Ed and Sandy's Adventures

Another Snow in Missouri

2011-02-12T06:14:00.000-08:00

I don't know which snow this was. It was after the big snow storm where we didn't get much. We got more snow after the big storm. This area of Missouri doesn't get much snow, hate that as it makes for a prettier and fun winter. My dog loves the snow.

Last Cards to be Posted

2011-02-06T13:41:00.000-08:00

We will be starting a new blog next week for our newest venture.

I have been working on it awhile and always wanted to be a craft supplier. We are starting out very small. We will be starting with scrapbooking supplies, mostly Tim Holtz items since that is what most of my friends and family are into and the local area. I wish it had been sewing.......but it will be a blast. We will see how it goes, then may start adding other vendors to the list.

This blog will be used for our outings, spring is close so we will be going on more rock hunting trips and so on.

On to a few cards. I am currently finishing up the cat wall hanging quilt, its sitting under the old Kenmore and working on it here and there.

The Easter card is made from a print that I made from an old Easter card. I have a bunch of antique Easter cards and made them into a digital collage, then printed them off. I love working with this kind of thing. Makes the old stuff live on forever.
This card is still needing something. The postcard is from a digital collage as well. The sheet music is actual sheet music from the 1930s. The bird sticker is from a terrific etsy seller. Then different stamps.

My Sewing Fleet

2011-01-23T14:30:00.000-08:00

Kenmore 54 This is the newest addition to my sewing fleet. I bought this at an auction for $5. Brought it home, cleaned it, oiled it and it is a dream machine. It will become my primary quilting machine once I find a quilting foot for it.

Singer Ultra Lock. This was purchased at a garage sale for $35. It was brand new in the box, never been used. Noisy thing, but it does the job and I had been saving to buy a new one for around $250.

Brother 700 II Embroidery Machine. This poor thing has been used and used. It was ran daily for the first year of it's use, I haven't got to do as much embroidery lately as I'd like to so its been getting some breaks. I did pay full price for it, but it was worth it. Embroiders beautifully. It does have some mood swings, but it gets the job done.

Brother SE350. This is a combo embroidery and sewing machine. It is a refurbished machine I bought on ebay. The company was great as my first one had a computer related crash basically. I had owned it for 4 or 5 months when it happened. Sent them an email. I had a new on in 2 days with a shipping sticker to send the broke one back. Didn't cost me a thing. That was 2 years ago and this has by far been my primary sewing machine. It had to go to the shop once, but it was my fault when I tried forcing it to do something it didn't want to do and I got it out of time.

I actually have 3 more sewing machines. One is a Singer 99K I bought for $2. It works great, but having some tension issues, so will take it into the shop. it actually sits in the living room with some other antiques, but it does my denim quilts as its by far one of the toughest machines in the house.

I have another old Singer, but we fixed it up and am giving it to a friend of mine. Then we have an old Kenmore, older than my Kenmore 54. It's waiting for a cleaning and oiling. Then it may go up on ebay..........if only I could make some room for it.

Then I have a newer Kenmore, it's a great machine, but somewhere when cleaning my sewing room, its power cord was lost, so it's sitting in waiting right now!

I am always telling people that anyone can sew and you don't have to have a brand new expensive machine to do it. The 2 toughest machines in my house are the Singer 99k and the Kenmore 54, total invested into them is $7 They don't have the fancy stitches or cut the thread for you, but they are the most reliable ones sitting here.

Cards With Fabric and More Distressing

2011-01-16T11:54:00.001-08:00

The same birdcage card I hated from before. I did a bit more to it, then forgot when I hit the iron on it, it removed the embossing......kind of gave it a more trashed look! LOL Bird pictures are some more digital art from etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/KFcollection

and the the upper bird is some stickers I got from http://www.etsy.com/shop/LittlePinkKangaroo

Still not sure I like the card, but its definitely the etsy shops fault!

The two girl pictures are from vintageholidaycrafts.com I did the same thing and digitally put them on some sheet music, then printed them out. The lace is an actual very old lace I had on hand. The background of the card is an actual 1930s sheet music paper.

The horses.....The lower horse is an image I got on etsy from http://www.etsy.com/shop/Graphique

I then took a background image I have scanned into my computer from a 1933 Gene Autry sheet music book I have and put the horse image onto it.

The upper horse image is a rubber stamp I have, I scanned the image into the computer and have altered it to make it stand out some more and placed onto the same sheet music. Distressed some muslin and more Tim Holtz distress inks and may have gone overboard.

Teddy Bear still needs some bling or sparkle. The teddy bear is cut from a fabric that I've made several quilts from, the frame is done with my cricut.

Deer Oval is from a fabric and i still haven't sewn anything with it. I am going to make another one and distress it so i can see the difference.

Another very basic card done with the same deer fabric, then a sentiment stamped and some ribbon.

Phelps County Missouri Disaster Relief

2011-01-02T20:14:00.000-08:00

As a lot of you know, I am the Phelps County Emergency Management Director. We have recently been through quite a disaster with the tornados. My county lost two wonderful people due to the tornados. The county just south of us lost 2 lives as well.

We have many people with no homes due to the damage. Some of these families have no insurance and have to start their lives over from scratch. I got with the Rolla police department who has a wonderful organization called Behind the Badge. They are capable of taking financial donations. I've had a few people ask about helping.

We have one couple with a 10 year old son that lost everything. There is nothing left of their home. We also have the family of one of the people that lost their lives and they are having trouble paying for the funeral expenses. I have a feeling this list may grow.

This is the post I have copied from Chief Kearse's Rolla Police Department facebook page.

As many of you know a tornado touched down in Rolla/Phelps County on December 31, 2010 destroying many homes within our community. A family has been presented to Behind the Badge for immediate assistance due to total loss of their belongings and rental home. After getting the information on this family, we found that there were many others that needed help from this disaster. We have created a disaster relief fund through Behind the Badge with the assistance of Sandy North, Emergency Operations Director, Phelps County Sheriff Department and the Rolla Police Department. The money collected will help only those tornado victims for such things as food, shelter, and clothing. We will first start with this family and their young boy.

