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October 30, 2004
Sheep
From the same Japanese book as the Horse comes this sheep. The fabrics are from a couple of shirts that the stupid washing machine wrecked recently. I only used one arm from each shirt, so I'm trying to think up other things to do with the rest. It's the first time I've done a project with knit fabric, which was kind of a pain to work with. I also got the topology wrong a couple of times, getting the legs stuck inside the body. I dislike the sheep the more I look at him, so I'm going to let him hang out until Christmas in a drawer where El Chupacabra can't get him. I think I will send him to my 2-year-old nephew.
Update: the sheep has grown on me. There's something funny about the way I embroidered his eyes. One side of the sheep is angry, and the other is calm and placid. Much like my nephew, so I hope he liked it.
Posted under Toys (cat and kid) at 05:08 PM | Comments (0)
October 29, 2004
Small Things Designs
I've been brainstorming for ages about how to make something even remotely similar to the wonders at Small Things Designs. Her description mentions a saw, so I doubt this is in my realm of possibilities. I suppose it may be possible to use a punch on some of the softer craft metals they've got these days. I was thinking of raiding my stock of beach glass for the back layer. Hmmm. (Note: Looks like the deer design is only at Motel Gallery.)
Posted under Crafty Links at 07:52 PM | Comments (1)
October 27, 2004
crochet earrings
These crochet earrings made by Purldrop are for sale at Cut+Paste. I think I'll try to make something similar the next time the crochet bug hits.
Posted under Inspiration at 12:06 AM | Comments (4)
October 26, 2004
Oilcloth Sewing Machine Cosy
I was browsing Craftgrrl last night and saw this:
I immediately had to make one. I just happened to have 1. a piece of oilcloth I've been hoarding for months now 2. a piece of yellow bedsheet leftover from the duvet cover I made a while back 3. some yellow bias trim 4. a sewing machine with an ugly vinyl cover that's starting to tear. So I measured the old vinyl cover, made panels of the oilcloth and sewed them together, and made a lining from the sheet. Then I trimmed the whole thing in bias tape. The handle comes through a slot in the top instead of a fancy handle flap like bertha79's. But, I did add a slit along the bottom for the cord to stick out. I usually don't bother unplugging it since it stows right under my craft desk. (My craft desk is supposed to be a computer desk, and the little shelf to hold the computer is the perfect size for the machine.) I'm so happy with it! Still not so good with the bias trim, though. I had to fix it by handstitching in a few places where I either couldn't turn a tight corner or didn't catch the lining layer.
Posted under Sewing/Fabric Crafts at 09:12 PM | Comments (4)
October 24, 2004
Needle Book
Cross-stitched needle book, using a monogram from a book I got from the library. I can't seem to find the name of the book at the moment, unfortunately. It's basically just Assisi with a multicolored instead of solid background. I grabbed all the blues and browns from my thread collection and just randomly stiched around the letter shape until it was full. Fold over the raw edges and glue a rectangle of felt inside the book as a liner. If you just glue around the edge, you can use the liner as extra needle space. I suppose you could stitch it on to make it more secure, but I'm going to wait and see how well the glue holds. Then I sewed felt pages to match. It's got a little bead clasp to keep it closed.
Posted under Cross Stitch/Embroidery at 10:45 PM | Comments (2)
October 23, 2004
new links
I updated my ever-growing linklist of crafty-type blogs. Some have a higher craft quotient than others. Enjoy.Posted under Crafty Links at 10:20 PM | Comments (0)
October 20, 2004
Birdie cat toy
El Chupacabra (did I mention that we finally named the kitten?) completely destroyed his favorite toy, so I made him another one. The shape and color scheme are vaguely based on the applique on this bag by Cimba. He's happily ripping it apart this very minute.
Posted under Toys (cat and kid) at 12:17 AM | Comments (1)
October 17, 2004
Autumn scarf
The scarf I started a few days ago is done. You can tell my edges still leave something to be desired, though they're getting better. It's about 3.5-4 feet long, which is shorter than I thought it would be. I'm seriously considering getting another hank of the Manos to make it longer, and maybe for some fringe. I'm resisting, though, since the scarf is scratchier than I predicted. Disappointing. But pretty!
Posted under Knitting at 08:14 PM | Comments (0)
October 16, 2004
Megan Whitmarsh
I love Tiny Industries/Megan Whitmarsh's tiny embroidery. I first came across her wallets at Plastica thanks to a blurb in Readymade.
She does art exhibits too. This piece is called King Kong in the Desert.
Posted under Inspiration at 01:33 PM | Comments (0)
October 14, 2004
Nikki McClure
I really like the papercut art of Nikki McClure. Buy Olympia has a really good selection of her work. Her 2004 calendar is tacked at my desk, and my currrent favorite bookmark is her work (and came free with my Sunny and Windy order!) I want her new calendar, too. And she's got books! She must have an exacto-knife-finger-of-steel.
Posted under Wants at 07:19 PM | Comments (0)
October 11, 2004
Crafters Coast to Coast
Oh boy, a new craft show: HGTV's Crafters Coast to Coast. The one episode I've seen so far was promising. Kind of corny production values, but some decent projects. There was one part with a knitter/felter named Betsy McCall (after the paper doll? what a great name) that was pretty cool. She compared needle felting to tattooing. I fully expect to see some of the bloggers I read pop up on TV.
