Friday, July 28, 2006

Mainly Jewelry Post - Faux Pearl Necklace!

Alas, no, Rambling Rose is not yet finished, although it is very near completion.

Last night, I did make a necklace of which I am quite proud, and so I decided not to wait until I'd finished something else to post pictures of it.

As most who know me well are already aware, I love pearls. This is made of faux pearls and one of those really long chains you can buy and cut to size. I used a cute little heart-shaped toggle for the closure. Here are two pictures, one taken with flash, and one without.

Pearl Cascade:





I really love it... but I don't know what anyone else thinks. I was thinking of maybe making a couple more and trying to sell them... but I don't know. Anyway, I am happy with mine!

I thought I'd have more fused glass jewelry to show today, but instead of drilling my pieces, I spent the whole time making more stuff, since it was the last time we'd actually have to make anything, I figured I could spend the last day drilling. So at the end of next week, I'll be posting lots more fused glass pictures!

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Rambling Rose update

Finally finished the sleeves on Rambling Rose! It's blocking now... once it's dried, I'll only have to seam and knit the button bands and the roses. Yay! Sooo close! It still feels like so much left to do, though. Maybe next week I will be able to post pictures of the FO... I sure hope so.

The Watermedia Encounters of M. Douglas Walton are happening again, and I dropped by several times today to check out what they were doing. They are doing a Figure Encounter - people, of course. It is so interesting and exciting. I sat there like a kid at Christmas or something, watching and listening with such excitement. I really hope to get to do one of these classes!

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Inside my jewelry chest

Once upon a time, a girl searched and searched to find the perfect jewelry chest. She could never find one she liked, and though many would have said any box would be better than the Ziploc bags in which she stored her jewelry, she refused to lower her standards. Finally, she did find a box she loved, and the search was over.


Now that she finally has that box, she has quickly filled it with beautiful jewelry she adores.


Now she is eager to show you some special treasures stored inside!
If you look very closely below, you can spot the pieces:


Here's an even closer look:


It's some of the fused glass jewelry I've been making!
Here is each piece up close. The flash and the glass don't get along well, so please excuse the blurry pictures!
This is a pendant I made for my mom:


My first pair of earrings. I call them Mardi Gras Rocks:


Another pair of earrings. I call them Pinkies:


My favorite pair so far, and the hardest to photograph. They don't have a name yet. What should I call them?


There will be lots more. It is so fun, and we can make as many small pieces as we want and have time for. That means lots more earrings (most of them as gifts)! Please excuse any typos... it is past my bedtime!

Almost done with the sleeves on Rose. CANNOT wait to have this one finished!!

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Nene's Purse is Complete!

I finished the purse for Leneisha! I think it turned out so well. I really love it, and I hope she does, too! Here are pictures of it:





Pattern Used: NewLook 6574, view E
Fabric Used: The purse was a very stretchy, textured brown fabric, and the lining was a tan/dark blue/burgundy plaid, both from Wal-mart.

This pattern presented quite a few challenges for me, which I will discuss more when I review it at the Sewing Pattern Review website.

Also, look at two lovely gifts my sister brought me from Qatar!




A purse and a beautiful, glittery wrap. I love them both!

Monday, July 17, 2006

Because picture > words

Here are the earrings I made yesterday. The pictures are not very good. Please excuse the wet hair and so-called "elf ears." I have been picked on about that quite a bit, but I never thought they were that pointy... although it's cool to be an elf now, right?




Also, here is a picture of Grandma wearing the scarf I made her last year. She loves it. There is a matching hat, but she didn't have it on that day.



And finally, just because I love shoes, and this pair in particular:



By the way, sewing with premade bias tape = easy. Sewing with bias tape you had to make yourself... that is uneven... annoyingly difficult!

The other day, I went to Hobby Lobby, and while I was there, decided to pick up a cable needle, since I'd lost mine. I looked around the knitting dept, and there weren't any. I decided to ask someone about them, so I asked one lady and she directed me to another lady, saying "That's her department - she knows all about that stuff." So I ask the other lady about a cable needle. She's never even heard of a cable needle, she says. "I've heard of a cable, and I have heard of needles, but never a cable needle." I couldn't believe it. I later bought a set from Michael's. I really hate when people who don't know a craft are expected to help customers. I imagine it is frustrating for all parties involved. I just wasn't prepared for there to be not even one person at Hobby Lobby who knew what a cable needle was. I wish there was an actual yarn store nearby!

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Whoops, this is supposed to be a knitting blog!

