December Crafting

Hello! Last day of the month, must be recap time again. :) Still no house, but even better than the house - we got engaged on Christmas Eve! Best Christmas present ever.

Most of the things I made in December were related to Christmas, and as it turned out, involved no sewing again. One of my aims for 2016 (keeping in mind that we might well get married this coming year, and I hope to make things for our wedding) is to sit at my sewing machine and sew something every week, even if it's just a line of stitching.

I did make things in December though. First, of course, were my Christmas cards. Every year I underestimate how hard this is, and this year was no exception, after I broke the snowflake hole-punch from over-use, ran out of snowflakes before the end, and one card was even lost in the post! But I'm really happy with how they turned out, and I made two slightly different colours this year.

Ironically, the one on the left is the one that got lost in the post, so at least I have photographic evidence that I made it?

Next up is a present for my best friend. This is a bookmark, as she'd asked for loads of books for Christmas. I added the chain and the beads to it. The beads represent her three favourite film/theatre characters, Maleficent, Elphaba, and Elsa. I made the Elsa section Frozen Fever, because that green was too perfect to miss!

And finally, two bracelets that I made for myself. I'm slowly trying to make jewellery in all of my favourite colours (still finalising my colour palette), so I made a lapis lazuli one for my blue outfits, and the purple bracelet to go with my burgundy Christmas dress.

I also made earrings to go with the purple bracelet, but didn't get a picture of those.


So, 2016. I'm slowly making a To Do list for the year, but it's such an important year for us with the new house and possibly our wedding that I don't want to commit myself to too much. One thing is for sure though, I have a lot of sewing planned for January! There is going to be a baby shower for my friend in early February, so I will share my January sewing a bit later, as most of it will be a surprise for her.

Happy New Year everyone! xx

November Recap

So, here we are at the end of November. Blimey, that month went quickly! Still no house, but plenty of crafts going on.

The first thing I made this month was, unfortunately, the only thing that involved the sewing machine. It was, in fact, the easiest and speediest sewing I have ever done. It has inspired me to sew more, although this month has been spent planning, rather than sewing anything.

My first make was an eye pillow that I made for my friend's birthday present, as part of a relaxation theme. The tutorial I used was from here, and I used some of my fat quarters for the fabric.

These things are really difficult to capture in photos, but I tried. Front view:

Back view:

I closed up the remaining side on the outside once the pillow was filled (the rest were my usual french seams). Not the neatest thing in the world, but it holds up.

The side view, showing both fabrics. The pillow is filled with dry rice and some lavender from my garden (also dried). It smells amazing. :D

The pillow is roughly 9 inches by 5 inches; I realised too late that I hadn't put any size comparison in the photos.

So my next make is going to look huge in comparison! :)

After making lots of bracelets with wire in October, I moved on to working with elastic. What with this being a busy month, this is the only one I've made so far (more supplies shipping as I type). I'm really pleased with it, and I love the two-tone beads (which are more purple in RL). All components from local shops and stalls, as usual.

Mid-November was all about the big event: my brother's graduation. I was wearing my purple dress, and I wanted to make something to go with it. I had these shamballa beads from the local bead stall, and my aim was to make some jewellery that would help them to stand out.

I couldn't quite get the rich purple to come across in the photo, but I'm really pleased with them. The bottom piece is a bracelet, but I wanted to look at the detail, rather than zooming the photo out to include my usual trigger clasp and the rest of the chain.

And now for something much more eccentric. The event I have been looking forward to since August: Steampunks in Space!!
I really wanted to push myself with this, and I tried to make as much as possible.

This bracelet was originally going to be joined by a lighter chain, but it didn't arrive, and actually I think the jump rings suit it better. It was a bit of a pain to get on and off my wrist, but it looked great over the shirt.

Now, Steampunks in Space was a 'no photography' event, meaning that you could take pictures of your friends and family, but not strangers. Of course, I went on my own. So when I found a mirror in one of the gravity and mass exhibits, I attempted a picture so you can see my armour.

Very blurry and my face is rather serious, but you should be able to see the foam armour on my left (mirror, so it's on the left, and it is my left...) arm, which actually includes sewing! The foam was EVA craft stuff, heat-shaped, then painted with acrylic paint, and finally with elastic sewn on through needle holes to keep it on my arm. Except on the shoulder piece, which I inevitably snapped the elastic on, and had to velcro at the last minute. But I did it! First time I've set myself a really difficult and odd challenge and achieved it. Now let's hope I can manage that with sewing some clothes...

December is mostly centered around Christmas, of course, but if I make things I will endeavour to upload them towards the end of the month, hopefully followed by a rough plan for 2016.