The Old Folks Home

[CapricornFarm]

I enjoy quilting by hand anyway. I do have multiple sewing machines.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

oh and be careful, word on the street is it's very flammable. Watch it closely while you heat it (ie don't walk away).

I've never had an issue with it, but I'm careful.

 

[CapricornFarm]

oh and be careful, word on the street is it's very flammable. Watch it closely while you heat it (ie don't walk away).

I've never had an issue with it, but I'm careful.

Some folks treat their thread with beeswax while quilting to make it slip through the fabric better and tangle less.

 

[microchick]

Morning all you wonderful old folks and not so old folks out there.

Got to sleep around 3:30 this morning. No excuse really except that I still felt a little on the crappy side and just couldn't get comfortable. DH was up off and on before then also so we just slept in this morning and got up about 10. I do feel better. Just a shadow of the cranky stomach and fatigue this morning. Set last night and read a good article about Methotrexate and side effects and such. So I have a better grasp of what it can do and what I need to avoid while taking it.

Otherwise it's a beautiful day here today. Hot and hotter. Heat advisory this afternoon so nothing going outside. Cooler later on in the week.

SGC, if that new sewing machine makes you smile then you should get it for yourself. There are many things That I buy simply because they make me smile. Life is too short not to indulge yourself and trust me, once you are retired you will look back and say 'why didn't I buy that when I had an income from a job?' We tend to judiciously avoid spending our savings and living frugally now that we are retired. That thought crosses our mind often.

 

[chickadoodles]

I'm pretty low-tech and cheap but it works.
I found some old pots at the town dump in the swap shed. You do not want to use pots that you will use for food, ever. Or utensils.
I made a double boiler out of the 2 old pots. Note that you can also do this in boiling water in just one pot and then let it all cool, and crack it out, but then I feel like I have to double boil it again to get it into a usable brick because this method makes it really thin.
Anyway, once it is all melted, I pour it into the mold, but you should strain it. While the old honey will sink to the bottom and the wax will float on top, the dead bees and stuff also get caught up in it, and you need to strain it to get a pretty brick. I use cheesecloth most of the time, it works the best, but if I don't have any, I will use pantyhose (probably about the only thing I've used pantyhose for in the last 25 years).
Once it's strained, cool it. I shove it in the fridge. Crack the wax out, the bottom will still be liquid, that's the old honey that didn't completely drain. It doesn't take long to harden.
You can save the crap you drained, I think it's called sluggum and it can be used as firestarter.
After a few years you may have multiple bricks, and you can just melt and pour them into one "mold." I tend to use plastic take out containers. Once cooled they just crack right out.
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Yes, but I'm very fiscally responsible and this is so anti-me. I spent almost this much on my car 9 years ago. That just seems absurd to me.

Thank you so much Scg for sharing how you do it and the pics really help!
I will probably go to the dollar store to get a couple of pots to use.
This will likely be a one time deal. We still have not seen where the bees went. lol
But I am happy they moved to a better location and that they are still here.

 

[chickadoodles]

oh and be careful, word on the street is it's very flammable. Watch it closely while you heat it (ie don't walk away).

I've never had an issue with it, but I'm careful.

Thanks. I did not know it could catch fire in a pot.

 

[CapricornFarm]

That is why you use the double broiler set up.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Afternoon still getting better beating the beast like micro I did not sleep last night but went till 10 then this morning... stronger daily

 

[drumstick diva]

good to hear that Penny.

 

[1muttsfan]

Local charity resale shops often have pots like that for peanuts.

I believe you can also find machines like that for considerable discounts either returned as trade-ins or for sale privately. My neighbor is a big quilter, has a quilting shop, got one for over 50% off its new price, and it was an excellent condition.