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Inspired by the Hatrack artists thread, I thought the crafty among us could show off too. I love looking at and being inspired by other people's work.
This is a dress I made for Emily and it was my first venture into crazy quilting technique. Ignore the hemline because it wasn't hemmed when my mom took the picture (it's still not hemmed, it was big on her so we're waiting until Easter next year, and I'll hem it then)
I don't have any pictures scanned in, but I do many crafty things. I have sewn my whole life, haven't made anything really amazing though, maybe one really cool three quarter sleeved shirt, with a boat neck over lapping shoulders (like onesies have), made out of a leppoard print poly knit.
I have made lots of beaded jewelry, right now my thing is blown glass beads on clear elastic cord, very trendy bracelets. In middle school I sold sculpey beaded necklaces at craft shows, they were really cute, at little out of style now. I've also done some hemp work, but the necklace I was really proud of never gets worn.
The crafty thing I do that is most unique is making leather saddles in one ninth scale for breyer horses. They can be very ornate, with silver and tooling.
I want to learn to knit this winter, my grandma does, but I know if she tried to teach me I would get very frustrated, so I'm going to try a book.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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WOW again John! That is great. Is that hand painted?? The "treasures" on the chair look almost like photos. You couldn't come to Hanover PA and do a ceiling mural for me could you??
I have some photos of some beadwork I've done at this link.Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
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I haven't any pictures, but I'm a bead chick in the worst way. I made custom jewelry for my senior prom and then proceeded to tear it apart and reuse the beads for other projects. I'll try to get a picture of the pearl necklace I'm working on when it's finished.
Posts: 4089 | Registered: Apr 2003
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ooo... sm... I would love to see your work. I do beaded jewelry as well. I started out using seed beads. Now, I am using gemstone beads and sterling silver. It's definitely fun and satisfying to see a design on paper come to fruition in something you or someone else can wear. Heck, it's fun just to come up with a piece on the spur of the moment.
Belle... I like the patchwork and the pearl additions in the bodice.
mph... very nice shelf. How long did it take you to make it?
John... that is cool. I wouldn't mind something like that along a wall or a ceiling either.
Posts: 822 | Registered: Jul 2001
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I started with seed beads too! I got a bead loom for christmas when I was ten, and it all went from there. Posts: 4089 | Registered: Apr 2003
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larisse, every one of those beads and seed pearls has already fallen off, LOL!
Handwork is not my strength. It is, however, my mother's - she does all the hand sewing for the pillows I sell. She's going to re-do all the beading on that dress by Easter.
I'm starting (after I finish sewing pirate costumes for Halloween) an entire throw out of the crazy quilt technique. It will be in blues and silvers - I have a nice collection of velvets, brocades, and satins in ice blues and silvers. It's going to have a holiday feel, and I hope to finish it and auction it off next year as a fundraiser for my church library. I won't finish it this year because I want a lot of hand beading and embellishment on this one, I want Mom and me to take our time with it.
Last year at our silent auction a string quilt went for over $200, so who knows? Maybe I can get a good bit for it.
Oh, and speaking of jewelry and beads - this is the bracelet my oldest daughter made to go with the crazy quilt dress.
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A bead loom? Wow, that brings back memories.
My mother's a home ec major, so I know my way around a needle and fabric. I made some baby blankets for Christy (well, technically they're for Sophie), and I'm using my (fairly nonexistant) painting skills to make something for Bernard for his birthday.
Posts: 873 | Registered: Apr 2003
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So many crafty people! I learned to crochet late last year, and am currently working on my third baby blanket. I haven't used a pattern out of a book yet; they're just simple patterns I make up myself. I started on a fourth baby blanket for my friend using granny squares out of a book and it's not going too well. I keep on missing a stitch somewhere, which is very frustrating. I'm going to see if I can get a friend to teach me how to quilt this winter.
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My mom said once that the best bit of advice she got when she had to tiny kids at home (me and my one-year-older brother) was to do something every day that would last. The house and the kid work was important, but she was going a bit crazy feeling like she wasn't accomplishing anything concrete, but when someone told her that she needed to do something that lasted every day, it made perfect sense.
Posts: 1753 | Registered: Aug 2002
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I've done a lot of other "crafts" but I don't have pictures of them... One of my favorites is the dress I made for my 8th grade graduation
Posts: 3420 | Registered: Jun 2002
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This is such a great thread! I love crafts and know how to do quite a lot, thanks to a very crafty great-aunt. Although I don't think I could take pictures of everything I have made and put it up, though. It would take to long. But let's see....I can sew, embroider, crochet, scrapbook, build....pretty much anything. Lately I've had to do a lot of mending. It's so much fun! Sorry, I'm a little overexcited, because I actually get to work on my projects today! Yay!
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I've always been crafty, but I don't really have any pictures of my stuff. I was crazy into beadwork up until a year ago, when I suddenly got bitten by the knitting bug and have been doing that obsessively ever since. I know how to crochet but don't really do it, and I've made a few forays into cross stitch now and then; I have a beautiful, big, complex dragon one (the only one I've actually finished, I believe) framed on my wall.
Because I'm too lazy to rewrite it all, here is a link to my LJ that has pics of a very ambitious knitting project I just finished not too long ago. It helps if you're familiar with the webcomic Something Positive, but the journal entry has a link to the specific strip that inspired the scarf.
