ELEVATING THE UBIQUITOUS FEED SACK TOWEL

A BFF of my sister (and a dear friend of mine too) recently said she was going to send me a ceramic tile she was making just for me - be still my heart as she is a real artist - her quilts belong in museums, she just does wonderful things.  I was a little surprised when the box arrived as it was way too big for a small tile.  Well (I love surprises like this, don't you?) inside was not only the tile but the most adorable Lori C. Mitchell "I Believe" figurine and then a feed sack towel - very large size, 32"x36" with two bands of cotton fabric sewed on one end of the towel - one band about six inches and the other about 2" - the bands are made of vintage fabric from the 30's, 40's, 50's.  Topped off by her embroidery design of a very folk art angel matching the tile.  She insisted on my using this for a kitchen towel and I would have none of that - this is a little work of art to be framed and go where my folk art goes.....to my guest room! Thank you again GC!

Here is the beautiful and fun folk art ceramic tile which took me all of two seconds to unwrap and find a little simple, rustic easel and set on one of the bedside chests in my guest room.  I love it so much!

This post is not just about my good fortune to have such a talented friend but to show what some fabric, a frame and some Annie Sloan paint and wax when used carefully, can make some really nice art work that you have created.  Hubby made the frame for me but you could use any open frame or for that matter a frame with glass.  I took the frame to Hobby Lobby and for very little they put in UV glass, the backing and the inserts to hold the backing and the wire holder.  You can use your 40% coupon for the most expensive part, the UV glass (if you provide your own frame as I did) so the final cost was $17.80.

I used masking tape and taped around the glass and then applied two coats of Annie Sloan Emperor's Silk.

Once the paint is dry you apply a coat of clear wax - I find the waxing process to be Zen-like as you just apply a thin coat and rub and rub with a clean cloth - I save Hubby's old tee shirts and cut them up for my cloths.

Let the first wax dry and then apply a thin coat of the dark wax.  If you put on too much of the dark, add some of the clear and rub.  The application is the same for the dark as the clear - rub, rub, rub.

Finished product - a beautiful red, not too bright but the coats of wax adds depth to the look.  I know I keep saying this but Annie Sloan's products are worth every penny they cost and are such a joy to use and so easy to get a great outcome.

Here is the portion of the feed sack towel that I wanted to show in the frame.  This photo does not do the towel justice as it is just wonderful, whimsical and folk arty and it is just so special to have a gift from someone that you know they took their time to create this just for you. I am so taken with the towel that I have already purchased some of the big towels and searched Etsy for some wonderful vintage fabric and will be making some of these for gifts.  I found a simple pattern for the embroidery and when I make mine I will be doing a blog post with full instructions.

The best way I know to frame fabric is to measure the middle of the frame board and draw a line down the middle then find the middle of your fabric and on the wrong side draw a line down the back and then match these two lines taking your fabric fold just like wrapping a package - do the sides first, then tape with duct tape (you can see the white tape I used above) then fold and tape the top and the bottom, slide back into the frame, bend down the little metal pieces holding in the project and the glass and you are done.  This was a little different as I had a lot more fabric than I normally would if I were just framing a piece of fabric.  I do not recommend putting a backing on framed fabric as sometimes fabric will stretch and sag and you want to be able to pull out the fabric and make it taunt again.

Here it is ready to go into the frame - I just need to tighten the area under the checkerboard embroidery.

I love the way this came out and am only sorry that the photograph is not better but it is really hard to take a photo of something that has glass because of reflection.  Just as my friend elevated the feed sack towel by adding the strips of vintage fabric and her lovely original embroidery picture, I think that framing it in a lovely frame has elevated it once again.

UV glass, wire and board for frame, Hobby Lobby
Annie Sloan paints, waxes and brushes, specialty stores
Vintage fabric, Ebay and Etsy
Large feed sack towels, Herrschners, Link

Thank you for stopping by.