I've been making jewelry!

I have been making jewelry the past two weekends, that and wrapping a lot of gifts! I have just let my mind wander with all sorts of blingy little things  and fabrics I dyed years ago laid out in front of me. It's been kind of a "what can I do next?". , No rules, no copying something else, no instruction (yikes!) but a lot, lot of fun. While my skills are rudimentary, for the unknowing, I think they might like good.

The first piece is made with some wool I hand dyed some years back, sort of a tie dye effect and a wrapped stone.  I have just decided lately to cut into my hand dyeds. If you have ever dyed fabric you know the pleasure of just keeping them and reliving the serendipitous magic that sometimes happens in the dye bucket. I have decided their time has come and I will cut. This second one is made from rolled up jacquard ribbons . I really like this second one. It got lots of compliments when I wore it. 

This one is a piece of rayon velvet that was discharge dyed. It really revealed some amazing colors. It started out emerald green and because of the way it was bundled varying shades of the autumn color pallet emerged, great fun! Here it is wrapped with copper wire and assorted beads. 

This one I love and really is prettier IRL. It looks perfect with a pink chiffon blouse I have. It is made with vintage ribbons from a dear friend and assorted beads. I showed a friend at work how to make the ribbon beads and she has just caught fire with the technique. We are getting together after the holidays for an afternoon of bead making. We both can't wait. If I can't find sewing friends, a beading friend will do just fine! 

This piece is made with washed and dryed in the machine silk velvet. Love the magic that happens to velvet when you do that. More silverplate wire and wrapped stone. 

I am wearing thest to work tomorrow. I usually don't wear dangles or very "strong" earrings but I will make these work. We will see what happens. Again, tiny pieces of hand dyed rayon velvet and copper wrapping and various tiny beads. 

This HDed bit of wool is left raw on the sides. It just seemed to work. It sits on a simple wire necklace. Nothin' shy about this one. 

More wrapping fun! I like the shape of these pieces, the slight curve. 

Here is a very similar necklace to the one above but this time I wrapped it with the silver wire I think it is so pretty with the gold velvet.

And last but not least, more wrapped ribbons, albeit much narrower, with beads and silver spacers. The necklace is tied to ribbons a close friend brought back to me from the Laura Ashley store in England. I talked to her just today and miss her lots. I am glad I found a place for the ribbons to be seen by more than just me. This necklace has a real summery vibe and I will probably save it until then. 

All of the pictures in this post were taken with my new camera. I spent nearly the entire day today learning its features and know I haven't even scratched the surface.  Please don't be too judgemental. I used their editing software and am not used to it at all yet. But it's the first day and there will be many others. I am looking forward to getting back to sewing after the holidays and sharing it all with you. I need to focus on using the macro mode to get better closeups. Be patient with me and we will get there. I've had one of these before and for a long time, but this camera is far more advanced and just newer. It has the wireless remote, the one thing I insisted on as well as wifi. It should be a great time of discovery and creativity. More to come......................Bunny

Fiber Beads!

With a little inspiration from Pinterest I decided to dip my hands into making beads from fibers, namely batik and vintage ribbons. These are vintage ribbons in the necklace above that were given to me by my  dear friend Ima. There used to be a ribbon factory in New Hampshire at one time and it had a retail outlet. This is where she got these and kindly gifted me with them many years later when she "broke  up" her sewing room.  Very similar ribbons can be purchased today at places like Joanns.

There are a couple of different techniques to wind the beads but in this necklace I used a clear straw as the center and proceeded from there. After that actual glass beads were stitched to the fiber beads. This was really fun, great "TV" work and fairly quick to do. I've worn this necklace a few times and received lots of compliments. I think it is the "bead on bead" effect that makes it special.



This necklace was made with batik quilting cotton, similar technique. I touched up the beads with a bit of silver paint pen. I think the fiber beads really need a bit of bling somewhere to work.

I hope to make a few more of these as Christmas gifts. My cadre of favorite women, those I joined in the King Arthur class, will wear them and appreciate them. They are special like that and really the only people I sew and create for. It is my pleasure to do so as it is always much appreciated.......Bunny

My first real weaving project, a Tapestry Cuff

I am finally finished my cuff. This was the first project we worked on in the weaving class I recently attended in Groton, MA. The weaving was all actually completed that day. We learned how to warp our looms for beading tapestry and beads and this cuff has numerous techniques in it, a veritable sampler of techniques.

This is actually a brass cuff. The fibers and beads have been woven on the loom and attached to the cuff. Ultrasuede is on the back. Not necessary, but I beaded the edges as our teachers samples were made that way. This took way longer to finish than it should have because I chose (blissful ignorance) the wrong size beads and these are size 15 and very very tiny. F O R E V E R it took!  But now I am glad I used them.

I would be the first to tell you it's far from perfect but if you can't see it from a galloping horse..............you know the rest! I will wear it proudly to work tomorrow and can't wait to hear the reaction from my good friends.

I am looking forward to my next project. The weaving is completed, just a tiny sampler, no beads. I am toying with inserting it in a clutch bag. We'll see. My mind is spinning with all sorts of creative ideas.

We will be leaving for Disney next Tuesday and are so excited to be leaving this cold gray climate. I have some major sewing and weaving plans to roll out as soon as I get back. I did manage to remake a pair of linen pants this weekend, not hemmed yet. The pants were really nice and part of a three piece ensemble. I wore the jacket and tank to pieces but the pants were always too voluminous. I took them all apart and recut them with my Sure Fit Sloper. They now fit really nicely, no big blobs of fabric behind my thighs.

Till I return from my trip...............Bunny

Purging has stopped!

I've gone as far as I can with purging and cleaning. I wish I could totally finish that project but LOTS of snow on the ground is forcing me to hold on until I can hold a big yard sale. At least it's organized and staged for a sale when the time comes. I am so ready to be rid of so much! A lot has been given away but a lot can be sold so that is the next logical step. Movin' on..............

Above you see my first attempt at a beaded shibori cuff. While it reeks amateur, it looks pretty good with a black leotard top and some jeans and has garnered some really nice compliments. It has a lot going on.

 The silk charmeuse is one I have dyed myself. I didn't do any pleating treatment, just folded and stitched to a base of peltex before I started. The peltex had a drawing on it of the swirls and lines I envisioned.

This was a really fun project but very time consuming. That was only because I attacked this with all the newbie enthusiasm I could muster and a definite lack of skill and experience. That being said, I really like it and have worn it a few times. I can't wait to make another "cuff".

This is what I am playing with for my next cuff adventure. It will use another hand dyed by moi, some pleated ribbon and who knows what other beads and goodies. If nothing else it will be glorious to work with these colors and textures. This is work I do at night while putting in a bit of TV time. It doesn't supplant my machine time as I generally don't sew in the evenings. Learned that lesson the hard way!  My next machine project which I hope to get going on this afternoon will be using this:

This is authentic barkcloth that I have been gifted or picked up  at a yard sale, not sure which. The print is H U G E. I wanted to show off the print but did not want the basic tote bag. I found something  that I think will work. It has a contrasting band at the top of the bag. I auditioned a  lot of options for that and none worked. I needed something to work with the strong print, size and color of the barkcloth and everything I tried just looked weak. Then I found some heavy weight home dec linen. It has more texture but I will also add some quilting to balance it all off. Time to get cutting! ..................Bunny