Showing posts with label Etsy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Etsy. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Shawls and Ruanas
I've been busily taking pictures and listing a couple of months' worth of hand woven shawls and ruanas in the Etsy shop today. I'm feeling all accomplished, and wanted to take a moment to bask. They don't look half bad when you get them all together, do they?
The Etsy shop is here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/tangibledaydreams
Sunday, September 15, 2013
The Autumn colored warp-painted ruanas
I have a batch of fall themed warp-painted and hand woven cotton ruanas finally done!
Earlier this summer, I went on a week long camping trip with my historical recreation group. We were up in the mountains of Arizona, among the high pine trees. I brought my floor loom along with me, with a batch of yarn that I had already dyed up the previous week. I spent much of that week sitting in the shade, gazing at the distant mountains, weaving away. It was gorgeous!!
The first picture there is the view from my spot at the loom. My husband is there, working on a hand built bench. He started with going and harvesting a downed log from the forest, and ended up with a lovely sitting bench. We had fun working side by side on our various projects that week.
The second picture is the work on the loom, where I was switching warp colors. I had enough thread on the loom for three different garments. I used a different warp color for each garment, so the finished pieces are truly one of a kind. It is fascinating to see the difference that just changing the color of one element can make.
Anyway, I finished up the fabric, packed up, brought it all home, wet finished it...and then got totally sidetracked by other events in my life. (A new partner moved in with us, and life got crazy wonderful. And both of my kids got ready for and then left for college. Also a strange but good transition.) So, it wasn't until this past little while that I drug out the fabric and got to cutting and sewing.
But I have in fact finished up all of the garments. And today I took the three Autumn themed ruanas, as well as the two previous blue and maroon ruanas, and headed out to the White Tank Moutains with my husband for a photo shoot. And then, I spent this evening editing the shots, and getting the listings up in the Etsy shop.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/162831599/hand-woven-and-hand-dyed-cotton-ruana?ref=shop_home_active
https://www.etsy.com/listing/162820012/hand-woven-and-hand-dyed-cotton-ruana?ref=listing-shop-header-3
https://www.etsy.com/listing/162832705/hand-woven-and-hand-dyed-cotton-ruana?ref=listing-shop-header-2
https://www.etsy.com/listing/162833047/hand-woven-and-hand-dyed-cotton-ruana?ref=listing-shop-header-1
https://www.etsy.com/listing/162833499/hand-woven-and-hand-dyed-cotton-ruana?ref=listing-shop-header-0
I am super pleased with how these turned out! I've got enough yarn and dye for another set of three. Next up? Greens!
Earlier this summer, I went on a week long camping trip with my historical recreation group. We were up in the mountains of Arizona, among the high pine trees. I brought my floor loom along with me, with a batch of yarn that I had already dyed up the previous week. I spent much of that week sitting in the shade, gazing at the distant mountains, weaving away. It was gorgeous!!
The first picture there is the view from my spot at the loom. My husband is there, working on a hand built bench. He started with going and harvesting a downed log from the forest, and ended up with a lovely sitting bench. We had fun working side by side on our various projects that week.
The second picture is the work on the loom, where I was switching warp colors. I had enough thread on the loom for three different garments. I used a different warp color for each garment, so the finished pieces are truly one of a kind. It is fascinating to see the difference that just changing the color of one element can make.
Anyway, I finished up the fabric, packed up, brought it all home, wet finished it...and then got totally sidetracked by other events in my life. (A new partner moved in with us, and life got crazy wonderful. And both of my kids got ready for and then left for college. Also a strange but good transition.) So, it wasn't until this past little while that I drug out the fabric and got to cutting and sewing.
I am super pleased with how these turned out! I've got enough yarn and dye for another set of three. Next up? Greens!
Thursday, May 30, 2013
SCA Handwoven White Scarves: Finished Project!
They're done! The five hand woven SCA style white scarves are off the loom. I took a bit of extra attention to detail, and hand stitched the rolled hem with the same thread I used to weave the fabric. That makes the stitching just about invisible.
