The Greater Good

I recently asked The Husband what his favorite movie is, to which he replied, "I don't know. Probably Hot Fuzz." This answer excited me - not just because I also love that movie - but because I had an ulterior motive: I wanted to make him one of the cross stitch designs from the Etsy shop weelittlestitches and, happily, the shop has an awesome Hot Fuzz pattern.

After a little secret crafting, Husband now has a cool Hot Fuzz cross stitch hanging out on his computer desk. It's pretty adorable (and definitely makes me want to watch that movie again).

Tutorial: Butterfly Headpiece

It's no secret that I love hats. I often find myself perusing hats on Pinterest and on one of my favorite blogs, the Royal Hats blog. While I'm more of a true hat person, I can't resist the occasional headpiece and a recent offering from this Etsy shop got me hankering to try making a headpiece for myself. The result is this kaleidoscope of butterflies.

All told, the headpiece was easy to make and very inexpensive, costing me roughly $5 and an hour of time. Since it's such a fun piece of headwear, I thought it worth sharing some notes so you can make one yourself.

Here are the supplies you will need to make this butterfly headpiece:
- 6 feather butterflies affixed to wire (Oriental Trading, $4.25 for 6)
- Metal headband (Oriental Trading, $4.25 for 6)
- E-6000 glue
- Needle-nose pliers
- Small wire cutters

To start assembly, we'll set two butterflies "flying" an inch or so above the headband to give the piece dimensionality. These butterflies will be on the side of the headband, about 2-3 inches down from the top of your head with some space in between each butterfly. Use a mirror to be ensure placement is visually appealing.

To affix a butterfly, wrap its wire several times around the headband, leaving about an inch of wire between the butterfly and the wrap to suspend the butterfly above the headband. Once securely wrapped to the headband, wrap the tail of the wire several times around the suspension end of the wire to secure it. Cut with wire cutters and use needle-nose pliers to tamp down any sharp ends. Apply glue to the wraps and use a toothpick or pin to push glue in between the wraps and the headband for a better hold.

Remove the wires from the remaining four butterflies, as we'll affix each butterfly directly to the headband with glue. The butterflies should be crowded together, with variations in orientation and angle. Again, use a mirror to check for visual appeal before gluing the butterfly body (not the wings) directly to the headband. There is no right way to do this, so just go with what looks best.

The glue takes a day or two to dry, after which you'll have a lovely butterfly headpiece to wear out into the world.

I'm really looking forward to wearing mine, especially because it's finally spring in Wisconsin!

Rosary

I'm so excited to show you the super secret project I was working on last week, a rosary:

Husband and I made this rosary for our goddaughter's baptism, him creating the olive wood cross and me doing all of the bead work. We don't usually do joint crafting projects but this rosary was a perfect alignment of our skill sets and the need for a special and religious gift. I can honestly say that this is one of the best things I've ever made.

While I've done quite a few wire projects previously, this one has some special details that make it stand out. First, I used a different wire than normal: stainless steel. Not only will this wire not tarnish, but it's also strong enough to stay in place without needing the more complex wrap for each loop. (With well over 100 loops to make, doing a simpler wrap saved me so much time.) The other detail I love is the Y-connector near the cross, which has the Virgin Mary on one side and Jesus on the other. It was pure luck to find it at the bead shop as it's the perfect connector for a rosary.

This rosary is also the biggest wire project I have done to date. It took several evenings to put together but I found the work quite meditative. Thankfully, I have plenty of beads leftover from my trip to the local bead shop, so I'm looking forward future evenings of meditative wire-work.

My goddaughter is still a little too young to appreciate this gift, but I hope she grows to love her rosary in time. And I'm also hoping that some day she will hang out with her godparents without crying.

Well Hello There

I'm so happy to be back blogging today because it means that I'm feeling human again. There's nothing quite like a cold followed by a flu to make you appreciate normalcy. Thankfully, I'm on the mend and feeling up to doing things other than laying on the couch all day.

