What i can share with you is this super sized bookcover. I will eventually post patterns but they arent ready yet so chill out there, cowgirls. Patience is a virtue:) I am happy that now Ill be able to offer two sizes : the standard “mass market paperback” size and the standardish larger “trade paperback” size such as this one:

Purple Butterfly, a la Heidi Grace
Felt and Embroidery (Chain stitch and back stitch)

Check out size descriptions here: Wikipedia Paperback Types

Remember i said that one idea will open a can of worms? Yeah…

My idea was to remove a wall in the front room, opening up two doorways. The contractor is working with us to save on cost so he told us what we could do ourselves before he came in. That included ripping out the drywall and cutting a hole into the ceiling for him to peek at the attic bracing. Boys dad (who use to live here, remember, and built half the house himself) suggested that we look under the wall that will be staying and see if we can brace it with concrete. That included cutting a hole in the floor.

*Open can of worms*

In doing so, we learned the original subfloor was dry rotted. Ok, so we will lay a new one. Fine.

*More worms*

Apparently, about half the joists were cracked, some in half, and the others just werent up to snuff any longer. Ok, whatever. We will replace those too.

*And more worms*

The center beam was dry rotted, and the jack that was used to level the house had sunk into the beam by quite a bit. Ok, gawd, so we will get some cement and replace the beam, and level everything back. Who needs money anyway?

*And again*

The wood under the outside walls was also crumbling. Does it ever quit?

Actually, yes, it finally did. (I think and hope). Ever so thankful, boys dad knows a thing or two about construction and following code and all that jazz. With boy and I still in our youths, we were able to work under his supervision (not that he still didnt out-do me of course, but im a weakling with zero stamina). Boys uncle also came in to help Monday since boy had to go back to work (yay for me being on vacation..). We have reinforced walls, a new center beam, and a solid subfloor. Better than “code” cause Boy is an extremist like that.

Before we began i was very much on edge. What a project! It was stressful to think we would have to rip out a floor, where we were living mind you, and then rebuild it. And the deeper the problems ran, the more scared i got that we were outside our means of budget and skills. But actually it didnt cost as much as i thought it would (thank gawd this wasnt something we had a contractor work on!!) especially because boys dad had some old lumber laying around (he is a fellow supply packrat). And everything made sense to me – the only skills needed were measuring, levelling, sawing, screwing, and gluing. Psh, if i had muscles I coulda done it! Knowing now i have to do this to the bedroom doesnt even ruffle a feather. My poor cooped up kitties might disagree though…kitty paws made appearances often while we worked:

We still have a bit to go, and this is just the first layer of subfloor – we have to add another to level it with the rest of the house. But the contractor can come in now and gimme a new front door (which incidentally has about a half foot gap underneath due to rotted wood, and is currently stuffed with wood chunks and cloth) and do his thing with the wall and electricity. Then we will evaluate the kitchen floor which hopefully does not need replaced (boys dad did a lot of updating when he lived here so except for the bedroom and maybe kitchen, all other flooring should be set, phew!).

But i am on vacation this week, with nothing to do for the floor thing until after the contractor comes, so i hope to have the crafty flu get me again. And my 100th post is coming up and id love to do something special for that, so wait and see:)

1. You will fail to get Before Photos more often than not.

This is the best I had of the dungeon-like laundry closet. Tof already removed the drywall so he could begin updating the copper pipes and make them hidden behind panelling rather than exposed like they were.

Boy has skills running wires so he did the electrical side of things.

Its just about done and look how awesome it is!

2. A boys room will never be clean enough for internet photos but who needs to pretend? We live here, people.

Except for the lighting, Im pretty sure this room is done.

3. A simple idea will open a can of worms. (Worms named New Ideas, Money, Time, Effort, and Stress)

I wanted the wall with the window cut-out removed to open the walkway and have  a nice view of the bay window. That turned into new cabinets. Which turned into moving the stove and refrigerator. And changing the lights. And so on and so forth. None of that has happened yet.

What has happened is that we have been preparing for the wall removal by tearing down the drywall before the contractor comes.