And here are the results. I'm really pleased with the way these turned out. The color and feel is crisp and clean. Since they are 100% cotton, they'll stand up to the wear and tear of the rapier fighting field, and still be machine washable. Also, I got quicker at weaving these than the last batch I did, so I was able to lower the price on them when I listed them in the Etsy shop. One of the longer ones is already sold, and left today for its trip to its new home in Pennsylvania. I'm so tickled! Here they are:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/152468130/hand-woven-sca-white-scarf
Sold!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/152473962/hand-woven-sca-white-scarf-long
https://www.etsy.com/listing/152558166/hand-woven-sca-white-scarf-long
https://www.etsy.com/listing/152562758/hand-woven-sca-white-scarf
I also re-listed the two left over from my previous batch of scarves, so there is a nice half dozen to choose from in the shop right now. Though, I have two folks making noises about needing to acquire them, so they may not last too long.
Now, on to the next weaving project: warp painted ruanas in brown, rust, and cream. Ready? Go!
Monday, December 17, 2012
Juggling balls and restocking the shop
Now that most of the Christmas crafting is done, I'm starting to pay attention to my poor neglected Etsy shop again. My stock there has been dwindling down, and it is time to do something about that. So today I started taking photographs of some of the juggling balls sets that I had lying around. They had been in a little craft store, but unfortunately it was a victim of the struggling economy and closed its doors earlier this year. So I had some back stock.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/118381201/juggling-balls-in-green-blue-and-yellow
https://www.etsy.com/listing/118383303/juggling-balls-in-green-purple-yellow
https://www.etsy.com/listing/118383887/juggling-balls-in-red-green-and-white
https://www.etsy.com/listing/118384637/juggling-balls-in-blue-and-yellow-wool
While I was updating, I got a request for a custom set of juggling balls, in blues and greens. I figured while I was at it, I'd make up a whole batch of a half dozen sets in some of the more popular color patterns. So, before dinner I spent awhile wrapping golf balls in wool roving.
After dinner, I rolled up my sleeves and got into the physical part of the process. I coat my hands with a drop of the dish soap, pick up one of the proto-balls, and soak the bundle under some hot running tap water. Then I toss the ball back and forth between my hands, rolling it around and around, until the wool shrinks down and velcros itself together. Once I had them all well felted, I threw the whole lot into the dryer to tumble around for a final hardened finish. Man, that many golf balls in the dryer are loud!
I'll be taking more pictures and getting these up in the shop over the next few days. Time to re-stock!
Monday, April 30, 2012
CSM socks and hat from Serenity yarn
I made a pair of socks today on my antique Creelman Brothers sock knitting machine. This pair is already spoken for. Don't you love the way the color pools and oozes around the sock? This is made from Serenity sock weight yarn from the Deborah Norville collection, from JoAnne's. It is the 'Aquamarine' colorway, and is a very lovely and soft mix of superwash Merino wool, bamboo, and nylon. I hope the recipient has fun with them!
The cool part of today is down in the lower right hand corner of the above picture. I figured out how to use the leftover sock yarn to make baby caps, also on the sock knitting machine. I like the yarns I've been working with so much that I've kept all the bits leftover after making socks. But I haven't really figured out what to do with them yet. I had tentative visions of weaving projects...but baby caps are just about the right size to use up the leftovers. And the yarn is warm, and soft against the skin. I'm thinking that quite a few newborn baby caps may be in my future! If I get going, I'll make some for friends/family, some for the Etsy shop, and maybe some for the local hospitals come winter time.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Glowing Petroglyphs gourd bowl
The Native Forum team on Etsy is participating in an 'Artists Exposed' treasury this coming November. That is a gathering of listings where the lead picture is a shot of the artist themselves, rather than the item. It lets folks get to know one another a little bit better. I didn't participate last year (my native blood dates back to the 1800's, so I always feel like a visitor to the team), but got my guts up to play along this time. But I wanted to have a new piece of art work for the listing.
