paper....

pulp fashion....
there is an amazing show in san francisco
at the legion of honor right now that
i would love to see.
i have a passion for old and vintage
costumes and fashion and when i saw the images
from this show i couldn't believe they weren't
silk, damask and  velvet but paper.

images via legion of honor

road trip any one?

Ciao,
F

advice....

with spring in the air

many are spring cleaning.

one thing i remember from childhood

was cleaning all the rugs in the house.

it was a seasonal thing and as soon 

as the weather warmed up 

the rugs went outside to be cleaned.

i found some good ol' fashion advice

on cleaning heavy rag rugs 

and it reminded me of that ol'

spring chore from being a kid.

image via main rag rugs

To Wash Heavy Rag Rugs

" I have found a simple way of washing heavy rag rugs. 

Soak the rugs for five minutes in cold water,

then spread them on a bare floor and sprinkle heavily with

any good washing powder.

Scrub the rugs until they are clean with a clean broom

dipped in hot water.

Rinse thoroughly in clear water in the laundry tub

and hang on the line to dry."

Mrs. L. J. O., Wyoming 1923

my oma always washed her persian rugs with vinegar and water.

to this day i still do with a bucket in hand, 

a broom or scrub brush and some 

good old fashion elbow grease

i scrub them then rinse with 

plain water and the brush,

leave them outside to dry

and presto clean rugs

for another year.

happy spring cleaning.

Ciao,

F

meditate....

To Meditate...

a verb

meaning

to engage in contemplation or reflection.

image via brown dress white dots

namaste,

f

projects....

for awhile now i have been hoping for 

a free saturday that also was sunny and dry.

well my wishes came true this last saturday.

after a morning run, chores and a quick appointment

i pulled as many projects i thought i could finish 

before our guests arrived for dinner.

the lucky projects were:

• the chair i am suppose to upholster
• a white dresser
• a black and green dresser
• the birds

well, i am happy to report my chair is painted

and sealed and all ready for my upholstery class on thursday.

the white dresser just needed a little fresh coat of paint

and yes it needs handles but that's for another day.

before

after

black and mint green dresser, well do i need to say much here?

licorice mint

pale yellow before final coat of paint

the drawers after 3 coats of yellow

and last but not least,

put a bird on it.

after

i forgot a before picture of the birds but they

were all different colors. 

now they are shiny and white.

all of this in one sunny saturday afternoon.

i can't tell you how happy and productive i felt.

i might just get these all done for the show in may

after all.

stay tune for the final results,

handles and all.

ciao,

f

advice....

One would think we would learn from our

past but we really are not good students.

I found a tidbit on children and health education

from my 1923 Good Housekeeping book

that could have been written today.

Interest in Health

"In the school my children attend there are no 

school nurses, nutrition classes, etc.,

but I tell them what is being done in other schools

along health lines,

and we try to carry out some of these

principles, chief of which are weighting and measuring.

I give each a weight chart that they may see for

themselves what they should weigh, impress upon them the 

value of proper food and plenty of sleep,

and once a month take them to the scales.

They are quite interested in observing their progress

and are not nearly so indifferent regarding

meals as they were before I had them keep their own records."

Mrs. T. K. F.,  W. VA 

Eat well.

Ciao,

F

upholstery part 2....

well, finally got a little time squeezed in between
work and a visit from my sister and nephew
to get the sanding, priming and first coat
on my chair.
the weather was even kind enough to
cooperate with some sun and dry weather.
i forgot to take a picture of it sanded and
primed but have a picture of the first coat.

 

i went for a warm, creamy white versus

a real chalky white. it seemed more suited

to the style of chair and fabric.

the backing was done in class last week

along with some sanding.

hoping tomorrow the painting gods

continue to smile down upon my little

chair so i can get a second coat 

on which means i might actually get

to do some upholstery in class on thursday

night.

keep your fingers crossed.

it is starting to look like something.

Yeah!

Ciao,

F

bubbles....

I can't believe it has been a week since I wrote last.

That is just way to long.

I have been working nonstop for the last 

10 days and finally am taking a late

morning to get a little sleep and blog.

