Wolf eyes choker

This bead-work was done by my middle daughter it started out as a gift for a friend who likes wolves it was to be a bracelet.  During the course of her making it she discovered that the gray beads she was using had been painted.  Which is never good because paint always chips off and the color underneath is not the  color you wanted  just in making the piece it was already starting to chip so that would never do  who wants a wolf that is spotted pink , purple and green where it should be gray.  The beads under the gray paint were pink and purple and green. If you look at the photo below you can see above and to the left of the green eye a pink bed yep it use to be gray.

 
So I took a leather bracelet band and cut it in half and sewed felt to it and placed the bead-work on the felt she can now wear it as a chocker and when it chips well that is how it goes.  This piece was woven on a bead loom.

She has started over again doing this using different beads and using peyote stitch instead of a bead loom to make the bracelet. Which will also be on a leather bracelet.

 

Attempt number 2 did not fair much better she was using some of my more expensive beads but I did not have the right shades of blue and green so without a flash on you can not see the blue.  Also with the flash on you loose the gray and black difference. 

It also has a different dimension using the peyote stitch which makes it two wide for the bracelet.  So she will be making  a third attempt at this in the future.  With out the flash on you cannot really see the blue

Without a flash you can see the gray and black difference but the blue disappears so back to the drawing board for  a third time. 
I also do not like the way the peyote stitch (also known as gourd stitch)  stretched this design as it no longer looks wolf like.  That is my fault as
I was teaching her that stitch as she has never used it before.

Her next attempt will be off loom square stitch she gets to learn something new again.

Shakespeare hats

Four hats for Shakespeare  week at my kids school that have been in a state of half done for 2 to 3  years now (three since April of 2012).  I am trying to go through my sewing area and get some half done projects finished there are few corsets from plays that never got done, a shirt, a dress these hats and many other things like half knitted projects.


The pink and blue sequined ones were started when my oldest was a narrator in the school play they had been meant for that year I made two that year to be used A white one and a golden one.  I was working on a blue and a pink one too.

Originally all four narrators were going to wear them but only my daughter wanted to so I stopped on the others.  I continued to make the golden one as the lead wanted to wear it and she was a very nice girl so I was happy to do it for her.  So these ended up spares so they did not need to be finished that is always a bad thing to tell myself as this is what happens.

If you look at the picture a few down and see the back of two narrators.  You will notice a narrator in sort of a hot pink purple color that is who was to wear the pink one .  My daughter who you also see in that photo was to wear the blue one the green narrator was going to get the golden on e and the other pinkish narrator was to get the white one.  As you can see none of that idea worked out as planned.  The person you see in the below photo wearing the golden beaded hat was actually the lead female in the play.

My daughter wearing the blue and pink hats in these photos is the daughter that was the one that was in the play these were to worn in.  I finished those two hats yesterday just did not have a child to use as a manquin at the time to take photos with.

 I made the two jacket corsets you see below in the next photo.  I actually made four of them that year as I wanted all the narrators to match and the costumes they had were pretty shot so I made new ones. The school has not budget for costumes as it is a private school and funds are tight so I made these costumes with my own money and the school uses them every now and again.  My kids wear them all the time.

The pale pink one ( see first photo)was also started that year but it was for one of my other daughters to wear during the week long festivities where they got to wear costumes each day.  There is a new school rule only one day this year of the students wearing costumes makes me sad.  This was the most favorite week for my kids at school.  The pale pink one is being needle woven to fill the spaces between the store bought pink braid.  I had a little bit of this pale pink braid left and thought this might be a good way to use it up.  Little did I know it would still be on the foam head 2 years later.


The white one I know I started latter but for the life of me I can not remember when I think it was the next year.  The white one below was meant to be more of snood style cap not a Juliet style cap like the others.  The white and pale pink are still not done but hopefully soon to be.

Added ribbon woven ribbon as belt

OK sometimes I just can not leave a project alone this one was bothering me because after I had finished sewing it, it still looked so plain even with the bright orange crinoline and an orange lining.  So I posted on face book that I thought it needed more just was not sure what.  When a cousin gave a suggestion of a wide belt 2 or 3 inches and a bow in the back.  This is not exactly what she suggested but  sort of is.

Making fringe for the play

This is not a tutorial on how to do this.  This is just us showing you what we have been up to.  But if you are use to making things there should be enough info in these photos that you could make your own too.