So, I took the time this week to transform this gourd:
The gourd was originally grown in Casa Grande, Arizona. I scrubbed it down, sawed it open, scooped out the innards, and cleaned and sanded it up. Then I dyed the bowl inside and out with a half dozen blended colors of leather dye, and sealed it with several light layers of clear spray. The darker streaks down the outside of the gourd were inspired by a phenomenon called 'desert varnish', which is a dark patina that forms on cliff faces in arid climates.
I sewed a decorative chevron rim treatment in waxed linen.
Then came the fun part. I regularly go hiking in the White Tank Mountain Regional Park, located just west of Phoenix, Arizona. If you look carefully when you are on the trails, you can spot ancient petroglyphs that were carved into the desert varnish by the Hohokam Indians, probably somewhere between A.D. 500 - 1100. Rangers say that some of the images may actually be up to 10,000 years old. I have collected many pictures of the petroglyphs, and for this bowl I went back through my albums for inspiration.
I sketched the symbols on the gourd, and then carefully drilled holes along my lines. It adds a nice texture to the gourd during the day...
but the bowl really comes alive at night. The next pictures are of the bowl in low light conditions, with a tap light inside of it. With light streaming from inside, the ancient images take on a glowing new life.
You can find the bowl at http://www.etsy.com/listing/84957986/for-artists-exposed-gourd-bowl-with
For my own 'Glowing Petroglyphs' piece I use a votive candle on a stand inside, which makes a lovely warm and flickering light. But the gourds are flammable. I don't leave mine unattended, but for safety's sake I sell the gourds with a tap light included instead of a candle.
Oh...the picture I used for the 'Artists Exposed' part of this? I grabbed this one that my daughter snapped of me last July. I was in my studio, trying out one of her pop-tab necklaces. They are actually quite comfortable, and really fun. She's planning on listing them in her own shop over the next week or so. That is a D&D d20 dice hanging from the choker. Yes, we're gamer geeks over here.
So, I took the time this week to transform this gourd:
The gourd was originally grown in Casa Grande, Arizona. I scrubbed it down, sawed it open, scooped out the innards, and cleaned and sanded it up. Then I dyed the bowl inside and out with a half dozen blended colors of leather dye, and sealed it with several light layers of clear spray. The darker streaks down the outside of the gourd were inspired by a phenomenon called 'desert varnish', which is a dark patina that forms on cliff faces in arid climates.
I sewed a decorative chevron rim treatment in waxed linen.
Then came the fun part. I regularly go hiking in the White Tank Mountain Regional Park, located just west of Phoenix, Arizona. If you look carefully when you are on the trails, you can spot ancient petroglyphs that were carved into the desert varnish by the Hohokam Indians, probably somewhere between A.D. 500 - 1100. Rangers say that some of the images may actually be up to 10,000 years old. I have collected many pictures of the petroglyphs, and for this bowl I went back through my albums for inspiration.
I sketched the symbols on the gourd, and then carefully drilled holes along my lines. It adds a nice texture to the gourd during the day...
but the bowl really comes alive at night. The next pictures are of the bowl in low light conditions, with a tap light inside of it. With light streaming from inside, the ancient images take on a glowing new life.
You can find the bowl at http://www.etsy.com/listing/84957986/for-artists-exposed-gourd-bowl-with
For my own 'Glowing Petroglyphs' piece I use a votive candle on a stand inside, which makes a lovely warm and flickering light. But the gourds are flammable. I don't leave mine unattended, but for safety's sake I sell the gourds with a tap light included instead of a candle.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Who knew silk could walk off on its own?
Well, I think I took another step forward in being a maker of desirable pretties. In a backhanded sort of way. It goes like this...
A few weeks ago, I took my hand painted silk scarves and ties into work for the students to look at. And soon after that, I had the scarves and ties on display at the concert my singing group gave. They were on a table in the back of the room, while I sang with the group in the front. (You see where this is going?) There was a big sign with them, giving the prices, mentioning that a portion of each sale went to benefit Celtica!, and giving my contact information.
