More Fused Glass Jewelry

Hopefully not the last! But here is everything I've made since the last post about the jewelry. Sorry the photos suck... I haven't figured out how to photograph fused glass yet. If you have the flash on, the glass reflects, of course. If you have the light off, you get blurry pictures.
















Lots of earrings, a couple of pendants (the purple/white were supposed to be earrings, but I decided they'd be too heavy, so now they are pendants), a fish, and a turtle! YAY! This was really fun, and I would love to continue!

Revisiting My Intro Post

How much have I accomplished from my first post, 8 months later?

WIPS
Ella Scarf - crochet, using Lily's Sugar and Cream (~ 40% complete) I put this on hold over the summer, but will get it done in time for winter... I still love this scarf!
Americana hat - crochet using Red Heart Worsted, to match the scarf I made my grandma for Christmas (she loves the patriotic things)(~20% complete) FINISHED!!!
A hat for me - crochet, using Lion Brand Homespun, Red Heart Light and Lofty, Red Heart Worsted, and crochet thread (~80% complete)FINISHED!!! But I hated it.
DNA scarf - knit, in Caron's Simply Soft (no dye lot, because I want it to be longer than pictured, and don't know how much extra I will need) (~ 10% complete) I stopped working on this, and decided I didn't want to use this yarn for the scarf after all. I am going to make the scarf, but in a superwash wool.
Small flower - crochet, in crochet thread (~ 70% complete) Whoops, this one is in a drawer... unfinished. I am not sure why, since it would not take long to finish it, I imagine.
Fabric-knit purse - knit (~10% completed) This is in the same state as the flower.
Delphine sweater - knit, in Knitpicks' Wool of the Andes. Currently, I am only working on constructing the pattern for this sweater. Don't expect this to be finished any time soon, it is the most complicated project I've worked on. Yay! I have't forgotten this sweater... but neither have I made much progress on it. Two bottoms of the sleeves are done, and that is about it. Sigh. It's that darned center cable. I'd be finished if I could just let myself use a different cable for it.

To-do list (someday)
Soon - Hat for my nephew Dustin - knit, Red Heart Worsted? Almost done! I should have already finished it.
This silk corset top - knit, in Knitpicks' Shine? I'd love to do it in silk, but it will only cost about $25 to make it in Shine, double-stranded. No one has told me how this would work for this top though. Done, knit in Brilla. Love it!
Something for my boyfriend's mother, she is so sweet! I saw a clapotis knit in beautiful recycled sari silk, and I think that might be a wonderful choice for Mrs. Nancy. Haven't even looked for yarn for it yet. Shame on me.
Something pretty and lacy for my elementary G/T teacher, Mrs. Knight... she was such a great teacher. Same as above, but I don't know how to get in touch with her any way.
A sweater for my mom I keep telling her to find the yarn for it... and she hasn't even decided on a pattern yet.
A knitting bag, - knit, felted or cotton with fabric lining It got pushed back, and right now I'm using a big, cheap tote bag of my mom's from Walmart as a knitting bag.
A knitting needle case - knit, felted I sewed one instead.
A felted cloche like Ann Darrow wears in King Kong, if I can ever find or design the perfect pattern Maybe THIS winter...
A fish bag from Folk Bags FINISHED! I love it!
Kimono Sweater from Knitpicks It's still on the list... the ever growing list.
The Lion Brand Incredible ribbon shrug and camisole in the Spring/Summer '05 issue of Knit.1 The shrug is finished... the cami not so much. I didn't even buy the yarn for it.
This wrap from the same mag. Almost forgotten... but I do still love it.
The ballet wrap from Interweave Knits Spring 2005. I'll get to it some day. I love it so!
The beautiful butterfly jacket from Noro Knits. In progress, thank God!

Geez, so I still have a really long list from when I started knitting, and now there is so much more I want to knit. I never meant to find so much I wanted to make! There are still a ton of sweaters and a couple of hats I want, I've got yarn for a couple of scarves (they will be quick knits, since they are $1 novelty yarns), and more.

