2015 January

Rags to Rugs...
1/31/2015

Check out the very large potholder... AKA the new rug! 

I have taken artistic license and have changed the original plan. Instead of being a rug for the great room we are moving it into the bedroom. Two small rugs instead of one large one.



So here are the statistics on my rug...

1. Each rug which is approximately 4'x 5.5' took about 20 yards of T-shirt tubing 

2. I have used about $70 - $100 worth of ice in dyeing all the loopers for the weaving and who knows how much dye and soda ash!! - Jeff has decided an ice machine would be a great addition for the STUDIO! No argument here...

3. A 27" loom space creates about a 21" block.

4. It is great fun!!




I had a question from a friend who wanted a little more info on the fabric rugs that I used in the kitchen. (see last week's blog) I started with a flexible, good quality remnant of linoleum the finished size of my rug. You are only limited in size of the rug based on the width of your fabric. Leave  2" extra fabric around the edge of the rug beyond the linoleum. 

I applied Mod Podge to the right side of the linoleum. I smoothed my fabric on the Mod Podge,  pressed the fabric smooth and let this dry. I then applied 5 coats of water based polyurethane (non yellowing), letting it dry between each coat.  Then I  turned the  edge of the rug to the back and applied Mod Podge to glue it down. I let this dry and then neatly applied white duct tape. I then applied non stick rug tape over the duct tape... turn over and enjoy!!

Repurposing is a good thing. I  had two large mismatched ginger jars that I was going to take to the yard sale. When my friend was at the house, she looked at the jars and said that I needed that size of lamp on either side of the sofa. 

So... I decided to keep the bases and wrapped them in a fun fiber. I attached it with Mod Podge (can you tell this is a favorite go to??) and a little hot glue. Now they are going for a visit to the Lampmaker in Louisville to be turned into my own custom lamps. LOVE LOVE LOVE all the colors in the fiber!

This was a fun week with some great classes. We had another successful padded headboard class with Bobby Allen and our first basic sewing class with Betty Ayres. On Tap for next week will be a pillow making class with Betty... Check our our classes online and come join us!! 

We also had several visitors in the STUDIO this week. My brother-in-law, Mike, came to spend some time with me and to see what I was up to. Thanks Marie for bringing him over.  

Mike did a little weaving for me and loves to help! He is so blessed to live at Park Place, which is a part of Cedar Lake. If you don't know anything about this organization, check them out at cedarlake.org. They do great stuff!

Cecilia has been coming to visit me in the STUDIO and we have been playing with the sewing machine. I love to see young people excited about fabric and learning to sew. She has caught on quickly and seems to have a real gift for sewing. 

This is a little bag that she has made and I am really proud of her attention to detail. I will have to challenge her a little harder next week!!

2 Comments
Annette Deardurff - Love that rug, Leslie!!!!!!!
Stacey - Love, Love, Love!!! this rag rug is a totally great twist to loop weaving! I've seen it in person and it is such a pretty rug!


An Affair with Art...
1/24/2015

Whew!! I think the Yard"s" Sale was a huge success if the looks of these pictures of the basement are any indication! We saw lots of folks and moved a lot of fabric out of the basement at $1.00, $2.00 and $3.00 per yard.  I can sure tell you that we all went home as whipped puppies on Saturday!!

So... here is a little something extra for those of you who read the blog.... A Secret Sale!  If you were not able to come to the sale and would still like to take advantage of the low prices, tell our sales clerks that you read the blog and were offered the Yard's' Sale prices for one more week. I will try to remember to tell the ladies that I offered this to you.  :)

I spent this week working on a lot of different projects. The Delray Affaire is coming soon and since I doubled the size of my booth from last year, I really need to get busy! Last year I had mirrors, purses, custom clothes, furniture, scarfs and a few of my quirky birds. I had my crazy chairs, Mildred and Mabel,  as seen here, at the show last year and they made their final home in Florida. I love to make furniture that is a little different and definitely one of a kind.

This is one of the new patterns for Funky Fibers furniture that I worked on this week. I loved the fun feel  of this striped fabric with the diamond pattern that will go around the outside of the chair. Those fabric colors are what jumpstarted this design. The wings will be orange and the piping will be green. I love this chair with the vine and birds and can't wait for Bobby to get it reupholstered for me. What other patterns would be fun to see on some funky furniture?? I would love your opinions!

