Lasso The Moon

Freezer Paper Baby

When my sister first got pregnant, she asked me if I would make her a onesie for the baby to wear home  from the hospital.  I said, "Sure!  Sounds great."  And then I forgot all about it.  Not that I forgot she was pregnant or anything, and occasionally the memory of the task would come back to me and I'd say to myself, "Oh, yeah...I still need to do that..." and then instant memory loss again. 

And now she is 37 weeks pregnant.  So this was what I did last week in the midst of all the hooked rug hoopla. 

This one is their favorite:  (Until they settled on the name Ellie, they called her "Fluffy."  Ahem.)

Freezer paper stenciling saves the day, yet again.

HUGE fabric sale

I'm about to transfer all of my fabric from my old shop to my new supply shop.  So, to help with the transition and feelings of confusion and abandonment, I'm putting all currently-listed fabric on SALE!  This means that most fat quarters will be only $2! 

So check this out. 
It will only last a week, and will not include any additional amounts of fabric requested.  Only what's "on the shelf". 

Shave and a Haircut

The poodle rug is almost done.  I have finished the hooking, and my last step is to fold in the edges, and sew them in place to prevent unraveling.  But my favorite part is done.  I love trimming the ends that are left behind at the beginning and end of a row.  It changes from being really hairy and hard-to-see...

To something a little bit neater.

It's really hard to take pictures around here without the camera hogs butting into the shot.

They just want to be part of Grandma V's present, too.

Scrappy Quilted Postcards

Finally made their way into the shop!

Feeling Loopy

I just picked up a project that I started two years ago--yes, that's TWO years!  I put it down because there was a tool that I knew I had, but couldn't find...yeah, that happens to me a lot.  Anyway, it is a hooked rug for my grandmother with a picture of her favorite dog, Christy--a gray toy poodle. She's been starting a collection of poodle-ish items, and it's hard to find the gray ones, apparently. 

If you are unfamiliar with rug hooking, it is a primitive, folksy craft where felted wool fabric is cut into strips and pulled through a loose-weave fabric, like burlap.  It's a great way to recycle, too!  I only use wool, but I've seen old hooked rugs made with silk, and even nylons! 

It is possible to cut the strips by hand, or you can buy them already cut from someone on etsy.  But a couple years ago I found a great deal on this rigby strip cutter.  It cuts perfect 1/4 inch strips with just the turn of the handle. 

The blade is replaceable, and can be changed out for different sized strips, too.  A great tool, but expensive if you are not going to be doing much.  I'd recommend buying pre-cut strips for your first project or two.  And some places even sell patterns drawn onto the burlap. 

Grandma V's birthday is July 27th, so I'll have progress shots to share in the next few days.  It is really fun when you trim all the ends, and the image appears.  I could cut them as I go, but the suspense keeps me anxious to keep working.

New Shop

I have been thinking about opening a new shop for crafting supplies only, and I've finally done it!  It i's called ROPE--to kind of go with the "lasso" theme. 

So far I've only listed the pockets I've saved from overall designs, but I think it's going to fill up pretty quickly.

  I'm doing mostly de-stash right now, but eventually I'll transfer my vintage fabric to ROPE as well.  Shipping can still be combined from both stores, but the discount will be in the form of a refund.

Good Thriftin'

I have found tons of great thrifting the last couple of weeks.  Much of it will end up in the shop, but some of it will actually stay with me!  Like these scarves:

Ooh, la la!   Okay, some of them may end up in the shop, too.
Then there was this piece of fabric I found at the local arts and antiques market:

I never spend much on things for the house, so this East Indies-looking fabric was a special treat at $20.
I also picked up this amazing kids' teepee for $8, but I  guess I forgot to take a picture of it.  I tried to set it up for the kids to use in their western-themed room, but it was stretched out, so (as I was secretly hoping) the funky yellow canvas with red indian screen-print will have to be used as yardage!  (The actual print is in red ink--I just realized that sounds kinda funny.)  I'll have to show that to you after I get it all cleaned up.