If you can give, please do, every little bit adds up. Donations can be dropped off at the Rolla Police Department this week. Please make checks payable to Behind the badge and note; disaster relief. Behind the Badge is a not for profit organization ran by the employees and spouses of the Rolla Police Department to help RPD employees in need as well as others in our community. As stated this money will only be used to assist families that are in need from the tornado. Thank you very much. Chief Kearse.

Donations can be mailed to:
Rolla Police Department
1007 N. Elm St., Rolla, MO 65401.
Please make it Attn: Disaster Relief Fund

The residents of Phelps County Missouri have been wonderful. They have been out there every day helping in the clean up effort. We have had tons of clothes donated for these families that have lost everything. Our emergency services were nothing short of awesome. We have gotten calls from as far away as North Carolina. Everyone has been great.

Playing with some cards again

2010-12-29T21:00:00.000-08:00

Playing with some techniques.

I really don't like how the birdcage one turned out. This one will probably make its way to the trash can.

Got another purse done before I started on the cards.

Playing with printing pictures. The papers in this Victorian card were stained wiht coffee, then the picture was printed. The pink and blue cardstock is the coordinates. Very neat stuff.

It probably needs more, but us horse lovers don't seem to care, slap a horse on there, and we are happy. I did end up taking some colored pencils and colored the grass and sky after this.

I had some cute pastel buttons, was going to add to this, but I can't find them anywhere.

2010-12-16T15:47:00.000-08:00

Just figured it was time for a motivational picture. I can't take pics of what I'm working on now, not until Christmas. I hate forgetting about the blog.

Christmas Calmness

2010-12-13T20:11:00.000-08:00

I got this one in an email from a friend of mine. I can sooo see it working!

CALMNESS IN OUR LIVES

I am passing this on to you because it definitely works, and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives. By following simple advice I heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace. Dr Phil proclaimed, "The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished."

So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos, and a box of chocolates, and a half bottle of scotch.

You have no idea how freaking good I feel right now!
Pass this on to those whom you think might be in need of inner peace.

More Christmas Cards

2010-12-13T18:08:00.000-08:00

Yes, I've been making Christmas cards. I'm trying to get quite a few made to send and give, not sure I'll get enough done, but trying. Would love some honest critiques.

I found this card tutorial http://www.vickiscardmakingideas.com/2009/11/20/christmas-card-ideas-silver-christmas-tree/ and fell in love with the silver and the matting. I had one sheet of silver and gold and had the embossing powders. I just started stamping on stuff and embossing. The green tree I really wanted to something different with, but every idea I had, didn't have the item I wanted. So not sure if I like it or not. I think they turned out nice. I sat down with the idea of being whimsy and cute.........then these happened. LOL

Paper Crafting

2010-12-12T07:55:00.000-08:00

I have been playing with the cricut and paper crafts in general. My goal is to eventually offer some great gift cards that go with my table runners and quilts that I make. This way the customer has a super gift item and everything is done for them, just add a sentiment and sign their name.

A simple card I made. Not that great, but cute.

This is a gift card holder. It started as a toilet paper roll, then covered with card stock. I found several sites in the internet that had directions for these.

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf90814403.tip.html

http://stampinwhenican.blogspot.com/2010/09/toilet-paper-roll-gift-card-holder.html

I love making these poinsetta flowers. I ran out of yellow pieces from old silk flowers, thats what I prefer to use for the center. So on these, its yellow paint. I got a zig 2 way glue pen and used that on the edges of some of the petals, then some silver cosmetic glitter, I think I like them better with the glitter.

I got the svg cutting file and the instructions on how to make them on Penny Duncan's blog.

http://pennyduncancreations.blogspot.com/

With me being new, i don't have a lot of things yet. Both the red and white poinsettas, I sprayed with a homemade concoction I made. I used liquid hairspray, pearlescent white cosmetic grade mica and sprayed the petals before putting together. For the leaves, I added a touch of Tim Holtz distressed reinker to some hair spray with the mica. It has helped up great! The mica doesn't come off at all.

Christmas Giveaway for scrapbooking enthusiast

2010-12-09T19:31:00.000-08:00

Sure Cuts A Lot is doing a great 12 days of Christmas give away.
12 Days of Christmas Give Away
http://svgcuts.com/blog/?p=7764
Have fun! Great source for svg files as well!

Quilt and other projects

2010-12-04T07:10:00.001-08:00

Just a few tags I've been trying on the cricut and using MTC software. I can honestly say, we are not getting along. The sizes aren't coming out right.
I tried a new trick using the new MTC software, version 3.0 and was able to do the rectangle on the brown card stock and it turned out better then some of my other tries. I learned this technique by doing a tutorial for an intense card from MTC tuts forum. I'm not doing with the tutorial.

I still haven't learned how to cut each layer seperately........so will keep working on it then maybe I can do some things I'm dying to try.

This is the gift quilt I'm still working on. I am out of fabric, so the strips are done. Hopefully I can find some fabric to do a nice big border to get a bit wider. I haven't sewn the strips together, that is the big challenge with this quilt as you want them to match up. We shall see.

Quilts in the Making

2010-11-22T20:03:00.000-08:00

These are just a few of the projects I've been working on. I'm also trying to get some table runners done and some other itmes.

Baby Rag Quilt - This is the beginning of a baby rag quilt I'm working on. It just needs clipped then thrown into the washer to get the ragging process done. I just adore this fabric. I will get better pics once its completed. This one is already spoken for.

This is a quilt I am working on as a Christmas present. I don't know if I'll get it done in time or not. It won't be one that I will be able to quilt with my machine, so will have to pay someone to finish it up for me. I am still debating if I like the colors. It's not something I'd go with, but when I looked at the jelly roll, I just liked it. I started making the strips and have 3 strips completed. The pattern is from Moda's website. I don't know if I'll ever get everything to line up or not, but will try!

