The crafty thread! Please post all your crafty/artsy creations here!

[stracci2000]

Those are all beautiful, @stracci2000! You have so much talent! Im glad you’ve decided to start painting again!

Thanks @VRBeauty
It feels good to jump back into painting again! Being creative makes me happy.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I almost hesitate to post this in light of all the incredible work posted on this thread, but it seems I have no shame, so here goes!

I finished this two-sided flannel blanket this morning, all ready for hubby’s fourth grandchild to make its appearance. So hurry up, baby - we can’t wait to meet you!



I’ve probably made about 100 of these blankets over the years - including smaller blankets for newborns, larger “reading wraps” for big brothers and sisters, and adult-sized lap or nap blankets.

Many years ago I realized that I’m simply not a good or fast enough quilter to make a quilt for each new baby in my life. Then one day I caught a glimpse of a co-worker’s grandchild carrying a two-sided flannel blanket around. I didn’t get a chance to examine it up close - all I knew is that it had been made by an auntie in the Midwest, and it looked to be very nicely made. So I started playing around with flannel, and I came up with this design: nicely finished edges all around, and relatively quick to put together. I like to package it with a baby book, especially for new parents. (Goodnight Gorilla is one of my favorites and I always keep a copy or two on hand. I’m sure my DIL’s kids already have a copy of “Goodnight Gorilla,” so I’ll have to go find another book. Darn! )

@Arcadian - how did that lovely dress set turn out? I’d love to see the finished dress and jacket!

i used to got o sewing lessons at the local high school after work purley for the female company, the teacher showed me how to 'bag' a quilt, when i say quilt in my case i mean a pacthwork of big easy to fit together squares, i use flannel too because i love it, for the bagging method, its all in the order you place it in as you sew it together and then turn it right way and sew the top together (does this make sence?)
i make cat blankies, the best thing with cat blankies is it doesnt matter what it ends up looking like they love it because it was made for them
also have you ever made a quillow or magic pillow, its 9 big squares and the quilt folds up into a pocket (one of the squares is a pocket) and becomes a pillow

best wishes with the new grandkiddie, im sure she or he will love that blankie

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I've been playing with watercolors lately.

 

[VRBeauty]

While we’re on the subject of things crafty…

The nights are starting to get cold here, and last night I pulled out a quilt my mother made for me.

My mother didn’t take up quilting until she retired. In time she became an expert and very prolific quilter with an especially wonderful and vibrant sense of color. The quilt I pulled out last night was one of the very first quilts she made. It has her glorious colors, and some rather unorthodox machine quilting techniques. Which might explain the wording of her hand-embroidered label:

For my dear daughter Sylvia.
Not perfect but made with love
by Mom.
Gold Country, 1996
​

I’m still not sure whether “not perfect but made with love” refers to the quilt, it to me!

 

[canuk-gal]

While we’re on the subject of things crafty…

The nights are starting to get cold here, and last night I pulled out a quilt my mother made for me.

My mother didn’t take up quilting until she retired. In time she became an expert and very prolific quilter with an especially wonderful and vibrant sense of color. The quilt I pulled out last night was one of the very first quilts she made. It has her glorious colors, and some rather unorthodox machine quilting techniques. Which might explain the wording of her hand-embroidered label:

For my dear daughter Sylvia.
Not perfect but made with love
by Mom.
Gold Country, 1996
​

I’m still not sure whether “not perfect but made with love” refers to the quilt, it to me!

I LOVE this so much!

 

[Arcadian]

I dug a UFO out of the pile. I had done 4 fittings for it, so it was ready to go. My muslin ended up being my underlining because this fabric needed it. So I copied everything to tracing paper and got to work.

This is a Linton tweed. Very light weight, fluffy 100% polyester. The green tint doesn't really convey in the images but this is very much a highlighter yellow, with a light lime tint at certain angles.



I am not a fan of the dress so I only cut out the jacket.

I won't bore with ALL the pictures. I do take pictures of my progress when I can ...lol

My lining is a fun silk twill that when I chose it, I didn't think about the fact that the fish only go one way.... So each piece had to be cut by itself and I tried to match as well as I could. I also made the shoulder pads out of scrap and some batting.

Rest of the lining pieces



A few construction images. .That sipper was painful but really worth it. 2 piece sleeve which I love, Very easily constructed. The zipper is well.. Interesting. Its a Riri zipper, very light weight, well made. I love the colors and it adds something fun to the plain outside.


Putting in those sleeves!!