I didn't make it out of the house much in the last two weeks, but I did manage a visit to a local bead shop, Planet Bead, to purchase supplies for two new projects. It is a lovely little store in downtown Milwaukee with a great selection of beads and beading materials. While I ended up spending more on beads that I had planned, I'm really happy with what I got and how the first project is coming together.

I can't show off too much of this project yet, but I will say that it is probably my favorite wire and bead project ever. It's beautiful and special and almost finished. I promise full pictures next week!

Knitspiration (or Lack Thereof)

I have no inspiration to knit at the moment. The only project on my needles, a fair isle sweater, is currently languishing in a corner and I am lacking desire to start anything new. We all got through periods like this and I think it's helpful to be honest about these natural lulls. So the question is, what does one do when her knitting inspiration is gone?

First, I find it helpful not to force things. If I don't feel like knitting, then I don't knit. Instead, I play with my other craft supplies. I pull out craft books that I haven't perused in a while and go through my craft supplies to see what looks interesting. There's usually no plan or goal in mind, I just pick up whatever strikes my fancy.

I also like to whip out small projects when I'm feeling uninspired. Small projects are great because you get the joy of creating something without the large devotion of time and effort. Small projects feel more like trying things out and play, which is exactly what I need to make crafting feel enjoyable and fun again.

Lulls in knitting inspiration can be hard to deal with, but they are also opportunities to branch out and try new things. They're a chance to remind myself about all the other crafts that I enjoy doing. Taking a little break from knitting and playing with other things is usually the best cure for being excited about knitting when I pick my needles up again.

Try Then Improve

One thing that I love about knitting is the ability to try then improve at challenging techniques like fair isle, lace, or pattern designing. But I realized that this love of a challenge also extends to my other hobbies of sewing and baking. A good example of this is my recent endeavors to make homemade crumpets, marshmallows, and macarons (shown here).

Marshmallows are surprisingly the easiest of the three to make while macarons are the fussiest (there are thankfully blog posts and YouTube videos dedicated to getting these cookies just right). Crumpets, on the other hand, are the baked good I'm still trying to improve upon. It's not that my crumpets taste bad, but I'm still in search of a recipe that will yields those lovely holes for soaking up butter and jam. Definitely a case of try then improve.

You know, I think this theme of 'try then improve' should be my motto for tackling life in general. And if I get tasty-but-imperfect crumpets or warm-but-imperfect knitwear out of it, so much the better.

Geek Dog

A friend of mine sent me an interesting request a few weeks ago: could I create a dog collar with the Balmer series on it? My friend, a chemist, had just got a new dog and wanted to deck him out in something geeky. Always up for a nerdy challenge, I considered the best way to install the hydrogen emission spectrum on a small dog collar.

I thought of several options for putting an emission spectrum on a collar, including fabric paint and machine sewing, but eventually settled on using embroidery floss. The floss would make the lines stand out more than simply sewing back and forth over the collar and I won't have to worry about the pup ingesting paint. The hardest part was actually picking colors of floss to match the emission lines!

Part of the reason my friend asked me to do this project was because I'm anal-retentive detail-oriented about spectra being correct. I had to calculate the scale of the collar in nanometers per inch and then where, in inches, this would place each of the lines. It isn't perfect, but it's pretty darn close.

For each line, I used 3 strands of floss and went over the line 1 to 3 times, depending on its relative spectral intensity. Hopefully this embroidery stands up to the exuberance of a puppy.

I'm really happy with how this project turned out and I hope my friend (and his dog) also like it. It was an interesting challenge and a different project from the ones I normally craft.

Christmas Crafting Revealed

Now that all of the Christmas presents have been sent and received, I can finally reveal what I was working on in that blurry photo from November: earrings! I got on a wire-wrapping kick and made 6 pairs of earrings.

The earrings were made from turquoise beads, Dumortierite drops, and some gorgeous Swarovski Briolette pendants. I absolutely love these Swarovski pendants--they're the perfect shape and they catch the light brilliantly.

