A mod podge project

[SusansSoulShines]

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Hello andreala, I don't think we are related....I was born in Indiana here in the USA. When my first husband passed away I remarried 7 years later and my second one took me on a lot of trips. All the way to Alaska twice, on the last one we took my Mom. That marriage went wrong about about 6 years later and we divorced. That is another story in itself.

I think that fabric shop is in Ste Sault Marie (maybe). Maybe you would know where it is. It was almost like a fabric warehouse with very reasonable prices or Sam's here in the states. Of course I don't remember the name of the shop
I have made some quilts...the last one I did... I quilted it on my own quilting frames that I made specially for that quilt! I posted pictures of me sitting at the side f the frames doing some of the quilting. The quilt was one that I cross-stitched. and I love it. We could still be friends even is not related thru family.
Here is 4 pics of some of my projects

Starting at the top: A quilt that I cut the pieces for while we would stay at a motel each night and it was ready to stitch together by the time we arrived back home

A crocheted star bedspread (I entered in the Count Fair a couple years back and got a ribbon it but would have been a champion ribbon except that it was so heavy!
A crocheted bedspread made of 20 giant blocks! (actually that at the bottom is my bedspread showing below the crocheted one)

The quilt I cross-stitched and then quilted it on my home-made quilting frames, just like the old-fashioned ones my Grandma used.... with saw horses and 2X4's and ALL were made by me!! Patty

The quilts are absolutely amazing, such work will last forever and are indeed cherished & appreciated pieces of art! At least by me, and I'm only seeing them in photos but I love them!!

[andreala]

Susan, I checked out the link you gave and loved to see your different crafts. You do very nice work too!!!

[SusansSoulShines]

Susan, I checked out the link you gave and loved to see your different crafts. You do very nice work too!!!

Thank you so much andreala! I loved every second of making things in my life, and there is a set of ceramic Four Season plates to hang on the wall that I painted, the ones that took me 3 months each to do, so the plates took me the year to do the 4 seasons, it worked out so uncanny like that! I still have them packed from our move last year and so badly want to unpack and hang them up. Spring got cracked one year, and they're thick & heavy but wrapped very well, so it surprised me and it broke my heart that it can't be replaced. I've never taken pics of them so I plan to do that and you have to see them to appreciate them!

I mixed all the colors to custom do my paints, and to save $$ buying so much paint, but a friend and I used to go in together and share paint colors so we got good at mixing them. I have some smaller ceramic pieces in my treasure chest (a hope chest from my other) that really belong now to my kids since it's their Easter bunnies and eggs with their names on them from many moons ago, and a little doggie face that my son at age 4 used to set his eye glasses on at night so he could keep up with them (I love stories & memories like that) that I'd known someone who knew crochet and/or knitting, so I could h ave had all these years to hone my experience! I did crochet 3 huge granny afghans in high school but had no way to learn more.

Macrame was my 1st real hand craft experience, and I felt like I'd discovered a new universe... to be able to take a piece of rope or nylon cording and make plant hangers, wall hangings, and the biggie - my hanging table wow, it was so much fun and I was like a woman possessed! I moved on to more crafts and never stopped doing any for long, only when my health went downhill, but then starting crafts again (just a little jewelry & decoupage) made me able to tolerate even the pain better!

So, crochet is a deep love that will never end and I am hooked and forever in love with it, lol! My husband said I act like my 'old self' since I started crocheting and he's as amazed as I sometimes am over my fast 2 year learning curve with it. I picked up a hook and it felt like I already knew how to do it, but I did make sure to learn the technical aspects and take online classes to learn standards and techniques. I do things like that, I started out modifying patterns right away so I knew I'd be writing patterns before long. I have 21 pieces I designed so far and crave doing more! I feel like it saved me from getting bored and depressed once I became disabled, and I can relate to that book the lady wrote "How Crochet Saved My Life', but she did have serious depression and God blessed me with a driven and happy attitude towards life. I'm so thankful for that, but I'm a firm believer that being creative is great for your health!

[SusansSoulShines]

I've never used Mod Podge but did buy some as I have a sister-in-law who does a lot of fun stuff with it. You did a great job. Thanks for the inspiration. I have covered boxed with sticky material before for pretty storage but you've made me realise that with Mod Podge, I could use any material. Another project to add to my todo list.

