My first custom request (Crazy Purses)

I received my first custom requests when I offered to trade something in my store for an adorable handmade puppy dog from Peihan's Etsy Store. Turns out that Peihan liked my coin purses, and wanted a few in a wider color range. It seemed like a fair trade to me, and I was off to make the new purses.

Problem was that I hadn't actually made a coin purse like that in two years, so it was going to take some heavy remembering to get them done. Once we established color and size, I set to work. They came together quickly, as soon as my fingers remembered the motions.

And so, I've posted two "new" items, a mini-purse in black (the size 3 cotton yielded a purse too big to be called a coin purse) and a coin purse in navy blue. I'm pleased.

Lessons Learned:
1) Fiberfill should come in more colors than white, because white fiberfill is very noticeable on dark yarns
2) It takes awhile for your hands to become reacquainted with a size 7 steel hook after using size I wooden hooks for months
3) Taking a decent photo of stitch detail on a dark, small item is nearly impossible
4) Custom projects are infinitely more fun than regular projects because you know who they're going to, what they want, and how they will use the item. Very fulfilling

I posted these items to the new "Reserved" section of my shop. If you would like me to make one for you, or want any other sort of custom work done, just drop me a line!

Ghosts of Projects Past II - Head to Toe

My second Ghosts of Projects Past feature is dedicated to the presents I've made for the mamis in my life. Specifically, my Mami and my mother-in-law.

The first is a simple modified cloche I made for my mami just after Christmas 2004. She wanted a hat to go with the scarf I made for her from Trendsetter's lovely Sorbet line. I decided on Brown Sheep's Lamb's Pride for the body of the hat, and used my scrap Sorbet to trim the hat. The cloche can be worn with the brim up or down. The hat came together relatively quickly, and I eventually fulled it lightly to give it a more solid feel.

The second is a pair of felted slippers I made for my mother-in-law on the drive home from Kansas in August 2005. This one actually took some trial and error. I used a Fiber Trends pattern as inspiration, but used a different yarn weight, a two-tone style, and a modified fastener. The fiber here is (once again) Brown Sheep's Lamb's Pride. The first pair came out of the washer huge, even after three cycles. They would've fit a clown. The second pair came out perfect on the first cycle. I was incredibly pleased, and hopefully my mother-in-law is, too.

I haven't played around with felting for nearly two years now, but I hope to have another felted project in my portfolio soon. When I do, you'll see it here!

Ghost of Projects Past I - Bra Purses

The Ghost of Projects Past will feature projects that have long since moved on to happy homes. Sometimes I find these pictures on random flash drives or CDs. Others come from appreciation photos I get from happy friends and family members.

From 24 December 2004, are two bra purses I made for my two favorite professors. The black purse was for my elegant, articulate mentor and professor, A.J. It was fashioned from a black sateen 36B bra, some beaded fringe, lace, ribbon, and flowers. The denim purse was for the happy-go-lucky, open, friendly professor I TA'd for, Chris. She is a graduate of Colorado State University, a podunk little cowtown-turned-college town. It was fashioned from a denim-cotton blend 38C bra, some leatherette fringe, bandana trim, some denim-toned appliques, rivets, beads, and conch ties. Both received uber-compliments arnd requests surrounding the purses.

The only "Lesson Learned" I remember from these projects is that a cheaper sewing machine lacks the foot clearance to handle a padded bra. It was this project that started me on the path to my new Janome QC6260.

Now a secret... I have another bra purse in the works. Stay tuned for more!

Things are starting to look up...

I've been on Etsy for nearly a month now, and I've already started to field some custom orders. Nothing incredibly special when compared to more experienced sellers, but exciting for me nonetheless. Some of my recent requests include:

* Making a new BBB Layette with different thread accents
* Designing an Eeyore-style crochet hat
* Making different colors and sizes of coin purses

I was also fortunate enough to stumble upon an old friend whose boss owns a small boutique. With any luck, a few of my items may start appearing in local Denver boutiques. I just hope that my uncontainable excitement about the prospect doesn't jinx my chances of it happening.

So, although business is still small and based on trades and friendly conversations, it is going very well. I'm creating something new every single day, and thoroughly enjoying myself in the process. You can't get much better than that!

Prayer Flags Phase II - Sewing and Stringing

I've finally finished my prayer flags. They are (in my humble, yet incredibly biased opinion) *sweet*.

When I last blogged about this project, I was planning on using my rolled hem foot to hem each one of my panels. That didn't happen. Instead, after much fighting with my trusty machine, we came to an agreement - the rolled hem foot is not something I should ever use again. Partially because the silk was too slick to run under the foot to the feed dogs. But mainly because it was easier to do it by hand.

In any case, I decided not to hem at all. A bit of background on prayer flags. The flags themselves are designed so that they will fray. Yes, they are *supposed* to come apart. As the wind and time pulls the fibers apart, your prayers are carried to the gods for fulfillment. Cool, huh? I felt it would defeat the point of having prayer flags if your prayers were trapped by a rolled hem.

