2015 October

Falling For Floorcloths...
10/27/2015

Summer is definitely my favorite season, but the colors of Fall just make me smile. When Jeff and I moved into the house we're now in, we spent a lot of time picking out and planting trees that we knew would bring lots of bright colors in the Fall.


I had to stop on my way home and pay attention to the beauty at the end of my driveway. LOVE the Red and I think that this is one of the most bright and vibrant years for the trees on the farm. Now if it would just stay warm with the change in seasons!!

We're still making changes around the store and fifteen years of stuff stuffed and stacked in my office is really overwhelming.


I'm moving the desk out to a new business that we're starting in Georgetown and bringing a much smaller one in for this office. 

I really think I need to do a little cleaning first.... what do you think??

I just love our Friday painting classes with Mary Sasse. A true and really good teacher goes with the flow when they get a student like me. I have a tendency to do as I wish and jump around on different projects. I love the insightful guidance that Mary gives as I play.


This is just the continuation of the floor cloth I started last week. I have the first coat of varnish on it now and am thrilled with the results! This fabric adds a little texture and a fun design element to the finished piece.

If you're interested in using some of this fabric for a painted floor cloth or other project, just let us know. It is 54" wide and is only $8.00 per yard. Just ask for Leslie's 'special' roll.

Start now getting your home-made gifts ready for Christmas.

Here's one of the newest chairs I'm putting together for my Funky Fibers furniture line. Judy came in just in time to give me a much needed opinion on this project. Sometimes you just need another point of view. Working with someone else helps to give you a different perspective on the project.


The best part of creating is that you can make it up as you go along... And dreaming up new ideas for fun furniture is one of my favorite things to do!

I'm still working on items for the Open House. Here's a little more of the jewelry that I am playing with. I think I'm running out of time! November 7th is coming awfully fast!!

We'll be open Friday & Saturday, November 6 & 7 from 10am-5pm. Drop by to see all the new furniture on display!

Don't forget this is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Get your mammograms. It saved my life....Early detection was the key!! Here's thinking good thoughts for all that are fighting this awful disease. You know who you are and I am thinking of you!

2 Comments

Jayn Lando - I LOVE the floor cloth! Maybe a class waiting to happen? Maybe something for Brenda and me to do ...

Brenda Porter - This looks fabulous to me. I would have to do a smaller version because you know how slow I am! Love go know more about it.



Fun Furniture & Fun Friends
10/20/2015

Wow! A day at the Furniture Market does put you on "Overload Mode". So many choices of fun things to buy when all I really went for was a fact finding mission.

I'm trying to figure out how to market some of my fun furniture and thought I might ask a lot of questions and get a few answers. I was not disappointed. The problem now is to sort through all the information I gathered and figure out what direction I want to go.

​

  Retail?      Wholesale?      Mass Production?
One-of-a-Kind?    Overseas?    Made in USA?
   Set up at Market?      Internet?       Oh my! 

                            Help Me!!!

I was a little slap happy by the end of the day and just couldn't resist the urge to stop by the side of the road and have my picture taken on one of these big oversized adirondack chairs. 

I sent Jeff a text with this picture and his only comment to me was, "Nice... just don't bring them home!"

I was cleaning the Studio and realized that I still had a fabric soaking in the soda ash buckets. So I decided to go ahead and do another batch of ice dying.


This was done on an old dated piece of fabric that had a slight gray floral to the design. It definitely has color now! And we do like color. This piece came out very intense. I think it will be fun to use as pieces for patchwork quilting.

Another experiment was started on Friday morning in Mary Sasse's Painting class. I bought (sight unseen) a roll of fabric that was supposed to be a heavy weight canvas. I'm not sure what it is, but it's not canvas as I know canvas.

So.. what to do with a HUGE bolt that is about 24 - 30 inches wide and holding over 100 plus pounds of fabric? Paint on it of course! This is the first layer... not sure if it will be for the wall or for a floor cloth. We'll have to wait and see what comes of it!

It's here! It's here! 

My new 'home' sewing machine I've had for 25 - 30 years decided to bite the bullet. I had been using the old machine at home and was lost when it finally quit.

I decided to order the same brand we have in the Studio to have at home and it's finally arrived. I'm so excited! Thanks Nancy Jo... I appreciate the help. 