Aside from what's on the sidebar, some of which I do still occasionally touch, I've got Rowan's Butterfly dress going on as my first lace project, a Sunrise Circle Jacket in the works, yarn for a Tubey someday, and yarn for a Craftster Circular Shrug, oh, and the Rebecca Apricot Jacket. And Annie Modesitt's Spencer from IK. I can't bring myself to edit my list of WIPs on the sidebar, since I really feel I should be finishing things, instead of starting new ones!

Looking at the list on the sidebar, I'm unsure about the Pomatomus socks... I still definitely want them, but I don't know if I want to knit them in a purple yarn any more. I am thinking about ripping out the tiny bit I have done on them, and making Baudelaire with it, and finding some pretty, watery blue for Pomatomus. Also, the fur collared shrug looked like I was going to run short of yarn, so I don't think it is going to work out. I have to find something to make with that beautiful yarn, though! The Craftster DNA tank and I had a spat, and it won. I thought I shouldn't need more than one row counter to keep up, and it thought I should. So I am going to rip nearly all my progress on it, and start over using more than one row counter. If you think that's unecessary, you should see the mess I've made of it. I could probably finish the Butterfly Jacket pretty quickly if I worked on only it for awhile, but I don't need to finish it any time soon... most of the sweaters I am in no hurry to finish, which is why I let myself work on so many. Louisiana doesn't have enough cold weather for me to rush them. It will be mid to late October before I will even need a jacket, let alone a sweater.

It's really silly of me to be making so many in that case, but I love knitting sweaters! A lot of knitters have socks, I have sweaters. Since I am so small, they don't cost much for me to make, and I love learning the different construction techniques, and having a beautiful FO to wear. That being said, I also love hats. Quick, easy, and the perfect way, imo, to showcase a little bit of great yarn. Not to mention that I love wearing hats! I particularly want to make both of the Kirsten Dunst inspired hats.

Anyway, now I find myself dying to knit Eunny's Argyle Vest (well, I've wanted to for awhile, but now that Telemark has arrived, may actually have found a better yarn to do it with, making it that much worse), and I know in the winter IK I will definitely love her fair-isle sweater. I want to get the new IK for the Gatsby Girl sweater (talk about beautiful!), and I love Glampyre's new sweater design, Guinevere, for Stitch Diva (Ok, so Guinevere is the name I gave it). The Telemark yarn also offered up an affordable choice for Annie Modesitt's Bi-color Cables Cardi, which I love... at least there will be things to knit for years to come. And when Eunny brings out the pattern for her pink Bonnie inspired sweater, well, I'm dropping everything else to knit it. Oh, and how could I forget Forecast from Knitty? I adore it so! And the Drops Designs criss-cross sweater! I know there are lots of other things I'd love to knit... designers, slow down and let me catch up! Not really, yall are doing a great job keeping us "in stitches." There are plenty of other wonderful designs I could mention, but I think I have spent enough time dreaming for one day. ;-)

Knitting Needle Case

I finally got tired of having my knitting notions everywhere, and decided to actually get around to sewing a knitting needle case. I'd intentionally planned on using a craftster tutorial, and it probably would look better if I had, but I didn't. I winged it and I am still happy with it - it's not perfect, but it will hold everything I currently have, and I think there is even room for a few more things. Not all of my knitting needles are in the case right now, since I literally have so many projects "on the needles!" Also, I LOVE this fabric so much, and think it makes up for the many any imperfections in the sewing. Eventually, it will close with pretty red ribbon, but since I didn't have any available right now, I just used red acrylic yarn. Please excuse the gross looking plastic-covered dorm mattress - I promise it's clean(not that I sleep on it, there are sheets on my bed... this is the extra)!

I forgot to take a picture of it unrolled to show the outside fabric, but here are a couple of pictures I took when I first got the fabric:





Unrolled:


Rolled Up:


It holds my straights, circulars, dpns (I hardly have any!), cable needles, crochet hooks, scissors, measuring tape, needle felting needles (I have some to try it, but couldn't get the hang of it when I did), stitch holders, a pen and a needle-sizer, and a small ziploc bag holding my stitch markers and row counters. I have to think of a better way to store those! Anyone?