In addition, the thought that the wall might need to be braced underneath came up so Boy and his dad ripped up the floor.

This has led us astray from the original project as we discovered the subfloor has all dry rotted and desperately needs to be replaced. So today, i began removing the carpet.

I work better within the world of schedules. I can probably live in the worst of conditions as long as im told when, what, and where the changes/ending would occur.  But not knowing really gets me in the gut. Therefore Boy laid it out for me and hopefully we can stick to it pretty well. By this weekend, all the subflooring should be replaced. By next week, the professionals should be coming in to do the wall removal. I will need another update on how long that will take them before i can finally say Phew, but for now, there is a goal with end in sight that I can hold on to. Once thats done, the cosmetics can start (flooring, cabinets, lights, action!) One step at a time though. One step at a time.

I would have had a better photo but it was one of them super duper fast ones so theres no way i was removing the glass for a better shot until we were outside so it could go free.

In better news (for me, as it likens to a bioarchaeology discovery), Boy started to rip out the ceiling to see how the rafters were laid out before we progressed with the contractor to remove a wall. An awful smell ensued, but we could find no evidence of water damage or any such cause. Later, whilst cleaning up the dry wall chunks, i flipped a piece over and discovered a perfectly intact skeleton of a mouse! Cool!

I printed out the pattern from Larissa at MmmCrafts and gave everyone a folder with some felt. I also had tons of colored felt, buttons, thread, stuffing, etc for people to get creative with. The skill levels ranged from advanced to very beginner. Even the kids got to participate.

And of course we had snacks. It was pretty successful overall! Almost everyone left with completed pillows – I still need photos of two more but I was excited to share the idea with you  (I noticed that the craftier a person was, the longer it took them to make one – doesnt that seem like reverse pyschology?!)

Here is the one I made. I suppose I might give it to my niece when she comes of age (Im considering making a new one or showing her mom how):

Doesnt she have a bit of a Flamenco Dancer to her? If I were to do the pillow again, I might use white fabric (so the mouth pocket doesnt show through as much – I just had the craft felt on hand) or something colored. If you check out MmmCrafts other works, the colored ones are pretty sweet: mmmcrafts turns two and tooth pillow for Isabelle. Thank you so much for posting the tutorial, Larissa :D

We also recently visited where I use to live and made pickles with my gramma. She had a lot picked already, but we picked some, washed them all, canned them, and are just about ready to eat them! Grammas pickles are the best – super dill (in fact, the recipe is Dilly Dill) which i cant get enough of.

I had a super good weekend. Boy and I spent all of saturday working on the house. We installed 3 hallway lights, a ceiling fan (with light) in the wood stove room (incidentally, that room is no longer my “living room” but more of a catch-all room with a table in it), really cool track lighting in my craft closet so i can actually see in there, a water hose winder thingie on the side of the house which is awesome, and two cabinets finally hung up in the laundry room. And today, a contractor is coming over to see about the first step to remodeling the kitchen – wall removal!

Sunday, i held my first Crafternoon. I dont remember where i got the idea from, but it was somewhere out there on the interweb to have a bunch of people get together and learn how to make something. I will definately post more about that shortly.

To top it all off, i bought some kiwis a while back and I said to myself “where did those awesome kiwi spoon/knife things go that i use to have?” So i googled and came across the kiwi company Zespri, who sometimes has kiwis at my local store. They have “Spifes!” which they give out at events (probably local to California where they are located) and sell to retailers. I couldnt find a list of retailers to buy one from so i thought “what the heck” and emailed the marketing contact listed on the site. I explained that i wasnt a retailer but just simply a citizen looking to buy awesome spifes. Karen was so gracious to immediately ask for my addy and ship them here and they are exactly what i use to have and are as awesome as ever! Now i have SIX! Thanks Karen and Zespri:D

Karen also notified me of the most amazing giveaway – A trip for 4 to New Zealand! Check it out: www.thegreatkiwiadventure.com :)

We’ve been pounded with severe thunderstorms for what seems like weeks now. Living in a swamp means the mosquitos are out of control. Eugh. Instead of picking up sticks, ive dragged tree branches larger than me to the burn pile. And all while this is happening, my girls are obliviously laying in awkward positions.

