Sharing some FO's

It's been a long while again... Moving really takes a toll on your time, eh? Well, that, and lack of internet at home for the first couple months...

I don't have a lot of time for explanation, but here are some FO's for you to love. Most of these are cel phone pictures, since we moved & I still haven't found my digicam...

Remember my batwing tuorial? http://craftyconcoction.blogspot.ca/2011/09/basic-childrens-bat-wing-tutorial.html

Well, we painted those wings, and I made a gargoyle costume for DS for halloween!

It was a huge success!! The belt & axe were purchased; the tail was made by me, detachable, the horns were made from air dry modeling clay (the really lightweight kids stuff) & the gray jumpsuit was made by using a shirt & pants of his to make a pattern, then stitched together. It has a couple buttons in the back.

A couch-arm organizer for my step-dad who lost both of his legs to diabetes & vascular disease. He is getting around in his wheelchair better now, but he was confined to a hospital bed in the living room for quite some time, and this made it much easier for him to keep his remote, the phone, a drink, his meds, etc close at hand. Both sides have two large pockets (big enough for magazines) and three smaller, elasticated pockets for phones, remotes, drinks, etc. It is backed in fleece, which creates a nice no-slip effect on my mom's couch fabric.

These shirts were made for a friend's daughters, who are 5 & 6. I have one that I made for the onesie swap, which Shaun now wears. The girls loved them, and refused to take them off for about 4 days, until their Mom said they had to take them off to wash them!

Hubby & I got a puppy, then another puppy about a month after. The first puppy is huge & fluffy, the second not so much. She was forever cold, so I used an old hoodie that I no longer wear & made her a sweater. Sadly, she was not a good fit for our family (she was biting DS & jumping) so a friend of ours is raising her in a child-free home, but she still has her sweater!

I have an adjustable dress form, whom I have named Dolly. I scored an awesome deal on her ($2 at a garage sale!) She is a little smaller than me maxed out (about 2" smaller in the waist, and we won't mention the bust difference) but I make do with a layer of padding and a bra. Well, a friend of mine is downsizing and getting ready to spend some time finding herself (maybe travelling?)

She was selling her dressform, which is the old cage style that is fully adjustable to ANY size!

I snapped that up! When I brought it home, I named her Jane, and then got DS to climb inside the cage, and made it to his size. Jane is usually to mid-hip on most women, but that was enough to make some legs...

Here she is as a creepy replica of my son with a foam head & some of his clothes:

Now Jane has a different outfit on - she is wearing DS's birthday suit for this weekend!

And last, but not least; DS turns 4 this weekend! He wanted a "Superhero" party, where all of his friends dress up as their favorit superheroes. For nearly 2 months he has requested to be Spiderman. Last Thursday I told him I didn't have time to make a Spiderman costume, and couldn't find one for sale anywhere. I asked him to wear his Spiderman jammies instead.

Well, he assured me that he never wanted to be Spiderman, and wanted to be Batman instead. Same dillema....

Until! I found a plastic batman mask for $5. I then re-used the jumper from his gargoyle costume that I made for halloween. I sewed & topstitched a quick belt out of an old t-shirt, and made a felt & jersey pin-on batman logo. A quick black jersey no-sew cape, and I have a cery happy little birthday boy! He was skeptical of everything I did, but loved the outcome of the old-school batman costume :)

Now, I have so much more to accomplish for his party this weekend, as I have tried to DIY a LOT of it. Plus, two swaps on the go over on Craftster, which I need to focus on. And studying for my MCQ in two weeks? Ugh!

Fabric Destash!

"What is Craftster?" you may ask. Well, it's only the most kick-@$$ craft-sharing website on the entire interwebs!

"What is a swap?" you may ask. BLASPHEMER!!! Swaps through Craftster are amazing, and that is all you really need, right?

So, if you don't know Craftster, or swapping, I highly suggest getting your deprived butt on over to that website, checking out the awesome & joining up. If you are really super-awesome & crafty, you might feel inclined to look into swapping.

The point is to destash a bit, and send supplies that are not useful to me on to those that CAN make use of them. One of my partners has requested fabrics as part of her supplies, and since I am unable to email her due to the size of the file, I am making a blog post.
Right now, I'm taking part in the Givers & Needers Swap Round 10. I offered up 2 givers packages, and one needers package. Turns out I'm doing 2 of each, which is making me a light

Don't want to read? That's fine, you can skip this one, and I won't even hold it against you. anxious, but I am working towards getting the right stuff to the right people.