Yes, it's bulky holding that much stuff, but at least everything is easy to keep up with now! I think I am going to make a smaller one later.

Burda Blouse and a Belt Buckle

I never posted anything about working on this blouse from the Burda May '06 issue, mainly because I wasn't sure I'd ever finish it. When Burda says something is "easy to sew," that obviously means easy for experienced sewers to sew! I had a very hard time with it and eventually ended up diverting from the "instructions" and just BSing it. The sleeves are really too tight, and of course, the bust area is too small, so I HAVE to wear a cami underneath. Still, I think it's pretty good for my first try at a blouse, and my second piece of clothing. I hand-sewed snaps on, and I didn't do a great job of it, so I may go back and try to learn how to sew a snap with my machine. I thought about doing buttons, but I didn't have any I liked for this blouse lying around, and I'm a little nervous about trying buttonholes. I'm sure I'll do it eventually, though... just maybe not for this blouse. I will probably make this top again, and I know I want to make the version of it with the long sleeves, too. I really like it! I also made a belt to go along with it, inspired by a review of the blouse from the Sewing Pattern Review website... but I think I like it better without.

Please excuse the mess in the background, since I've been too busy to clean! Actually, I already did clean when I looked at the pictures and realized what a mess that bed looks, but I didn't feel like going back and re-doing the pictures. I'd say it's not normally a mess, but I'd be lying.





Here is the belt buckle I made for mom. It's fused glass, and I thought it turned out so beautifully. So did everyone else! The colors are not due to the light; they are really like that... part blue, purple... part yellow. It looks like the light is reflecting it, but it looks those colors no matter the angle.



Here is a pin for my grandma. It is made of stacks of glass, fused together, and then cut. What a neat technique!


That's all for now. Time to go work on my PCR project!

FO - Rambling Rose (at last!!)

Yes, that's right... I finally finished Rambling Rose today! I'm not sure yet what I think, but I did take a couple of bad shots in front of the mirror to give an idea of how it looks. I'll try to get some better photos later on.

Pattern: Rambling Rose from Rowan 39
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fine in Victorian Pink
Needles: Susan Bates size 1 circulars, Addi Turbo size 2 circulars, 24 or 29"
Modifications: No intentional ones. I messed up and made the bottom ribbing about 1 cm too short (by the way, this project was great for getting me to know metric better, since everything is in cm), and I may have done the shaping wrong around the shoulders and sleeves, since the pattern was a little confusing to me... but it all worked out in the end, so I don't think I did mess that up.

I'm happy with the knitting, overall... I think my seaming should be better, and the cotton is not very forgiving, so I can tell even minor problems with the stitches, but I think the sweater looks beautiful... on me, however... I'm not so sure. I kinda feel that it may make me look fat, and I'm still not sure about the roses, as much as I love them. I like this yarn as well as I reckon I could like any cotton fingering weight yarn... it is very soft, and I am loving how it feels against my skin, although knitting with it was tiring at times. I didn't really learn any new techniques with this piece, but I am happy with the finished product, although I don't know how frequently I'll wear it... or if I'll ever get the nerve to give it a public appearance!

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!

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!

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!!

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!

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!

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!

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.

Breaking out of the coccon

Coccon... that spelling doesn't really look correct to me. Dictionary.com says it is, so who am I to argue? :-p

I don't normally post pictures of my WIPs, because I think no one will take much interest in seeing them... although I love to see other bloggers' progress, it's not like I come up with amazing, beautiful, original designs like Eunny Jang, or really have any other reason to think anyone would take interest in my work... but I just have to post a photo of the incomplete back of Butterfly, because I am so in love with the colors! I was going to wait to start on the sweater, since it's not going to be cold here for a loooong time, but I really wanted to see how my Noro knit up. It's beautiful! See for yourself:



The colors are actually pretty accurate, but the actual yarn is richer than in this photo. I took this picture with the photo settings adjusted for flourescent lighting, and left off the flash. The bunchiness of the piece is due to my having to use size 8s that are too short, since my size 8 circulars are still holding the not-forgotten Delphine-inspired sweater. I can't believe how quickly this knit is going. I'd forgotten what a difference using worsted weight instead of fingering weight makes!