So my oldest daughter and myself are making fringe together for the costume prayer shawls.  The reason I say costume as usually these are woven and the like to specific requirements.  I wish I had the time and knowledge to do them that way. Maybe in the future I can but for now I must make something that will look similar on stage.  We are making fringe to sew onto the bottom of the shawls where there would usually be fringe from the warp threads.  These are just a simulation of that.  I will learn how to make the tassels to add to the four corners.  For those people who might read this who are Jewish please realize we wish we could have real prayer shawls and not fakes as we are not trying to offend anyone with a fake.  Just real ones cost 350 to 1000 dollars a piece and that is no way in the budge of this production. All the supplies for the shawls I have donated to the production from my own stock of craft items.  So I am making them out of what I can no disrespect intended at all.

This is what it looks like on the costume prayer shawl  it takes 2 1/2-3 hours per shawl to make the fringe that does not count making the shawl itself adding the stripes and attaching the fringe.  Each shawl has about 7 to 10 hours in time in it.  Making 11 sets of fringe( 2 per shawl) thank goodness my daughter is helping me or it wouldn't get done in time.

Please help my Mother-in-law

My mother-in-law sent me this email and wanted help, so I am asking any of my readers to help her; thanks in advance.

Do you know of a bulletin board online where I can put in a request to buy a couple of Swedish Weave pattern books that are out of print? I would like to buy the "More Monk's Cloth Afghans" and the Baby Afghans pattern books by Marilyn T. Magly, printed by the American School of Needlework. I wrote their website, and they replied that those books are out of print and won't be re-issued, so I need to get them used, but don't know a bulletin board where I can post such a request.

Let me know if you have any ideas.

Thanks,

MOM

7 types of lace... I think only 4

In the comment section on this post on this blog someone said there are 7 types of lace:

1. knitting
2. crochet
3. weaving
4. bobbin lace
5. tatting
6. hairpin lace
7. needle lace

I think the person was confused, because a lot of these are in the same four categories. Which is my opinion. She seemed to be naming laces, of which there are way more than seven, like hundreds! Looks like she was trying to name techniques and didn't succeed, the lace fairy has 5 techniques on her site but in looking at them, her last one is a combination of multiple other techniques so it would still break down into these four categories. Some laces can incorporate more than one of the techniques. That is why, once you learn one lace, it is easy to learn another as they may share similar techniques.

1. loop lace = knitting, crochet, hairpin lace, Romanian, oya...
2. knotted lace = tatting and netting, American Macramé, oya...
3. woven lace = bobbin lace is a sort of weaving, battenburg and other tape laces, teneriffe....
4. needle lace = Romanian, teneriffe, battenberg, oya , beading...

OK, I do:
hairpin, needle, crochet, tatting, teneriffe lace, bobbin lace, Romanian, macramé, hand loom weaving, polka spider web lace, nanduti, battenberg/battenburg lace, oya, beading etc..... the list goes on and on.

I pretty much do some in each category.

Trying to learn knitting and weaving.

What laces do you make?

Weave-it loom / Windowpane lace

Over on ellominator blog there is a wal happening (wal = weave along). Week 1 is windowpane lace pattern. I did two: one in blue and one in pink. Both are Virgin wool; the blue is DMC tapestry wool color 7318, the pink wool one is Bucilla Persian needlepoint & crewel wool color was accidentally left of the wrapper so I don't know what color it is other than pink.

Swedish Weave Part 2

A long time back I showed the two Swedish weave blankets my Mother-in-law made for my oldest and youngest daughters. Over the summer she gave one to my middle daughter for her 8th birthday. I just realized I have never shown it. She sleeps with it every night so it may not be the cleanest in this photo, but we love it and she, my daughter, defiatly does. Some day I plan on making one for myself, but it hasn't happened yet. Incase you have never seen this type of weaving, you buy Monks cloth and weave into the weave of the cloth forming patterns with yarn. It is very similar to huck weaving, but that is done on a smaller weave for table cloths and things of that sort.

Explore Photos as of July 27, 2007

explore photos as of Jul27 2007, originally uploaded by sunshine's creations.

