Creating the stencils......

Today I'm going to work on creating the stencils I will need.   My original idea was to print on heavy cardstock.   This isn't going to happen, as this printer is solely a paper feed with no manual feed from the back.   So...

My backup plan is now to simply print out a few templates, cut out my elements and use the remaining paper for a stencil.  I can simply use a marker when drawing out the pattern.  I'll then cut out the elements and apply to the glass.  This is actually easier and avoids having to cut into heavy stock, then tracing out and recutting.  

The smaller ones are pretty hard to cut out!  It's a good thing I'm not in any rush. 

Ok, now applying the marker to the stencil.....

I've now cut them out and applied them to scrap glass I got for free.  Best to test things out before going whole hog on this. I like using old catalogs and such for protecting surfaces - you can just throw out a page or two once done, depending on what you're doing.

I got this bottle at A.C. Moore - Hobby Lobby had a kit, which had a teeny bottle in it and a lot of stencils, which I didn't need.   I got this for less than half price with a coupon!  I hope it will last.  The list of precautions are large.  Don't inhale, don't get on skin, etc.   It also says to stir it - I'm going to shake the bejesus out of it instead.  It should not be clumpy or crystallized anywhere.  

Be careful when opening!  This bottle had some caked etching cream on the lid and edges, which fell off when I opened it.  Open it over a garbage bag and dispose of when you are done.  

So, now I've applied.  Now I'm going to wait.  The instructions say to apply a thick layer, but for my purposes, a small layer will do at this point.  I just want to see how it works.  Their website says to wait 60 seconds.  This is because they are concerned that the cream will creep under the stencil.  I don't have this worry, as this sticker is going to stay on.  I'm only going to use it once, then peel it off.  

Ok, now for the results.  I did notice that when I held the test up to the light, that I could see that the area was unevenly applied.  A softer brush might give a better application.  I wanted to use a stiffer brush to make sure I got into small areas, but that may be more of an issue when you are stenciling a design on.  Here, I'm sort of reversing the concept.   All you have to do with this is rinse under warm running water. 

Hey, it worked!   I did have some sticker reside which I can clean off, but a thick layer is advised.  Not sure if a sponge brush will be better.  I don't want air bubbles on it.  But it's a start!  

Tomorrow, I'm going to try tracing out the whole design, then peel the contact paper and apply directly to the glass.  I'll then cut the small designs, then pull off the background. I can test a new brush as well with this. 

Etching Glass with Stencils

My husband and I have lived in our house here in South Central PA for almost 13 years now.  Due to his health (and for other reasons), we've tried in the past to sell our house and relocate back to the Chicago area.  I lived there all of my life, and Jim lived there most of his, with a short stint in Maine.  Our first attempt to sell started in July of 2009, and stopped in April of 2016.  Yes, really!    There are a few things that I think will help with our sale, and the first I will show is how I am going to fix the panes in our outdoor lanterns. 

When we bought the house, the lanterns had plastic panes in them.  They were discolored yellow, and looked pretty bad.  We went to Ace Hardware and bought two new plastic fluorescent light panels - the kind you see on overhead fluorescent lights.  Jim cut them up and we replaced them.  They are now looking just as bad as the original ones, and since he wanted to use double-stick tape, they are now flopping everywhere.  I still have the hardware we used to keep the original panels in straight, so I am going to attempt to do this "right" for once and for all. 

Some time back, I had seen a book of Victorian Stencils published by Dover Publications in our library.  I checked it out, and reviewed the patterns inside for suitability.  This is the one that I think will work best:

Pretty Stencil!

 I chose this design because I like it, and because I think it will readily resize to the dimensions I need.  The darker areas will be clear, and the white areas will be the etched area.  

I use Irfanview to handle pictures and other patterns to resize and adjust.  It's a great program and it's free! I managed to get the size I need for my smaller lanterns with little fuss.   So, all I need is one print  of this  (and one as a layout template) and I am ready to go!

Originally, the way I had thought I would handle this was to print this onto contact paper.  Reviews of doing this successfully online showed that the ink may run.  Ruining my printer is also an issue, so instead I will print onto cardstock and cut out the dark areas, then trace those onto contact paper and cut them out. 

Here's a picture of the original panes in the lantern.  A plus is that the yellowed area shows the dimensions required!  

Nasty Old Panes!

   And see how well this fits!  Just inside the yellowed part!

Pretty!

More on this tomorrow.....I have to finish my apple butter and get myself some lunch before I go to work tonight.  I have a total of 9 small panes and 10 large ones to make.  I might make extra just in case for future use. 

