Crafty Thread - what are you working on at the moment?

[Callie]

those are brilliant Elvis

I made (knitted and extrapolated an adult size hat from a kids pattern) a crap purple hat, its got ear flaps. i did take a picture of me in it but I look like a slightly more mental one of these :

 

[Miss Caphat]

it's surprising how much fun you can have with some wet paper and drawing ink

what are the different techniques there, Bob? I would like the try that with my students.

 

[semi furious]

Those mobiles are just wonderful, Elvis. I wish my kid was friends with your girl. PM me if you feel like making any again, I'll buy one.

 

[Elvis Parsley]

Those mobiles are just wonderful, Elvis. I wish my kid was friends with your girl. PM me if you feel like making any again, I'll buy one.

thanks

spirals has inspired me to open an Etsy shop, so i've got some going on there soon, plus a bunch of other stuff, but you're more than welcome to grab one before they go on there. they're not difficult to make, just really time consuming, it's whiles away the evenings though.

 

[Elvis Parsley]

thanks all for the positive feedback

 

[wayward bob]

what are the different techniques there, Bob? I would like the try that with my students.

the geometric ones are traditional japanese shibori clamping techniques. you pleat/fold the paper and clamp it between different shaped pieces of wood/plastic/anything waterproof. clamped areas stay white, others pick up the dye.

you can pick up small clamps for pennies at a hardware shop. you need to give the paper a good soaking first and it has a tendency to tear along the folds. you need to use cartridge paper or heavier ime. cotton rag paper should work beautifully

i dipped in small quantities of slightly diluted drawing ink but the patterns would take much better/more evenly with a proper dye bath. (i'm still warming up to doing the indigo)

the other two are just scrunched/rolled paper to pick up the stuff i'd spilled they all dried paler and those ones are much less interesting now.

 

[wayward bob]

spirals has inspired me to open an Etsy shop,

nice one elvis

 

[Miss Caphat]

the geometric ones are traditional japanese shibori clamping techniques. you pleat/fold the paper and clamp it between different shaped pieces of wood/plastic/anything waterproof. clamped areas stay white, others pick up the dye.

you can pick up small clamps for pennies at a hardware shop. you need to give the paper a good soaking first and it has a tendency to tear along the folds. you need to use cartridge paper or heavier ime. cotton rag paper should work beautifully

i dipped in small quantities of slightly diluted drawing ink but the patterns would take much better/more evenly with a proper dye bath. (i'm still warming up to doing the indigo)

the other two are just scrunched/rolled paper to pick up the stuff i'd spilled they all dried paler and those ones are much less interesting now.

that's so cool, thank you!

 

[wayward bob]

i'd love to see what your students come up with

 

[Looby]

sparklefish I've got boxes and boxes of thread which I was given for free. You'd be welcome to some, but I don't think you are a Brixtonite, are you?

Thanks for the offer, that's really kind but I'm not in london.

Thanks anyway. : )

 

[moose]

Quick project knitters! See my scarf yarn giveaway in recycling forum!

Edit: Gone to Tufty

 

[Greebo]

Had a definitely subgenius week - it's taken me all week to stop wrestling with stretchy nylon thread and just google how to stop the knots from undoing themselves.

To save anyone else the bother, you can either (very carefully) melt the knot or you can dab nail varnish on it while being careful not to move the knot for at least a minute.

 

[Miss Caphat]

i'd love to see what your students come up with

will definitely post when we try it! most of the kids who were coming have moved on to other things (that's ok, though, it stayed together for a lot longer than I thought it would) , so I'm trying to get a new group together

 

[idumea]

Today I brought my very first sewing machine in a sale...a small mini Singer. I also got thread and a metre of lovely black fabric with white stars on it. My first test project will be a really simple loop scarf, which will hopefully be nice enough to give to my mum. I may be being overly hopeful!

 

[wayward bob]

sounds like a fab first project to me idumea and we're always on hand if you get stuck

 

[RubyToogood]

I feel I ought to do something crafty for my beloved for Valentine's Day. I've got her a card but it seems a bit inadequate. Am a bit stumped though

 

[moose]

Is cake out of the question, given the time available?

 

[RubyToogood]

Is cake out of the question, given the time available?

No, although I was thinking more of something I could post. We're meeting at lunchtime also so she'd have to take it round for the rest of the day if I took it with me.

 

[Boudicca]

 

[moose]

We're meeting at lunchtime also so she'd have to take it round for the rest of the day if I took it with me.

D'uh! Not if you eat it!

 

[Dovydaitis]

I'm knitting a 'simple' tank top. I'm new to knitting and have so far undone it about 4 times I think I may have cracked it now though

 

[Callie]

I am currently knitting a pocketed cardi with a hood and bear ears

free pattern here if anyone is interested http://www.deramores.com/jenny-watson-hooded-jacket/

 

[Dovydaitis]

at last!! the rib bit actually looks like the pattern! *does small celebratory dance*

 

[Callie]

at last!! the rib bit actually looks like the pattern! *does small celebratory dance*

heh i had a bit of an 'are you sure?' 'is this right?' 'this is never going to work' moment on the pockets of the cardi above. I actually stopped and re-did the whole first bit as I couldnt see it coming together. The second time came out exactly the same so I just carried on and eventually it came together. Pockets are WEIRD.

 

[Dovydaitis]

no mine was shocking, I finally figured out where i was going wrong though and now it's all good.

 

[RubyToogood]

D'uh! Not if you eat it!

We're going to a restaurant though so it might not go down well. Anyway it doesn't matter because I found a perfect second hand necklace, which requires no further work other than wrapping and posting.

 

[vauxhallmum]

I appear to have crocheted Helena Bonham Carter in loo roll cosy form

 

[tufty79]

cloudbusting.
(still more to do)

 

[Crispy]

Pages from a disintegrating copy of The Time Atlas of The World, 1920, spray mounted onto sanded down coffee table, covered in a sheet of glass. Protective wooden border to come.

 

[RubyToogood]

Finally getting round to making this fabric into a dress:

I bought this vintage pattern a while ago and am just doing a test run in some plain blue cotton. The sizing is coming out quite well and the instructions are reasonably comprehensible but I'm not 100% sure I still like it. There's retro and then there's frumpy... (ignore the picture on the left, it's their trademark or something)