Some Favorite Mexico Pictures: Part 1

Every man and every living creature has

a sacred right to the gladness of springtime.

~ Leo Tolstoy

March may be the beginning of spring - but in Mexico, it's summer-time hot, hot, hot!  Here is Garou trying to cool off on the concrete porch:  

There were lots of baby animals around - this kid was the runt of a litter of three, and his mother rejected him - so that meant regular bottle feedings.  Neri (the little, three-year-old girl in the picture with me) named him "Cute."  

By the way, this is my first visit where Neri would come close to me, talk to me, etc.  She has always been too shy in the past...  

This calf's mother was weak and not able to fully satisfy his hunger with her milk - so out comes another bottle of milk!  :)

Did you recognize Ana in the picture above?  

And yes, that was quite a sunburn on my face, chest and shoulders.  ;)

It's An Adventure!

Being a detective isn't all about torture and murder and monsters. 

Sometimes it gets truly unpleasant...

The fate of the world may depend on whether or not 

you can bring yourself to visit your relatives.

~ Derek Landy

This week I am taking this beautiful 9-year-old girl to Central America, where she is meeting her extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) for the first time.  She has never been out of the U.S. and she has never met any of these people face-to-face.  

I shall have to teach her the catchphrase that my husband and I use whenever things aren't going the way we planned and we are feeling in over our heads: "It's an adventure!"  

Send good thoughts our way and I'll let you know how it went next week.  :)

My Color Mixes - Part 3

Purplish-brown?  Let's agree it
is a color so bad we all flee it.
It has no good use
so let's name it Puce
from the sound we make when we see it.  

~ Darby Bannard

I tried to use my color combination app while I was shopping, but I couldn't figure out how - so I ended up just buying lots of shirts in a variety of colors.  

Then, when I got home, I cut one sleeve off each shirt and spread them out on a table and used the app to come up with combinations.  Here are the last two combinations that I assembled:  

Combination #1: olive green, burnt orange and navy blue

Combination  #2: Camouflage

So, I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that these aren't my favorites - I'm more of a bright color girl - but I try to remind myself that some people have different tastes and so I included these combinations for them.  :)

After all, we can only fit so many rugs in our house!  ;)

My Color Mixes - Part 2

When in doubt, wear red.  

~ Bill Blass

I tried to use my color combination app while I was shopping, but I couldn't figure out how - so I ended up just buying lots of shirts in a variety of colors.  

Then, when I got home, I cut one sleeve off each shirt and spread them out on a table and used the app to come up with combinations.  Here are the combinations that I ended up with using the reds:  

Combination #1: "nastutium" (according to Sherwin Williams), red and orange

Combination #2: green, orange and red

Combination #3: black(-ish), grey(-like) and red(-ish)

Seriously, Sherwin Williams, "nastutium", seriously?  

My Color Mixes - Part 1

There is no blue without yellow and without orange.  

~ Vincent Van Gogh

I tried to use my color combination app while I was shopping, but I couldn't figure out how - so I ended up just buying lots of shirts in a variety of colors.  

Then, when I got home, I cut one sleeve off each shirt and spread them out on a table and used the app to come up with combinations.  Here are the combinations that I ended up with using the blues:  

Combination #1: Mustard-y yellow, royal-ish purple and light (sky?) blue

Combination #2: Another shade of blue, a different shade of yellow, and bright blue

I hope I'm not making you feel uncomfortable with my vast color vocabulary knowledge...  ;)

Shopping Spree - For Used Clothes?!?!

Distrust any enterprise that requires new clothes.

~ Henry David Thoreau

I made it back to the thrift shop for a used t-shirt shopping marathon!  It got off to a shaky start, as 99% of the knit shirts I was finding in the women's "blouse" section had side seams.  I was getting worried...  :(

But then I noticed the that men's section of the store had a subsection that was actually labeled "T-Shirts."  And, as a bonus, these shirts were only $1.50 each (vice the $3.50 being charged per "blouse.")

A surprisingly large number of the t-shirts had side seams (maybe 50%) - but I was patient and ended up with these 22 shirts:  

All for under $35!  That's enough for seven rag rugs!  

My only complaint is that the men's t-shirt section was kind of low on pink...  :(

Planning for a T-Shirt Shopping Spree!

And all the colors I am inside have not been invented yet.

~ Shel Silverstein

Now that I've learned my lesson, I'm ready to go back to the Goodwill store, stock up on used t-shirts - you know, the ones WITHOUT side seams! - and try again.  :)

As you saw in these pictures, the selection at this thrift shop is awesome!  In fact, I find it a bit overwhelming and paralyzing - I need some kind of color-based plan before I go back.  

So, guess where I turned for help?  Google, of course.  ;)

At first, I looked for color combination images and found TONS of inspiration.  For example:

• All Day Chic
• Design Seeds
• Color Carousel
• Colrd

Then I focused in on websites that help you create color combinations.  It turns out (as I guess quilters already know), there is a whole field of color theory and rules (or patterns) regarding what color combinations "go together".  Of all these websites, Kuler is my favorite (so far).  