Ok, so, here's the pictures of the fabrics I have up for grabs:

Miscellaneous Fabrics

*beige pleather – large irregular scrap

*burgundy velour – irregular scrap

*cream fur (not sure what this is) – irregular scrap

*burgundy faux suede with black embroidery – large irregular scrap

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Miscellaneous Fabric

*navy (not sure either, feels like a prom dress) – 60” wide x 4.5yds

*blue sparkly fabric – 60” wide x 15"

*black floral (this is very see-through) – 45” wide x 1yd

*brown stretch with purple/green pattern & gold sparkle – 60” wide x 19”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silky Plaids/Stripes

*brown/white irregular stripe – 60” wide x 23”

*purple/white irregular stripe – 60” wide x 18”

*blue/white/red plaid – 60” wide x 1.2yds

*blue/white/silver stripe – 2 pieces, 32” x 23”

*salmon/white/silver stripe – 2 pieces, 32” x 23”

*magenta/white/silver stripe – 2 pieces, 32” x 23”

*silver stripe – 2 pieces, 30” x 24”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silky Patterns

*white with rainbow irregular stripes – 4yds x 19”*white/navy stripe – 45” wide x 14”

*silver/pastel plaid – 60” wide x 34”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flannels

*dark red/tan plaid – 45” wide x 1.7yds

*blue/green plaid – 2 pieces, 60” wide x 20”

*light pink solid – 2 pieces, 36” wide x 29”

*light pink floral – 90” wide x 16”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fleeces

*blue polar fleece – irregular scrap
*red polar fleece – irregular scrap

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Christmas Cotton Broadcloth

*green with white hearts & holly/red bow – 2 pieces, 40” wide x 52” (one piece has small cut out on end)

*red with white stars – 40” wide x 4+yds

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cotton Broadcloth

*blue plaid (not broadcloth) – 45” wide x 30”

*brown leaf print – 45” wide x 1.7yds

*blue/green plaid – irregular scrap

*white with black polka dots – 45” wide x 32”

*brown paisley – 40” wide x 2.1yds (this has some damage along the selvedge)

*cream with brown flowers – small scrap

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cotton Broadcloth

*large brown/orange/yellow/white plaid – 45” wide x 3.5yds

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fabric by the Bolt

not willing to part with all of any of these, just some of each

*gray ribbed knit tube

*red cotton broadcloth

*red/blue plaid cotton broadcloth

Random

So, I forgot to take pictures of DS's father's day gift for my ex.
I have to say it came out pretty well though. We took an old hardcover that was in very poor shape (moldy pages, ripped, etc) & glued it all together nice & tight, then after it dried, I carved out the inside. More glueing & drying, then we lined the inside with black felt. We also recovered the outside in black Dollarama scrapbooking paper that had silver print. The front & back were stripes placed horizontally. The spine we "bound" with a scrollwork pattern. Since the only thing I didn't have on hand was the paper, the entire project cost us less than $2 after tax!!
I encouraged him to fill it up for daddy. He put in some coins, rocks & his plasticine "turtle" (multi-coloured lump). I put in copies of pictures of DS that he had either lost or given away. I also added a pack of cognac & honey rolling papers (link semi-NSFW) for his smoking needs. More from me than from DS, obviously.

Anyways, DS & I have been in our new place for almost 2 months, and besides all of the problems we have had (dead stove, fridge died, no hot water in shower, ant infestation, more plumbing, microwave died....etc), I have tried to make a livable space. First step was his bedroom. It was previously used as a storage room & it really showed.
His room was unclean as well as unsafe. I put all my energy into making it child-safe, then child-friendly. I slept on the couch for almost a week, because everything got dumped in my room & I didn't have a bed.
I will update with pictures of his room later...
The living room is long & narrow, so is set up very wide so as to be closer to the small TV. One end is an "office space" that I don't really use much. There is also an unsightly gaping hole in one part of the wall that the landlord doesn't think needs to be fixed.
My bedroom is part craft space, part storage & part sleeping space.
This has worked in the meantime, but it doesn't flow very well. Also, the lighting in my room is absolutely terrible, so I am always dragging my projects out to the living room where there is a large fluorescent overhead.
I have worked through several ideas & floor plans in my head as well as on paper, and I have finally settled on a set that I like & I feel flows much better.
Hopefully this weekend, DS will allow me to move things around and get our space a little nicer.

Since I don't have the $$ to buy paint right now, let alone some of the other projects I want to take on (like a huge couch overhaul!), I will have to be satisfied with rearranging the furniture & further organizing...