The Kosek's and their Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Summer

It has been a pretty bad summer for us this year - we've had a long string of bad luck.   My husband had two cataract surgeries that went off without a hitch - almost.   The Subaru we own had to be brought around to the carport at the surgical center to be ready when Jim was able to go home after the surgery.   When we tried to start it again - it would not.  We had to tow it to our mechanic ($175 - but paid for by roadside assistance - Thank You - State Farm!), who charged us $123 for a bad wire (labor and parts).   Two weeks later we got a nail in one tire - drove it to the gas station about a half mile away.  I took out the spare, but I couldn't get the tire off because there was no wrench in the storage area.  I then called the tow company to come get the flat tire off.   I had already jacked up the car, so all it took was his power wrench and a fill of the spare to get me to work (1 hour late).    Since the tires were pretty old, we had to get a new pair because we have AWD - to buy just one would cause problems.  $205.00

The computer monitor went out about two weeks later - that was a $100 cost. 

The worst occurred on August 1st.  I had to call 911 because Jim couldn't walk - he was too weak.  He was admitted to the ER, then to the CCU for Septic shock and renal failure.  His kidneys were functioning at about 20% when he came in.  They suspected some sort of infection, so he was put on antibiotics.  That improved over the next several days, but, because of whatever circumstance, he developed DVT (deep vein thrombosis) in his right leg.  He was released to home care, where I stayed with him for about a week - and was unable to work.

While Jim was in the hospital, he was put on IV fluids.  His body was retaining a lot of it so his fingers would swell.  I had picked up his wedding ring from the house, and would have put it on his finger except for that fact of the swelling.  I had been able to work a bit while he was in the hospital, and I brought his ring to work with me.   I had misplaced it - and I tore up the trash in my work area, convinced that I'd lost it there.   I was pretty upset, but I reasoned it out by telling myself I'd rather have lost the wedding ring than the husband that wore it.  A day later, my coworker found it in the women's restroom.   Three days later Jim was released from the hospital.

During his hospitalization - I had called my best friend Sandy (I've known her about 45 years).   I told her about all this stuff.  She kept me on track, mentally during this time.  She also convinced me to call my brother, who I'd been estranged from for about 10 years.   We've since reconnected, along with other cousins on Facebook.   My husband received a telephone call from his former boss, who he hadn't talked to in about 10 years as well. 

So, it's been a time of loss, but more importantly, a time of restoration.

Happy Father's Day - I miss you!!!!

Today is Father's Day - I miss trying to find something to buy for my Dad.  I remember the aftershave, ties, wallets and whatnot I'd come up with.   Dad has been gone for 12 Father's Days now - sometimes I just sit and think and the tears come to my eyes.  I lost my mother, grandmother (Granny of quilt fame), one uncle, my father and one aunt in the course of about two years (1998-2000).

My dad was born in 1931, in Odd, WV.  He did not finish high school, but joined the army in 1947.  He served at Fort Knox in Company D, 7th Tank Battalion, 3rd Armored Division.

He left the Army in about 1951, I believe, and moved to Chicago.  His brothers and sisters all followed.   He married my mom on April 13, 1957.  He worked for Teletype Corporation in Skokie for over 35 years.  Mom died in 1998 - they were married 41 years.  He died December 4, 1999.

Here's a picture he took in one of those photo booths.  I think it was the early '70's.  Maybe for his FOID card? Or for his Teletype ID.

Photo of Toxey Wallace Bolen taken in the late 1930's or early 1940's. The tooth that is missing was kicked out by a mule, rather than being a photo taken when the primary teeth of childhood is being lost. Inscription on back says "Toxey Wallace Bolen - Odd, WV". Possibly a school picture? 

 

The last one is him at Fort Knox.  Note the missing tooth????




Sure, my dad had his faults.  No one is perfect.  But he was there for us kids, and treated the neighborhood kids like his own.  At his funeral, my next door neighbor, Brian and his children cried like I have never seen   anyone cry at a funeral.   They really loved him.  Brian (next door neighbor) reminded me that it was my dad who took him to the ER when he got a bad cut and needed stitches.  Brian's dad was not in any condition to drive.  I remember when he'd go to Sonny's drive-in and buy ALL the kids a cone.  This was the 60's though, and people were true neighbors and watched out for each other.


I miss you.



I Love You, Dad!

I am now a collector of clothespin dolls.....