Fast forward to last night. One of my scarves sold through my Etsy shop. ( www.tangibledaydreams.etsy.com ) This morning I went to package the scarf up...and it wasn't in the bag with the rest of my inventory. I tore my studio apart, thinking I had misplaced it (and collapsed my craft table on top of me in the process--but that is another story). It was nowhere to be found. I was late to work at this point, so off I went.
There is a lot of time to think and mull things over when you are a life drawing model. I worked two classes, which means 6 hours (more or less) of pondering. When I came back home, I followed a hunch and checked the inventory in my bag of goodies against the inventory in my Etsy store. Sure enough, in addition to the one scarf, there was a second scarf missing (different size, but same color scheme) as well as one of the ties. Yup. Somewhere along the line, I had gotten shoplifted.
This is the first theft of my hand made items. In a very back handed way, I feel more legitimate now. Frustrated, absolutely. But like I passed a rite of passage. I tell you what though, next time I'm not leaving my goods at the other side of the room, even for an instant!
I made things right with last night's customer, thank goodness. I refunded her money, and will be sending her second choice scarf to her free of charge. I hated having to tell her that the scarf she bought had already found feet and walked off on its own. She was very understanding, so all is good there.
I hope whomever has my scarves and tie enjoys them. No, really. I'd like my work to be treasured.
But I'm a little disappointed in human kind at the moment.
A few weeks ago, I took my hand painted silk scarves and ties into work for the students to look at. And soon after that, I had the scarves and ties on display at the concert my singing group gave. They were on a table in the back of the room, while I sang with the group in the front. (You see where this is going?) There was a big sign with them, giving the prices, mentioning that a portion of each sale went to benefit Celtica!, and giving my contact information.
Fast forward to last night. One of my scarves sold through my Etsy shop. ( www.tangibledaydreams.etsy.com ) This morning I went to package the scarf up...and it wasn't in the bag with the rest of my inventory. I tore my studio apart, thinking I had misplaced it (and collapsed my craft table on top of me in the process--but that is another story). It was nowhere to be found. I was late to work at this point, so off I went.
There is a lot of time to think and mull things over when you are a life drawing model. I worked two classes, which means 6 hours (more or less) of pondering. When I came back home, I followed a hunch and checked the inventory in my bag of goodies against the inventory in my Etsy store. Sure enough, in addition to the one scarf, there was a second scarf missing (different size, but same color scheme) as well as one of the ties. Yup. Somewhere along the line, I had gotten shoplifted.
This is the first theft of my hand made items. In a very back handed way, I feel more legitimate now. Frustrated, absolutely. But like I passed a rite of passage. I tell you what though, next time I'm not leaving my goods at the other side of the room, even for an instant!
I made things right with last night's customer, thank goodness. I refunded her money, and will be sending her second choice scarf to her free of charge. I hated having to tell her that the scarf she bought had already found feet and walked off on its own. She was very understanding, so all is good there.
I hope whomever has my scarves and tie enjoys them. No, really. I'd like my work to be treasured.
But I'm a little disappointed in human kind at the moment.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
New size of silk scarves for the Etsy shop
I just wanted to share a peek of what I've been up to. I got a commission a bit ago from someone looking for a head scarf for a friend who was undergoing chemo. She liked my hand painted silk scarves, but the rectangular shape I usually make didn't quite fit the bill. So we put our heads together, and I came up with a half dozen 30" x 30" hand painted scarves. The size works quite well for the head. I played around with them today a bit while I was taking pictures for the Etsy shop, and found they work quite well as neck scarves too. Want to see?
This is the one she chose for her friend. It heads out in the mail tomorrow.