I'm making a couple of changes, namely in the sizing. I'm too short for the length of this sweater, so I am going to make it right below my waist (hopefully!). I've read a whole lot about other knitters having problems with the sleeves being waaaay too long, so I will obviously be shortening the sleeves, too. Other than that, I really can't wait to see how this turns out, although I'm not worried about finishing it soon.

Rambling Rose is still coming along... although, not as quickly as I'd like. I really want to finish it soon, maybe within the next couple of weeks (yes, that is soon for me!).

I've had a few design ideas lately, so I am going to work at figuring out this designing stuff as well. If I can get any of them to work out, they will look great!! I even have an idea that, if I can figure it out, I think would make it into Knitty!

Also, I picked up this:





Isn't it lovely? It's going to become a knitting needle case.

(Finally) FO: Chinese Prosperity Fish Bag and Crawfish Purse

Sometimes, it's so hard to make myself finish a project. I can be totally in love with a particular project, but put it aside, unfinished, because I'll think something like "Oh, that's going to be so easy... but so time-consuming... I'll do it later." Then later doesn't come for months, and I find myself looking at that project thinking "Boy, I really, really need to finish that."

That was pretty much what happened with the Chinese Prosperity Fish Bag from Folk Bags. I love the bag! I saw a picture someone else had knitted, and tracked down the book specifically for this one bag. I never saw anything else from the book until I got my copy. It was such a fast knit! I was very happy with it and couldn't wait to have it finished. Then... oh no... the details are EMBROIDERED. Ok, that's not so bad, I learned to draw, crochet, and knit with no problems; I can learn to embrodier. Well, folks, lemme tell ya something. Embroidering is not easy! In fact, I couldn't figure it out at all. A "simple" outline stitch is apparently something Ms. Crystal just can't grasp. I sat there, beside three different descriptions of how to do it, for hours, and it just looked bad on my swatch. Sad and discouraged, I put the beloved Fish Bag away. I picked it up some time later, and tried again. I did no better with the embroidery, but I did think of something else. I decided it didn't really HAVE to be embroidered, as long as it was there. So, I BSed it. I took the needle, cut a long piece of the yarn I was using to "embroider", and just messed around with it until I came up with something I thought looked ok. I actually like how it turned out. I like that it is definitely not store-bought... it's obviously handmade, but (and here I flatter myself) I think it's more like artsy-fun-expensive-boutique handmade, instead of being like the little pins you made for your mom in elementary school, that she wore out of pride no matter how ugly they looked. I also even like that the two sides look different; it's apparent that they are meant to be the same design, but they vary anyway. I think it adds to the purse, instead of taking away.




As already mentioned, the Chinese Prosperity Fish Bag is from the book Folk Bags. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves purses, and particularly to anyone who loves purses that are unlike-the-norm. There are several patterns in it that I would knit.

The bag is knit in Plymouth Galway, on either 10 or 10.5 (I think the latter) needles, and fulled. It was my first time fulling. I did 3 cycles in the (front-loading) washer, and am not quite happy with the amount of stitch definition remaining. The yarn was nice to knit with, and I will probably use it again, although I won't say it's my favorite wool so far. I wasn't sure what a fourth cycle would do, so I stopped at 3. I don't remember the color, but it was the brightest red I could find. The whole bag only took one ball. The yarn I used to embroider was a sportweight cotton yarn I found at Hobby Lobby, called Sinfornia, and I found the buttons and beads used for the eyes there, too. I omitted the tassels because the tail fins are pretty much fulled together, and I didn't want to mess with that. I am planning on making another of these bags.

The crawfish purse I sewed was also a cast-aside project. That instance was out of laziness, not frustration. I just never bothered attaching the handles. I finally did that yesterday, so now I can post pictures and tell a little about the bag.