That left a new problem: how to get them strung. After playing around with some casing options, I settled on something much simpler and sturdier. I decided to use cotton wide bias tape to add a top casing. The cotton is more sturdy than the unhemmed silk, and it preserved more of the original panel art to add the tape to the top rather than fold the silk down. So I sewed the bias tape to the heads of the panels.

Finally, I had to create a stringing system. I had my heart set on crochet, and I had a ball of cotton/linen blend lying around in my stash, just waiting for use. I suspended the flags on slip stitched chains; the panels themselves being held between two simple chains. It's easier to understand by looking at the pictures. To create the tiebacks, I just tied on some extra line and braided the ends. This had a two-fold benefit. First, I didn't have to slip stitch in as many chains, and second, I didn't have to weave in any loose ends.

As always, I'm rather proud of my finished project. Lessons Learned:
1) Silk frays easily
2) Silk does not like feed dogs
3) Linen fibers are not at all smooth
4) Braiding linen is incredibly fun

Look for these soon at my Etsy store!

Still havin' the blues (Fat Bottomed RAINN-y Day Purse)

As I continue to try and work my through my yarn stash, I am faced with 5 remaining balls of Gedifra Velato (I'd already used 4 on the cowgirl hat). What to do...

I again turn to my pattern collection for inspiration, and face three separate patterns from three different sources. Amazingly enough, they all tend to look alike (furthering the notions that no idea is truly original and that great designs imitate one another whether they intend to or not). The design is for a fat little bag with round handles. I jump at the opportunity to try something new. I have never made a purse that incorporated non-crocheted elements.

Just as with the cowgirl hat, I instantly find things I don't like about the patterns. Single crochet is too dense. Herringbone half-doubles are clunky and create holes I just don't like. None of the bags are lined. All of the bags rely on some cheesy motif for accessorizing. That just won't work for me.

I settle on simple, plain, half-doubles. I decide I'm going to line the bag with blue satin. I'm slightly concerned that some of the blue will show through to the outside of the bag, but I figure it'll just deepen the blueness of the turquoise fibers. I contemplate wrapped brass rings instead of the now ubiquitous bamboo rings, but figure that I'll give bamboo a try for now. Then I set to work.

The project worked up relatively quickly. I had a few issues with sizing; I wasn't sure how wide I wanted it and in what direction I wanted to stitch seams to go. In the end, I settled on vertical seams and a purse around 12x7". It's cute.

Lessons learned:
1) Hand-sewing satin lining into a crochet piece is an incredibly big pain in the ass
2) Cute as this bag is, I just can't see myself using it
3) Figuring out how to accessorize this purse has been difficult. I tried ribbon and motifs, but I think both are too overdone. I think I'm just going to have to keep a lookout for some cute little pin to add to it

Keep a lookout - this should be up on Etsy soon!

A blue hat is a new hat (Cowgirl's RAINN-y Day Hat)

I decided to use one of the many patterns I've collected over the years and decrease my yarn stash. As an aside, my yarn stash is a little out of hand, and I've been telling myself for years to start making little hats and scarfs to whittle it down.

Anywhoo, there was a pattern in Debbie Stoller's Happy Hooker that intrigued me. It's called "Yeehaw Lady", and it's essentially a crocheted cowboy hat. It's done in red worsted cotton. Now, I'm not a cowgirl (despite living in D-town, a town which has extremely cow-y roots), and I really don't care for Western fashion, but I'd gotten bored with knit caps, cloches, buckets, and flapper hats. So it sounded like a decent hat to try.

A few problems around here. I had no cotton, I don't like working in spirals. I'd rather work in joined rounds - even if it means having a barely noticeable seam on the item; I just don't think that a spiral piece looks as balanced in the end. If you wear the joins in the back, no one is the wiser! But I digress. I didn't care for the crossed-stitch border in half-doubles.

So being me, I tweaked the pattern a bit. I used an elasticized tulle ribbon yard from Gedifra called "Velato". It's a yarn they don't even make anymore, but I've loved. I've made cardigans and camisoles from it and it is amazing. It gives a lycra-esque stretch while holding its form like a cotton-blend. It seemed the perfect yarn to play with for this project.

It took me two tries on this hat, and only because I forgot to take into account the stretch in this yarn. Cotton doesn't stretch much, whereas there's abouta a 50% stretch to Velato. My first attempt turned out bumpy because of this. Once I factored that in, this hat still scared me at times. It looked like a pointy top hat, which seemed hideous. But as I plopped it on my model and shaped the wire-line brimmed, it transformed into an adorable little 1-gallon bucket.

Lessons learned:
1) Remember the stretch of your yarn
2) Don't be afraid to try a pattern just because you disagree with the away the construction was done
3) Floral wire and tulle do not get along
4) Cowboy hats require wearing in order to be shaped right

So, other than the few little snafus at the beginning, I have to confess that I'm pleased with the end result. Look for it on Etsy in the next few weeks!