Where to find inexpensive fabric?

If you’ve cruised around my blog much at all you will see that I like to make rag rugs.  Using up something old to create a new thing of beauty makes me happy!

I haven’t done a TON of them because they take a while to make.

The other thing that keeps me from making a bunch of them is the cost.  Fabric is PRICEY!  Even when using coupons, fabric can cost an arm & leg.

Luckily rugs don’t require patterns, just color.

So I have a new habit that helps me make rugs with out breaking the bank.  Anytime I am out by the Good Will I stop in to peruse. . . . the sheets.  Lots of cotton fabric in colors for not much cash.

The above rug is in my girls room and it is made from a Good Will striped twin sheet set that had blue, turquoise, and lime green in it.  Since their room is lime green that worked for me!

Here is my latest rug.  The Vegetable Soup rug(named by Elizabeth)! I started it in November and have taken it many places. Hospital rooms, doctor visits, clogging practice, Bible quizzing trips and right here at home in my comfy chair on movie nights.

The black is a sheet on clearance at Target right after back to school time(thanks Lisa!)  I also plan to hit some garage sales this spring/summer.

I’m over half way now & I want to get this one done before it gets too warm outside.  Making rugs can be a WARM project which is good in the winter but not so good in the summer.  .  .  .  .  besides my crowded garden takes my free spring/summer time.

What project do you have going that are “just” for the winter time?

Vegetable Soup Rug

Sitting and doing nothing is not a skill I possess.

I need a book.  I need a project.  With either of those & I can sit all day while working quietly.  My kindle helps a lot with that.  Been downloading free books!

It seems like in the past two months I’ve had to run out the door at a moments notice.  Then when I get where I am going, then I just sit for hours waiting.

Hospital rooms, doctor visits, or sitting at chemotherapy with mom.  They all have one thing in common.  Time where I just sit and wait.

My solution to this is my bag.  It has projects, snacks, paper, pen, gum, money & my Kindle.  If I have this ready then I can grab my id, keys & I am ready for the day.  It is sad when your life can be reduced to a bag.  I use it for when I am running errands & dropping kid.  I’m more patient if I have something to do.

My current project is a rug.  I don’t really know why I love rugs so much. 

I learned how to make a toothbrush rug at Silver Dollar City.  It is a great kind of rug but I want a rectangle to go by my front door.

So I started a locker hook rug.  I’ve made one of these before but not this big.  There are a lot of great books & tutorials out there so I won’t be doing a step-by-step on this one.  I will show my progress from time to time though.  Currently I am about 1/3 done.  The goal is to do 4 rows a day—some days I make it & some I don’t.  (especially when I use the time after the kids go to sleep to blog)

Rugs seem to be what I can manage to make these days.  I love quilts, cross stitch, and sewing but my rug is portable and doesn’t take a lot of concentration.  Pick a color, do a row, pick another color, do a row.  Not real challenging on the brain.

Elizabeth calls this rug “The Vegetable Soup Rug”

I think it is the colors.  Fall colors.  I will tell you the story behind the colors soon.  My only attempt at frugalness lately.  Not much couponing going on.

I will give a hint.  Where can you buy yards of fabric without spending an arm & a leg?

Finishing the Bathroom

One day long ago we decided to rip out our bathroom tile because it was leaking in to the basement.  The tile was falling off so this was not an unexpected project.

Sept 2009

When we did that we realized there was yucky mold growing behind the tub on the drywall.  So instead of a simple fix this job turned in to a total remodel.

SIGH

January 2010

Then another day not so long ago we replaced the tub, tile, vanity, floor tile & mirror.  See my strong men?  Don’t drop it guys!

April 2010

Somewhere along the way my hip started to hurt and we stopped working on the bathroom for an intermission of a year because I could hardly sit, stand or walk.

In January, I had hip surgery & now I am loving to sit, stand and walk.  Having no pain helps with that.

Now we are puttering along on the final stages of the bathroom.

The trim boards.  Some are original—frugal people that we are we saved them.  So they must be stripped.

SIGH

Last weekend, while the kids were sick & the husband was away helping to roof a house.  I decided to work on this little time consuming project.

