Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Old Fashioned Rummage Sale Finds



Definition of
RUMMAGE SALE. . . .
One giant yard sale!
 

 
Have you ever been to one?
Every fall, a local church sets up an Old Fashioned Rummage Sale
in their school building. . . .
Rooms and rooms of bargains and buys.
This is one room of many.
 
Talk about 'deals'. . . .
Locals save their pennies each year for this event,
walking out with boxes of finds for $5 or $10 total.
 
I knew I was in for a treat when I walked in and found
 these vintage weaving books
first thing. . . .A whole stack of them. . . .
 
 
I purchased them all. . . .There's a few duplicates I may sell later on this website. . . .
We'll see. . . .Bet several of you would love to have them. . . .
 
My real objective was fabrics for rag rug weaving, fabric and supplies for sewing projects, vintage patterns, and linens. . . .I wasn't disappointed. . . .
 


 
I think I ended up with maybe 21 vintage sheets!
and tons of fabric, chenille bedspreads, vintage tablecloths. . . .
I'm sharing just a few.
 
Sheets are wonderful for rag rugs. . . .
I also plan to use them for aprons and dresses. . . .
Yards and yards of fabric for very little cost. . . .
I was tickled to come home with so many!
 
And, Ladies, please note:
I've taught John well. . . .He's shopping in the linens section, too!
 
 
I told myself I'd only spend about 20 minutes at the sale. . . .Yeah. . . .right. . . .Four hours later, I left. . . .Happy and content. . . .Leaving John with five huge boxes to haul home. . . .(grin)
 
If you live in the Northeast Arkansas area, the Catholic Church in Jonesboro
will be holding their annual Fall Festival early in October. . . .including a sale. . . .
You can bet we'll be there!
 
 
I'll be sharing my technique for stripping a shirt in five minutes very soon. . . .
along with some apron patterns and photos. . . .
 
See ya then!
 
 


Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Rag Rugs for Local Animal Shelters and Weaving with Plarn

 
A couple of months ago, we had an unusual request for a special order loom:

"Do you make looms in other sizes?  The reason I ask is because I make crocheted and knitted rag rugs for a local animal shelter, and they ask for 3 foot by 3 foot rugs for large dogs and nursing mothers (cats and dogs) and their babies.  I'd love to make a woven rag rug in that size.  

I've been knitting and crocheting rugs (as well as making toothbrush rugs) for shelters for a while now.  Most shelters will give you sheets in return for you making rugs for them, so that makes it easier financially to help them out.  Again - most people who make rugs for shelters stop at 2 feet by 2 feet, so making these larger rugs fills a void.  I've also been making rugs for my vet, who is a fellow knitter and so TRULY appreciates the rugs and takes good care of them.  I mentioned the loom to her, so she's intrigued."
 
As it turned out, John did make Monica a special order loom. I think she started weaving the minute she received it! After practicing with the mini loom,
she has completed her first large one:
 
"That large rug has found a home.  It went with a co-worker who does volunteer work at an animal shelter.  She even has the first recipient in mind - a little rescue dog who's scheduled to have a leg amputated.  Poor dog has had a REALLY hard life, so it feels good to know I'm providing it a little bit of comfort."
 
Such a generous and heartfelt thing to do. . . .
I love this story.
And, Monica has reminded me that rag rugs can be woven 
with almost any material:
 
"At some point, I want to make a large rug from plastic strips (plastic yarn aka "plarn").  I've knitted and crocheted a few plarn rugs, and they seem to be indestructible - they just last for years and years and years.  They're machine washable, but must air dry. . . . I learned about plarn from a site called My Recycled Bags http://www.myrecycledbags.com/  so I guess I can blame Cindy for starting me down the plarn path.  I was thinking of making a plarn bag composed of a woven body (I already have one side done :-)  ), crocheted side panels, and knitted carrying strap and sending you and Cindy a picture of it."
 
We want a photo of that project when finished, too, don't we?
 
 "Getting your looms has just opened up a whole new world for me!  I am SO happy to have them!"

Thanks so much for sharing with us, Monica.
We love learning from others. . . .
Rag Rugs for Animal Shelters and Weaving With Plarn are two winners. . . .