The cat blocks aren't sewn together yet and haven't been squared up. It's a scrappy quilt and just kept growing. Debating on keeping the white cat and the yellow cat with black spots. I haven't bordered it yet. I need to get it done so I have room to start looking over the quilt (one above) and some other projects I'm working on.

So many fabrics and projects, so little time.

2010-11-17T19:51:00.002-08:00

Little rose embeds. Large bag full. $2.00

As usual, blogger and me hate each other. It refused to let me move the pictures around even when I did it through the html. So had to end up with individual posts.

2010-11-17T19:51:00.001-08:00

I have a few of these orange slices.

Very detailed on the one side.

$.50 cents for what I have left.

2010-11-17T19:42:00.000-08:00

Pineapple lices embeds. There is about 8 or so here, will count if interested. $1.50 for all I have. Very nice detail on the one side.
Orangeish/peach colored embeds. 50 cents for all

Strawberry embeds. These are handpainted, large bag of them $2

Pie Crusts are 50 cents each. These will have to be shipped in a box to keep them from breaking.

Denim Rag Purse

2010-11-15T20:00:00.001-08:00

I'm working on getting denim rag purses added to the inventory. I made one for myself last week and everyone keeps asking for them. These are so fun to make as there are so many things you can do and add to this purse to make it unique.

Artfire Etsy Where to Sell

2010-11-09T19:58:00.001-08:00

I just opened up an Artfire account. Etsy was doing well, then just stopped. I need the extra income and it keeps the hobby fun when there is some money coming in to keep buying supplies. I've had Artfire for 2 days, so can't tell much yet there, but hoping it will go well.

I have been horribly bad about posting here.

I have some tutorials I'm working on and will get those posted soon I hope!

NorthStarCreations.artfire.com

2010-10-21T18:50:00.001-07:00

Random pictures taken with the new digital camera.

Moon Pic

2010-10-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

2010-10-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

New Camera

2010-10-21T18:13:00.000-07:00

I just got a Nikon P100 for use with emergency management. I am highly impressed with it as its not an SLR camera, but it does really nice.

Ed's Handmade Knives

2010-08-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

A lot would think I'm biased. When it comes to the knives I'm not. I'm being honest. I hate cutting up raw meats, whether its wild meat or beef from the store. I used to think it was just a horrible job and the only people that could cut it was a butcher where they have some super spaced aged knife to cut it.

I guess I've always had cheap knives. A few years ago, I discovered fish filet knives were the best. But they lost their sharpness after several steaks. Then last year, Ed made some knives from old saw blades. I was battling these huge moose steaks and realized my fillet knife needed sharpened. Then I pulled out one of Ed's first ones. I was in shock. This knife has been used on 3 deer, I used to cut out the carpet in my sewing room and God knows what else. It hasn't been sharpened. It literally sliced these steaks like they were butter and these are raw pieces of meat. I have been using his knives for tomatoes a lot when I learned they cut like butter. I went and grabbed a tomato and yep, after cutting up the meat, it sliced through the tomato like butter as well. I can make paper thin slices on a tomato.

It has surprised me at the number of women that love the deer antler knives. But they've all thought..........well its for skinning deer, etc. Ladies..........these knives kick butt in the kitchen and I am on a throw away spree now. I will be down to about 3 cutting knives and 2 have a deer antler for the handle and one has the wooden handle.

Moose Meat

2010-08-28T08:47:00.001-07:00

Have you ever tried moose meat? My nephew went to Canada and got a once in a lifetime Moose. He shared some of the meat with his family.
I had never tried moose before.
I have to say.......I love deer, but the moose may kick the deer's butt. We fried up a little, soaked it in milk, then dredged it in a flour/bread crumb mix, then put it in some oil. Wow! It was delicious. A little tough on some pieces which may be because I cut it wrong.

I now have some in a crock pot with some potatoes and will see how that turns out.

Update

2010-08-28T08:42:00.001-07:00

I am trying to keep everything up to date. Between the blog, etsy and just trying to keep things made for shows and markets, its been tough.
We will be trying to get more of the drusy posted. We now have a big buyer of our Missouri Lace and Rhyolite, so we won't be listing as much of this anymore at all.

We are slabbing a lot of South Dakota material and having a ball at it. The slabs are being listed on etsy, but if they don't start selling there, we won't list it anymore there. At 20 cents, doesn't sound like much, but when you are selling slabs at $3 and below, there just isn't much to be made. By the time paypal and etsy take their percentages, it really doesn't pay much for the saw blades. So we will set them back and save to sell at shows.

Stuff I've been working on lately

2010-04-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

This was a quilt block I made from scraps I got from Barbara. So made a pillow!

Small Lighthouse quilt.......more like a wall hanging or crib size.

Purse set I did. Colors are way off on the photo with the zippered pouch next to the purse.

Purse I did recently. Thinking about making a fabric flower to attach to it.

Fabric Flowers - Not really sure what I'll do with them yet. Maybe hair bows???

Some dog and cat collars. I have to get a better selection made.

I've been gearing up for the 2010 St. James Farmers Market. The winter wasn't long enough as far as getting things made, however it was long enough with cold weather for me.

Two new Table Runners

2009-11-11T17:58:00.000-08:00

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Two table runners. I used the exact same pattern for these, but 2 totally different fabrics. I think I like the 2nd one the best........but I think they both turned out. I put both of these for sale in our booth, but thinking one is coming home for the coffee table unless I get to make another one.

Metal detecting

2009-11-11T17:50:00.000-08:00

Had a decent Veteran's day today. I closed the store and of course the other job is closed. Ed's dump truck broke down............again, so we did some scouting of areas to metal detect and maybe look for arrowheads.

