Rugs from the show

I went to the Country Folk Art Fair in St. Charles this past Sunday. Lots of nice folk art! I got a chance to meet and chat with Anne of   http://visionsofewe.com/ . She's a rug artist, and hooked all the rugs here.

I like the saltbox house!

 This is a huge rug she's working. If I remember correctly, it's 6' x 9'. The colors are much prettier in person.

 Some game board inspired rugs.

I bought a dye book she was selling. It uses Pro Chem dyes. She even gives which colors will coordinate with each other, so that you can choose the correct combination. I can't wait to try some of the recipes out!

I did manage to put up my wood sign in the foyer. Of course I couldn't reach the spot where the nail was to go, so I ended up on an extension ladder. It's not perfectly centered on the wall, but I'm not climbing that ladder to fix it. I did paint this wall as a test of a beige color. I manged to paint it with an extender, and no ladder. Now to decide if I want to paint the entire foyer this color. I have a 4 day weekend in a couple weeks, so it would be the perfect time to paint.

Enjoy this nice cool fall weather!

~*~ Laura ~*~

PRiMiTiVe WooD SiGN

                                    

I've been wanting to re-do my foyer. I never liked the look of the wreath on the tall wall going down the stairs. It just looked , well.... like a wreath tacked up. I want to accent the height of the wall by adding a 6 foot wood sign. I haven't seen any, or any 6 foot boards at thrift stores that I could rehab.

 So, off to Menards to get a piece of wood. Wood that already is cut - no saw needed.

I painted the base coat a light beige. The same beige that I'm going to test out on the walls. It's a Benjamin Moore color called Bleeker Beige. I really liked the color on the wood. It's light, not pinky, and not yellowy.

I used some 4" letter stencils to say "WELCOME to the FRIENDS est 1991".  When the lettering was dry, I taped 1/2" away from the edges, and painted a border. I then lightly sanded, and stained the top and sides.

I'll add a saw tooth hanger when it's dry. Then it's ready to hang. A nice inexpensive sign. All I had to pay for was the wood. The rest I already had around the house.

~*~ Laura ~*~

ViNTaGe QuiLT FiND

I dropped my son off at school for band tonight, and quickly stopped into a local thrift store. I was searching for cheap wool. I didn't find anything cheap enough, but.....

I did find this red and white vintage quilt. The top photo shows only half of the quilt. It was all bundled up with tape in the store, so I wasn't sure what the entire piece would look like. I paid for it, got it home, and unrolled it.  I found a good one! Yes, it's worn, and tattered on the edges, but I only paid....    $4.01 for it!

I wasn't sure if I was going to keep it, or sell it. But, my daughter told me to keep it. So, I think I will.

I went back back for the half time show. Thankfully, it stopped raining. Now that half time is over, it can continue to rain. My lawn sure needs it.

This weekend I have some crafts to do. I have a board to transform into a sign for the foyer. I also need to start some Christmas ornaments. It's also the weekend Country Folk Art Show in St. Charles, IL. It's a smaller show, but it's all folk art. There's even going to be a rug hooker there! I'll try to take some photos (with permission) and post them.

~*~ Laura ~*~

Finished!

I finished my Winter Walk snowman rug! Many thanks to Maria at the Star Rug Company for this wonderful pattern! Now to decide on how to use it: a wall hanging or on the floor?

Trees

I've been busy hooking those trees ~ and I completed them! Yipee! Now just to look over the rug, find any places where I want to re-hook, clip all the uneven pieces, block, and bind. I'm not sure how I'll bind this one. I need to think about how I'll use this rug. I dream of a house with hardwood (I'll even take some laminate, and vinyl plank flooring in the kitchen) floors with rugs scattered all over. But... I  live in a 1970's bi-level house with carpet. (and some other ugly floors) So, I'm thinking this would make a wonderful wall hanging for the winter. But, I would need other seasons to change it to for the spring. Guess I'll have to work on another rug!

~*~ Laura ~*~

Trees and turtles

I started the trees this week, but didn't get too far. I came down with a cold last weekend ~ just 3 days of being in school. Ugh. I guess this is the year that I start getting a flu shot since I work around little kids all day. I'm trying to give the trees a lot of color, and keep the downward swooping of branches. Hopefully I'll get a little more done this weekend.

 I took Chuck outside to walk around the yard. He had fun sniffing some leaves. So, I took a pail full of them, and put them in his bind. He loved them! He likes to bury himself, and hear the crunching of the leaves.

 He did peek his head out a bit for the photo!

Another job this weekend is to move some pictures around the living room. I rearranged the furniture after we sold the piano. Now to put some more holes in the walls and patch the old ones. It's nice to get the extra space, as no one was playing the piano anymore. I figure someone else could use it, so why not get rid of it. (thought I have to admit, it was a nice storage place for my frame and rug)

Have to great Labor Day weekend!

~*~ Laura ~*~