In addition to the pile of earrings, I sewed up a silk bow tie for husband. It was the perfect sized project for how busy I was this fall--plus, husband looks great in bow ties. I made this one using this tutorial and one of husband's old bow ties as a template. So now I have a bow tie pattern that I can make adjustments to for later use!

So that was my Christmas crafting. Not bad for being so busy, but I hope to craft a little more for next Christmas.

New Book for Better Sewing

I talk about books a lot on this blog. Perhaps my need to share great resources with you is related to some of the reasons why I’m currently in library school, but really it’s that when I get excited about something I want to tell you why you should be excited about it too. My exciting-thing-to-share today is the lovely new book Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing, which is really inspiring me to improve my sewing skills and add more vintage style to my wardrobe.

This book was just released at the beginning of September, which perfectly coincided with my need to spend a little birthday money. The timing was quite great, especially considering how well the techniques covered in this book align with the things I still need to learn about sewing. In the little time I've had to read it thus far, I've learned a lot!

The book is a modern take on Vogue's New Book for Better Sewing. Gertie's book rehashes these vintage (and couture) techniques for making high-quality clothing without a fancy sewing machine. There is a lot of information on tailoring clothing, drafting patterns, making pattern alterations, and adjusting fit. A bunch of techniques are also covered in detail, from inserting a zipper and making a buttonhole to stabilizing a collar and lining a garment. I've been doing a lot of quick and easy sewing, and this book is just what I need to level up my sewing.

Beyond the wealth of technical information, what really appeals to me about this book are the patterns. The book contains 10 basic patterns (2 skirts, 2 blouses, 4 dresses, and 2 jackets), most of which have at least one variation shown and explained. The patterns are all vintage inspired but made for the modern sewist. I honestly want to make almost every pattern in this book, they are that stylish.

And speaking of stylish, the book itself is quite beautiful. Gertie is an excellent model for all of the clothing and the illustrations are simply gorgeous. I also appreciate that editors did not skimp on the photography in the techniques section. It's great to find a book that is super informative while also being very visually appealing.

I'm still only part way through reading this book in detail and I foresee many happy hours with this book in the near future. So thank you to my mother-in-law for enabling me to purchase this lovely resource!

Terraria

I married a wonderful man. He gave me the most perfect birthday gift this year: plants and dirt. It's not a glamorous gift, but it is just what I needed to finally build the terrarium I've been dreaming about for almost a year. My beautiful glass house from IKEA has been waiting empty for far too long.

I used this guide on building a terrarium as the basis for assembly. Most of the ingredients are straightforward and easy to source--rocks, moss, dirt, and succulents--but husband made a special trip to the pet store for activated charcoal, which keeps the water clean. I love how beautiful all of the components look layered in a glass vessel.

Husband actually bought me enough supplies to make two terraria and I was lucky that my gallon-sized jar was no longer needed in the kitchen. Now I have two lovely terraria to add some happiness to my apartment! They are so beautiful already, but I might add a few figurines as finishing touches; I can't help thinking that a couple tiny dinosaurs would be right at home among the succulents.

All Wrapped Up

Let's not talk about the huge amount of television I've watched in the past two weeks. It's a lot. I'm not a TV watcher normally, but I make an exception for the Olympics. I can't get enough of the inspiring stories and obscure sports. Plus, it makes for great crafting time.

Wire wrapping turned out to be one of the better TV-watching crafts, and I made several pairs of earrings (my favorite are the simple turquoise drops below) and a large necklace (above) while watching the Games. As you can see from this tutorial, the basic loop--which was the foundation of all of my wrapping projects--is actually quite simple. Once you get the hang of this loop, it's no problem to whip up lots of complex-looking jewelry while watching sports.

My crafty output will certainly go down now that the Olympics are over and I'm gearing up for my last big semester of school. Still, wire wrapping is easy enough that I look forward to picking it up again in a free moment this fall. I'll keep you posted on any future wire wrapping exploits.