[edit: Here's Betsy McCall's webpage. I should've thought to look at the HGTV website.]
Posted under Crafty Book/TV Review at 11:02 PM | Comments (10)
October 10, 2004
embroidered treelet
I'm practising my embroidery and trying out colors before I add anything to my apron. I like the way my test treelet (design from the Jill Bliss and Shinpei book of the same name, see previous post) turned out, but I think I may go for something simpler for the apron. Lots of little threads to be pulled out in this one. There are some nice simple tree shapes in the book, so maybe I'll try those next. What to do with this little scrap? Make a patch or something?
Posted under Cross Stitch/Embroidery at 06:28 PM | Comments (1)
October 09, 2004
Manos scarf start
Now that it's looking like fall, I'm in the mood to knit again. I started a scarf with a hank of Manos del Uruguay that I've been hoarding. It's in really pretty fall colors ("prairie," I think, the tag's around somewhere), 22 stitches across in k1 p1 ribbing. Kind of narrow, but I plan to loop it around my neck a couple of times. I'm thinking of putting fringe on the ends, maybe. I got about a foot of it done tonight as an alternative to clutching my fists in anger at the debate.
Posted under Knitting at 12:28 AM | Comments (0)
October 08, 2004
uncool LYS
I went to the LYS today to look at Amy Singer's Knit Wit book. It's gotten some lackluster reviews on Craftster (see this thread), and I wanted to look through it to see if there's anything redeeming (besides Erica Mulherin's illustrations, of course). The yarn store ladies had no idea what I was talking about. They had never even heard of Knitty before. I had to spell it for them. How out of touch can you be? One of them said that she "doesn't do that whole web thing." You would think some other person coming in the store besides me would've mentioned Knitty. It just seems so bizarre, like I inhabit a parallel knitting universe.
Posted under Knitting at 08:13 PM | Comments (0)
October 07, 2004
Apron
I made this apron from, um, another apron I got at Ikea. I bought it because I really liked the fabric (a cotton that looks like linen), but I've been wanting a little craft apron instead of the big apron that it was. The ties are from the neckstrap/ties; the main big pockets are from the bottom rectangle part of the apron, folded in half; the extra pockets are from the excess material in the bib section (after I ripped out all the seams for the neckstrap/ties channels). The pockets don't show up real well in the picture, but there's a main deep pocket spanning the whole apron, a big slanted pocket to one side, and a long small pocket along the front. The piece of the bib that I used for the slanty pocket already had a hanging loop in the hem, which is now cleverly in the pocket to hook things on. The main big pocket is divided up into 4 smaller pockets of various sizes. I might add more divisions later, but I want to test drive it first. I also might add a lining to one of the narrower pockets as a "scissors holster," so the points don't poke through. I was so pleased with myself when I found the perfect color of thread for it. I'm a convert to the shiny rayon sewing thread. It's pretty. I have surprisingly few cloth scraps left, which I think I might use for embroidery experiments before trying to embellish the actual apron. My idea right now is to embroider some Treelets in greens and browns along the bottom little pocket, but we'll see.
Speaking of Jill Bliss, the uncut apron had been languishing in my closet for several months now, but after seeing her new Farm Friends Utility Apron, I picked the project up again.
I've also had my eye on the Foxy and Crafty Apron from Crackers and Honey.
The apron-lust originally started last year with the Japanese department stores, which all had lots of very nice aprons kind of like mine. I wish I'd bought one (story of my life). I tried navigating the major Japanese department store webpages in search of a picture, but with no luck.
Posted under Sewing/Fabric Crafts at 12:24 AM | Comments (0)
October 06, 2004
Horsey
I made this guy out of felt and ultrasuede. I think he'll pass as a gift for a 4 year old, but I'm not 100% happy with him. He's the first thing I made from a doll pattern book I got in Japan last year. Considering the instructions are all in Japanese, I think I did ok. I wonder why my embroidery always looks so bad?
Posted under Toys (cat and kid) at 07:11 PM | Comments (1)
October 03, 2004
Blythe Envy
I knew I should've bought a Blythe doll when I had the chance. I've been coveting one since, oh 2001 or so, when I saw This Is Blythe in a bookstore. When I was in Japan, I almost got one, but they were expensive so I thought I'd just buy one in the US. Turns out that Japan is Blythe mecca, which I hadn't realized until too late. I have such doll envy looking at everybody else's blogs. Helen of Spycore.net just got a mini-Blythe. Monkeyroom got a couple of couture Barbies that aren't nearly as cool, but strike the same chord. She also has a nice defense of buying dolls for yourself even as a grown woman. Loobylu makes the most wonderful things for her Blythes, like the world's cutest little doggie. Also from Loobylu: another post and another and a picture.
It's not just the doll that appeals to me, it's the whole idea of making the clothes, and posing her for pictures. xoxo, Blythe makes all sorts of great things, and she has a nice list of yet more Blythe links. Here's one of her homemade outfits:
Posted under Wants at 10:56 PM | Comments (2)