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!

Word on the Street - March 29

Oh boy.  It's a busy time for all of us at Locust Street Crafts these days.

But hey, check it out!  After last weekend's display planning, one of Liz's friends tipped her off to a reasonably priced vinyl sign making company, and Liz started communication with them on getting a sign made for LSC.  In record time, it all came together!  Thanks to 24hbanner, Locust Street Crafts now has a fabulous sign with our updated logo, in one of our signature colors:

Liz is also trying out a couple new craft prototypes, hopefully to have a few new products ready in time for the first LSC sale of the year coming up in May.

WAIT A MINUTE.  WHAT DID THAT SAY?!?!

Oh hey, Locust Street Crafts will be at the Flint Handmade Spring Craft Market on Saturday, May 4 from 10-4, in the beautiful Masonic Temple in downtown Flint.  Come check it out and say hi to us!  Admission is only $1.

Erica got the short end of the stick this week, getting hit with laryngitis, allergies, and a plethora of other illnesses that include tissues and chicken soup. She figured that now was as good a time as any to get started on the quilt she has been meaning to make. You heard right, Erica is attempting quilting. 
 Like any good project craft project, math was involved. 

Triangles. Equations. Frustration.

 Then ironing, organizing, and cutting. There's an element of danger to these tasks... Okay, maybe not the organizing. But irons are hot! And rotary cutters are dangerous--just ask Samantha!

This picture is too hot to handle!

So smooth

Lookin' sharp!

What Erica didn't realize is that when she started cutting on Saturday around 4, she would be cutting squares until midnight. Cutting fabric is the preparation step for quilting, and as many of our crafty friends know, the preparation is often the most time-consuming step in a project.

Luckily, Xena was nice enough to keep Erica company.

After many hours of cutting and many attempts to lure nosy cats away from the cutting action, she ended up with a pile of squares that do not match, but will eventually be sewn together.

Aside from quilting, Erica was also featured in All Things Target, a blog dedicated to informing its readers about coupon match-ups and deals going on at Target. All that time clipping coupons is starting to pay off!

Sam legitimately does not know where her time has gone. You know where it hasn't gone? To crafting. And what crafting she has done, she hasn't taken a single picture of. To make it up to you, here's a picture of Henry yelling at her:

Hey lady! Stop taking pictures of your cats and go craft something! You've got a craft sale in May, dummy!

Did you guys know we'll be at a craft sale in May? The Flint Handmade Spring Craft Market on Saturday, May 4 from 10-4, in the beautiful Masonic Temple in downtown Flint. And admission is only $1.


Because we might be a little excited about it.