They make some really good heavier paper that is crafting paper and also some for scrapbooking and such, and it's much better to use heavier paper than magazines like I used on my vases. It holds up much better and longer. I have some heavier food labels I've collected that I plan to use on something one day, maybe another small round table since I still have one unfinished one. They cost 4.99 when I bought two, now they're over 10.00... what a shame! Those little round ones that you screw the 3 legs into the bottom of the tabletop, people used to put round tablecloths on them and then lay a doily over that, used them for small lamps and such. Everything is over priced now!

[SusansSoulShines]

Hi andreala, You are welcome. I wish I had taken a picture of the cabin I made but unfortunately I didn't....But I may make another one for myself. I have a big box of fabric which includes several pieces I bought a long time ago that were bought with quilts in mind. I was up north above the US?CANADA border line into Canada and visited a fabric shop like one I had never been in before or since. I kinda lost my mind and went on a buying spree in that store! I would love to go back there once more!! Have fun with the Mod Podge! Patty

Patty, today I go to the huge & glorious All About Fabrics warehouse store, which is really hard for me to walk all the way to the back to the yarn, but that's where I got yarn to make my 1st top for $6.00!! I'm going to see about any more 3 DK yarn they may have and see what's good for 50 cents up to no more than $5.00 for a huge skein, like a pound of yarn, for all kids of awesome yarns!! I've gotten normally priced in stores skeins ranging from 7.00 to 15.00 per for 1.00 to 3.00 per, and it's new, some w/brand labels on it, and some with generic labels, but I know my yarn now so it's no problem, I just go in and a glaze forms over my eyes, lol while I soak it all in! They had only enough yarn to fill a grocery buggy the 1st time I went there when we'd just moved here last year. The general public can only go there for the 3 days on the 1st weekend of the month, which I hate, but that next time I went, the yarn area was now it's 4 shelves high and looks like 2 sides of a grocery store aisle - yes, I knew I would have at least some yarn to work with!

I like to buy the 'fat quarter' pieces of material to line handbags and use for other projects where you don't need much fabric, theirs are 1.25 each. But talk about bolts of fabric, wow, this is their website: All About Fabrics | About Us and that main photo is the 1st section full of misc, the other 2 sections are fabrics galore: All About Fabrics | Gallery and they have new specials here: Bed In A Bag | All About Fabrics and this weekend is burlap wreath and bow making time: Wreath Building | All About Fabrics and all Halloween related items are on sale to get rid of them!

Too bad we don't all live closer to each other, can you imagine a trip to that place together and then a crochet and chat party, lol?! What fun that would be

[SusansSoulShines]

Hi andreala, You are welcome. I wish I had taken a picture of the cabin I made but unfortunately I didn't....But I may make another one for myself. I have a big box of fabric which includes several pieces I bought a long time ago that were bought with quilts in mind. I was up north above the US?CANADA border line into Canada and visited a fabric shop like one I had never been in before or since. I kinda lost my mind and went on a buying spree in that store! I would love to go back there once more!! Have fun with the Mod Podge! Patty

Patty, I suppose you have a sewing machine, which is something I'd love to have! I once had my mothers and could have my MIL's, but we need to find a new bobbin of the correct size for her machine, since they sent her the wrong one when she ordered it. I'd like to make a backing with a border for my quilt top, and I plan to 'quilt' it using French knots in square intersections. I can't quilt stitch and also have no way to handle the big thing to any other kind of stitching, I'll do good not to break my arms maneuvering it around as it is!

[andreala]

Susan, I checked "all about fabric" and I started salivating again. WOW, it must be awesome to go to a place like that. And yes, it's too bad we can't get together to play. I'd like that very much.

[SusansSoulShines]

Susan, I checked "all about fabric" and I started salivating again. WOW, it must be awesome to go to a place like that. And yes, it's too bad we can't get together to play. I'd like that very much.

Well, salivate more andreala, lol, cause I got about $55-60.00 (if it was retail prices and the quick online checks I did on it) worth of DK #3 yarn for $12.00!!! 50 cents up to $3.00 per skein today, not even a $5.00 skein in the bunch, which I thought the huge white one would be 5.00. I got ALL DK #3 today, the head yarn employee is so helpful, she took my name & home number to call me about ordering and getting more DK in, and we talked about yarn for a few mins.

She said they have a fb page and that I should post some pieces I made with yarn from there, and I knew they had a website but didn't even think about them having a fb page. I post my version of people's patterns on their sites, fb pages and google+ a lot, and the store is getting involved more with the general public now, which is great, and they just sponsored a local contest scarecrow contest in town. We wondered why everyone had pumpkin headed scarecrows all over Main St!! We didn't know about it, there's no local paper so I'll just use AAF fo my info!