The rest are still available, though. http://www.etsy.com/listing/80557838/silk-scarf-square-hand-painted-in-blue
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80558984/silk-scarf-square-hand-painted-in-peach
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80560128/silk-scarf-square-hand-painted-in-green
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80560971/silk-scarf-square-hand-painted-in-orange
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80563378/silk-scarf-square-hand-painted-in-pink
I do so love playing with the colors!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80563378/silk-scarf-square-hand-painted-in-pink
I do so love playing with the colors!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Ten years since I got my Laurel...musing late at night
This Friday will be the 10th anniversary of when I got my Laurel. For the non SCA folks out there (which is probably most of you), the Laurel is the highest level arts award that the Society for Creative Anachronism gives out. (The SCA is a historical recreation group that studies the Middle Ages and Renaissance. See sca.org)
I didn't feel I deserved it at the time. I was just, well, plain old me. As ordinary as a pebble. So, I started taking formal art classes at the local community college, to figure out what folks thought I already knew. Art history... 2 and 3D design... ceramics... photography... sewing... painting... life drawing... They had a hard time getting female life drawing models, so I offered to help out--even though I was just a middle-aged house wife. It is now several years later, and I'm still modeling for various classes. Pictures of middle-aged me have hung in museums and won ribbons in shows. (Talk about strange to walk in and see!)
I put the class teaching to use, experimented, learned new techniques on my own, and went to various weekend fiber retreats to learn even more. I passed on what I was learning to others whenever I could. And then in the last few years I opened my Etsy shop (tangibledaydreams.etsy.com) to see if I could give this whole professional artist thing a whirl. That has been a real trip!
My self image has been gradually changing. I call myself an artist now, and a model. I'm not just a middle aged house wife. (Though, I'm still that too. Layers of identity.)
I also finally decided to do a 'master work' for the SCA, and a few months ago completed that hand spun, hand dyed, hand woven dress. (http://tangibledaydreams.blogspot.com/2011/06/historic-hand-spun-hand-woven-tunic.html) It took a good part of a year plugging away at it, bit by bit. When I finished the outfit and put it on? And twirled around in it to flare out the full skirts? Then I felt like maybe I could call myself a Laurel, too.
It has been an incredible 10 years of learning, stretching, and reaching out.
I decided to celebrate this mile marker on my journey by buying myself a new Laurel medallion.
I got it from another Etsy shop, here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/sjengraving . It is a beach stone, that they engraved for me. And I love it. Because, yes. Ten years later, and I still feel as ordinary as a pebble. I'm still just plain old me...but I do keep plugging away at it, learning and growing a drop at a time. And that does add up.
Given enough time, simple drops of water can polish rock.
I didn't feel I deserved it at the time. I was just, well, plain old me. As ordinary as a pebble. So, I started taking formal art classes at the local community college, to figure out what folks thought I already knew. Art history... 2 and 3D design... ceramics... photography... sewing... painting... life drawing... They had a hard time getting female life drawing models, so I offered to help out--even though I was just a middle-aged house wife. It is now several years later, and I'm still modeling for various classes. Pictures of middle-aged me have hung in museums and won ribbons in shows. (Talk about strange to walk in and see!)
I put the class teaching to use, experimented, learned new techniques on my own, and went to various weekend fiber retreats to learn even more. I passed on what I was learning to others whenever I could. And then in the last few years I opened my Etsy shop (tangibledaydreams.etsy.com) to see if I could give this whole professional artist thing a whirl. That has been a real trip!
My self image has been gradually changing. I call myself an artist now, and a model. I'm not just a middle aged house wife. (Though, I'm still that too. Layers of identity.)
I also finally decided to do a 'master work' for the SCA, and a few months ago completed that hand spun, hand dyed, hand woven dress. (http://tangibledaydreams.blogspot.com/2011/06/historic-hand-spun-hand-woven-tunic.html) It took a good part of a year plugging away at it, bit by bit. When I finished the outfit and put it on? And twirled around in it to flare out the full skirts? Then I felt like maybe I could call myself a Laurel, too.
It has been an incredible 10 years of learning, stretching, and reaching out.
I decided to celebrate this mile marker on my journey by buying myself a new Laurel medallion.
I got it from another Etsy shop, here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/sjengraving . It is a beach stone, that they engraved for me. And I love it. Because, yes. Ten years later, and I still feel as ordinary as a pebble. I'm still just plain old me...but I do keep plugging away at it, learning and growing a drop at a time. And that does add up.
Given enough time, simple drops of water can polish rock.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)