Great Finds this Weekend......Old Witches Broom?

Look at this old primitive witches broom I found in a junkie pile. It`s much to heavy to use and it`s thick in the handle , it also doesn`t have any wear from sweeping, so I have to conclude it`s an old witches broom. (That`s my story and I`m sticking to it!) ;-) Ok, it`s a hearth broom....

My Great Find this Weekend.....

I was helping my friend set up at the Flea Market and across from us was this big black thing sticking up at the end of their space full of junk. It turned out to be this old cast iron display rack. I grabbed it up , and someone was right behind me wanting it. He followed me to my truck asking if I would sell it, I said eventually I`ll sell it, (someday) . He offered me $15. more than I paid for it, I said no and started walking away and kept upping his offer, I think a whopping $30. more than I paid for it. Now this is a guy who out bids me at auctions every time I want something he wants, he always wins. So I didn`t feel inclined to sell it to him. Not that I have bad feelings about him, whoever is willing to pay the most at auctions wins, but this morning it was whoever was in the right place at the right time. I had thought of putting it in my antique space to hang old clothes to sell, but it will take up more space then what I have there now. I think I`m going to put it in my extra room and hang my antique clothing collection on. It`s very convenient that it comes apart in 3 places for easy moving.

My Works

A Look into my Workroom....at least half of it anyway.

Center of operations. I move the keyboard out of the way and pull the sewing machine over and sew. I roll my chair to my left and there is a work table, paints underneath in drawers. I`ll share the rest another time.

My Workroom

The old bottom cupboard came from a selvage yard. Early kitchen cupboards I suppose. The top on the right is a newer store display , where I keep my rughooking supplies. On the left is my overflow of books from my bookcase, mostly doll books and early style painting books. A few gifts from friends and some of my favorite collectibles.

I have this old narrow closet for some storage too. I live in an old house with only 2 closets in the whole house and this is one of them.

I was able to find this old pie cupboard at an auction last year and it`s great for holding many of my supplies. I hope to replace the screen for punched tin one of these days.

Last Piece............

I`ve finished another piece, but I need something to put it together in the frame. I decided to try wool. The stitchery store near me was selling out of their line of wool threads, so I bought a bunch of them, thinking I could overdye them whatever color I may need. Then I thought I`d try some tapestry wool, this came in 4 plys and I tried 2 of the 4 at one time. So my last piece I just finished is all wool. Hope to be able to add it on here soon. Check back for the update.

Marg`s Old House in Needle Punch

This piece I did from my friends painting, with her permission, as her work has copyrights.
This is a house where her cousin,and my friend Marg, use to live . This was really fun, adding many colors as I went along, tearing out if I wasn`t satisfied. I put an old piece of funeral fabric behind this for framing. Old frame too. This piece is still available $125. The inside design is 6 1/2" x 7" and the frame is 10" x 12 1/2".

Reversed Needle Punch ?

This is another piece I made that I started with the frame 1st. I love collecting old frames, just can`t walk on by, has to come home with me. This wasn`t an old frame though, but I found it 2nd hand. When I was making this one, I kept thinking about how I like the detail on the back so much better than the front, so I decided to make the back , the front. I filled in every space with tiny stitches. Called it "reversed needle punch".

3rd Needle Punch Piece

I wanted to make a mat, and this is what I came up with. I just punched as I went, I had a certain number of colors I wanted to use, but just grabbed and punched. I made this one after reading the booklet put out by Notforgotten Farm`s called Primitive Needle Punch Primer. They recommend using all 6 strings , so I went and got the needle for 6 strings and I liked the idea of punching bigger designs. I think this looks like a miniaturized hooked rug, like if you wanted to scale down a rug for a doll house or display. You can probably still order this booklet from Lori Brechlin of Notforgotten Farms . Tell her Melanee sent you.

2nd Punched Piece

This is my 2nd piece. I drew a oval that would fit in that frame, then drew an outline design and punched it as I went , no plan as to what colors would go where. I framed it on an old worn piece of quilt,(don`t worry I didn`t cut a good quilt to get this piece, it was already just a section. The frame and quilt are old and worn with real age, so it makes a nice backdrop for my work.

1st Punched Piece

Thought I`d write about needle punch today. I love doing needle punch. I didn`t start with a pattern or kit. I decided I wanted to cover a little coin purse. I have found some silk coin purses in my travels and wanted to do something with them. I traced the shape of the purse onto fabric, added a seam allowance , put it in a hoop and punched it. I did very few colors at first, just to see if I even like doing it.I repeated for the backside but just filled it in with black background color. I was thinking it would be nice to make my doll a carpet bag, but it didn`t turn out like that.

Here is a gathering of some of the bears and dolls I`ve collected and made over the years. They stay in various corners of my house, but as shown here at Christmastime they gather together for a family shot. Some of my dolls live with me for awhile after I make them as I have trouble letting them go.