Posts: 957 | Registered: Aug 2002
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I don't have any pictures either. I've done some simple beadwork bracelets and chokers, mostly with elastic thread or leather. My sister made my cousin in the army a bracelet with a small cross and he wrote back saying that his whole division liked them so she sent him as many as she could make. I thought that was really awesome.
I've sewn some simple things as well, but am definitely an amateur. Pillows are fun. I made some door snakes for my relatives for Christmas one year and I'm rather proud of the sheer curtains I've put on our livingroom windows. It made me realize how poorly I sew in a straight llne, though. Luckily, the pleats cover up for my waviness.
I love to scrapbook, but usually do 8 1/2 x 11. Sophie's book is the first 12x12 that I've done, and I'm having a lot of fun with it.
I still haven't knit or crocheted although I did learn how. Theca, if you're reading this, I should just photocopy those patterns you gave me and mail them back to you since I've been so bad.
Posts: 1777 | Registered: Jan 2003
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I agree with Annie. Craftwork IS artwork - just because something you've created is functional in the everyday sphere (you wear it, it furnishes your home, etc.) doesn't mean it can't be art, as well.
I actually think it's a little sad that mechanized, mass production of so many of the tools and other things we use has created this distinction between arts and crafts.
(You know you're addicted to Hatrack when you post before breakfast.)
Posts: 54 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Stray, I read S*P, and the Choo-Choo scarf is fabulous. Have you sent a picture in? I'm sure they'd love to see it.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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dkw... that quilt is gorgeous. I love the patterns. It reminds me of a psychedelic cosmic trip or one of those fractal pictures. Are you planning on a making a quilt with a wedding ring pattern?
I am gonna try and get some of my work scanned. Gotta borrow some equipment first.
Posts: 822 | Registered: Jul 2001
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I mostly make jewelry-I make my own bead looms when I need them, but lately I've been into wire and bead stuff (no pics, sorry) I also knit a little, crochet, sew, make wire scultures (those I only do for my mother or godmother, mostly I don't care enough to do it, but they love them) and make pine-needle baskets. Any craft I see, I generally want to learn to do. It's very unhealthy.
And karl-the middle picture, that's really cool looking!
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It's almost Christmas - I thought I'd revive this - maybe it will help those of us that aren't sure what to get people get some creative ideas flowing!
Here's some bags I've made in the last year or so.
By the way, this isn't advertising - I'm backed up on personal projects and won't be selling any items on Ebay anytime soon! But...I wouldn't be adverse to shopping if some jatraqueros have wares they will be offering!
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Wow. I can only wish I were that creative. Those bags and pillows are awesome! I mean, I'm still back at knitting scarves, when I do anything creative at all.
Though I promise, someday I will finish my awesome Greece scrapbook. Yeah.
Posts: 3932 | Registered: Sep 1999
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Carrie, please keep in mind that I own a hideously expensive embroidery machine that was practically given to me by a family friend that does all the hard stuff for me. I can't take credit for any of the embroidery, I just thread it and push a button. Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Belle, are you saying that for the fairy on the pillow, all you have to do is push a button? The pattern is in the machine?
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Yes, that is correct. I buy the design - in this case I downloaded it from a website for a fee, and then I just have to push the button, and when it comes to a color stop, change the thread.
The designs run from $1.00 apiece up to $9.99, the ones I normally buy though you can usually get bundled sets of designs for less. I also only buy designs that I can reproduce on items for sale, so I don't get in copyright trouble.
Edit: I left out a step. I download the design, then I have translation software and a card reader that hooks up via USB. The software writes the design to the card, and I take the card and put it in the machine. Some of the newer and sexier embroidery machines can read directly from a CD.
My software will also take a jpg or a scanned image and convert it into a stichery file. The software was more than what I paid for the machine, but I got lucky - a family friend upgraded to a real sexy model and I got her cast off machine for a song.
[ November 04, 2004, 03:47 PM: Message edited by: Belle ]
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I know technology is capable of far more complicated things than this, but for some reason, this just floors me. I remember my Mom working on cross stitch when we would go on our cross country road trip vacations. She would work for months on one piece.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
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One reason I've gotten into crazy quilting, is because even with the machine to do most of the seams for you, it still takes time cutting and piecing, and most of the decorative work is still done by hand.
But I have little patience for hand sewing of any kind. My love for the process stems from the design - once I finish creating it in my mind I want to see that vision become reality as fast as possible so I can move on to something else. Probably my ADD. Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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For the few pieces of furniture I've built, I've used stock molding. I'm sure with time and the right tools, I could create the molding myself, but to me, that's only part of the overall piece. That's not what I want to spend my time doing. It seems similar.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Oh oh! I have have a craft now!. I designed a set for the Sam Shepherd play Buried Child. It's all broken down with the wallpaper hanging off the walls all stained and ripped. It's cool, if I do say so myself. Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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ooh! I have a cool painting I did a while ago...too bad I dont have a camera...or a picture of my painting Posts: 306 | Registered: Jun 2003
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I make ceramic tile mosaics. Really tacky ones that are slightly below Motel 6 standards. But at least its not much fun and I can cut my fingers to shreds.
Posts: 288 | Registered: Nov 2003
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Belle, who are Emily and Lydia? I'm asking because my name is Lydia, and my sister's name is Emily. And while there are a lot of Emily's out there, there aren't many Lydia's.
Posts: 2149 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Emily is my daughter - many of my sample items are hers. Lydia is my six year old niece, same story. When I make stuff to sell I usually offer it customized, but make one first for my kids - so the same names always crop up. Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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