No excuse now not to continue working on Jason and Lydia's curtains!

The Grand Studio is ready for entertaining! We kicked off our first rental group this past Saturday and had a wonderful time.


​It was fun to watch 20 different women with 20 different projects that they were all trying to finish. They spent the day sewing and eating and sewing and eating some more.

Needless to say there was a lot of talk and laughter in-between! 

Thanks Nimble Thimbles for a great day!! You were all a lot of fun and hope to see you again soon.

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A Little Bit of This and a Whole Lot of That...

10/13/2015

Demolition continues! But I will tell you this...My mind may be as young as it used to be but my body definitely is not. It's a lot harder to crawl around in tight spots than it used to be! Where has the time gone?!

We spent the beginning of last week getting the front Studio ready for Mitten Mania this week and for our first rental group that is coming to play this Saturday.

This past weekend we hosted Linda Misa from Australia. Oh! We learned so much and she was such a patient teacher! We got our hands into the paints and used the jelly plate printing on silk and cottons.

I barely made the photo, but we thought it would be fun to take a selfie and capture the memory of the moment.

What a beautiful piece of fabric you can create on taffeta silk! I have always preferred Dupioni silk with its fun textures but this has me sold on taffeta for some applications. I can see this process being used to make my own fabrics for tote bags and pillows.

I think you can see a little piece of the fabrics on the body of the doll (below) as well as those hanging on the tree in front of the store.


We also worked on shaping and molding heads using Paper Clay. For those of you who have not tried this product, I think you would like it for a whole variety of applications. 

I am going to play with it this week as an embellishment for a purse that I am making. We have Paper Clay for sale in the STUDIO if you want to give it a try.

My 'Shelby' doll...

Now to finish her wings with free motion embroidery, and then I can call her complete. Thanks Linda, Nancy Jo and Velda for a great, creative couple of days.




I'm off to work on the Open House. Hold the dates and come visit us November 6th and 7th. There will be lots of specials on Internet Fabrics and lots of new Funky Fibers products. Hope to see you then!

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Mixed Up Media Projects...

10/6/2015

This week seemed to start slow, and I even thought I might have a little time to play 'Words with Friends' in the evening.. Not so much!

Our Christmas Open House is scheduled for November 6th and 7th, so ​I've been working hard at designing some new items to be available for sale and having a lot of fun with it.

What do you think about the new line of jewelry? You saw some of the earrings last week.

These bright necklaces are just a few of the new items I'm playing with. Fun and funky... just how I like them. These will be available in a multitude of colors and designs.

Once again, no two will be alike, and first come first serve.. so come visit us during Open House!!

Jeff and I are enjoying working with my son and daughter in law on their new house. The colors that Lydia picked are beautiful and I'm making the all their drapes and shower curtains. 

This pretty shower curtain is in the hall bathroom. 

Love the fabric and colors. We had to hang it to see how it looked even if all the painting is not quite done. 

We'll just put painting that room on the 'to do list'.

This shower curtain is in the master bath and they were fortunate enough that the bathroom tile matches the fabric they were wanting to use for the shower curtain.

I have the bedroom drapes about half done and hope to hang them by the end of the week. We will also be working on a padded headboard, dust skirt and two chairs. I better get busy!!

The painting at my house is coming along and I'm really pleased with the Gray color and White trim. We have had a yellow-tone Beige on our walls for 10 years, and to see these new colors; it feels so clean and fresh when we walk into the room.

I've removed everything from the book cases and am really enjoying the uncluttered look. Unfortunately everything that came out of the great room and kitchen are now sitting in the middle of the spare bedroom floors.

So, I'm now trying to figure out what to do with all the stuff that I don't want. Can you believe how easy it is to collect stuff and let it go to clutter?

I really didn't think I was going to be doing so much painting this week. Here is a sneak peak of the Front Studio. Delphia and I are trying to get it painted and finished now that we finally have all the surplus fabrics out of the room.

This is just one of the rooms that we'll be renting out to groups that want to have their own gathering. Our first one is scheduled in a little over a week and we're well on our way to having the room ready..

Are you looking for a fun get together with friends for the holidays? How about spending the day playing in the Studio, either with your own projects or let us design one for you. Call us for details.

We hope to see you at the Mitten Mania on Wednesday October 14th from 10am - 4pm. Come make a difference and help us help others!!

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