Here you can see my muslin that I cut as the underlining. this keeps it soft and pliable without resorting to a hard and crunchy interfacing. I did use a silk organza as interfacing for the front, otherwise it would have drooped.



Most of its together (yay!)





Once I'm done she will get a good washing (needs it because I used washable marker and you can see it at certain angles...oops...lol)



I did not finish it completely as I only had the weekend to do this. Whats left is all the hemming (all by hand) and adding the sleeve lining which also will be done by hand. I may put a couple of tacks for the pockets to keep them from flapping out too much...but honestly, I really should have just bagged the lining in retrospect but...such is life.

In terms of how many hours, this is 32 hours of work and I'm still not done yet.

I may have to defer until next weekend.

 

[MamaBear]

@Arcadian , you are fabulously talented!! It’s a beautiful jacket!

 

[canuk-gal]

@Arcadian , you are fabulously talented!! It’s a beautiful jacket!

+ a billion. Gosh I love yellow!

 

[Calliecake]

It looks beautiful @Arcadian! You are so talented!

 

[Arcadian]

Thank you so much everyone! Your comments mean a lot and encourages me to actually go through this stupid UFO pile and get more stuff finished. There's a couple in there that I wonder wtf I was on , but I'll remain hopeful. They're very Zimmerman inspired so... well, lets just see how they come out.

I'm a basic hobbyist who has to use a pattern (because I'm not smart enough not to otherwise!!) but there are real seamstresses and tailors out there that are phenomenal. And a special props to quilters because they work so hard to cut those itty bitty pieces just to sew them back together...lol Seriously, so many are absolute works of art. I could never!

And cutting that yellow fabric was...lol I had yellow stuff all over my house. even though I cleaned the floors twice, I still see bits of yellow. Just thankful its not glitter.


Because I love to torture myself here's the supply breakdown:

$180.00 for the outer fabric
$48.00 for the lining (I got it on a crazy sale!)
$24.00 for the zipper because its custom sized
$15.00 for the odds and ends

 

[Lookinagain]

I've been playing with watercolors lately.

Well, you are obviously very talented. Keep painting. I think you could have your own show!

 

[stracci2000]

Well, you are obviously very talented. Keep painting. I think you could have your own show!

Thank you! I might enter a local art show next spring.
Every weekend I have to decide if I want to paint or make jewelry.
Tough decision...as long as my arthritis isn't acting up.

 

[Calliecake]

Oh my gosh @stracci2000, These paintings are gorgeous!

 

[stracci2000]

Oh my gosh @stracci2000, These paintings are gorgeous!

Thank you @Calliecake !
I'm trying hard to improve.

 

[canuk-gal]

Thank you so much everyone! Your comments mean a lot and encourages me to actually go through this stupid UFO pile and get more stuff finished. There's a couple in there that I wonder wtf I was on , but I'll remain hopeful. They're very Zimmerman inspired so... well, lets just see how they come out.

I'm a basic hobbyist who has to use a pattern (because I'm not smart enough not to otherwise!!) but there are real seamstresses and tailors out there that are phenomenal. And a special props to quilters because they work so hard to cut those itty bitty pieces just to sew them back together...lol Seriously, so many are absolute works of art. I could never!

And cutting that yellow fabric was...lol I had yellow stuff all over my house. even though I cleaned the floors twice, I still see bits of yellow. Just thankful its not glitter.


Because I love to torture myself here's the supply breakdown:

$180.00 for the outer fabric
$48.00 for the lining (I got it on a crazy sale!)
$24.00 for the zipper because its custom sized
$15.00 for the odds and ends

yellow "spores" . LOL. Mom was a great sewer (and quilter) and once used a fuzzy purple fabric---those "spores" were everywhere and stuck to everything!!!!

 

[Arcadian]

yellow "spores" . LOL. Mom was a great sewer (and quilter) and once used a fuzzy purple fabric---those "spores" were everywhere and stuck to everything!!!!

I should have known but you know I didn't think about it. It will probably be yellow bits around for years.

I think I have enough to do a calf length pencil skirt to match.... which could either be really cute, or really crazy, but I'll be able to be seen from space.

 

[canuk-gal]

I should have known but you know I didn't think about it. It will probably be yellow bits around for years.

I think I have enough to do a calf length pencil skirt to match.... which could either be really cute, or really crazy, but I'll be able to be seen from space.

Beautiful nonetheless. Yellow is the color of joy. (for all to see!)