First 2 pictures are of a tree we have tried to figure out if it's Indian or more natural. We still haven't decided. But it's pretty neat. There is another one like it in the vicinity, but it's a smaller oak. Then a mysterious pile of rocks just up from this tree...........nope, haven't figured them out. We found an area near the tree where the ground was indented and some rocks on top. So we hit it with the metal detector and started getting hits all around. After some digging couldn't find much. Then it hit near the edge of the rock area. We decided we were going to find it. It would hit, then it quit hitting, then it hit on some dirt we had pulled out. Long story short, the piece had been tossed around by us about 20 times until we realized it was this chunk of "dirt". It's lead and once we cleaned it, realized it's a off white.............old bullet maybe????

Found a 1984 penny in my mom's front yard......she didn't see me dig thankfully. Then found a nail and a chunk of foil.

We are trying to find out if we can my digital camera set up for a telescope recently given to us. It's a super nice telescope, so hoping we can post some cool pictures with it.

Auctions

2009-10-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

I've had people ask me how auctions work as they've never been to one. I'm going to try to explain how auctions work around this area. Now, each auctioneer has their different styles, so this can vary.

Pretty much any auction, you get a bidder's number.
Auctioneer will start chattering his song and you bid. Some auctioneers are harder to understand than others, don't try to listen to everything......listen for the dollar amount, they will normally say one now two, only this is done fast.......just listen for the number. Once you are around an auctioneer a little bit, you will figure out what he's saying easily.

Here's where things can vary. You have the standard way of auctioning an item, they hold up an item and you bid on it. You may get a bargain, you may have to pay a lot for it. This allllllllllll depends on how many people at the auction want it and how much they are willing to pay for it.

Sometimes they will say choice on this table. I personally don't like this. Say there are 20 items on the table. They could range in value from $2 to $100. Ok.......you like the item that is worth about $40. They will bid.......and whoever the high bidder is, picks the item they want. sometimes they are allowed to take a second item for that same amount if they want. Then some auctioneers will allow the next highest bidder to pick an item for that high bid. Then, they bid again, next highest bidder gets to pick what they want.

One thing you have to pay attention to. If a ringman holds up 3 items, pay attention, if they say 3 times the money and you bid $5, then you just bought all 3 items for $15.00. If they say all for one money, then you get it all for the $5.

It's really not at all hard. Go to an auction and watch, you pick it up fast.

Something I am always shocked by is people that are really struggling for money and they are setting up a new apartment. They don't mind buying used, so they go to a yard sale and pay $150 for a couch. That couch new may be $800 or over $1000. I've been to many auctions where I could buy a couch television, bed for less than $200. You never know, it's worth going to some. You can get every dish you need to set up a basic kitchen (not matching) for less than $10.

If you live in Rolla Missouri or around this area, lots of great auctions. We have Flett auction company http://www.flettauctioncompany.com Huffman auction, Sellers auction company Lortz and many more. Pick up an adtracker go to rollanet.com and you can normally find some good auctions to go to. You don't have to spend a dime, just go and have some fun.

Fall Tablerunner and more St. James Market

2009-08-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

We had a great day at farmer's market today. Got to visit with some other vendors that sell fresh corn and wow, it was delicious. I don't think fresh produce (from the garden to your belly) can be beat.
I finished a table runner around 10pm Thursday evening and was at market with it Friday morning around 6am. My mom kept hiding it as she wants it for herself!

I try to show off other vendor's things as we have some unique crafters. We of course have awesome farmer's that work hard bringing produce. I used to buy green beans all of the time at market, then figured I'd save money by planting my own. Have you ever picked several pounds of beans? This is back breaking work for someone in their 30s adn most of our produce people are in their 40s and up to their 70s. They pick this stuff by the bushel. Hard, hard workers that take a lot of pride in what they do.

Onto Rodney this week. Rodney is a very talented man that makes glass ornaments, suncatchers, not sure what you want to call them, but they are beautiful. Rodney likes to visit with people, so sometimes he doesn't get to do a lot of work. He will sit there and make these beautiful hummingbirds, pendants, right in front of you and will even explain it all and teach you. Another heart of gold here!

I will try to get some close up pictures of these glass birds and pendants he makes as they are breathtaking. When the sun hits them, the colors are fascinating.

Table Runner Three Bars pattern

2009-08-13T10:20:00.001-07:00

I did this table runner using mostly scraps and then some other fabrics.

Busy busy Drusy quartz

2009-08-10T05:33:00.000-07:00

We have been listing lots of our drusy quartz on ebay and it's been selling okay. We are doing flat rate box fulls. They are getting awesome deals on this drusy, so be sure to check out ebay id mo3fan and sometimes rocknutt459. Copy and past the following link for drusy quartz
http://myworld.ebay.com/mo3fan/

Some pictures of the things I've been making.

The pink/green flower quilt was sold at last week's market and is on it's way to Costa Rica. Most of the tote bags have sold and I really need to make some more. We have added wine gift bags, dish soap aprons and some "boxy" style zip close bags to the mix now as well. I also have 2 table runners waiting to be completed to add to everything.

We have some unique crafters at the St. James Farmer's Market as well. This gentle makes some neat things if you are a car buff or a Route 66 buff.

Candle sales have been up so running low on the selection. We will be adding more here very soon. Every little bit helps to pay the bills!

Before Pictures of Drusy Quartz

2009-06-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

Just some pictures of the drusy before it's pretty.

Here's the red clay that comes off of the drusy.

In the tub before they get the pressure washer. Some pieces need a good soak and scrubbing, but normally all they need is the pressure washer. The really nice pieces that have pieces that could be broke get just a soaking, light scrub and sprayed.

And here's the one piece after cleaning.

I'm not catching the sparkle I normally get with the sun.

Getting Ready for Rock Show

2009-06-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

We are getting ready for the Missouri Mines Rock Show coming up this weekend. We've got to rock hunt a little bit, but not near as much as we got to last year. We haven't found the nice cabinet pieces like we did last year, but still some nice pieces.