On one of the nicer days, Boy took Sasha out in the mosquito infested backyard for a morning stroll. She still drags her leash throughout the house like any well-trained dog would to let you know it is time for a walk (she can be pretty gosh darn demanding about it too!).

I finally beat Super Mario Bros. Wii, with all five sparkly stars and 99 lives, which means Mario plays without a hat!

Deer have been out and about like crazy during the day (as well as those dang mosquitos!). Weve got a new raccoon in the yard – we had a big ole fat one for a while but “Mikey” got hit by a car:( Most people hate raccoons, I know, but they are super cute and really, what trouble are they? Besides eating Rupert’s cat food, that is (“Rupert” is a stray black cat who likes to wander around the house). Our trash cans are animal proof so I dunno why all the hate:P We also have a squirrel with a bald tail. He likes to greet me in the driveway every day when i leave for work. But the creatures that are also saying hello to me that look like this are not my friend:

It snuck in with me last night when i was bringing in the groceries. I just knew it was following me, so that it could end up in my bed like the last one. (I did not get a photo of yet another spider in my bed, but it had a huge abdomen and reared up to fight when Boy tried to move it, and it was pretty big – about a quarter or so without the legs). Im pretty sure this is a wolf spider, based on its size and the stripe on its back, but Im not positive. Sasha discovered it when I was trying to take a better photo and it attacked her so she flung it and then it scurried away and made tinking sounds on my tile with its legs. *Disgusting*. Boy rescued us by killing it, poor thing. I would have liked to have studied it more but I guess i was being quite a girl about it…

Oh and i was going to work the other day and this car was stopped in the road. I honked a bit but she didnt move. She was waving to her friend at the old people home. Then she thought it would be a good idea to put her car in reverse. Seriously, who does that in the middle of a road?! Well i laid on my horn but she was quite deaf. I threw my car into neutral just in time for her to hit me. IDIOT. Then she drove away (to park at the old people home). It was right at work so i didnt follow her, assuming there was no damage (i got her make/model and license plate if it was more severe). I checked when I parked and there was about a 5 inch scratch on my bumper but my car has seen a lot and i know the woman didnt mean to be such an idiot, so i let it go. But she could have at least apologized.

The first few stitches can be seen in detail here. So far I have learned something like 24 techniques. Here are the latest ones, so you can see them better:

Huh, maybe i shoulda pulled out the iron for that. But anywho. I also worked a bit more on this thread art experiment thingamabob. I decided it should go vertical. Im still pondering on how to fill in the empty space up top, as you can see.

And I made this bookcover a while ago, but I hadnt posted about it. I made a fabric flower for the detail by somewhat following a How-Tuesday post at Etsy. I havent decided yet if I will stitch the leaves up at all, and this is the first cover I made with a fabric glue on the page marker. I like the way it turned out but Im not sure if the marker is too stiff now. The book I am currently reading isnt the right size to give it a go so the jury is out on that at the moment.

]]> http://www.thecrafties.com/2010/06/experiments/feed/ 0 http://www.thecrafties.com/2010/06/thread-art-experiment/ http://www.thecrafties.com/2010/06/thread-art-experiment/#comments Thu, 10 Jun 2010 18:01:59 +0000 Crafty CaLynn http://www.thecrafties.com/?p=1440 I get a lot of inspiration from crafters who use natural fabrics with delicate things like doilies, tatting, and lace. The look is very simple and clean but still elegant and sophisticated. Recently, I was happy to have been gifted a lacey table runner with a flower motif.

But I just dont know what to do with it quite yet. The previous owner set me in the right direction I think by including some pieces she cut off. I took note and clipped a flower out.

As an experiement, I grabbed some linen that was cut incorrectly for a book cover and thought I would try stitching the flower to it with colored thread to make it pop. The thing is, I really like it (whatever it will become) but now I am limited on what it can be because it was a very timely project and on scrap cloth – I wish i had known i would like it and worked on something more manageable, but c’est la vie.

Im thinking maybe something I can frame? I think Ill add more things to the cloth but what those things will be is still in question. What do you think?