1. This block is made by clare, 2. lt and dk pink tatting, 3. hex granny squares, 4. antique tatting, 5. more antique tatting, 6. front, 7. redwork butterfly signature block, 8. style d,

9. layette set, 10. crazy daisies, 11. flower tutorial, 12. English Paper piecing tutorial, 13. bubble gum pink quilt #1, 14. lazy daisy week 3, 15. back side dove, 16. felt snow man done, style:christmas colors

photos on explore

Some of these are on explore currently, and some are in the past and bounce in and out of explore. If you want to make one of these charts, go here then click on scout and log in and make a poster, as it is called.

photos on explore, originally uploaded by sunshine's creations.
1. redwork butterfly signature block, 2. style d, 3. crazy daisies, 4. flower tutorial, 5. bubble gum pink quilt #1, 6. back side dove, 7. felt snow man done, style:christmas colors

my photos on explore

my photos on explore, originally uploaded by sunshine's creations.

1. redwork butterfly signature block, 2. crazy daisies, 3. bubble gum pink quilt #1, 4. back side dove, 5. felt snow man done, style:christmas colors

crazy daisies/ WIP

crazy daisies, originally uploaded by sunshine's creations.

These are made using the daisy loom that I have the tutorial for. These are using double sided baby-width satin; also used is rayon crochet thread as the embroidery around the center of the daisies. These are considered a type of weaving. I want to make some more because I think they would be lovely in pasted colors with crochet holding them together as a lace edging on a little dress for Easter or a little Easter cardigan jacket with trim at the waist. You can see an apron I did using similar styled flowers made out of Hi-straw instead of double sided satin.

Please join flickr group if you have made any of these types of flowers

Crazy with flowers

My flowers decided to bloom after all, just a few days late, but that is all fine with me. I went out to take pictures, and there was a little bee in one on the flowers. So I have little bee bum in half my pictures. Oh, well!! At least the flowers are happy about it. I guess that is all that really matters on that one.I got inspired by the flowers to make some flowers of my own. Look at the mosaic picture; the stuff in the top left photo is called Hi-Straw and Swistraw. My supply is from the 40's through mid 1960's. They are made out of Viscose Rayon so they can be washed just like clothes. I just love thrift stores!I got this idea around 4 am this morning. "Why" you ask, "was I up at that time.?" Well, my kids woke me because of their fevers. After I took care of them, I couldn't go back to sleep. Yep!! I started making flowers on my looms. The looms are on the top row, middle picture. They are from the same time period as the straw and were actually meant to be used with it. In addition, you can use ribbon and yarn with the looms, too. I think they would work well with wire work like beadders use; pretty much any thing you can wrap around them without breaking the pegs.

The next picture shows the smallest loom with a flower almost completed on it after having been woven on the loom and embroidered with pearl cotton to form the center. This is considered a type of weaving, just not very complicated weaving.

That same blue flower is show again in the first picture on the second row. Then I decided this was too boring; I needed more variety and not just in color, so I started making a variety of sizes.

In the last picture of the mosaic I have a nice little stack of flowers ready to be added to the apron. OK, so I go over board; I am used to that. The apron I used I have had for about 10 years; I purchased it at a craft store called Mac's. I loved that store; too bad they went out of business about 5 years ago. I think the apron came out rather cute -- sort of spring, St.Patrick's Day, Easter and Mother's day all in one.

Looking at these photos gave me another idea. "Oh, NO!!!" you say. Take it easy; it's a good idea I promise, and you can do it if you can find the supplies at a thrift store. Actually, I think they are selling looms like this again. But if you can't find them there is always eBay; that is where I bought the brass one about 7 years ago. Do your search under flower loom, bloom loom, crazy daisy, knit wit, studio twelve looms -- any of these will work to find something that can make these flowers. Either way, the supplies are not hard to find.

Now for the idea: Wouldn't these just be sweet on a sheer little girl's bedroom window? Hey, I have three little girls; too. To bad their windows already have blinds and curtains. But maybe I can still change that. We will see; maybe I'll get some sleep instead.

Also the flowers made on the brass loom are the same size as yo-yos made from a standard size CD; oh yes, the wheels are spinning with ideas there, too.

Update

I noticed that Craftzine linked to this today ( Friday Mar. 16, 2007). They referred to it as a "How to" so I decided real quick I would make a true " How to" if you have this tool and don't know how to use it or if you have seen one and wondered how it worked follow the link below.
Tutorial here.
You can also see these same daisies made with double sided satin here.

Please join flickr group if you have made any of these types of flowers