It is Wednesday and that means it's 

"Advice" day and I wanted some

fun advice since I haven't had much time

to have fun in the last 10 days.

I found some good ol' 1923 advice

to having fun that really has lasted the 

age of time.

You don't have to be a kid to enjoy this,

you just have to be a bit of a kid at heart.

Sometimes the simplest things can be the most fun.

Glycerin Soap  Bubbles

"Having two small sisters, I am often called on,

in case of their illness, to help entertain them.

And I have at last found a sure way of keeping them

contented and happy when they are well enough to permit it.

I place a woolen blanket on top of the bed coverings

and provide each child with a clay pipe.

Then I prepare a cupful of real soapsuds,

adding to it a small amount of glycerin.

The children can blow bubbles to their 

hearts content, and the glycerin makes the bubbles

tough so that they settle on the blankets and 

often remain four or five minutes before breaking."

D.McC., Iowa

Let's hear it for finding the joy and fun

in the simplest of things.

Ciao,

F

advice....

found  a good one this week.

i know it's not fall but i loved

her approach on cooking squash.

Baking Squash

" I used to have sad times preparing my 

Hubbard squash for the kettle or oven,

often being obliged to call on the ax to

help me, 

and generally  winding up with at least

one disabled member.

Now, immediately after breakfast,

I just wash the squash and place it in the 

range oven.

By dinner-time it is baked;

then I open it with any common knife,

remove the seed, scrape out the squash,

and with the addition of a little cream

and seasoning I have the most delicious

squash imaginable, for all its sweet juices have

been retained and so has my temper!

O.D.B.,Iowa 1923

i think O.D.B would have been quite

the entertaining blogger.

i love her phrasing and description of her experience. 

the squash sounds good but here is what i

took away, if you need to use an ax

to make a recipe it probably isn't a good idea.

change the menu.

Ciao,

F

upholstery....

i decided to finally learn how to re-upholster.

my friend lisa and i are taking a class.

our first class was last week.

when we initially signed up our soon to be

teacher, dee,  recommended we start with a

ottoman.

i have a couple but one doesn't need any work

and the other is in the man cave, which means

it definitely is not worthy of a new look, yet.

both of us had chairs that we wanted to do.

they didn't have to much upholstery

so we decided we would support each other

and go in to our first class insisting that

we get to do our chairs.

dee was totally cool with it.

 i didn't come prepared with my project other than 

a picture but lisa did.

so once we got the vocabulary lesson and some

quick tips on how to deconstruct our projects

we were set loose on to lisa's chair.

i didn't realize how much fun it could be taking

apart a chair but i will admit it gets a little 

tedious once you have pulled out your 

fifth millionth staple.

since i didn't have my project i promised 

to work on it at home until the next class.

finally the sun came out, well not really 

but it wasn't raining so that's kind of like 

the sun came out in these parts.

i dragged the chair out from the back of the garage,

pulled together some tools and began the task 

of taking apart my free chair.

my free chair

i found this chair on craigs list for free.

the seat cushion was in such bad shape

that when i picked it up it literally poured

out on to the floor in a stream of sand like stuff.

the bones were good so i took it home.

tools in hand i took the upholstery off.

the back before

the back during

removal of the seat back

double welting = extra staples

the seat back completely removed

the whole process was something like 

an excavation.

you're never quite sure what you are going to find.

these tuffs and string are what held the buttons in place.

random things holding it all together

almost done

naked

some raw knuckles, a few scratches and bruises

from the chair falling on me as i fell on my ass.

but all in all i had fun doing it and can't wait 

to sand and paint before the next class.

i promise to keep you all posted 

on my progress.

ciao,

f

Mix....

 

we are so excited the shop where we have
or space (Found on Fremont) got a write up
in Mix Magazine.
Mix did a story on the neighborhood and picked
Found as one of their highlighted shops.

to top it all off they not only wrote about
the shop they wrote about our space and
published a picture of our little  corner.

we are so excited for all of the girls at
Found on Fremont and thankful for
the shout out from the people at
Mix Magazine.

you can read the article here.

Ciao,
F