A friend's video

2009-06-07T13:31:00.001-07:00

Drusy Quartz

2009-05-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

Ok finally a few pictures for the drusy quartz people. This blog started out just for the rocks, but it's turned into just a general blog. We've been bummed as we just haven't had time to go get our drusy or clean/organize what we have here. It's rained 5 out of 7 days for the last month or so. Where we go to hunt this stuff, gets pretty nasty in that red clay when its rained a lot. We got 5 inches in one day...........

Start of a new 1971 Chevy

2009-05-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

I've owned a 1971 Chevy truck for yeeeears. It's had some engine issues...........in short, it needs another one.
Now that we have dad's 40 international running and all it needs is paint and interior work....it was time to get mine going.
I will try to be religous in getting pictures of the upcoming work.
Here is one evenings work already.

Ed showed up in the driveway with this in the bed of the truck. He even paid money for it. He was all excited.........I told him it's hard to get excited about something that looks like this.

He even paid money for it!
So, it took an entire night, Ed stayed up til around 11 pm, but he got it stripped down to the block. The block is now at an engine shop. We aren't using much of anything else from it. It's out of an old impala that caught fire last year around Rolla. It's starting to look a bit better........

400 small block. Ed wants to paint the block black, I say chevy orange. He is building the thing............but............orange. His goal is to get about 500 horsepower out of this thing. We are using the starter from it as it tested good. So I polished up the aluminum part and Ed painted parts of it black. I don't have pics of the starter, not really anything exciting.

Quilted Totebag John Deere STyle!

2009-05-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

I had been wanting to do something with John Deere material for awhile. I had planned on making a rag quilt, but really want to make some totebags for farmer's markets. They are fun to make.
I don't like copying patterns and then trying to sell things. So had to make one from my head. Pretty basic, common style, but as I make them, I start throwing in my own thing. With my love for quilting and need to keep practicing..........these are of course quilted!
Here's the proto type!
Here's the lining.........it's a simple John Deer fabric, but I like the fact it has a vintage style to it.

Farmers Market 2009

2009-05-11T20:14:00.000-07:00

St. James Farmer's Market. First Friday of May. I do these markets each Friday........well hope to. The first one was fair weather, it rained a bit when we first got there, then that was it. The second Friday, well, big storms with 70 mph winds, I stayed about an hour and saw what was coming and headed to the fire house.
I'll mostly be selling my soy candles and my sewing stuff there. I have tons of jewelry that I've made that I'd like to clear out and we take small pieces of drusy quartz there. My mom goes and sells her homemade butter and my eggs.

I'm doing a bunch of posts at the same time. We just don't have much time anymore. We work in the garden, we are working and I'm sewing. I currently have a pile of shirts that each need 5 patches sewn on them, some other officer uniforms to sew patches on and hem and I'm currently working on a large order of dog bandanas for a pet rescue reunion in the state of Washington. I've managed to squeeze in some a few other sewing projects though!

Looking east from our farmer's market area. We are right off of I44.
Some of our vendors. I didn't take a picture of my stand............

Another one of Ed's huge Table Rock Bass

2009-05-11T20:09:00.001-07:00

Ed was starting to wonder if we could ever catch big bass on Table Rock. Last year he caught one a bit smaller. Thankfully, our luck started changing after this lunker!

Just a scenic view in the Branson area.

Fishing tournament 2009

2009-05-11T20:04:00.000-07:00

Ed and I were in the Bass Fishing tournament put on by the Missouri State Water Patrol for our second year. We caught a lot of fish, but only 2 measured up for weigh in, but we let them ago and loaded the boat instead of weighing in. It was the first tournament I'd ever been in that I didn't win anything, no side prizes or anything! We had fun though. We spent 5 days in Branson and I think it rained all of them. We managed to get dad's grass mowed there so the neighbors wouldn't start yelling!

New Quilt

2009-05-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

I don't have a name for this one. It's made using vintage fabric, some newer fabric and some stuff that may be around 10 years old. Pretty neat huh?

The maroon shade is from my friend Barbara, she thinks she's had it around 10 years. The darker green is from her as well, I didn't ask, but probably from Kathy at Uniquely Yours. The lighter green I picked up at an estate sale. I know the person that sewed, did a lot of sewing in the late 60s and early 70s, so will assume the fabrics are from around that time.

Hope you enjoy. I'm up in the air whether this quilt will be hung in my house or go up for sale. It's a little small to be a lap quilt I think.

Batik Quilted table runner

2009-04-19T19:26:00.000-07:00

We will be rockhunting next weekend hopefully! The weather may finally settle down to where we can get into our favorite areas.

So, in the meantime, been quilting. Here's a table runner I finished today. It's all batiks and cotton batting. I freemotion quilted it which turned out much better than I thought it would. This entire project was done using the Brother se350.

Quilts

2009-04-06T19:48:00.000-07:00

I actually have some rock stuff to post, the weather hasn't cooperated at all to get a nice sunny day to take pictures. So will try to get some pics of some slabs that were sent to me and some pendants a friend made.

Onto quilts!

I've been practicing a lot here lately. I finally got to sit down and work on some quilt blocks, some small, some big, some horrid. Today my embroidery machine sadly took on some major issues, not sure if it will embroider anymore or not.

This is a rather large block called Grandma's favorite. I found the pattern on about .com It's ok, not sure I like my color choices, but it turned out better than I thought it would.

I think what I love about quilting is how you can take a bunch of squares of materials

and turn them into something like this.

I love this block, I've cut all the squares and rectangles to make some more. Not sure if I'll actually make a quilt or something else, but have to make more of these blocks!

I've also been playing with little blocks and then came up with the idea of making some pin cushions. I plan on taking these to farmer's market in St. James, they are loads of fun to make so hopefully will do well there.

