A Rusty Thought

A Crafter’s Guide to the Internet by Megan Fisher

When our editor, Bianca Tzatzagos, announced that her focus for this issue’s Window Shopping pages was ‘rust’, I wondered how on earth I would be able to find any free craft projects on the net about rust. But, I’ve thrown myself into the task, used my imagination a little, and s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d the interpretation of the theme just a little more to come up with some wonderful and quirky projects to keep you going this month.
Let’s begin out in the garden, where rust is most likely to occur naturally. At http://dazigns.com/projects/plantedchair.html you can find well-illustrated instructions for turning a wooden chair into a planter for flowers. Where’s the rust you ask? Well, I thought that the concept would also lend itself very readily to a metal chair. (I did warn you that the theme had been stretched a little, didn’t I? LOL) If the metal chair you want to use isn’t actually rusty, you can find a recipe for rusting things at Pattern Mart.  Of course, this recipe can be used to rust any iron objects that you might wish to incorporate into your crafting, including wire, bells and pins.
Thinking of which, I figured that some projects that included some rusty ornaments could be said to fit in Web Works this month. The ones I found are: a prim angel (incorporating a rusty star) from our friends at the Chocolate Crow Trader at www.thechocolatecrowtrader.com/free_pattern_archive.htm; prim Raggedy Annie ornaments for fridge magnets, incorporating rusty tin at www.primraggs.com/anniemagnets.htm; and a prim star ornament for the Christmas tree. For this one go to http://craftandfabriclinks.com  Then in the Craft Centre, click on ‘Holiday Crafts’, scroll down the page and click on ‘Christmas’ and scroll down the page to the Grubby Star Ornament.
For readers who enjoy threads, yarn and fabrics, I thought the closest you might want to get to rust would be rust-coloured materials. For knitters, there’s a pattern for a glorious knitted bathrobe using rust-coloured wool at www.craftown.com/knit/knit12.htm  At www.knitpicks.com/Projects/itemid_50520220/projects_display you’ll find instructions for knitting rust-coloured Christmas stockings.
Doll makers will enjoy something a little bit different: a cloth doll of a Native American girl holding two (rust coloured!) foxes. You can find the instructions at http://thedollnet.com/arlene/indian/index.html  Turkeys are also a kind of rust colour, aren’t they? You can make a wonderful cloth turkey project at http://crafterscommunity.com/view/248/Mr._
Tom_Turkey
Shades of rust and russet can make an attractive table centre. For step-by-step instructions to make two stunning pieces for your next dinner party, go to http://interiordec.about.com/cs/familyrooms/l/blfallpr027g.htm for a table centre featuring pine cones and twigs, and to http://interiordec.about.com/cs/fallindex/l/blfallpr027c.htm for one that incorporates pears and autumn leaves. In a similar vein, Martha Stewart demonstrates how to wrap a pot in bark and use it as an unusual vase at www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=channel3800016&catid=cat271&navLevel=3
Are there any folk art painters amongst us? I found a wonderful design for you, featuring the advice “When it comes the time to sleep, Count the hounds instead of sheep”. The painting shows a row of rust-coloured dogs in the night sky. You’ll find the pattern and step-by-step instructions at www.allfreecrafts.com/decorations/folk-art.shtml  If you prefer, I guess you could even turn it into a stitchery instead of a painting.
For the quiltmakers, there are a host of wonderful designs using rust and other autumn colours. Indulge yourself with a wonderful stroll through all of these: a glorious full bed-size patchwork quilt at qnm.com/articles/feature51/index1.html and another one at http://mccallsquilting.com/golden/mg35_pattern/; Fons and Porter’s string-pieced and appliquéd masterpiece at www.fonsandporter.com/fp/onlineextras/freedesigndownloads/jbleafquilt.asp; and a Debbie Mumm autumn harvest themed quilt at www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_occasions_thanksgiving/article/0,,HGTV_3479_1371617,00.html
Indulge yourself in your craft — after all, you wouldn’t want your skills to go rusty, would you?