 

First, you apply the stripping stuff(seems better to say that than the stripper—something wrong about that).  We used Formby’s.  Then you leave it on to bubble and turn in to a yellow mess for about 15-30 minutes.  Resist starting early.  It REALLY works better if you let it go a while—don’t ask me how I know.

Second, you take a plastic scraper(Pampered Chef for me) and scrape the mess off.  This will get most part of the stain off.

Third, you have a choice.  Repeat steps 1 & 2 or dip some steel wool in the stripping stuff and rub it on the spots where the stain was still present.  I did a little of both of these methods.

Steve is steadily working on the few pieces that are left.  He’s also been testing a few scraps with the stain.  On the new pieces we had to buy he’s found that using a pre-stain conditioner(Minwax) helps the stain to achieve a darker color faster.

I also recommend this kind of project to build your marriage.  You learn so many things about a person as you work together. 

 

Tonight it was awesome to watch him apply the stain to a few pieces which have been through the whole process, stripping, sanding, hole patching, conditioning & staining.  

It is looking REALLY nice!  I am so thankful that this project is moving forward.  I love our new bathroom. 

But I will love it even more when it is DONE!

 

Zig Zag Quilt

Spring cleaning continues!  In going through boxes & drawers in an effort to consolidate & purge I found this quilt that I had started a while back.

I love the blue colors and the way it went together!

I know that you can imagine how sad I was when I got it all laid out only to realize that I was one block short!!!

I seriously started this a couple of years ago so finding all the fabric again at the store was NOT going to happen.

Have I mentioned I am a pack rat when it comes to fabric?  I have a hard time getting rid of fabric or books.  Those are my weaknesses!

So I dug through my scraps and was thrilled that I had all the fabric I needed except for the basic blue that goes in the center of each block.  ARG!

After a trip to the local Jo Ann’s Fabric Store I found a solid blue that is so close that no one will ever know.

Now I just need a few hours to put that final block together.  Okay who am I kidding?  Maybe a few minutes of time here and there will make it happen over the next few weeks! 

Loft Bed & Shelves

Steve & Elizabeth started a new project last week.  I admit it is one that I encouraged them to do.  I have a girl who is a book lover.  It is challenging to keep them organize & neat.  She is also in 9th grade this year.

 

 

That means more school books & notebooks than ever.  However, she has a small desk & it usually looks like a tornado hit it.  She’s okay with the mess but she admits that she “spills” over on to the floor around her desk a lot.

The plan is to build a loft bed for Elizabeth that will allow her to have more bookshelf space & move her desk under her bed.

She is terribly excited and enjoyed getting to help her Dad build the first part of the bed.  

 

I love it when a need can be satisfied by Dad & the kids working together.  They did a great job with a little help from Joshua. 

We got our plans & this photo from Anna White’s site.  Elizabeth’s bed will have the big shelves on both ends(more space!)

 

If you’ve never  been there you out to check it out.  I have a wish list a mile long.  Hopefully soon there will be pictures of the bed part.  Big decision right now is do we paint or stain the wood? 

What would you do?

How do you eat an Elephant?

I have scrapbooking on the brain since I got back from my getaway this weekend.  I keep hoping to sneak off downstairs to work for a few minutes.  It hasn’t happened yet but I am still hopeful.

On the other hand I have done almost a full week of homeschool with all three kidos!  That hasn’t happened due to illness & various other distractions for a couple of weeks!

Right now working on my pictures feels like an a MASSIVE project that just sits there waiting.

I often ask my kids “how do you eat an elephant?”  They then give me 1 of two looks.

1.  Confused—they haven’t heard my speech about having too much to do to catch up and feeling overwhelmed.  They want to give up and not try but I won’t let them.

 

2.  Oh mom—not that speech.  Complete with eye rolling(I’ve never caught this in a picture!)  They’ve heard it but it hasn’t sunk in yet so I have to repeat it again.  Break your project down in to small pieces and then start working on one of them.  Just take a small BITE!

I am basically 5 years behind with pictures.  That means I either have pictures in a box, slide in album, or on my computer that aren’t out where the kids can enjoy them.  Just slightly frustrating.  These weekends where I go away let me get our vacations done but not much else.

