Sonya Nimri

Autumn in Los Angeles. 80 degrees plus, steaming hot. Leaves cling to green when the only thing we want is change. Bring on some orange, red, and brown! Bring on fall! Not here. Southern California affixes itself stubbornly to summer when all we want is to abandon the whites and navy's of August and kick up the spiced apple cider, hot chocolate, and all the lovely knits that autumn allows. Well, if Mother Nature won't provide, I will. And crave as I do the fall colors, I'm prepared to take summer under the knife and turn it into fall. So, here's a transformation of Spring shoes that only took a few minutes and is simple and easy, and will certainly turn a few heads, even if it won't turn the leaves (alas!)... The original shoes. Brush Mod Podge on the patterned area of shoes. Cover with fall fabric. Let dry then cut away fabric with Exacto knife. Run fabric through the loop to cover the bow.

A simple project that I made with an Indian vintage silk skirt that had shredded to pieces.  Any fabric will do but keep in mind that thicker fabrics will make thicker rope.  I find that a fine silk or satin crepe is ideal for this project because it shrinks up so easily when twisted for a soft, pliable, rope.  This project also looks great with two thick pieces of yarn.  A bike handlebar streamer instructional using the same technique coming soon! What You'll Need: Two 34"x 2" strips of silk or one double the length (longer if your wrist is a little chunkier) A safety pin Needle and thread Bead with big hole Directions: Tie the fabric pieces together at one end in a half-knot.  Just above the knot, pin the strips to your work surface. Pick up the two pieces of fabric and twist them clockwise.  Continue twisting until the fabric is twisted so tightly that it begins to kink. Twist the two fabric pieces together counter clockwise.  Continu...