Uncategorized

A Lot of Jewelry, Not a Lot of Sewing… Yet

~ Michelle

Our new space is working out quite well. My DH and I are sharing a computer desk, and we’re actually sharing it. (smile) We both have laptops, so he gets his side, and I get my side. So far, so good.

My crafting desk looks a lot better than in the last picture I shared, but I’m not done setting up. I have a storage cabinet coming in a week or so, and after that things should be much neater. I’ll post a picture after that.

So, what have I been working on? Well, it seems mostly jewelry. However, I did pull out some bra patterns, but I need a big sign on my desk to remind myself not to try to make pattern adjustments after 11 p.m. at night. To be honest, it was closer to 1 in the morning by time I realized my brain really doesn’t want to do this type of thing – at that time of night!

But it’s bright and early in the morning right now, and definitely wintry outside, so this morning is a perfect time to  work on some adjustments to my pattern.

I’m going to make adjustments to my Fantasie Vivienne clone. I really do like the overall fit to this bra. What I don’t like? The bridge is too wide for me. It’s about an inch wide at the top, and I’m not. So I’m going to adjust that. And the wire that’s in the bra is too short for the side panel. There’s more than a half-inch part that flops down when I’m wearing it. So I’m going to adjust that as well, and more than just the amount needed for the bra – the wires I have are not the same length as commercial wires. I’ll need to lower the bridge/underarm area over an inch just to make up for the difference in wires.

A few other modifications I think I’ll make are ones suggested in the Bra Makers Manual, like doubling the power net for the band to give more support. I did that in one of my first Shelley bras. This bra (below) has power net and Lycra and I love how the band feels on this – very firm and secure feeling.

Front View w Foam Cups

Here are a few things I’ve been making in the jewelry classes I’m instructing.

Pearl Turquoise Necklace 11.13.13

I love this necklace & earring set. I made the earrings first in my Introduction to Wire Wrapping class. They’re freshwater pearls and turquoise. I like the stone combination so much, I decided to make a necklace with the same stones the next day in my Introduction to Crimping class. These were from last week.

And I made this necklace as well – just last night. And will likely make a pair of earring to go with this one too.

Mate Onxy Necklace 11.20.13

I think this is so pretty. This is made with matte jasper and dragon blood stones.

This is getting a bit long, but one more quick note. I really loved working with felt recently, and signed up for the Fab Felt holiday class on Craftsy. I bought some cute holiday material yesterday for the poinsettia class on there. I’m sure I’ll have one done before I post again, so you can see what I’ve done.

Stay warm! Did I mention it was -23 C yesterday?

Happy creating!

Making Room to Sew Again

~ Michelle

It seems my sewing was interfering with my family’s ability to eat at the dinning room table. I actually had complaints. To be honest, I did leave all my projects out and did take up the whole dining room and part of the living room. So, I packed everything away thinking I’d still do some things, just bring everything out when I wanted to sew and pack it all away again when I was done. That didn’t happen. And I became the one complaining. I miss sewing! Have I mentioned I miss sewing. I really miss sewing. Do you know I’d rather sew than do almost anything else?

My DH got the message and we’re re-arranging a space in our house so I can sew again! And make jewelry because lately my jewelry components have been all over the dining room table. 🙂

So here’s the mess I have to organize today.

Picture 101

I have to find a new home for all of this.

And then there’s this:

Picture 102

And I won’t show you the huge pile of sewing stash etc. in my bedroom! But we’re reclaiming our bedroom even. So I have a little work ahead of me before I can sew. But I’m hopeful!

A few posts ago I mentioned I couldn’t wait to clone my newest bra. I did copy everything out and now I’m going to have space to work on it. I’m also thinking of sewing another Sewy Rebecca. I do like the way the bridge fits on that one, and the cups too. I didn’t love the back though, so would change that. Well there are a few changes I’d make, but those have more to do with fit than style.

Here is part of the cloning process.

Picture 093

Picture 095

These pattern pieces show the seam allowances have been added to each piece. It’s really not a difficult process. The hardest part is the cups because you have to move the material a little and even remove pins as you make them flat. Depending on the cup size, it can be a bit more challenging. I usually do one side of the cup and then remove most of the pins, flatten the other side and start pinning that side.

So now that I’m making a space for myself, I hope to blog a little more often than I have lately. I’m so happy to be setting up my little area today!

Happy creating!

More Poppies and Demo Items

~ Michelle

I decided to look up felt poppies and so many more wonderful ideas were out there.

Take a look at this:

felt-poppies-11

Aren’t these adorably charming? These are from Agnes and Cora and you can find them here. So sweet.

And I found these too:

main

Again, so beautiful. There are such wonderfully creative people out there! These lovely poppies can be found here.

And although this one is done with a stamp, I think it looks great!

coloring_poppies

You can read all about how she made her poppy here.

I got the felt I bought from eBay, and have made a couple of patterns and started cutting out poppy petals. In fact, I’ve made 20 this past week, and have 24 more cut out on my dinning room table.

Here are the few that I’ve made so far. I wanted to try a few different ones, and decided I have a favorite. It’s the one on the bottom right. I really like the black felt backing; I think it makes the red stand out more. The top left one is inspired by Mary Engelbreit’s flowers. The double red one is inspired by a poppy I found on the web: here.