Websites

2009-03-03T07:46:00.000-08:00

Shari, a wonderful friend of mine has been helping me a lot and doing a lot of work. She has started both of the store's websites and they are up and running. We still have lots more to add to the scrub site, but it will be done.

http://www.missouriscubadive.com/ for our information on scuba diving classes

http://www.scrubsncandles.com/ This one is actually working where the buy it nows are at, still have to work on the patch/badge page and need to add more scrubs! But Shari has worked on it for awhile, she's doing great and doesn't gripe much when I work her to death!

New Quilt I'm working on

2009-03-01T12:31:00.000-08:00

I am not good at naming quilts. At this point I'd have to name it Thank you Barbara. A wonderful neighbor of mine gave me some fabulous batik fabric and alot more, so I started working on this one yesterday. I still need to get some batting and haven't decided on the backing yet or how I will actually quilt this one, but the blocks are just about done!

I hadn't planned on incorporating embroidery into it. While I was going through the fabrics debating on what to do, I let the embroidery machine do a stitch out on a rose with some varigated thread Ed picked out for me. Then when I saw the rose I fell in love and decided it was going into this quilt!

Stethoscope Cover

2009-02-15T17:00:00.000-08:00

I actually had someone ask me how to make a stethoscope cover. I was thrilled to be able to help someone out. I know being new at sewing or anything, it's really hard to understand some instructions. Especially without pictures. Videos are even better. I didn't do a video as I had no where to set the camera right. It's even worse when the instructions have all these terms, I'd be trying to refer to another website or a book at terms...........frustrating. I'm going to try not to use terms.

This particular type of stethoscope cover is very forgiving. There are quiet a few patterns on the internet for free and good instructions. This is the one I went with for my customers, it's kind of several internet patterns, then I just did what I needed that I think works for the customers. I've sold over 100 at my store and so far (knock on wood) no complaints.

The following pictures were taken using a Brother SE350, it's a computerized machine, it's the first stethoscope cover I've made using it. I normally use my Kenmore, non computerized machine. Straight stitch and regular zigzag stitch are all you need.

Ok, materials - material 6.5 inches wide 30 to 34 inches long. I do mine 34. I I cut several pieces with these measurements that way they are laying there ready. Here's the material, a simple rectangle. Remember when using prints, that the stethoscope cover runs up and down. This particular frog pattern doesn't really matter.

I don't have a serger so I take each of the 6.5 inch ends and fold them down about 1/2 inch, then fold again 1/2 inch. This way the raw edge is well enclosed and won't be fraying. I do this to both of the thinner ends (6.5 inch ones)

Don't worry about everything being exact, have fun. You can iron this fold down and then you probably won't have to pin in place. Then I sew it in place using a straight stitch. I don't have an exact width, as I use the edge of my presser foot on these. It's about half way between 1/4 and 5/8. My needle is set to the left side, you do not have to do this. You want to sew it within a quarter inch of the folded edge (left folded edge in picture below). Do this to both ends.

Both ends should look like the above picture.

Now it's time to add the elastic. The first time I did this, it was a mess and didn't think I'd be able to do it. Now I hardly need to look. Some say you should zigzag stitch this, some say it doesn't matter. If I was using wider elastic, I'd definitely zigzag, but I'm using 1/4 inch wide elastic and just use a straight stitch. I basically line up the elastic next to my hem stitch I just did. The elastic goes on the bottom of the stethoscope cover, this prevents the cover from slipping down the head of the stethoscope.

I start the elastic approximately 1/4 inch from the edge of the material. When the long ends are put together, you don't need the elastic double up on top of each other. I hope this makes sense.

When I start sewing the elastic, I don't start pulling it yet. I anchor it down first, which do this like you start any stitch. Stitch a few stitches forward, then backward, then back forward. After that, I start pulling on the elastic. I pull the elastic and stitch at the same time. Do this very slow until you get used to guiding the material, elastic and pulling at the same time. This is where I had a heck of a time at first, I just kept doing it really slow, would stop a lot to be sure the elastic and material are where I wanted before they'd go under the presser foot. This is where I'm a bad teacher, I should have measurements, seam allowance, etc.
When I'm pulling it, the width of the elastic gets thinner, I don't pull it tight enough to where it's half it's original width. I pull it to where its pretty taught. I stop my stitching about 1/4 inch before I reach the edge of the material, then backstitch. Cut the elastic off after the stitches stop.

This is the elastic part after it's been sewn.
Now it's time to sew the side. Put right sides togther. Line it up nice and even and pin in place. I start sewing at the top (no elastic side). I sew with almost a 5/8 seam. I actually use a zigzag stitch here to help prevent the material from fraying. Then I sew a straight stitch along the inside edge of the zigzag stitch. Sew from the very top of the cover to the very bottom. Be sure to do your backstitching at the top and bottom.
First picture is the right sides together at the top hem of the cover.

If I have a lot of edge, I will take the pinking shears to neaten up the seam. You don't have to do this.

The top of the cover needs something to hold the top up so it doesn't slide down the stethoscope. I've always used velcro. I now have the tool to do snaps. To do the velcro, I used the half inch wide velcro, be sure to get the type that doesn't have the glue/sticky stuff as this stuff gums up a needle really quick. I cut the velcro about 3/4 inch long. The at the top of the cover, inside, sew a piece to each side to where it can velcro together to keep the cover from sliding down. I now am doing the snaps, basically because its a few minutes quicker.Thats about it. Feel free to ask me any questions or to help clarify anything. This is by far thefirst real tutorial I've ever done.

My perfect Model

2009-02-14T22:31:00.000-08:00

I've been making a few doggie bandanas. Zeus is the perfect model. He will stay perfectly still for a few seconds, then he gets tired of that.

Had to show off Zeus some!

For the Ladies Some Recipes

2009-02-13T16:32:00.000-08:00

This is what I made for dinner tonight. All of these recipes originated from allrecipes.com then I changed them to what I needed or had on hand:

Chicken Breasts - We eat this one a lot.

