Happy Friday & This & That

   Even though I am retired and mostly don't venture out much any more these days-this week went by fast for me and it's Friday already. For the most part this was a quieter Labor Day weekend than past years. No fireworks from neighbors, one neighbor did not come in to spend the holiday and the other neighbor worked on outdoor projects and left on Sunday. A couple busy days with lots of boats-but not bad really. Biggest thing-cooler and more pleasant weather-finally

  I got bad news from my safety inspection for my 1999 Mountaineer They have to re do something in my front tires-no longer safe. Larry called it a front end.  This car has been perfect for me-we bought it used with very little mileage from a friend. It has gone on several long road trips over this time that I have driven it. The issue now is finding a neighbor that can help me get back home after I drop it off. I would just stay there and read my kindle-but the shop is soooo busy and they might not get me in at the 8 am appt and it is a 4-6 hour job.  I need to call the one neighbor that helped me with my shattered back window. I just dislike asking for help as I can't usually return the favor-now especially.

  Still no significant rain here, we got a few sprinkles the other day but not a soaking rain like we really need. Predicted to rain this afternoon so we'll see if we get it.

 Since I brought up the case with Ebay about the poor instructions and very high shipping-I got my money back on that this morning. The seller was supposed to send me a label to return it which he never did. I did yesterday put it into a smaller envelope and mail it back to him. I also refused the package with the needle and was able to do that by writing "refused mail to sender" I checked with the post office and you can still do this as long as you don't open the package. I did this on my own without contacting Ebay for help  so am hoping he does the right thing and refunds my money on this.  Ebay refunded the money on the instructions since he was not being cooperative.  Too much drama haha   I very rarely have any problems shopping online though.

  Have been doing a lot of reading online and watching videos about the process for this Amish toothbrush rug and some things are not clear in my head still.  I looked online and found a vintage pattern for this rug-many are too high priced but I found a seller that was reasonable. One needs to know how to increase the stitches as the rug gets larger so I think this pattern should make this more clear.   This was a popular craft brand back in the 1980"s 

    I did find a group on Facebook that is based on making crafts from recycled materials instead of buying all new.  I found several making these rugs so I was able to ask some questions.

   I have gotten a lot of cotton strips torn and steam pressed this week. Most do not press their strips, but I think it will be easier to work with and a nicer finish as well.   

   One needs a base strip that you tie the knots on to-and I didn't have a fabric for that in my stash. So reading online-many use poly-cotton broadcloth for stability. Not big on poly anything for fabric but I think this will be a good choice.  I did find a seller that also sells supplies and she was selling 100% cotton broadcloth for rug making-cut on the bias and one very long roll in one piece. This was too expensive to me.  Many buy sheets at the resale shops and make rugs with those-and they can be all cotton or not.

  My grandparents farm in Indiana was located right in the middle of Amish country. My parents bought the property when they passed. I was quite surprised at the time that most of the clothing that the Amish wear is not cotton-it is all synthetic or broadcloth and wool for winter. My Mom and I used to shop at an Amish fabric store, so I had asked why and she said because the clothes dry faster on the line than  cotton clothes. So if using older clothes or sheets for these rugs they would have had a lot of synthetic fibers in them, and the rugs would last longer too. Just my thinking.

 Those of you that watch-are you ready for football?  The KC Chiefs first seasonal game is tonight and in a different country. We can watch it for free online on You Tube.

  I have been catching up on laundry here the last couple of days, cleaning a bit too. Oh and I wanted to share a new series I found on Magnolia Network-I like this channel so am happy it is included in our package.  A Mom and daughter already own a Frank Lloyd Wright home but if I am understanding this right in one of the buildings on their property where he worked-- his last design was found after he passed. These two are going to build it.   The whole reference to the home was a small tulip tree-now that tree is very large and not in good shape and is surrounded by other trees after all of these years---so they have decisions to make already.   The first episode was last night. Here is a link about this show

   Happy Friday and weekend