Our second Mitten Mania was today in the studio.We finished another 20 pairs of mittens to go on the mitten tree at First Presbyterian Church. These mittens will be given to those that could use some warm hands from a great group of volunteers with warm hearts. The mittens at the right are a fun pair  being modeled by Judy and Karen. These were a combined effort and were finished with a lot of love, laughter and fun!  Thanks so much to all of our great volunteers.

Off to work on some curtains for the house remodel.....

1 Comments
Jo Price - Leslie, Your chair is going to be fabulous. The colors will fit right in with the southern environment. The birds & vines will really catch people's eyes.

Keeping Busy...!
1/16/2015

So many projects ... so little time!! That is the way I feel this week and yet I think I got a ton of stuff done!! I think I could NOT work and still not have enough time in the day to do all the projects that are running though my head!

The rug loom weaving was put on hold while I was waiting on the soda ash to be delivered. After I jumped in and started weaving, I realized (with Peggy's help) that I need to really wait and get all my "loopers" dyed so that all of the rug squares were at least  in the same color family to match what I am doing in the house. Imagine getting all your stuff together before starting a project!! 

In the meantime I found a use for the large Tidy Cat buckets that I have been saving for years. They have been a lot of things (in my head) before they finally found a permanent home. They have a wonderful closing lid and I put my soda ash in them since it keeps and will not go bad until I use it the next time. I cleaned out four buckets, filled them up and stuffed them with fabric. Perfect... and I can tell my husband, "I told you they would come in handy". It only took five years to find a use for them..........

I finished the fabric and linoleum rugs that I started for my house and they look great. I decided to make one and use it for the public restroom here at the store as a jumping off point for decorating the rest of the room. The colors are vivid and fun and will definitely brighten the room.

It is so nice that my daughter-in-law likes the same bright colors that I do. It makes sewing for their house so fun for me. I spent Monday at home, when it was so bitter cold outside, working on items for their place. A few new pillow covers and a table cloth, these things sure can change the look of a room with just a little bit of time.

I love batiks as a lot of you know. The brighter the better. Batiks to me are definitely not for quilting. These are drapes I made for a spare bedroom in their home that their little niece uses. I think they turned out so cute and fun, and I love the color and pattern combinations. I am also getting ready to redo my great room which will use batiks as the main fabric in the drapes. COLOR!! COLOR!! COLOR!!  It all makes me smile!

ason and Lydia gave me a fun journal for Christmas this year (I am sure that this was Lydia's choice). I love it that Lydia picks out a fun journal for me every year and they are all so different. This one is "A Journal of Choices" and I want to begin sharing it with you each week. 

Your Choice for this week..... TIME vs. MONEY   How will you answer that?? After this blog I think you know my answer!!  

2 Comments
Jayn - I love it too when I can show my husband a use for something that I had been telling him for years that I will need it someday!... And tell us more about the fabric/linoleum rugs.

Crakin' Eggs...!!
1/8/2015

Delphia and me making hard decisions.

Oh what a mess! 

So I have admitted that I am a hoarder but the mess has gotten too much for even me to deal with! These are pictures of my back warehouse where two years ago we tried to combine the overstock of the fabric store with the art studio supplies. Needless to say, I have stirred the pot and what was once organized is a total mess!!

One of the jokes of the store when I would jump from project to project and leave a mess was, that to make a beautiful omelette you had to first crack some eggs!! 
I found this stepping stone years ago and couldn't pass it up.

I am cracking eggs and am bound determined, with Delphia's help, to get this place to where we can find things. If anyone can help me to organize it, I know that she can!!    

All this need for organization started when we decided to have an indoor yard sale at the store this next week. I know that there are fun treasures in there that would appeal to others that have the same creative desires that I have. Stop by next week and see what treasures we have pulled out!

January brings lots of new things - time to clean up and start fresh - all good things. But it also brings LOTS of inventory to be totaled. I procrastinate every year and wait until the end of March to get my inventory counted so that I can get my taxes done. NOT THIS YEAR!! I am so excited with myself (and the little elf that ran the calculator). Only the STUDIO is left to finish and we are hoping to get that done this week.... Oh, the accountant will be so surprised!!

So, there has been a little fun this week. I had this wonderful piece of fabric that seemed to "tie" together  the kitchen that I redesigned last year and the fabric that I am getting ready to use as my drapery panels in the great room. 

I originally thought that I would use this piece for a tablecloth but the more that I thought about it,  I decided that I would try something new and make a floorcloth out of the fabric. It turned out great!! Now 2 more to go....

This must be the week for rugs. I woke up at about 5am the other morning (that is when a lot of my creative ideas come to me) and decided to make a rug for my great room. 