This was the first thing I ever sewed. Mrs. Nancy helped me figure out how to put it all together, and let me use her machine to sew it. The bag is from a McCall's pattern, Easy stitch n' save M5082. I am really pleased with it, although I'm not quite happy with my placement of the handles. I think they are supposed to be lower, and they may end up that way. The fabric is a crawfish-on-newspaper print I just had to get when I saw it on eBay. I only had one yard, but that's enough for 2 purses, so I am going to make a purse for my mom out of this fabric as well. The lining is a heavy black fabric Mrs. Nancy had left over. There is interfacing to give it shape, but I omitted the cardboard called for in the pattern for the bottom. I also gave my purse two pockets instead of one, and for the pockets I used the crawfish fabric, again lined with the thick black. I really love that detail! I still need to add snaps of some kind - I hate bags that don't close.





I feel it still needs something. Perhaps some corn and potatoes? ;-)

A Creative Encounter

You may or may not have noticed a new link on my sidebar. It says M. Douglas Walton.

This story begins, as many do, with an open door. This time, literally, an open door.

At least once a day I visit the basement of GTM, going to the Micro lab, since I am lab assisting this quarter. I pass a certain room on my way. The door is always open, and inside is a table full of curiosities - ornate fabrics, masks, models of boats, umbrellas, and more. Beyond them, you can see people inside, but I could not tell what they were doing. Every time I passed the room, I would look and wonder why it was there. Yesterday, I could contain my curiosity no longer. I walked inside, and discovered that beyond that table is a very large room, full of paints. I asked what exactly this was for and whether it was a class. A nice woman replied that it was a workshop, so pretty much a class, but the instructor was out. She said I should come back to talk to him, and I did.

He was very nice, entertaining, and friendly, and liked that I came in to satisfy my curiosity, saying that most people never take that step. I loved the random, unique, interesting, and colorful style in which he painted and taught his class. He invited me to come in this morning to watch him do a demonstration, and so I got up earlier than usual to go. I watched, fascinated, as he showed the class what he wanted them to do, and stayed as long as I could. Finally, I had to leave for class, but not before he told me when he'll be offering another class. I really hope to take it in September... I feel it will be a wonderful experience! I visited again in the afternoon, and sat in on his critiquing students' work, which he did in a very nice manner. Anyway, his art is so beautiful and interesting. There's not a lot of artwork posted right now, but keep checking! It will be worth it.

Why I Am Not Trendy

Today, on a post in the Craftster forum, I read that the new style, which is predicted to be around for 10 long, horrible years, will be tight, straight legged pants and loose blouses. What is wrong with clothing designers and fashion gurus?! Didn't this look awful during the 80s? Why would it be any better this time around? Seriously, I adore much of the music and even some of the tv shows from the 80s, but please, please do not bring back the fashion! What else will this new trend include? Perhaps using a whole can of hairspray every time you fix your hair? Whenever this style begins, I will whole-heartedly revolt. I REFUSE to wear blouses that make me look like a cow, and I don't see that tight-fitting, straight legged jeans will do anything to flatter my short, dumpy curvy figure. I can barely pull off the current fashions!

Anyway, the left front of Rambling Rose is nearly complete. I think I'll finish it tonight or tomorrow, and then take a break from the sweater for just a few days. I need to do a quick, little project.

I'll post something interesting eventually. I promise.

Edit: I went ahead and put Rambling Rose down for the day, and tried messing with the hat I've been working on for my nephew Dustin. I still don't know how I feel about what I came up with. He made such a difficult request to such a newbie!



What do you think?

First sewn dress!

That's right, I made a dress! I'm really excited and happy about it. I actually love how it came out. It's a big deal for me, because the only thing I've ever sewn before was a purse that I still haven't put the handles on. Anyway, without further adieu, here it is:



Any information you might like is right here: Sewing Pattern Review

And yes, the picture is horrid.

I have enough of this fabric left to make either a purse, or (I think) a knitting needle case. I can't decide on which!

Expect a picture of the first purse soon! I'm going to get the handles on it soon.

On the knitting front, I have completed the back of Rambling Rose, and am now working on the left front. It's the side with the chart, so it is going rather slowly. I have actually been working only on this project! I can't believe it. I usually can't stick to just one for so long.