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
ground black pepper to taste
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup milk
1 cup dry bread crumbs
3 tablespoons butter, melted

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Season with ground black pepper to taste. Top each breast with a slice of cheese.
Mix together the soup and milk and pour mixture over chicken. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and drizzle with melted butter/margarine. Bake covered in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 20 minutes or until golden brown.

And here's a unique potato salad depending on what you are used to. I don't like cold potato salad, I like hot. Here's a German Potato Salad

6 potatoes, peeled
6 slices bacon
3/4 cup chopped onions
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup distilled white vinega

DIRECTIONS

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 30 minutes. Drain, cool and slice thin.
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside, reserving drippings.
Saute onions in bacon drippings until they are golden-brown.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, celery seed, and pepper. Add to the sauteed onions and cook and stir until bubbly, then remove from heat. Stir in water and vinegar, then return to the stove and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for one minute. Carefully stir bacon and sliced potatoes into the vinegar/water mixture, stirring gently until potatoes are heated through.

Ok, thats straight from all recipes. I was out of bacon. I did the onions in butter, then added a bit of olive oil. Then added bacon bits at the end.

We love green beans. I do them in chicken broth, or just some butter, salt & pepper. When I have fresh green beans, will just saute them. Here's one I tried tonight.
1 can or package frozen green beans, 1 medium onion, butter salt and pepper, shredded cheese.
Saute the onions in butter, add salt & pepper, then add the green beans. AFter all is heated through, sprinkle some cheddar on there!

You Tube

2009-02-08T06:46:00.000-08:00

I don't know how many of you use youtube.com For those that are learning to sew, learning to work with jewelry, rocks, it really doesn't matter........when you go to search for how to's on something, try you tube also.

As most of you know, I've gotten back into sewing. I've had some problems learning some basic things as when I read a how to, it would help, but maybe something I wasn't understanding. I finally started using youtube and there are excellent video instructions on so many things. I looked up a few things on rocks and same thing, lots of basic and advanced skill video instructions, just take a look at you tube.

Now when you're searching, don't give up if you don't find anything. I've found sometimes you have to put one basic term in - like embroidery stabilizers - tons of info, I had to type just that in and th en started finding all types of videos on stabilizing different materials, just had to sift. Sometimes I can type in exactly what I need - machine sewing pant hemming.

Don't forget about you tube for learning and it's free!

Blujay site updated

2009-02-05T10:59:00.001-08:00

I've been posting to blujay this past week. I put up some more of the Brushy Creek Mine specimens. There is a link on the right side of the blog to the blujay site. I'll get some pictures posted her as well.

We may or may not get to do some rockhunting this weekend. It's supposed to be warm, but the area we go to will be sloppy red clay, so might look for some easier access spots hopefully.

Rock Tumbling Hobby

2009-02-04T19:36:00.000-08:00

For the rockhounds out there, if you are wanting to learn, please visit this website : http://rocktumblinghobby.com
This is a group of folks that are terrific. I'm not sure how long I've been a member, but I can tell you, I've met some terrific people. They answer all questions for the newbie to the experienced. I've got to meet some in person at the rock show we do in June and they are just as great in person. I've been kind of absent from the group for awhile and have missed them.

They plan lots of trips throughout the year all through the U.S. I still have not been able to make it to any and hate it. It's due to lack of funding, but they always post lots of pics and stories when they get back.

We got our paperwork for the rock show in June Missouri Mines Rock Swap Park Hills, Mo June 12, 13 and 14. If anyone needs information on it, send us a comment here or look for me on Rock tumbling hobby under Chinook203.

Will be posting more pics after the weekend hopefully. It's supposed to be warm, so hopefully will get to rockhunt somewhere!

I've been making tons of stethoscope covers the last 2 days and am ready to go outdoors!

2009-02-04T08:20:00.000-08:00

I've just learned of a bill about gun ownership. I'm just now reading on it, but in short, it want's all guns to be recorded, for us gun owners to get certain licenses, fingerprinted and so on. Here is one link to some information on it:
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h45/show
I still haven't found an actual copy of the bill itself. A lot of paranoia has been talked about with the new President taking away guns. I have no idea on this, but I do know, being an honest citizen, we should be able to keep our guns.
Most people that are killed by guns are either 1. killed by a criminal that has a gun who presently isn't allowed to own a gun already or 2. accidental shooting. Gun control laws couldn't have saved either one of them. Most states are offering or have mandatory gun safety classes.
If I find out more on the this bill, I will post it.
I am a reserve deputy (full time 8 years) who loves to sew, loves the outdoors and love America. I believe we have some problems and can only hope and pray that President Obama can help this country. I hope he doesn't take away our guns, I just find it frightening if that would ever happen.

Sloooow time of year

2009-02-03T20:36:00.000-08:00

It's become a bit scarier this year and for the most part, very real.
The store has been slower which means less income and it's going to be a struggle to pay the bills this month. I can't wait for the terrific St. James Farmer's Market to start. I visited with some people in Rolla today and thats all we talked about was when the farmer's market will start. The people are great there, vendors and buyers. My crafts typically sell very well and I hardly ever go home with eggs that my chickens have given me. This year Ed has decided we will be selling veggies as well, he's been working on the garden already when the temperatures and ground have allowed. He's trying to make room for 100 tomato plants.

We sold out of stethoscope covers at the store, so made a bunch more tonight and got some patches sewn on shirts for some area deputies.

Great wishes to all and anyone who's struggling like us, keep your head up!

2009-01-21T18:41:00.000-08:00

One of my new projects, not necessarily an adventure......but once I get off my butt, will be posting some things on etsy. You will start seeing how adverse we really are! This is one of the first projects I've had time to do where I got to combine sewing and embroidery. My mom swiped this for herself about 2 minutes after the pictures were taken.