 

[VRBeauty]

We recently treated ourselves to new camp mugs that are so gorgeous that we felt a need to wrap and protect them every time we threw them in the gear bin. So of course I made protective covers for them. Since I was winging it and figuring out the “pattern” as I went, these two little cozies took me the better part of the day! But they’re practically bullet-proof, and (I think) worthy of our new mugs!

 

[Arcadian]

@VRBeauty those are super cute!

 

[canuk-gal]

@VRBeauty those are super cute!

+ a billion! How is your new ride? (did you get it yet?)

 

[VRBeauty]

+ a billion! How is your new ride? (did you get it yet?)

Picked it up today - we’re sitting in it now (in the garage) trying to figure out how to get all the apps up and running and communicating with our cell phones. Getting a new car sure has gotten more complex!

 

[canuk-gal]

Picked it up today - we’re sitting in it now (in the garage) trying to figure out how to get all the apps up and running and communicating with our cell phones. Getting a new car sure has gotten more complex!

Much success!!!!

 

[stracci2000]

We recently treated ourselves to new camp mugs that are so gorgeous that we felt a need to wrap and protect them every time we threw them in the gear bin. So of course I made protective covers for them. Since I was winging it and figuring out the “pattern” as I went, these two little cozies took me the better part of the day! But they’re practically bullet-proof, and (I think) worthy of our new mugs!

Cute idea!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I dug a UFO out of the pile. I had done 4 fittings for it, so it was ready to go. My muslin ended up being my underlining because this fabric needed it. So I copied everything to tracing paper and got to work.

This is a Linton tweed. Very light weight, fluffy 100% polyester. The green tint doesn't really convey in the images but this is very much a highlighter yellow, with a light lime tint at certain angles.



I am not a fan of the dress so I only cut out the jacket.

I won't bore with ALL the pictures. I do take pictures of my progress when I can ...lol

My lining is a fun silk twill that when I chose it, I didn't think about the fact that the fish only go one way.... So each piece had to be cut by itself and I tried to match as well as I could. I also made the shoulder pads out of scrap and some batting.

Rest of the lining pieces



A few construction images. .That sipper was painful but really worth it. 2 piece sleeve which I love, Very easily constructed. The zipper is well.. Interesting. Its a Riri zipper, very light weight, well made. I love the colors and it adds something fun to the plain outside.


Putting in those sleeves!!


Here you can see my muslin that I cut as the underlining. this keeps it soft and pliable without resorting to a hard and crunchy interfacing. I did use a silk organza as interfacing for the front, otherwise it would have drooped.



Most of its together (yay!)





Once I'm done she will get a good washing (needs it because I used washable marker and you can see it at certain angles...oops...lol)



I did not finish it completely as I only had the weekend to do this. Whats left is all the hemming (all by hand) and adding the sleeve lining which also will be done by hand. I may put a couple of tacks for the pockets to keep them from flapping out too much...but honestly, I really should have just bagged the lining in retrospect but...such is life.

In terms of how many hours, this is 32 hours of work and I'm still not done yet.

I may have to defer until next weekend.

that linning is so stylish, im very impressed

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I should have known but you know I didn't think about it. It will probably be yellow bits around for years.

I think I have enough to do a calf length pencil skirt to match.... which could either be really cute, or really crazy, but I'll be able to be seen from space.

i think that would look lovely

get to it
winter's coming and your seperates will be so cheery

 

[stracci2000]

I made these basic quilted placemats yesterday.
@VRBeauty and @Arcadian, you inspired me to do it!

 

[VRBeauty]

I made these basic quilted placemats yesterday.
@VRBeauty and @Arcadian, you inspired me to do it!

You go, girl! Once you start making something small and satisfying like those placemats, it can be hard to stop!

 

[stracci2000]

You go, girl! Once you start making something small and satisfying like those placemats, it can be hard to stop!

I could've bought placemats at a store, but it was way more fun to make my own.

I have a stash of fabric and notions, so I didn't even have to buy anything.

 

[Lookinagain]

I could've bought placemats at a store, but it was way more fun to make my own.

I have a stash of fabric and notions, so I didn't even have to buy anything.

You just kill me. You are so creative and handy. You are inspiring me to get back to doing some of these things which I used to do. Actually don't know why I stopped. It's so fulfilling and relaxing.

 

[stracci2000]

You just kill me. You are so creative and handy. You are inspiring me to get back to doing some of these things which I used to do. Actually don't know why I stopped. It's so fulfilling and relaxing.

Yes, you must get back to creating!
Whatever it is that you love to do, pick it up again!