Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Word on the Street - May 28, 2013

May, where have you gone?  We've been busy bees this month, and this past holiday weekend was no exception!

Liz has a follow-up from her rug dyeing experiment - a picture of the final result! 


Bonus: This item was sold to a lovely lady we met at the Flint Handmade sale!
Well, this rug was a trip.  In a classic move of trial-and-error, Liz learned a lot from her rug-making experience.  Here are Liz's tips for making a big crochet rug:
  • Dye your fabric before cutting it, especially if using a fabric that tends to get stringy when cut.
  • Crocheting something like this rug, which has several strands of fabric strips instead of one long piece, followed by dyeing and washing will result in lots of holes and strings and it will end up looking shabby - not very functional.
  • Adding an additional string of yarn along with the fabric may help the rug be more durable and add a little visual flair.
So, needless to say, this project was a bit of a hot mess.  The new color was a great success, but the process took a toll on the structural integrity of the rug.  After dyeing and washing, Liz laid out the rug to dry on a drying rack, then painstakingly took it all apart.  This involved lots of time, cutting, detangling, and swearing.  Once unraveled, Liz attached pieces of fabric by stitching small bits of embroidery floss on the ends of two pieces, then wound the whole long strand of fabric into one big ball.  Then, along with some white yarn, she crocheted the rug all over again. 

Liz is hoping to make more fabric rugs soon, but now has a better idea of how to go about the whole process.  Order of operations, people.

Erica has found time in her busy schedule to start another quilt--this time for her cousin Chelsea. Instead of finding fabrics to put together, she found a great pack of flannel receiving blankets that were on sale, and coordinated so well they couldn't be passed up! Erica hasn't started sewing yet, but the most time consuming part--the cutting--is finished.

Chevrons are SO fetch right now.
But cutting is the second step in any quilting project. Planning WHAT to cut is the first! Here is the method to Erica's madness (the third draft):
One day, Erica will buy graph paper...
In Erica's opinion, the best part of any craft project is the happiness it brings to others. Her first quilt for Baby Claire was a success! And her brother Tom loves it too!


Samantha is too busy altogether these days, but you can bet that she's been crafting up a storm as well.  More updates on Samantha's crafts, La Croix, and everything else next time.

That's what we've been up to this week!

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