1200 watt wind turbine

2009-01-21T14:10:00.000-08:00

It works! After several trials and obtaining a snorkel lift, the wind turbine will charge a battery. No electricity from any outside source, just wind powered! This one is approximately 30 feet tall. Ed had to dress it up so he went with chrome tread plate for the motor cover and tail fin. It's kind of blinding when the sun is just right. He picked one of the colder days of the year to work on the thing too, but thats Ed!

2009-01-04T15:37:00.000-08:00

I have a video of it posted on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/user/Chinook203

Here is the windmill. This test wind turbine was put up on the property around 2am today. We are already reworking the blades some.

Windmills

2009-01-04T00:29:00.000-08:00

I've been lax on posting. And no new rock pictures, I really need to get busy with some pictures.
I've had some questions on what to do with rocks besides landscaping.
Visit www.rocktumblinghobby.com There is a ton of wonderful people there that can help with polishing, cabbing, and tons of other things. I'll help with what I know, but the majority, I learned from the people on that website.

In the last week, Ed has been working on a windmill. He's actually been planning this for a long time. The prototype was put up tonight........well, this morning at about 1am. It's short, but looks like a wind turbine. I'll get some pictures and hopefully a video of it spinning tomorrow.

2008-11-18T09:59:00.001-08:00

We've had some requests on buying our drusy. We eventually hope to have a website cataloging every piece that is available for sale. As for now, we sell on ebay through ebay ids: mo3fan and rocknutt459. We also have some listed on http://www.blujay.com/mo3fan

2008 Rolla Rural Fire Department Haunted House

2008-11-02T10:16:00.001-08:00

Kristine, Joe and Mom

Ed and Brittany

Dinner Room - This room was set up with stuffed "dummies", then there was some empty chairs where we had others dress as dummies. It was a lot of fun.

Spider purchased from a party store, then set up on a pneumatic prop that was motion activated.

A static prop in the spider room

Grim Reaper in the Cemetary

My first beloved tombstone

We are finally done with this year's Rolla Rural Fire Department Haunted House. Well........except for cleanup! We didn't do as many people as we expected, but we had tons of comments that we did even better than last year and lots of comments that it was the best. There was a total of 4 haunted houses in the Rolla area this year, I hope they all did well!

A Missouri Creek on the neigboring property

2008-08-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

I have just always loved this creek, to me it's very typical of some terrific Missouri Ozarks scenery.

An Awesome Cave

2008-08-18T06:26:00.001-07:00

This is a cave in Missouri that we checked out for some arrowheads. We of course had to explore the cave a bit. No one has been it for about 15 years that we know of, the area used to be used for a kids camp. The opening is now covered by fallen trees. You can see the years of mud flow into it, but a smaller cave with lots of character. Sad thing is, all the years of kids have broken off many of the stalagtites and such.

There is no trash in the cave thankfully except one soda can from the early 80s. There is some writing on the cave ceiling and walls, but not bad, I wiped a bit off, so luckily it hasn't been trashed.

2008-08-14T07:49:00.000-07:00

More stuff from the Brushy Creek Mine in the Viburnum Trend. I love the tiny calcite crystals on this piece.

2008-08-14T07:25:00.001-07:00

We haven't posted in awhile, lots of new stuff to add and we've been getting lucky where a good friend has been giving us some great specimens from the Brushy Creek Mine out of the Viburnum trend.

So will post some of those! And some are available for sale as I have quite a bit now, so just drop us a line.

This is a piece from the Brushy Creek Mine out of the Viburnum Trend. It has pyrite and dolomite. It's a gorgeous piece.

Smaller piece of the same stuff.

Here's a standard piece of straight galena. I don't have a scale here, but this little cube is close to a pound if not over it.

This is some terrific calcite crystals with pyrite, dolomite, galena and I believe some sphalerite.

Hope you enjoy. Will get some more posted here in a bit.

Back from Show

2008-06-16T12:25:00.000-07:00

I will be posting pictures shortly, but we just got back from our very first rock show as a vendor. We had a blast! We sold a ton of our drusy and made a lot of new friends. The vendors were just really great people.
I will start working on some pictures to post here soon.

Sandy

Botryoidal drusy and more

2008-05-27T12:29:00.001-07:00

This is hematite after pyrite on the drusy in the photo above.

The sun isn't being very cooperative today, so took a few pictures anyways. These pieces have tons of sparkle, hopefully the sun will get more cooperative in the days to come and get some better pictures!

More finds from May 25, 2008.

2008-05-27T10:32:00.000-07:00

Sun popped out for a few minutes today. This is a piece that was found May 25, 2008. I'll be adding some more pics as I take them today as these are some of our nicest finds. Some great botryoidal pieces that are practically flawless. This piece is especially nice as it's so large.

2008-05-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

Just some more pictures so I can get this blog kind of started out. I've never done a blog, but have had lots of people asking about pictures and such. The truck load is a load that was taken to a rockshop. The owner has helped us out tremendously with learning about our drusy and he's definitely been a "contributor" of our rock trips. The pallet is drusy we've cleaned, some we keep, some is sold :(

2008-05-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

Chistmas Day of 2007 we went rockhunting. Most of our family had celebrated the day before and it was a very warm day for Missouri. So we grabbed a friend and went rockhunting. These are a few of the smaller pieces we found and then I practiced with the digital camera and a photo tent.

2008-05-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

The above 2 pieces were found in 2007. The above right picture is an awesome piece that we actuallly still have, but it's because I've gone back and forth on whether to sell it. I'm trying to no be greedy, so it finally made it's way into a booth I have at an antique mall. It was found as is and made the perfect shelf display specimen.

I'm still learning how to use this blog sight, so be patient. The piece pictured below was found in 2007, one of our first pieces of drusy with great calcite crystals growing on it. This piece helped fund our trip to New Mexico and Arizona in 07. This was actually found inside a hole in the side of a blasted area where limestone was being used.