1381301_530782250329277_1618497383_n

And I thought I’d post a few pictures of what I’ve been making when I do demos at the store.

1377432_10202104979406013_1196539747_n

Here’s a bracelet I made that is very similar to one a friend of mine bought for $85. She saw it at a spa, and fell in love with it. But it was too small for her, and she had me add beads to it to make it larger. This one uses the same beads, but on this one I added little beads that ‘hide’ under the ring beads and peak out as you move and those rings move.

1382344_10202143274483366_1488313015_n

And I like those beads so much, I thought a fun little pair of earrings to go with the bracelet. Again, those little ring beads at the top will move around, so they’re very playful to wear.

1383511_10202143273763348_2026148264_n

I really love this one and think I’ll have to make one for me! The blue and gold beads are so charming and bright – definitely bringing out the best in each other! I used what I have on hand for wire, but I think I would use gold wire for the one I make for myself.

1383504_10202143274283361_796211892_n

And lastly, here’s the detail at the end of the Y design on the blue & gold necklace. I used a few of those same beads from the bracelet and the rings hang loosely over the blue and gold beads at the end.

There are lots more, but these are my favorites. I’ve definitely been having fun!

Happy creating!

Beautiful Gifts

~ Michelle

I was out for coffee with a friend from my college days. We’d been roommates before either of us got married. She married her boyfriend – the one she’d been dating while we were living together – I traded up a few years later. My former roomie and I always got along very well and still keep in touch all these years later.

My friend, Valerie, is very creative. And she’s always encouraged me to stay creative. She’ll remind me if I’m not doing something, that creative people need to do something to stay happy. She’s right. She wants me to pick up knitting again. I want to reply, ‘Right or left-handed?’, but usually tell her I’ve fallen in love with bra-making. It takes up all my spare time and a good chunk of my thought process.

Back to knitting, I did learn both ways of knitting. Right-handed knitting is something my Mum taught me. I understand it’s English.

But not everyone in the world is English.  A friend I met from Japan teased me about throwing the yarn when I knit, and she taught me left-handed knitting. It’s a much ‘tighter’ way of knitting. Your hands barely move, just the fingers. And the needles stay relatively motionless – not a lot of up and down movement going on.

I must say I prefer right-handed knitting, even though it does go more slowly because we really do ‘throw’ the yarn around the knitting needle tip, however I’ve done it this way for many years, and it’s what is embedded in my brain.

Valerie is an Artistic Fibre Specialist, and is incredibly talented. I was privileged to be on the receiving end of her talents this week. Valerie brought me a couple of gifts.

Scarf Full Image

Isn’t this exquisite? I was so impressed with this lovely scarf. Almost made me push my sewing machine aside and take up knitting again. I settled for wearing it the same day I got it.

This is the second lovely gift I received.

Neck Warmer Full Image

Valerie does incredible work and not just to give away as gifts. She has an Etsy store. You can see more of Valerie’s designs here:

Intricate Knits

No time for sewing for me this week. I’m making Anointing Oils for a Ladies’ Retreat, and a Custom Medical ID Bracelet – one of my favorite designs:

Noble-116

This is a Triple-strand Bracelet made with Gold-filled beads and Swarovski Crystals. It’s a very elegant Medical ID Bracelet – you can see the ID tag hanging in the back.

I have a treat coming later in the week, or early next week. All I can say is it was love at first sight. And I’ll be starting a bra for a friend next week. She only wants something basic, but I’ll still take pictures and post them.

Happy creating!

Starry Nights… and Days

~ Michelle

Today’s blog started years ago. I bought an adorable pair of Murano glass earrings from The Shopping Channel. They were gold foil little stars with clear glass around the foil. They were charming. I got them home and then decided, no, I wanted to change something. (I do that a lot.)

They were strung on Sterling silver, and I didn’t love that. I thought gold foil would look better with gold ear wires. Well, I can’t play with gold, so gold-filled was good enough for me – still gave me the gold look, but not the gold price.

Star Earrings

Unfortunately, the gold doesn’t look very bright, but the gold foil is just shining!  So these little stars started a journey – I wanted something to match.

I looked for a LONG time; not constantly, but on and off for about three years. And then just before Christmas 2012 I found a web site that had the same stars!!! To say I was excited was a complete understatement! My Christmas money was spent before I got it. Thank you, Mum.

Star Pendant

So, I got another star to have a matching set. Yes, I know – Matchy-matchy.

This star is strung with a gold-filled pin and bail. It’s on a leather cord. I love it. I’m so glad I never settled for anything less – this is perfect.

Well, once the necklace and earrings were done, I wanted a bracelet to go along with them. Good thing I’d ordered a few more beads!

Gold Foil Clear Glass beads & Faceted Rock Crystal bracelet

Here’s the medical ID bracelet I made to wear with my Starry set. This has the gold foil beads in different sizes, and clear faceted quartz crystals. It also has Sterling silver clasps. I love it too! But I always love whatever bracelet I’ve just made.

And one last little gold foiled gem:

Moon pendant or charm

I couldn’t resist this little moon bead. I got it so I could interchange the Moon and the Star on my necklace, but it also works really well as a little charm to dangle from the end of my bracelet.

I’m off to play with some patterns.

Happy creating!