I took some screen shots from the Kuler website, to show you how it works and their color combination rules.  All of these illustrations are based on the same color - a bright red - which is the middle block in the sequence of five blocks shown beneath the color wheel on each screen.  

Base: Bright Red

Rule: Analogous colors

Base: Bright Red

Rule: Monochromatically-related colors

Base: Bright Red

Rule: Triad-based colors

Base: Bright Red

Rule: Complementary colors

Base: Bright Red

Rule: Compound colors

Base: Bright Red

Rule: Alternative shades

Of course, you can change the base color to whatever you want.  I even found an app for my tablet that is very similar (here).  So, armed with an app, I feel prepared for battle!  My mission - 21 used t-shirts for seven rag rugs!  Wish me luck!  ;)

Making Yarn

One of the things that I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged.  Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.  

~ Lucille Ball

Step #1 (finding a thrift store with used t-shirts) was covered yesterday.

Step #2: Find one or more online tutorials showing me how to cut a used t-shirt to make yarn.

Google to the rescue (again!):

• Instructables
• Craft Passion
• YouTube

Step #2: Check!

Step #3: Try it

I picked up a cute knit top - t-shirt weight fabric - at the Goodwill near work.  (Settling on just one shirt was the hard part!)

While all the tutorials were generally similar, there were some differences.  I followed the instructions from the YouTube video.

Is that beautiful t-shirt yarn, or what?

Turns out, the answer is: OR WHAT...

The cute top I picked - the one that was not actually a t-shirt - had side seams:

And those side seams, that appear every few inches along my cut of yarn, pretty much ruin it.  :(

Step #4: Learn a valuable lesson the hard way.

Step #4: Check!  ;)

Used T-Shirts and Yarn

This book was written using 100% recycled words.

~ Terry Pratchett

Well, the knots are tied and the rugs have been washed, dried and delivered!  

Okay, two have been delivered to recipients and the other two have been delivered into the loving care of the United States Postal Service...  ;)

And the fifth is adorning our bathroom floor.  :)

As you may remember, I've been buying the colorful weft material from Etsy.  It is called "t-shirt yarn."  It is supposed to be recycled from used t-shirts, but based on the results of the first wash of this rug, I'm guessing that at least one of those t-shirts was new...  

If you are ever interested in buying some of this t-shirt yarn, here are three of my favorite shops:  

• Mikes T-Shirt Yarn
• Mean Green Machine
• Pinkamingo

I really love making these rugs, and so I decided I'd look into cutting the t-shirt yarn myself.  

Step #1 - find a decent thrift shop where I can buy used t-shirts.  

A quick Google search turned up a Goodwill just a few miles from work.  I swung by on my lunch break, to see if they had any used t-shirts...  

Step #1 - Check!  ;)

I Love Rag Rugs: Part Five

Imagination is the true magic carpet.

~ Norman Vincent Peale

I'm out of town for a work trip this week, but I finished my five rag rugs over the weekend, so I'm going to (totally cheat and) show you one rug per day this week.  

Finally, the rug I made for our house - I went with the chevron-ish weave pattern on the colored stripes and plain weave on the white (because the weave pattern doesn't show up on white, so there was no point.)  Guess what?  I love it!  :) 

I Love Rag Rugs: Part Four

If you let everyone walk on you, you become a carpet.

~ Bulgarian Proverb

I'm out of town for a work trip this week, but I finished my five rag rugs over the weekend, so I'm going to (totally cheat and) show you one rug per day this week.  

This is the rug for my college friend, Kathy.  She picked the colors during a recent visit, but she let me pick the weave pattern.  I decided to try diagonal lines in the two color stripes, going into opposing directions.  I hope she likes it!  :)

I Love Rag Rugs: Part Three

A good map is both a useful tool and a magic carpet to far away places.

~ Unknown

I'm out of town for a work trip this week, but I finished my five rag rugs over the weekend, so I'm going to (totally cheat and) show you one rug per day this week.  

This is the rug for my friend Maggie.  I tried a chevron-ish pattern.  Her kids, Brandon and Carolyn, picked out the colors - this will be a surprise.  I hope she likes it!  :)  

I Love Rag Rugs: Part Two

The wise man sits on the hole in his carpet.

~ Persian Proverb

I'm out of town for a work trip this week, but I finished my five rag rugs over the weekend, so I'm going to (totally cheat and) show you one rug per day this week.  

This is the rug for my friend Dona Margarita.  I tried a pattern weave.  She picked the colors - green, pink and red.  I wouldn't have chosen this combination, but I think they look pretty good together...  :)  

I Love Rag Rugs: Part One

A well-composed book is a magic carpet 
on which we are wafted to a world 
that we cannot enter in any other way.

~ Caroline Gordon

I'm out of town for a work trip this week, but I finished my five rag rugs over the weekend, so I'm going to (totally cheat and) show you one rug per day this week.  

This is the rug for my second cousin.  I used a plain weave.  Her kitchen is decorated with classic coca-cola memorabilia, and I hope this black, white and red rug fits in perfectly!