My Potter's Bench and Life on the Farm

There have been other projects that I have been working on besides quilting and farming.

A friend of mine had talked me into joining Pinterest and I have been finding so many neat ideas and I had found potting bench  from Toni from Signature Gardens.

I fell in love with her potting bench and she was generous enough to even have an online tutorial.

I said something to Dean about it and he told me to go out to the barn because there are all kinds of old lumber that should be used up.

So I went on a treasure hunt out in the barn and to my surprise there were plenty of old barn siding and old cedar posts to do the project.

The only items I bought were two shelf brackets and stain.

I made it myself!

 

 Now before you even think about doing a project like this, please be familiar with all the safety rules of using table saws.  They can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.

 Also remember to wear eye and hearing protection!

The weather has been warm and I even had a chance to enjoy the birds!

There have been a lot of long hours put into planting season the last two weeks in Northwest Ohio.

We've had a few breakdowns, but nothing major.

Dean is fixing a

hydraulic hose in the pictures below.

 It just had to happen in the last field that he was planting on the farm  :)

It only slowed things down for about 45 minutes.  The old hose had seen better days!

I can't believe all the planning and paperwork that goes into farming.

The only way I can explain it to a non-farm person is it's a lot like planning a wedding.  

When the day comes, you better have all the details planned out or there will be opportunities missed.

Happy Quilting!

Kay Lynne

Humming Bird Quilt Challenge Part 2

Here is the finished project!

I quilted words into the border saying:

Life on the other side will always be veiled in mystery.

I cut my letters on my Cricut paper cutter using freezer paper with the shiny side down.

I ironed my letters on my quilt top and found out that some of the letters were not sticking very well so I used water solvable thread and stitched them down.

After layering my quilt top together I quilted around my letters and eventually disposed of the paper.

I wanted people to see the lettering and I wasn't happy with the results so I use the traponto technique using white yarn and needle filling in each letter.

 I still wasn't happy because the lettering was not showing up so at my son's suggestion-- I quilted around the letters using white thread.

This quilt project was really a challenge for me and I enjoyed every minute of  it :)

It is a busy time on the farm.

Have you ever heard of a gofer?

I "go for" parts, fertilizer, anhydrous,  lunch, and whatever my farmer needs.

 

We've had a good farming week even though we've had a break down with our other tractor (not pictured).  Our big tractor (my tractor) has double wheels put on it in the spring so there is traction to work the ground.  Well the hub on the tractor was worn down and the extra wheel would rotate when it should be giving the tractor traction.

It was down for only a day and Dean quickly fixed the wheel after spending $300 to fix it.

We were very thankful that it was only $300.  Machinery repairs can be really expensive and they only breakdown when you use them.

I had a pleasant surprise!  

My younger son, Ron, drove tractor this week since he finished his college semester.

It was nice to spend time with family even though we were all working.

 

Happy Quilting, Planting Season, and

Mother's Day!

Kay Lynne

Veiled In Mystery Quilt Challenge

I have given you a few sneak peeks of my quilt challenge.

Now that my quilt is hanging at the Sauder's Quilt Show, it's not a secret anymore.

My design wall was used a lot this winter.

The theme of the challenge was "veiled in mystery".

I thought of all the things that seem to be veiled in mystery to me.

Heaven, humming birds, and stars came to mind, which all lead to our Creator.

I have been fascinated by the humming birds that visit our feeder all summer long and the stars.

So my idea evolved into thread painting this copyrighted picture from Vic Murayama.

He had given me permission to thread paint artist renditions of his photos.

I used water several layers soluble stabilizer and bridal veil tulle.

I dissolved the stabilizer and cut away the tulle after I was finished.
My little friend was sewed on with invisible thread and the bottom feather was purposely left loose.

 
I just love how my little humming bird came out.
Below are my paper pieced stars.

I promise I will post a picture of my finished project later.

This was a fun project!

Thanks Mom for talking me into entering into the challenge!

Thanks to my quilting friends and my sister for giving me some ideas to try.

I learned some new techniques, which I will share in my next post.

This weekend I will be enjoying the Sauder's Quilt Show with my Mom.

Congratulations to all the winners at the quilt show :)

Happy Quilting!

Kay Lynne