Why are the sleeves on Rambling Rose taking soooo long to knit? Probably because I am so ready to have this project completed, and I just haven't felt like working on it much lately. I haven't even finished the ribbing yet! I have never worked so long on one project... normally I switch back and forth to keep from getting bored and/or tired of anything. Don't worry, I'll finish. After seeing someone from the KAL finish hers in nearly the exact color as mine, and seeing how fantastic it looks on her, I am even more impatient to have this sweater! I normally knit just because I love to knit, and to learn all of the neat stitches and techniques, and RR did start out that way... but I'm just ready to be done with it now. I hate 1x1 rib!

Yesterday, at Michael's, I picked up a jewelry-making kit and a little set of jewelry pliers to make a couple of pairs of earrings. I did that today, and it was a lot of fun. It was very quick, too! I'll probably be doing more jewelry in the future; actually I know I will, because I have been doing a fused glass jewelry-making class that is so much fun! I don't know whether I'll ever afford a kiln, but I would love to keep doing that after the class is over. It only lasts a month. Right now, I have made a few pairs of earrings for various people (including myself!), and a pendant for my mom, who does not have her ears pierced. There is another really neat project we are going to work on, but I'll have to wait to post about it until it's finished. I can't really explain it well without a picture. Tomorrow, I'll post some pictures of the earrings I made from the kit today, and maybe on Thursday I'll post some of the things I've been making in the class, assuming any of them are finished. The class only meets every Thursday, so things go quite slowly. Another fun thing about making jewelry is that Christmas presents and birthdays will be pretty simple for the ladies!

I'm sewing a bag for my roommate, and it's turning out very nicely, too. I am finally getting straight lines on my machine! She is leaving on Thursday or Friday, so I will have to finish it by then, and I will post a photo of it here, too. At first I thought the brown fabric and the tan/dark blue/burgundy plaid lining was a lil boring, and it is still not my style (I prefer bright colors and usually avoid browns and black), but now I really love the combination of the lining and the outside fabric. It's cute and stylish, and I think it is going to be a great bag. I actually like this pattern for a knitting bag. I plan on finding some fabric I really like, and adding lots of pockets.

Oh, and to top it off, I got one of those Boye interchangeable sets for so cheap! I was super-excited, because I never thought I'd own one of those. They are normally so darned expensive... well, they are actually a good deal even at regular price, considering that you get all those needles, but $70 to spend on something like that doesn't come my way often. I really want the Knitpicks' ones, but the Boye was right there, very inexpensive, and beggars can't be choosers, right? I love it! I have to admit, I think the brown case is very ugly... but that's easy to remedy. I can "slipcover" it, and I think I will. Boye are the needles I'm used to working with anyway; I have two or three sets of bamboo needles, one Addi Turbo circular, and a Susan Bates circular, but all my others are aluminum, and I really like using them. They are the only things easy to come by around here, and even then not all sizes are available. I don't have to worry about that now! YAY! So now all I really need is to expand my collection of dpns (I hardly have any), and I'll be pretty well set for needles. Dpns are going to be harder to find, especially as I would like to get either bamboo or at least plastic sets. I can just see metal dpns slipping out all over the place! Yikes!

Oh, and another note. I taught my 7 yr old nephew Joey how to knit, and it was so cute! He actually picked up on it pretty well, although he was soon bored with it.

Finally, check out New Orleans Paintings by Angel Turner Dyke. I am in love with this one:



When I spellchecked, the dictionary did not recognize the word "blog." That's funny!

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Aren't I supposed to be blogging about MY creativity?

Well, I'm not. Because I've done NOTHING in the way of knitting in the past few days, and little sewing. Well, I did knit a few more rows of Rose, and a few of Butterfly, but not many. I have been trying to finish this dadgum blouse from Burda World of Fashion, May, but the instructions are SO confusing! I'll post pictures as soon as I finish it, which I hope will be next week. I have been very busy over the extended weekend with non-crafting, and having a wonderful time!

Since I've really nothing new to report, I did want to mention other bloggers wonderful projects. Eunny Jang finished her beautiful Bonnie-inspired sweater, and it is seriously just amazing. I cannot wait for a pattern for this! When it is available, I'm dropping everything else to knit it!

The new Knitty is up, and well, I'm not much of a sock knitter, and this issue is mainly socks. I now have a hankering to knit 3 currently available sock patterns: Pomatomus, Eunny Jang's two color cabled socks, and now, Baudelaire. This pattern may have been named after the poet, but to me it screams Violet Baudelaire from A Series of Unfortunate Events. I want to knit these socks, and wear them when I'm feeling inventive. :-)

Other patterns I may knit are: Fetching,Sock Monkey hat, and Lilies. I liked most of the other patterns, but probably won't knit them for one reason or another.

From Magknits, I really want to knit the Ballet Camisole. I liked a few of the other patterns, but probably won't ever make them.

I also love the Piano socks from Magknits. You sock knitters may get me after all.