butter) that I used on the chairs in my previous post is made of pure beeswax, and mineral oil. I have included the recipe below. It makes a large batch, I gave one as a gift, used one jar and still have two jelly jars left.  

This photo shows a close up of the wood I used it on, what I did not use it on and the jar of wood butter.

It's worth taking the time to make, I can’t believe how many things I have used it on. You will be amazed on how it brings life back into dried out wood.

I used the wood preserve on this spinning wheel flyer I found it was very dirty and dried out beyond belief.

The spool on the bottom is not treated and here is the flyer treated.  

I cleaned the wood and used the wood preserve and thought it turned out amazing! It was so pretty that I painted a block black and drilled a hole to mount and display this piece. I love to knit and really enjoy yarn; even though I have never used a spinning wheel it is a nice piece to add to my craft room. 

  

Wood Butter – A Recipe for Your Utensils!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

A terrific homemade product to use for all of your wood kitchen products from wooden spoons to cutting boards.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces pure beeswax - measured dry. One package of the pellets that I purchased weighed 16 ounces and I used half a package at a time.
• 32 ounces of mineral oil - typically packaged with 16 liquid ounces per container so I used 2 containers.

Preparation

1. Bring a large saucepan filled with water to a gentle boil.
2. Place your beeswax inside a 2 quart glass measuring cup or a 1 quart glass jar; set the glass into the gently boiling water.
3. Place the container(s) of mineral oil inside another medium saucepan filled with water and heat to low. The mineral oil just needs to be warmed to mix with the beeswax; no need for a rolling boil.
4. Once all the wax has melted, turn off the stove and carefully add the warmed mineral oil to the beeswax; stirring with a spoon to combine.
5. Using a towel around the handle of the measuring cup, carefully pour the liquid into each jar fit with the canning funnel; filling them almost to the top.
6. Finish filling all jars and wait for to cool and firm up before using.

Here is where I found the recipe:

http://www.creative-culinary.com/wood-butter-helps-renew-wood-utensils-and-bowls/

Website: www.creative-culinary.com

2014 Amish Auction in St. Ignatius Montana

We starting going to the Amish auction in 2006, my dad and my two girls have attended every year and have always brought something fun home. They have their auction the second Saturday in July and this year's auction was very hot – about 98˚.

The auction is very busy they usually have three auctioneers going at the same time with plants, handmade quilts, and miscellaneous items. They also sell buildings and handmade furniture. The proceeds from the auction go to the Amish school. One of our favorite things is lunch…they offer a homemade chicken dinner with the works you can also purchase homemade ice cream for dessert.

This year I bought these two chairs the seats are covered with old quilts. They were a little dirty and the wood was dried out so I used my wood preserve I made earlier this year. I cleaned and polished them up a little; they add a nice touch to my kitchen and sewing room.

Last year I purchased this black vintage wooden expandable sewing chest and I have all of my knitting items organized now. I love this box!

Don’t just Pin it … do it!

Here is the photo of items before we started.

This project is very popular on Pinterest. We are taking advantage of the dollar store and purchasing candle holders and glassware to make useful containers. I found the one container with the handle at the World Market for $2.99. The one larger dish is from a garage sale, which was chipped but still useful. So the total cost for each piece varies from $1.25 to $4.00 depending on the piece you choose for the top.

                       

Finding the center.

Here is my daughter finding the center of the glassware, which is important if you want them to look good. She marked off the area using a dry erase marker then put the center dot in the inside of the container and wiped off the bottom.

The helpful hardware man at Ace suggested the E-6000 glue – works like a charm!

Once you start to glue on you have two minutes to stick the items together and it takes 72 hours for the project to dry completely.

This was a quick and fun project that you can do for gifts or for yourself! 

Quick 123 Update

Here is an update on my last project I have it hung up in my sewing room. I’m happy with the location and how it looks; now I can find my scissors!

One, Two, Three...Let's Get Started!

Welcome! This is the first post of many to come to inspire me to get more things done! I started with this quick project for motivation.

My daughter was looking for something at the thrift store the other day and pointed out this letter, bill holder. It was only a dollar, but I didn't buy it at the time. However, with a few new ideas in mind I decided to pick it up today.

Here is a photo of the holder before I started.

before

I was going to use chalk paint but decided on flat spray paint to cover the wood smoothly. I found some numbers I liked and printed them out then transferred the numbers onto the surface by rubbing chalk on the back of the paper.

during

Once I got the numbers painted, I sanded it so it looked worn. It will be perfect for my craft room!

after

This was a fast project and a great way to begin my new blog! I hope you will join me for more projects under the Big Sky!