Wire Wrapping, Part 2

As expected, I am still in the throws of wire-wrapping fever this week. I made two pairs of earrings using some of the techniques learned from my Craftsy class. The first pair (below) is made from these amazing Swarovski Briolette pendants and I set them using a simple wrap around the top of the bead. I'm not usually one for Swarovski crystals, but these beads make some truly lovely earrings.

The other pair of earrings (below) is directly based on one of the Craftsy class projects. The project covered everything from constructing the chandelier support structure to creating the ear wire. You know, sometimes it is really nice not to have to think too much about things and just follow instructions verbatim. Especially if you end up with pretty jewelry at the end.

With two more projects complete, I think my wire-wrapping fever has just about broken. I still have some ideas for projects I want to make, but I'm getting inspired to work on other things again. So expect to hear about fiber crafts again next week!

Wire Wrapping

I have a tendency to be an obsessive crafter. I get really interested in one technique, buy some supplies, and churn out lots of projects in a short amount of time before moving onto the next technique. For example, at the beginning of 2012 I was in the middle of a sewing obsession and now I've moved onto wire wrapping. This latest obsession is fulled by my enrollment in Craftsy's wire-wrapping class, as discussed in my last post. While this behavior may not be the best for my crafting or my wallet, I see it is as acting while the inspiration is fresh!

My inspiration led me to the creation of 2 necklaces this week. The first (above) is a simple combination of a large silver key and a silver chain connected by some wire-wrapped glass beads. The necklace is simple but dramatic, with the 3 inch key balanced by a 30 inch chain length. I just love its oversized nature and I expect it will wear nicely with many outfits.

The second necklace was inspired by a design I've seen on Etsy several times: the wire-wrapped bird's nest. I found instructions for the design in this great tutorial and was fortunate that it required the same material as for my Craftsy class. It's the perfect reminder that it's finally springtime in Wisconsin.

With the two necklaces finished, I've got my eyes on some earring designs. Expect to hear about those very soon, as I've still in the throes of wire-wrapping fever!

Craftsy

Have you heard about Craftsy yet? It's a crafting website that offers video-based classes, craft-along workshops, and patterns for sale. I recently signed up for some Craftsy classes, 'The Starlet Suit Jacket' (screenshot below), 'Sewing Studio', and 'Wire-Wrapped Stones, Crystals, and Clusters', and thought it was worth sharing my initial impressions of the site with you.

First of all, let me say that I got all of my classes on sale through a Craftsy new-member special and by watching for sale announcements in the Craftsy and BurdaStyle.com mailing lists. Do some research before you buy, which includes watching some of the 2-minute lesson snippets to get a good feel for the class. If things don't work out for you, Craftsy has a money-back guarantee and, speaking from personal experience, very nice people staffing their help desk.

The Craftsy class platform itself (above) is really great and consists of the class videos, a discussion section, personal notes, and course materials. The class videos are divided into individual lessons, which are further divided into sections. This makes it easy to replay a particular demo and helps focus class discussion, as questions are associate with the section in which they are asked. You can also take notes and Craftsy will record the exact time in the lesson at which you made the note. It's pretty cool, especially because access to the content never goes away once you sign up for a class.

I'm already making use of the techniques I've learned in the wire-wrapping class by throwing together this little beaded bracelet. It's not much to write home about, but it's definitely a start! I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the videos for this class (and the others) and taking my crafting to a new level.

The Pen is Mightier

There is a new craze sweeping the Briney Deep household to go along with our recent woodworking exploits: turning wooden pens. The lathe came home to us about a year ago but it became the tool-of-choice a few weeks ago when my husband discovered pen kits. Admittedly, my husband and his brother are leading the charge on wooden pens, but I've also turned out few pens of my own:

The leftmost pen was my first attempt and I was so happy that it came out looking like a pen and I didn't loose any fingers in the process (seriously). We've been playing with different woods and I just love the orange glow of this paduak. Needless to say, I've been using this pen extensively since it came off of the lathe; it's really wonderful to write with.