This will be a big undertaking since the rug needs to be about 8 x 12 but I think it might be fun!! I am in the process of creating the loom to use with wood from my hoarding pile. :) 

Here I have started the first block to see if it will work. It is... but I am at another standstill. I am ice dying all the fabric that I am using for the "loopers"and I am in need of LOTS more colors before I can continue.  I think I will go buy an ice machine!!


Watch for an update next week.

8 Comments
Jayn Lando - I love your creativity and excitement over supplies and projects!

Leslie - I love to play and love to figure out what to do with all the stuff that seems to accumulate! Wish you lived closer!! (I just figured out how to respond to folks comments) Thanks for reading!

Annette Deardurff - I love seeing your latest creations! Wish I could come down to the indoor yard sale!!

Leslie - I wish you could too! I have so much stuff to get rid of! I definitely am having fun trying different projects!
Darci Mckinnon - Can I come play? Love the rug idea. May have to borrow it!

Mary Jane Yates - What a wonderful surprise to learn that my childhood neighbor's wife (that would be Jeff and you, Leslie) is friends with John McKinnon's wife, Darci!!! I was at First Presbyterian in Wilson when little John and his family moved there. Met you, Darci, and heard you sing when Rev. Jim retired. I had moved back 'home' by then but made the trip to honor such a fabulous couple. And Happy Birthday tomorrow to Louise! She and my mother (also a minister's wife) share the day.

Leslie - Of course you can come play!! I have a ton of projects planned!!

Jo Price - Leslie, I look forward to reading your blog each week. Looks like you are having so much fun creating. Hope to get to MEM to shop & sign up for Robert's class.

Bits, Pieces & Plans!!
1/3/2015

I love the time between Christmas and New Year! I am home with family and my mind is going a mile a minute as I plan what my New Year projects are going to be!! Jeff is definitely not going to like these New Year plans because they include redoing the whole house!! It has been a while now since I have done any decorating and as looked around I realized it was time. My colors have stayed the same but the "formal" look is going much more "artsy" and fun. I will have the start of the decorating to share with you next week.

Here are a few of the mittens that I made for gifts after we had our Mitten Mania. We have scheduled another Mitten Mania on the 22nd of January from 10-5 and would love to have you come help. :) 
A big THANKS to Julie Curl for all her help and pre preparation! We made 30 pairs of mittens on our last work day and they were handed out by the First Presbyterian Church on December 20th with their food baskets.

These mittens are lined with old cashmere sweaters and the outsides are made with 100% wool sweaters that we had felted. The blue pair has green leaves hand stitched on with a fiber pom pom and the cream pair just has a little flower made from the cashmere with pearls on top. The embellishments are what make these so fun!!

I am becoming addicted to Pinterest. I love to look and see what people are doing and then take their ideas and make them my own. The key chain pieces here are made with old formica tile samples.  

No I did not go help myself, they were given to me when the Home Depot in Frankfort went out of business... and yes that has been awhile and I AM a hoarder!... And... I am proud of that fact!

I was intrigued by a PIN that  I saw before Christmas. It was using old nail polish dropped in water and then you lay whatever you are trying to "paint" on the water. One of the slow days at the store before Christmas I had the employees back in the studio playing and these are what they created!

This is a tin that looks like it has enamel on the top of the box. The possibilities seem endless. Of course the bright colors of nail polish and the Dollar Tree make this project affordable and fun. I didn't try it on fabric but would love to see what effect it gave if you used a canvas or duck.

So as I enjoyed family and friends I thought back on those things that are traditions for my family. Some of those things include Church and then Christmas Eve dinner at some long time friends; Ham loaf for Christmas dinner, which has been fun to carry that over to my family; Cheese Wad - a variation of a cheese ball recipe that my sister used to make. It is delicious but I had to make the recipe much easier! (See recipe below) And the newest tradition for us is for the last four years we have spent New Years eve and New Years day watching movies, cooking, eating, doing "projects" and putting my once yearly 1000 piece puzzle together with some dear friends.... Now on to 2015!!!

CHEESE WAD

Tastes much better than its name! My sister used to wrap the corned beef around it and make it pretty. I just chop it up and mix it in!!

2 8oz pkgs cream cheese softened

1 small chopped onion

1 t parsley flakes

1 T Worcestershire

1 pkg of dried corned beef chopped

Mix all together. Great service with Garlic Parmesan Pretzel chips! Enjoy!!

What are some of the traditions that are special to you??

1 Comment

Jayn Lando - Love internet too! I missed the nail polish one though, somehow...thanks for sharing. Love your creativity and energy! Jayn