Adventures in creating and exploration
17 Nov 2013 Leave a comment
in Usables Tags: embroidery, felt, foxes
Also while in Toronto I made clothes for the fox that I had made in Nova Scotia, they make a dapper pair:
In the background you can see my new gouges from Lee Valley. I’ve also started a mouse finally. I made the ears rounder, and the legs and arms shorter, and the belly rounder, and with a pipe cleaner tail. It just needs stuffing and having its head sewn on. I’m not sure what kind of clothing I’ll make for it. Alex made the glasses for the new fox a few months ago.
17 Nov 2013 1 Comment
in Usables Tags: art every day, desk, plexiglass, scribal, woodworking, writing desk
For a very long time, probably since I first saw one around age 12, I’ve wanted a light box for tracing. Since I was already making a drawer to replace one that had rotted out in our kitchen, I figured it would be a good time to try my luck at making a light box since it’s pretty much the same general skills.
I bought poplar “craft wood” from Lowes, which is nice to work with and some luan plywood, which I haven’t worked with since my theater tech days when it was what we made in to practically everything. I designed it to have a desk top that is approximately 14×14″, which should allow for most sizes I’d want to work with, and should be big enough for water colors.
The angle of the writing surface is around 20 degrees, which is a bit shallow for calligraphy but is pretty comfortable to work on in general, I figure I can raise it up a bit using something to prop it up if I find need. The plexiglass top comes off entirely, which will make it easy to set things up using painter’s tape to adhere securely. (The painter’s tape is also along the edges of the plexiglass to make it safe)
The bottom is channeled in like a drawer. The 1/4 inch luan turned out to be about two blades width of the table saw, which was convenient.
I plan to eventually carve some grooves into the top flat bit for resting brushes and pens. Also perhaps an opening for water or ink containers. I also need to drill a hole in the back to put in the the light. And finish it with wax to preserve the wood.
17 Nov 2013 Leave a comment
in Usables Tags: art every day, carving, cherry, spoons, wood carving
Four attempts of “cutting out” from left to right: Band saw, hatchet, knife and gouges. By far I have the most control with the gouges, and now that I have better gouges I can make a fair amount of progress in a short time, but it’s still a very slow process.
The knife lead to a more smooth process, though still very very slowly, though this was before I had managed to get the knife sharpened properly!
The hatchet was a pretty good option, reasonably fast, reasonably accurate, and it leaves the edges choppy, which makes it easier to carve it later into the final shape.
And by far the fastest is the bandsaw. That took about 3 minutes. But it wasn’t as accurate and and it will be harder to carve I suspect, though I haven’t tried yet.
17 Nov 2013 Leave a comment
in Wearables Tags: fabric stores, Sewing, toronto
It was an amazing place… I think they are mostly left over sections from the fashion and home decorating industries. They are nearly all at least 60″ wide and in types I’ve never seen before in a fabric store. I bought some terry cloth, stretchy fleece that I hope to turn into either a pair of pants or a sweatshirt.
The place was so full of fabric that many of the aisles were just barely big enough to squeeze through. The fabric I wanted was near the ceiling so one of the helpful employees climbed up on top of the pile and grabbed it, knocking down a bunch more in the process. It was a magical place, not as cheap as sewphisticated (Around the same prices as Fabric Place Basement), but with somewhere around 10 times the amount and variety of sewphisticated. And all of it felt good quality fabric, not the stuff you find at JoAnn’s. The more and more I find places like this, the more I hate JoAnn’s and how it has put so many smaller fabric stores out of business. I wish more people sewed their own clothing so that there would be a larger demand for places like this.
There was also rooms and rooms of trim and leather.. So much amazingness all in one place. I’d definitely drive back up to Toronto just to go to this store and Lee Valley!
Course, now I need to actually do some sewing. I have like 10 projects that I have all the material for, but haven’t started… I also just signed up for a craftsy class on making your own wool swing coats, which I am very eager to try my hand at.
17 Nov 2013 Leave a comment
in Usables Tags: art every day, felt, needlework, Sewing
I made a little leaf enclosure for a USB stick I wanted to send to Peter, I think it came out rather well. I’m tempted to make a great many more little leaves like these and sew them to things. this picture really shows the pattern stuck in my head of late.
And I also made one of my little chickens and sent it to Peter’s aunt and uncle as thanks for letting us stay with them:
It’s pretty cute. I really need to make a bunch and fill them with rocks for pattern weights as they are a good size and they make me happy.
I also finished this Queen’s favor while I was waiting in the many lines that are a film festival. I also worked on a couching project:
I am trying to get the purple outline out from the design so that it only shows the threads that have been overlaid and pinned down. I’m not sure what I’ll do with it, but it would make a cute cover for a notebook.
08 Nov 2013 Leave a comment
in Usables
I want to make something that includes this lock!
Jelly and preserves mesh! Such a great idea.
The best hinge display ever.
I also got a set of Japanese gouges and sweeps and a block of honing stuff. I could have spent days in that store.
I still need to post my art from the last few days. It’s mostly more embroidery.
05 Nov 2013 Leave a comment
Today’s art is that I got another gallon of unpasteurized and un-preserved cider, and I also figured out what was wrong with the first batch (no clue why it’s turned yellow, but I added the preservative at the same time as I added the yeast, which killed off all the yeast, so today I got it a new packet of yeast, and its happily bubbling away.) The new cider gets its yeast tomorrow, as the camden tablets take 24 hours, which is the part I didn’t know last time!
03 Nov 2013 1 Comment
in Wearables Tags: art every day, embroidery
I actually started this yesterday, but today I finished the outline stitching. I am planning on using couching to weave a thread in 3D across the shape. I haven’t quite decided what I’m going to use for the under thread as it will need to be rather large as the channels are about half an inch wide.
And since I was at a guild meeting I decided I might as well bow to peer pressure and start working on a queen’s favor. Yay for reverse chain stitch. We had a hilarious discussion about why anyone would ever teach regular chain stitching considering how awesome reverse is.
02 Nov 2013 Leave a comment
in Wearables Tags: art every day, badge, counted, needlework, tent stitch
I also finished my marshal badge, but I forgot to take a picture.
This has been many months in the making, don’t start with 28 count for your first counted work! It’s about an inch and a half across.
Yay for getting my competency on counted. Also got working knowledge in couching for the marshal badge. WooHoo! I’m now a journeyman!
Painted wings and giant rings 
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