She cares about her job and her customers, isn't that nice in a big place like that?? It's a small town, gotta love it! I got 2 skeins of beautiful pink camo made with really pretty delicate colors, a spring green with a great sheen, a gigantic white shiny skein, 2 more black skeins to go with other like it that I've been collecting as I can to use when I get enough (and I think I have enough now), a huge shiny medium shade of pink, and a nice big beautiful skein of shiny lavender. Oh yes, also another small skein that I'm making my top with IN CASE!! I had 1/2" of yarn left last night when I finished my South Bay Shawlette, if it hadn't been enough I'd have lost a nice big last row, and I was able to keep it by the skin of the 1/2" hair!! I call today a perfect haul, of which I don't get often.

Next time I want some dark teal, they had some amazing blues, and wine colors, and so much more, but lots of #4 worsted weight. I'd love to stock up but I can only do so much at a time. I love shiny yarns and I had mostly non-shiny in my stash, and I wanted the #3 weight so I wouldn't have all 4 weight and up. I like to have a good mix for different projects.

We made it a quick trip to get home to watch our local #1 football college team start their game at 3:30, and they won so will be in the ACC Championship game!! They could become the national champions again for the 1st time in 34 years, and they deserve it so much! Hopefully I won't pay all day tomorrow for walking to the back of that huge place where the yarn is, I sure wish they'd move it to the front section!

I got a memory card for my new camera so I can take pics of my pieces that I haven't gotten yet, the black scarf and the shawl I finished last night. I'm moving hot & heavy on my top now!! Andreala, and everyone, have a great weekend!!

[andreala]

Susan, I'm not only drooling, now I'm green with envy. We don't see prices like that here. I shouldn't be though because I have a pretty good stash. Five years ago, before retiring, I bought a lot of yarn and books, my two main hobbies. I'm also well stocked for beading, plastic canvas, sewing and cross-stitching. My sister taught me chicken scratch which I enjoy too.

I hope you're not in pain today with all the walking. Happy stitching!!!

[SusansSoulShines]

Susan, I'm not only drooling, now I'm green with envy. We don't see prices like that here. I shouldn't be though because I have a pretty good stash. Five years ago, before retiring, I bought a lot of yarn and books, my two main hobbies. I'm also well stocked for beading, plastic canvas, sewing and cross-stitching. My sister taught me chicken scratch which I enjoy too.

I hope you're not in pain today with all the walking. Happy stitching!!!

Before I forget, what is chicken scratch? I've never heard of that! I'm very fortunate to live near that warehouse, not many places like that exist any more. I don't have a big stash but I can collect yarn from there from time to time and build up a little ammunition, lol, and one friend collects yarns from her thrift store that seems to get a lot of new and really nice yarn quite often, and she mails it to me... so nice of her! I don't drive any more and am lucky to be able to walk as far as that 3rd section and sometimes I can't do it. I would have waited until a sunny day, but the general public can only go there on Thurs-Sat of the 1st weekend of every month, while businesses can go any time of month.

When I decided to learn crochet I bought a $40.00 package or 'lot' of misc yarn from a local craigslist ad, knowing nothing about yarn at all, and besides being an overall great and versatile bunch of yarn she gave me some knitting sweater design books altho I don't knit, some baby yarns and baby blanket patterns. I worked off of that for quite some time while learning more about yarn.

My worst problem is that Fibromyalgia, if you're familiar with it at all, causes a constant sensory overload, muscle spasms, memory problems and some confusion from being easily overwhelmed by the pain and overload, there's a lot more that I won't go into, and it tends to cause arthritis to set up severely in patients at early ages. I was afraid I might not be able to crochet but I've done well.

I thought I was already enduring the worst pain ever until OsteoArthritis hit me all over, giving me degenerative disk and covering my entire body. I had no idea it hurt so bad and knew little about it, just thought it was something older people had to 'tolerate', was no big deal and was mostly weather related. Well, was I so wrong. So now my quality of life and my abilities have really lowered, I've had to change my whole life to work around these diseases. I make myself move because that is the best thing even tho it's nearly impossible esp when I 1st get up. But I've learned to live with chronic pain and when I had my crochet blog I talked about this some since it helps to do that, and countless people tell me that crochet is also their therapy against health issues of all kinds. I find the good in a life that can really drag you down, but I just refuse to let it take over.