What I'm workin' on.....

I hope you and yours had a most blessed Thanksgiving!

   I've been collecting these International Harvester prints for awhile now and finally decided on a project.  I'm actually hoping to have two similar finished pieces done for Christmas....( Let's hope that NOW is not the time that he decides to

start reading my blog!)

 

It took me forever to decide on which four to use for the blocks and keeping the other two for backing.

 I've been cutting strips.....

.....and stitching them together.....

.....cutting and stitching some more.

That's all I will show you for now. 

Don't look too closely....you will see all of my flaws even in these early stages.  I am not a master quilter by any means!

It is a cold, rainy, dreary day here in my little corner of the world. As much as I have the itch to get out of the house, I'm staying in where it's warm and dry and sewing on the fun stuff, even though alterations work awaits.

Coffee break is over so back to the machine.....

Enjoy your day!



Wishing you and yours a blessed Thanksgiving holiday!

We will be spending Thanksgiving with John's family, as his mom and dad will leave Friday morning for south Texas for the winter. 

Lots to do today so I'd better get busy!

Enjoy your day!

The Kitchen Table...

 This is my kitchen table.

Nothin' fancy.

It's not new.

Just an old table made with tongue and groove boards

and the chairs don't match.  

But it's my table.

It suits me and it fits the space.

And it doesn't always look like this!

 For the past several weeks, it's been  covered with sewing machines, fabrics, patterns and an assortment of sewing notions.

Stacks of alterations, finished items....It was completely loaded down.

Yesterday was the day to clear it off. 

I wanted the family to actually sit down to the table for a meal instead of serving dinner buffet style and taking off to the living room.

And we did just that....

I need to come up with a plan to rework the spare bedroom/work room to make it more

comfortable to work in OR come up with an inexpensive way

to complete the back porch to make it a more useful space. 

My challenge for the week is to keep my table cleared off.

Hmm.....I wonder how many days it will actually last......

Quilts...Old & Tattered...

As I was working on these little stocking ornaments the other day, I  wondered just how many old & tattered quilts have been tossed in the trash because someone thought it was too worn for anymore use.

These were made from the scraps of a quilt that I had already used for a number of projects.

Stockings, angel wings,  pockets for cats and stars, pillows... and who knows what else!

So far, all the quilts I've used in my works, I've found in antique shops.

I have a few quilts here that I don't ever see myself using for anything but display.

Several years ago, a friend brought to me three beautiful pieced quilts, all in perfect condition....

to make keepsake bears for her kids. 

Taking that first cut into such perfect quilts....ouch!

I don't think old quilts ever get beyond the point of some sort of use.

If not using as a cutter quilt for handmade projects, simply fold it up and set it on a bench or lay across the arm of an old rocking chair. 

 Use one to cover the bales of hay on your next hayride.  As a Christmas tree shirt for your primitive decorated Christmas tree. Use one as a table cover for your next family gathering or in your  next craft show display.

An  old quilt, no matter how tattered, still has a good number of uses,

so don't toss it out just yet!



Cookies...

OATMEAL CRANBERRY WHITE CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1-1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

1-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 6-oz pkg Craisins dried cranberries

2/3 cup white chocolate chunks or chips

Preheat oven to 375*.  Using an electric mixer, beat butter or margarine and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, mixing well.  Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a seperate mixing bowl.  Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition.  Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks.  Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown  Cool on wire rack.. Makes approximately 2-1/2 dozen cookies.

ENJOY!

*****************

This recipe actually came from the back of the  Craisins package.

I tried this recipe a couple weeks ago and the cookies were SO good, I decided it was a keeper  and I had to make them again just the other day! 

Side note:  I use parchment lined baking sheets.

Enjoy your day!



Gift~Box How~To...

A great way to wrap a gift without having to actually wrap it!

Turn ordinary paper mache' boxes into gift boxes with a few simple steps....

No prepping necessary.....and so simple, I didn't even take pics along the way.....

and chances are, you already have everything you need in your craft cupboard.

Paint the box with regular craft paint.....one coat  is plenty. And I paint just the outsides and bottom, leaving the insides plain.

Using a finer grit of sandpaper, sand over all and don't worry about sanding off too much paint, as these areas will take in more stain.  After sanding, wipe off residue with a soft cloth.

Stain with  your choice of stain....I will use either a very strong walnut ink crystal stain or  brown shoe polish.  Apply the shoe polish on the box as if you were using on a shoe.

Wrap with a strip of ticking or homespun,  adding a touch of glue where it overlaps in the back. 

Over the fabric, wrap with a strip of stained cheesecloth (you can glue this or not, but cheesecloth will hold to itself)

(on the shorter boxes, I've used just the cheesecloth)

To hold this in place, use a piece of twine, wrapping a number of times around the box.  Tie off  in the front but don't cut the tails just yet.....tie on a tag and/or a piece of greenery...or whatever you so choose!

As I write this, it just occurred to me that I have some grubbied candy canes that would of made perfect tie-ons! Hmm....

Before filling, I suggest placing a bit of paper shreds in the bottom.

If using for homemade goodies, place them in a plastic or cello-bag before placing them in the box.

And you know, this is something you could do with the kiddo's...while you are working on your boxes, they can work on one for their own little gifties for teacher!

Be creative and have fun with it!

Enjoy your day!