Oh, and the other day (Wednesday night) I found a perfectly good, solid wood, 6-drawer dresser on the curb! The lady told me I could take it if I wanted it. It's got scratches, but the drawers are still solid & the original pulls are all on (with no damage, as well as not being loose).The wheels (!) are a little wonky, but I might just remove them. Eventually sand & paint. But it's the perfect home for my fabric! It houses almost 3/4 of it in it's current state, but I want to re-fold things, catalogue some new finds, and see if I can't get it all in there. And find a new organizing system for my craft notions, since I will be losing that glass shelf....

Starting to Work

Yesterday, I went to my BFF's house for a much-needed break from reality & a visit. After some fun & adventures outside with the kidlets, we headed inside, where we inevitably began talking craftiness. Since 9th grade, we have been best friends. We're so much alike that we joke that we share half a brain, as well as a passion for crafts of all kinds.
I talked about my to-do list and my desire to dedicate a little more time to my passions. We went upstairs and grabbed her grad dress (that she made herself and wasn't entirely happy with the overall feel of) and changed it up to be a beautiful summer dress. We cut off the top (the part she had a problem with) and grabbed some thin jersey knit to make a simple twisted bandeau top. Eventually we will likely add straps, but she loves it, and I felt accomplished.

So, back to that to-do list. I have started #4. A floor-length rainbow patchwork skirt. I decided I like the skirt better, because then I can wear pretty much any top I own with it.
I knew this would be one of the biggest endeavors on the list, but last night, I finished sorting my fabric and ended up with one large rubbermaid bin of full yardages+, one large rubbermaid bin of clothing & linens to recon or use as fabric, one smaller bin of large scraps, several very small bins of small scraps, and a big box of quilting fabric.
I took out the finished quilt squares & tablecloths that are just awaiting quilting or finishing, as well as all the pre-cut batting & quilting stencils. I'm not a quilter, and although I would love to have the patience for it, I really can't imagine myself sitting down to such meticulous, detailed work for such a long period. BFF does simple quilts and enjoys it, so I am forwarding it all to her.
Today, I attacked that big box of quilting fabric and sorted it into it's various colours. Except for white, all of the neutrals got added to BFF's pile (she loves browns, and has already made a gorgeous queen size quilt for her bed)
I then sat down with my calculator, pen & paper, and figured out all the numbers for a 10-tier rainbow patchwork skirt, with 1.5x increases between the tiers.
Let me tell you now, this is one hell of a major project! The numbers that I have to use are as follows:

Rainbow Patchwork Skirt

Using 4"x4" squares, construct a 10-tier skirt with 1.5x increases, using the following colour scheme:

             Colour                      # Squares           Width of Row (appx)

• White                           13 squares             50"
• White                           20 squares             75"
• Orange                         30 squares             113"
• Yellow                         45 squares              170"
• Green                           68 squares             255"
• Teal                              102 squares           383"
• Blue                              153 squares           575"
• Purple                           230 squares          863"
• Red                              345 squares           1295"
• Pink                             518 squares           1943"
•    OR                              690 squares           2590"

The reason for the "or" is because I would really like to have more ruffle on the last row, but if I can't manage enough squares, then I will settle for a 1.5x increase instead of a 2x increase. Also, I wanted a HUGE waistband, so that just about anyone could wear it. I'm a big girl (5'10" with a 42" waist - ugh)

Beyond that, I then have to stitch each tier of patches together, then ruffle them, then sew each tier to the next. After that, the waistband, and lastly, the dreaded hem.

So, I have started cutting. I started with larger numbers, but felt that a 60" waistband would be far too cumbersome, and adjusted accordingly for a 50" waistband instead.
Thank god for my rotary cutter!

*Total planning & organizing time: ~1.5 hrs*

Wants & To-Do's

Don't we all end up with a mile long list of things to do? Things we want to own, or make simply for the sake of making them?
Right now, my major to-do is still trying to get organized. I have never been very good at it, so it's never really happened. With over a decade of chaos and multiple moves to sort through, it really is quite the chore. But I still manage to set aside time to craft. Of course, my son always comes first, but THEN comes organizing, and THEN crafting. OK, maybe crafting before organizing... hehehe
So, I have a couple things that I have to make for this summer:

1. I have been eyeing the jumpers that have been seen everywhere. Craftster use violentjayne (who's work I adore - one of my many Craftster crushes) has posted a few truly fabulous ones. I want to make a wide-legged, shirred-top, strapped one, and try to incorporate jayne's trapdoor idea (which is really quite ingenious). I feel like something with a flowy top, cinched at the waist, and wider legs will help hide my problem areas (read: flub) and accentuate the fact that I have killer tits and a waist that is over 10" smaller than my bust or hips. For this project, I have a large amount of olive green jersey. If that one works out well, I have a super-awesome thrift store find to make my second incarnation. The fabric is a light-weight knit in the most amazing azure with a slight pattern to it. It's soft & luxurious & reminds me of something that one might find a lehenga made of. I have a smaller amount of a similar fabric in the same colour, but with a white stripe. The edge of that one is a beautiful purple. It could easily be the sari worn over top.
Which brings me to my next project:

2. Make a simple sundress out of the azure/white striped fabric. I'm not 100% sure on which style I will use, but I don't think I want to incorporate any shirring into it. Partially because I've never done any, and taking on too many projects with a new technique will be too daunting. I was considering using the purple trim and some of the striping in a horizontal across my bust, with the remainder of the stripes in a vertical from underbust to knee. Just a simple strapless dress with an empire waistline & flowy skirt.

3. Another dress. I have this old piece of fabric that was given to me. I'm not sure what exactly it was meant to be, but it was store-bought & I don't think it was ever used. It's white cotton with a large blue floral pattern all over it. One end has a huge amount of wide eyelet lace ruffled on it. I want to use that end as the bottom of my skirt with the lace still attached.
The fabric goes almost 3 times around me, and is over twice my length, so no problem at all with making a dress. I was thinking perhaps a petticoat-style dress with a simple bodice? I might incorporate some shirring into the back of this one and opt for a slightly lolita-esque feel to the piece. Knee-length again, with 3 tiers on the skirt? I don't want to attempt any puff sleeves, though.... Or something closer to this one I found over at Hong Kong Badger. Either way, AntiCraft has a great tut for pettis.

4. A patchwork skirt or dress. Preferably rainbow. I have a bunch of quilting fabric that was gifted to me (two large boxes full!) And I'm not a quilter. It would be perfect for something like this, and I have wanted one of these for so long.








5. A lace-front button-down tank top. I bought a slightly oversized white button-down dress shirt. I plan to take off the sleeves & collar & add tons of lace trims down the front. I have several bags of mismatched trims in white & some more antique-looking. Perhaps dye the shirt as well? Make it all somewhat antiqued? This shirt is about the closest I could find online in a quick search. I want it to wear with my navy pinstripe bermudas. And a wide red or navy belt. And some cute red peep-toes, either flat or kitten heel.

As far as my organization goes, you can see my earlier post on my craft area. I have since opened all of the boxes & bins of fabric & separated lengths of fabric, folded them up nice & neat, and taken a sample of each stapled to a card with the width & length of each fabric. That way, I never have any guessing errors again.
I also pulled out all of my sheets, curtains & other miscellaneous household linens that I had set aside to use as fabric. They are neatly folded & patiently waiting for me to catalogue them all.
What's left to sort? I still have a couple of boxes of scrap to sort through, and a big rubbermaid bin of mismatched scraps & old clothes for reconning. I want to separate my scraps into quilting scraps, larger fabric scraps & smaller non-quilting fabric scraps. Anything I find not useful will be sent on it's merry way.
My yarn is still out of control, and I think I just have to use a lot of it up to get it under control. I have a 5-drawer organizer for it, and it's full, as well as a couple more bins & some random bags. Some of it was gifted, some of it was bought on a whim, some was bought with a project in mind, but never occurred (or never got finished - my unfinished projects are absolutely shameful)
I also found a multi-drawer organizer for $1 at a yard sale! I used it for all of my buttons, embroidery floss, beads & supplies. It was a bit rusty, but I gave it a quick coat of gold spray paint (I have a can from an old RHPS Columbia costume) Which means I have 3 smaller organizer boxes with nothing in them. I am going to either give them away or sell them.
I still have my under-bed storage system sitting empty (since there is no under my bed, just a mattress & boxspring on the floor). I think I will pull everything down from the space above my closets and fit it into those boxes, then put them up top. It should help keep everything a little neater and more organized.
Well, the organization part of this post is getting long-winded and depressing, so I'm going to cut myself short before I realize just how behind I am...

More slippers?

Another WIP :)
A few of my close family friends are diabetic. One of them has requested a pair of slippers to help keep her feet warm when she's sitting at home. She has had multiple surgeries on her feet due to infections & poor circulation, and can't get out much anymore because her calcaneus has been debrided to the point that her calcaneal tendon no longer has an attachment site (this means that her calf muscles don't work because her heel bone is all but gone).
With the loss of the bulk of her calcaneus, the shape of her foot has also changed drastically. I am starting with this pattern for unisex slippers, then altering the heel slightly to allow more room for the scar tissue that has formed. Her feet are the same size as mine, so these are fitted on me for now.
Here's the first one up to where I have to start the heel:

(Please excuse my messy floors & callused heel)

I have left the top a little shorter to make it easier to take on and off for her.

