13 posts tagged “handmade”
A while back, I posted photos of my new Inkle loom, which I WON in a drawing. Well...I had warped it twice, with some disappointing yarn choices, so I finally re-warped it two days ago with some vintage sewing thread given to me by my dear friend and neighbor, Angelia. It is done in a light purple, darker purple and a deep wine color.
The thread was so thin that I felt my large wooden shuttle would not be the right size for the project, so I grabbed my copper (brass?) shuttle that my friend Clancy made for my net tying, as in fishing or decorative nets. It was kind of tarnished, because I haven't made any netting in a long time, but as I used it to weave the ribbon on my inkle loom, it polished up so nicely with just the oils from my hands! Lovely. He is also Noreen Crone-Findlay's Son-In-Law, I might add!
So, when warping, I decided that I wanted an ample border on one edge to be able to sew onto a garment without crowding the ribbon, so I made the lighter color edge wider than the darker purple edge. I was also running out of heddles, and rather than make up some more, I just started the darker purple border sooner than I had intended. This was just practice, after all! I also made the alternating color band in the middle by tying on a new color each wrap of the warp just for about eight or so wraps. I will certainly have a lot of fun playing around with the set-up in the future, now that I know what I'm doing, I can't wait to warp on a wider ribbon in a width and style perfect for the straps on a new hand-knit top for me!!! Silk thread next time, maybe? Wee! What fun. :-) Sorry...I just get really excited about this kind of thing.
Perfect for weddings, valentines, baby showers, tree decorations, etc., these little acorns were inspired by my friend Lisa Jordan over at Lil Fish Studios . See, I love her little hand-crafted, felted wool acorns, but alas...we are all allergic to wool in my house. A truly sad discovery for a fiber artist, like myself, let me tell you!
So, I made these acorns to satisfy my craving for cuteness without having to scratch, sneeze, or wipe away tears from stinging eyes.
Click Here or Here for full instructions with photos.
Ah yeah...I can have these crocheted yummies, even though I can't eat chocolate!
These are going to my ultra-patient craft-swap partner Patchy...for her little girl.
I winged the pattern, but you can find a similar free pattern at the Coats website.
Get it? Scullery Maid? Sorry...poor joke.
Well, here are some things that I knitted for my daugher's class & one of her teachers.
Click on the photos for info.
Now to just get the addendum to the Spring Forward sock pattern written so that I can post it for all my fellow knitters. I'll have it by next week...I promise!
I'm going to surprise you by saying that I am actually a very enterprising individual. I know, I know...you couldn't tell that from shop during the last year! I have simply chosen to curb my enthusiasm for business as I raise my young daughter.
One of the nice things about being 'small potatoes' is that I can afford to sit down and hand-cut 25 business cards at a time from my empty cereal boxes and hand-stamp them using my own fun custom logo stamp from www.terbearco.etsy.com.
I love the pigment ink I chose. It's just the right color and sits on the paper rather than soaking in so much.
Well, as often as I give out business cards, I won't have to do this again for at least a couple of months. I'll enjoy this part of the 'business' while I can!
-RM
Wow...my younger brother and his wife had their baby Samuel yesterday! Yes...that would be Father's Day for those Vox friends celebrating along with the U.S. calendar.
So, I whipped up the finishing touches to my Baby Surprise Jacket (pattern by Elizabeth Zimmerman) and ran it up to them in the hospital today. My....what a beautiful child he is! No mottling of the skin, nor conical head. Just perfect!
Here are some photos of the precious family..Click on photos for larger pics.
And happy cousin Lizzie holding the jacket that I made for Samuel Joseph.
Here are the little newborn things I made for Project Angel Kisses this month. We delivered them to the hospital nursery today, but we no longer get to see the little babies through the nursery windows due to privacy issues. (Click on the photos for notes about the items and a better view.) Still, I know they will be put to good use.
Well, I am remiss in creating something fantastically eco-friendly for Earth Day this year to present on my Vox Craft Blog. So...allow me to show you one of my favorite recent recycled finds on Etsy.com.
Two loves...skateboarding and recycling...come together to create the most fabulous jewelry at 2ReVert.etsy.com.
If jewelry was one of my loves, I would have to spend my extra grocery money on these beauties, for sure.
Check out their Sold items for more eye candy. There are some rather elegant looks, too!
Happy Earth Day!
RM
Don't laugh! So, I wasn't ready to commit to drilling holes in my new/used loom until I was sure that I liked the treadles. My husband cut the wooden 1x2's and the vinyl tubing for spacers. We will eventually cut the steel rod to fit between the two front legs of the stand and use short 2x4 pieces with a hole drilled through them lengthwise to put the steel rod through and secure the 2x4 pieces to the front stand legs to keep it all secure. Actually, it doesn't really move at all right now and I haven't had any problem with the treadles being directly on the carpet. A hard floor might pose a problem, I don't know. Anyway, using the make-shift treadles sure does beat having to move the levers by hand. This is my preference, of course. Some folks like to use the hand levers. It is nice to have the choice to use either method. I might have to drill holes and reroute the cords when I warp a larger project on it, tough. Not sure if the cords will interfere with the warp threads. (Anyone have any experience with this kind of thing?)
And...Remember this cool artist's tool belt that Serial Crafter of Craftster.org made for me? I tied it to my Iris loom and it is SOOOO handy to keep my bobbins, scissors, dowel rods, etc. in! It isn't in my way at all and it's just so lovely, too...makes me smile when I see it!