Unbeknownst to me, I am now a collector of said dolls.  I found the little cutie on the right at Williams' Grove.  Cowboy Earl's "Everything's a Quarter - Quarter Time".  That's what he shouts as the market gets to be about 10:30-11:00 or so.   I've found some pretty neat things in his box lots that were overlooked.

The other one on the left is a little more crudely made.  I've had her in my curio cabinet for a couple of years, and I can't tell you where I found her.  Her face is barely visible, and her hair is glued all the way through so it doesn't fray.   She carries a basket of flowers.  Her mob cap is not hemmed, but she is on a stand made of a section of branch about 2" across and about 1/4" thick.

The redhead on the right has long hair in the back, although it looks a bit unbrushed.   She may have had a purse or something, as there is a yellow felt circle on her right wrist.  She wears pearls like Barbara Bush.   I love her double pink calico dres, and her hat is very smart.

They both have knickers.  The one on the left has a petticoat, the gal on the right has none.  Very daring!


I'm hooked.  I'm looking for more!

What I found at William's Grove Flea Market

Since the beginning of May, my husband and I have gone to William's Grove Flea Market, which is just off Rt 74 north of Dillsburg, PA.  (Dillsburg is home of the pickle drop on New Year's Eve...)

The  Flea Market is operated by the William's Grove Historic Steam Engine Association.   They purchased an abandoned Amusement Park next to the William's Grove Speedway.  For the past 5 years, they've developed quite a following.  The Farmer's Market (Flea Market) is operated year round, rain or shine.   For more information - check out their website: http://www.wghsea.org/  

We've been going there rather steadily since it started operation. In years past, Jim and I have found tons of items here.   I follow the box lot vendors.  Some of them know what they have, and are a bit of a pain about it.  One fellow I visited last week had some Shirley Temple paper dolls for sale.  I asked the price - he said $5.  I countered with $4.  He then took the dolls and put them in his truck, without saying another word.  Granted, it was a really hot day here, but it's generally accepted that there will be a bit of haggling.  I rarely buy from him anyway - he tends to value his stuff more highly than others, even though he's selling the stuff.

Anyhow, here's what I've picked up in the last several weeks:

This is a Detach-A-Spool tatting shuttle with some tatting thread.  I try and get unusual shade combinations.  Generally, the solid colors are still easily found, although I do get unusual colors when they're offered.

This poor Raggedy Ann doll just wanted me to take her home.  She's on one of my shelves.  I'm looking to make another pinafore for her.

 This sewing needle case is in pristine condition.  There's only a few missing.  Who would have kept the original wrapper it came in?  I estimate it's from the 1950's.  All the women are wearing dresses.

I try and pick up sewing supplies here.  Beats going to Walmart and spending three times the cost.  For these, I spent about a dollar.

When I see tatted edging, I pick it up if it's not priced too high.  This I got for a quarter.  I can sell it on eBay for a bit more than that.   I estimate about two or three yards for this.   (P.S - I tat, and this is a simple edging I can duplicate in an evening if I wanted.)   People buy this for crazy quilts.

This doll quilt is very long and rather narrow.  It's all polyester, and I imagine some Barbie had very nice naps in under it.   I like it for the artistic, quirkiness of it.

I pick up rick-rack a lot.  These I'm going to use to make a type of yo-yo.  More on this later!!!

As you can see, I tend towards the sewing smalls.  Why not??

Shaking things up a bit

I realized as I finished my last entry that the reason I was  becoming impatient with the piecing of the quilt top was that I was approaching it too much as an assembly line.   When I began making more blocks for the top, I did all the centers, first the red center, then the green square, then I added the calico.  Once I got to the outer rings, I just did all the green, then yellow then white, then the blue.  Couldn't help but get a bit boring!

I realized that Granny pretty much had done one block at a time.  She had strips made of all the colors she had used, and added them as she went.  Using a machine made that a bit easier.  Me, I'm just a beginner, and since I wanted to make sure I was doing them all the same, I did each block by color.  I now realize that that's the BORING way to quilt.  Never again if I can help it.

So, here's the finished product....

Now, adding the next block alongside.....

I  really DO like this...the red calico as sashing wouldn't add enough color, IMHO, so I'm keeping it the way it was originally intended as my grandmother designed it.   The final red calico strip is 1 7/8".  That's enough to make a slightly larger seam and to allow for adjustment when the blocks are sandwiched with the quilt and backing.  As I mentioned before,  I'm going to do the lap quilt type of thing.   I have several types of hoops and frames, and will try a few different things.   I do know I will machine stitch the blocks together.  That's one concession I have to make.