Oh, and they aren't quite as neon red as they look, but just a nice primary red.

If these work for her, I have a feeling I am going to have to make a set of cappies in the same style for her brother (my stepfather) since he lost both of his legs due to complications with diabetes this past January.

If you know where I can find a good cappy pattern, please share! Sewn or crocheted will work :)

Oh, Hai!

After a huge amount of BS, I am back in the world of internetland.

To be honest, I feel like a total piece of crap about a lot of happenings since my last post. I flaked on a Craftster swap (the onesie one) and received negative feedback. First, I was sending late, but then I never sent. I have the projects sitting in my craft space, completed, but now I don't know if it's just too late. That's really not like me. Health issues intervened with sending on time...

My "wonderful" boyfriend is no long my boyfriend, and not so wonderful either. I left him on what I hoped could have been amicable terms, but he decided to take my money as well as personal belongings, ditch on paying his portion of the rent while he was still there....yeah...

DS & I have since moved into a smaller, more affordable place. It's just us, and it is WONDERFUL!

With moving, comes the challenges of re-organizing. There is also a lot less storage room here. On the up side, my room is all my own, and I have been able to set up a fully-functional crafting area. I still have a couple things left to do, but all is organized, labelled, and easy to find.

Here's some in-progress pics:

A large 2-man desk, plus sewing table at far end. Dolly standing proud, but with no bra. Shelves up on wall & full.

Those desk drawers are full of patterns, paper crafts, DS's craft supplies. All organized for easy access.

Stacks and boxes of yarn, fabric, partially completed projects, & miscellaneous sewing supplies that have yet to be sorted.

A large ziplock bag of embroidery floss was given to me ages ago. It's all sorted out and ready to be carded and put in it's own container (finally)

On the bottom shelf: miscellaneous knick-knacks & craft supplies.

On the second shelf up: adhesives, carving tools, paints, more miscellaneous craft supplies.

On the third shelf up:buttons, beads, embroidery floss, beading wire, velcro, zippers, badanas, and more miscellaneous sewing supplies. All are organized into separate containers and labelled for easy finding.

On the top shelf: my Wuzzles, Rainbow Brite, ribbons, bindings, laces & trims with ribbon tulle on top.

Scissors & ruler on wall hooks.

A pile of completed hats that do not have homes. I'm considering making papier mache heads for them and mounting them on the wall. It would also supply me with a place to store some of my costume wigs.

What do you think?

Another Craftster Swap

I love Craftster.

Oh, how I love Craftster...

I also love swapping; I've said it before. It's like getting presents in the mail!

So, when the Week of Baby Onesies Swap came along again, I knew I had to join. I keep missing it, so I signed up as soon as I could this time. Before too long, Shaun will be too big for it :(

I requested two partners, with 5 shirts a piece being exchanged. And I got completely SPOILED! The organizer, barbolot, is extremely talented, and partnered herself up with me. She also partnered me with one of my other Craftster Crushes, stacysews. These ladies both rock the boards on Craftster, so I'm a little intimidated, but hope that I can match their skills.

I am currently making myself busy stalking them right now, so I thought I'd post a little here as well...

To do list

There is always room to be more crafty. And to put those crafts to use.

I personally enjoy giving my handmade creations as gifts, but I also really like making useful items for around my home.

I keep meaning to buy a plant hanger for my angel wing (see second plant), but have not gotten around to it in over a year. Instead, I am going to crochet one from this pattern that was shared on Craftster by user swtater123.

As well, I have a box under my kitchen sink that holds all of my plastic bags from various purchases awaiting reuse. It is large and takes up a lot of room. So it's time to do something about that as well. I keep meaning to sew up a good old fashioned plastic bag holder like Mom used to make, but my sewing machine is on the fritz. I found this pattern online, so will crochet up one of these as well.

I also have a lamp that I outgrew. It still works well, but the shade is less than savory, so I built a new one from string and Mod Podge (before and after pics)...

Sadly, that one melted from the heat of the light bulb, and I have not made a new one since. I saw these awesome tealight covers somewhere in my browsing of internets, and was inspired. I am going to make a lampshade similar to this one.

Add to this list many other "to do's" and those that do not craft will understand why those of us that do are always busy!