Besides wood, we've also been playing with acrylics, such as the fake turquoise below. This pen was the combined effort of myself, my husband, and my brother-in-law and the residual tool marks indicate that it took us all a while to get used to the new material. Though we had some challenges with this pen, I really love writing with it and it's a good reference for how much we'll improve as we work with this material more.

Perhaps the best part of our new hobby is how much we're sharing it with others. We're not only sharing the pens but also sharing the experience of turning. My sister-in-law, her husband, and a friend of ours have all visited recently and they weren't here even 5 minutes before my husband shepherded them into "the man cave" to turn a pen for themselves. I feel like our new household motto should be "Come visit and turn a pen!"

Turning these pens has made me a bit more comfortable using the lathe so perhaps it's time for a supervised attempt at a nostepin or a darning egg. I would be a poor excuse for a knitter if I could use a lathe but never turned anything fiber-related. Yes, I think I will try and convince my husband to help me make a darning egg. I'll keep you posted on any results.

The Big Holiday Project Revealed

I'm finally back from all the holiday travels and have settle in enough to start thinking about knitting in the new year. But before I start blogging about knitting, I want to show off the big holiday gift that my husband, brother-in-law, and I made in December!

Husband found plans for this lamp in his woodworking magazine and somehow I got roped into doing my first attempts at stained glass in the week before Christmas. (Next year, I really need to get my husband to not wait until the last minute to make huge gifts.) Still, for a last-minute venture, I think this lamp and its partner turned out very well and I think my sister-in-law and her husband really like them.

As interesting as doing stained glass was, I'm excited to get back to knitting, especially now that I've cleaned off my craft desk and stored all of my yarn in its new home. I'm also hoping to do some sewing in 2012, so I look forward to blogging about lots of interesting projects in the future!

Tsumami Kanzashi Follow-Up

I had such a good response from my post about kanzashi that I wanted to update you on some new projects. First of all, let me say that a friend of mine who is familiar with Japanese culture informed me that the proper term for these flowers is 'tsumami'. Apparently kanzashi only refers to the hair ornaments, though it seems to be the term that most western crafters have adopted for these flowers. I will try to use the term tsumami from here on, so as to be correct as possible.

Since I posted last, I've been making more fabric flowers using the templates. I even took the templates to knitting night with friends, which went over well. I don't expect to get tired of these any time soon.

The other thing I've been working on is paper tsumami. This is particularly a way to deal with the junk mail we get every week, particularly those hated Shopper Stoppers. First of all, let me state that the templates do not work well with paper. Instead, I followed the folding instructions laid out in 'Kanzashi in Bloom' to make paper petals.

The only petals that seem to work well in paper are the rounded petals. The other petals are too flat because the paper creases so easily, though the rounded petals need a little manipulation by hand to get the final effect. Still, I really like how the flowers look, especially the small ones. Who would have guessed that these are made from sales fliers?

Fairly Beautiful Beads

I have a special place in my heart for the state fair, having grown up going to the Ohio State Fair every summer. And while I've lived in Wisconsin for the past 6 years, I just made my very first visit to the Wisconsin State Fair. To be honest, I was hoping for more agriculture and displays of blue-ribbon quilts,etc, but at least I got to try one of the famous cream puffs. I got cream overload about 3 bites in so I'm glad I split it with my friend.

While I did not come home with any Sham-wows or a new kitchen knife from the exhibition hall, I did pick up several strands of gemstone beads. Most of the beads were $8 a strand, but we found some really nice strands in a sale bin at 4 for $10. For someone who loves gemstones and has been looking for a sizeable (but not too large) gemstone necklace for a while, this deal was too good to pass up.

The very evening I got home from the fair, I dusted off my beading supplies and proceeded to make the beads into four necklaces. I strung everything onto tiger tail wire and used a crimp bead to secure toggles to the end of each strand. They are fairly simple necklaces, but I think that beauty of the beads speaks for itself.

These necklaces were just what I was looking for, both in terms of bead diameter and strand length. Plus, I have some leftover beads to play with since each necklace took about 1.5 strands. Between my love of gemstones and my love of a good deal, I couldn't be happier with my new jewelry!