So instead of packing my supplies away I took them to the basement so that I can work at odd moments.  Even if I only do a few pages a month, that is better than doing nothing. 

I am going to report here in a month—April 23rd.  Accountability is good right?  Feel free to check on me if I don’t report!  I am not setting a specific goal but a general one just to work on some pages.  I also plan to put up some simple layouts that I like to do over and over.  But for now I am going to get to work.

What projects do you have that are elephants & what is the next BITE you are going to take?

Progress on my Rag Rug

I had planned to get this rag rug done in January but well. . . several things cause me to not quite to get there.  Like surgery, shoulder pain, recover etc.  I am making progress again and hopefully will have it done by the end of February.  I really like the way it is coming along.

My girls room is a lime green & the colors will work perfectly in there.  I like this rug especially since I bought the fabric to make it at the good will for $4!  What a deal!

If you’d like to see the step-by-step process here are the steps!

Part 1     Part 2    Part 3     Part 4  

 

 

This post is part of No Mom Talk Monday with The Mommy Matters.  Head there now to link up your own post w/no mom talk!

A stripe scarf

The plan was to crochet a scarf while I recuperated. 

That and finish my rag rug.

As usual the best laid plans have gone awry.

Crutches make your arms hurt & making the rug does take some arm strength so the rug is on hold until the arms feel better.

I started to crochet the scarf but I didn’t like the way it looks.

My daughter Megan makes wonderful scarfs & hats with her Knifty Knitter round looms. 

So she took pity on me & I am making a scarf with her loom.  I love how it looks & it is about half way done! 

Thanks Megan!

Simple Lives: Rag Rug part 4

The new location of this post is

Making a Rag Rug Part 4

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Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3.

Making a Rag Rug Part 3

The new location of this post is

Making a Rag Rug Part 3.

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Part 1, Part 2 & Part 4

Making a Rag Rug part 2

The new location of this post is

Making a Rag Rug Part 2.

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Part 1, Part 3 & Part 4

Simple Lives Thursday: Making a Rag Rug

The new location of this post is

Making a Rag Rug.

This blog has moved.  Sorry for the inconvenience!!!

Part 2, Part 3 & Part 4

Simple Lives Thursday

Part of me is really drawn to the idea of having a totally homemade Christmas.  However I know that if I was going to accomplish this I should have started MUCH earlier.  That just might be a goal for next year.
My youngest daughter is going to accomplish this because she started her gifts for her grandparents in August.  She loves to cross stitch and crochet so she’s just been working a small bit each week to get her gifts done.  I won’t post photos that would ruin any surprises for relatives!
One thing I have been doing is saving our old blue jeans so that I can make some rugs in the near future.  Here an toothbrush rug I made about a year ago.

I know the name sounds strange but it is fairly simple.  When I start I will do some step by step pictures.  I didn’t know about blogging when I did this rug—so I didn’t know to take pictures!
Here is a website that I have been at that has some tutorials & links to blogs about rug making.
[I've started a new rug!  If you'd like to see the instructions go on over to Making a Rag Rug.]
I stopped in at the Good Will yesterday to look for some shirts but I walked out with a set of sheets in blue/greens & some fabric for $4 that I think will make a perfect rug for my girls room that is lime green sherbet color.
I’m ready to start some projects so that I can stay indoors!  What are you working on?
Linked up at Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS

Sewing again!

It has been a really long time since I sewed anything but a friend asked me to make a flower girl dress for her daughter! The wedding is in February and we get really busy in February so my goal was to finish it by the end of January. She gave the fabric & such to me just a week ago & it is DONE!

It was a really easy pattern so that made it go fast. I need to make a sash tomorrow & it will be ready to go. Feels great to accomplish something and have it turn out well.

There weren't any huge mishaps except sewing the bodice on backwards the first time--had to undo that and then redo it! I am hoping that the little girl who wears it has a ball twirling because it is really full. That is what fancy dresses are for after all.

Now maybe I can get my quilting back out but I need to make Michael a pair of pj's first!