wayward bob
i ate all your bees
i'm talking plain weave cotton, nothing fancy, my ones just mash it up 
Crafty Thread - what are you working on at the moment?
- Thread starter radio_atomica
- Start date
I've no idea of the brand I bought from Morley's (the local equivalent of JL) but they cut cleanly enough and I don't think they were Fiskars (a good brand for investment grade tools).don't suppose anyone can recommend me some pinking shears? i bought some from john lewis and they're great for paper but shit for fabric, even from new
Before you chuck yours, try cutting a double layer of foil* - sometimes this sharpens the edges enough.
BTW next time never ever use a cutting tool for cloth if you've used it (even once) for paper, only the other way around. Paper has the same effect on scissors as shaving your legs does on the razor 'borrowed' from your OH. The same goes for hairdressing scissors.
*Non serrated scissor blades can be sharpened relatively easily; pinking shears are almost impossible to do if the foil method fails.
Miss-Shelf
I'll meet you further on up the road
I finished the skirt yesterday that I cut out in September 
and 
so happy while I sewed away - kept talking to myself 'this is ace' 'I'm so happy'
I often find that happens while I'm sewing - I love it
and even better I got this fabric for £2 from the charity shop in tulse hill (it's a childs duvet cover) and so far it's contributed to a friends patchwork bag, daughters quilt and now a skirt and there's still some left over - red and white polka dot)
I'm wearing it to work tomorrow
pics when my camera works again
and so happy while I sewed away - kept talking to myself 'this is ace' 'I'm so happy'
I often find that happens while I'm sewing - I love it
and even better I got this fabric for £2 from the charity shop in tulse hill (it's a childs duvet cover) and so far it's contributed to a friends patchwork bag, daughters quilt and now a skirt and there's still some left over - red and white polka dot)
I'm wearing it to work tomorrow
pics when my camera works again
Miss-Shelf
I'll meet you further on up the road
why does paper ruin fabric scissor blades?
I'm not sure, it might be something to do with the density of the fibres in paper compared to cloth or hair, but it's something which every hairdresser, barber, dressmaker, or tailor learns the hard way if their cutting tools get into the wrong hands.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
wayward bob said:20g of citrate, 10g of cyanide. 20g of citrate 10g of cyanide. is it possible to do this drunk?
Green citrate, I hope. The brown/red stuff doesn't work as well IME.
I used to make solar paper, and I've got some sealed containers of Ferric Ammonium Citrate and Potassium Ferricyanide powders lurking around so that when I can be arsed, I can do some contact prints onto fabric (probably cotton duck or a coarser canvas).
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Because they're (fabric scissors, that is) ground and sharpened at a slightly different angle than scissors for paper, and the angle the blades "address" the fabric at is important to ensure a clean cut. Cut paper with them, and you effectively blunt the leading edge off the blades.
Pinking shears are even worse. Good pinking shears are cut to work like individual teeth, and have to be sharpened in the same way. Use fabric pinkers for paper, and getting them re-sharpened means someone sitting dressing each tooth to the correct angle, rather than just drawing the scissor blade along a whetstone like you can do with ordinary scissors. Labourious and expensive.
wayward bob
i ate all your bees
in my defence i only used them for paper after i realised they were useless on fabric : thumbs :
Fair enough.
You wouldn't mind but even the cheapest pinking shears are HOW MUCH?!!! 
wayward bob
i ate all your bees
green indeed. prints didn't come out as well as they should cos i hadn't figured out in advance how i was going to dry it (large piece of cotton) and my attempt to do it in a light-leaky box fogged it quite badly in parts. but they're only "artist's impression" samples for something i'd eventually do in a totally different way, so they'll do
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
green indeed. prints didn't come out as well as they should cos i hadn't figured out in advance how i was going to dry it (large piece of cotton) and my attempt to do it in a light-leaky box fogged it quite badly in parts. but they're only "artist's impression" samples for something i'd eventually do in a totally different way, so they'll do
Back when I used to do them, I used some weird blue "non-woven fabric" sheet like this but 2ft wide, that came in rolls (nicked from work
) to dry them off - a couple of layers underneath, then a couple of layers between each print. Worked quite well.You never stop experimenting, do you?
I take my hat off to you!
wayward bob
i ate all your bees
You never stop experimenting, do you?
heh, next up i'm planning to incubate a number of different coloured dye baths in the eventual hope of drawing/printing with mould : thumbs :
friendofdorothy
Solidarity against neoliberalism!
I'm not up to much, as I'm full of cold - but I'd bought some new beading thread last week, so I've been sitting under duvet on the sofa making brand new necklaces out of all the ones I'd got bored of, some broken bits and bobs and a few odd old beads. Now have 6 new necklaces! Very theraputic.
I'm currently working on my silver jewellery homework. I have to write up everything I've learned and detail what I've made, using that knowledge, since I started last September. It has to be with my tutor by Monday night. I wish I'd made notes
Also, I have until Wednesday night to finish my granddaughter's cardigan. Two sleeves and a right front to go..
Also, not started yet but I'm going to a beading workshop on the 3rd of April so I'll be working on silver earrings with beads after then
Also, I have until Wednesday night to finish my granddaughter's cardigan. Two sleeves and a right front to go..
Also, not started yet but I'm going to a beading workshop on the 3rd of April so I'll be working on silver earrings with beads after then
wayward bob
i ate all your bees
i'd highly recommend setting up a blog to keep track of workshop experiments. not that you expect anyone to read it - although your tutor might like to - just as a way of keeping notes. pictures don't have to be brilliant - phone cam is enough - but i find the process of writing up the day's work often clarifies for me what i want to do in the next session. and it is pretty motivating to be able to look back and see your progress over an extended time
From now on, although we only have about 7 weeks left, I'm going to do that. I can't believe I'm going to spend all day today and probably some of tomorrow trying to complete my tracking log and remembering everything I've done since last September.
I need to pass on this year's course to be able to do the second year.
StoneRoad
heckling from the back!
At intervals over the last few weeks - most of last year I've been hoarding suitable stuff! - I have been using up some *scrap* timber building (mainly) bird boxes. All shapes and sizes ! About a dozen are already up.
The birds don't seem to mind what I've made their box from, as long as there is enough room (entry hole, floor space) and it is put up properly.
The last really big session resulted in over 30 boxes (I live on the edge of fields / woods about a mile from nearest "town") virtually all were used within a year or three, but untreated wood rots very quickly - hence the current building spree.
The birds don't seem to mind what I've made their box from, as long as there is enough room (entry hole, floor space) and it is put up properly.
The last really big session resulted in over 30 boxes (I live on the edge of fields / woods about a mile from nearest "town") virtually all were used within a year or three, but untreated wood rots very quickly - hence the current building spree.
wayward bob
i ate all your bees
fun and games down at the park today : thumbs :
Crispy
The following psytrance is baṉned: All
Hello crafty thread
South London Makerspace is happening for real! We're going to be open for two months at the old Good Companion shop on Norwood Road, opposite the Herne Hill entrance to Brockwell Park. If you'd like to support us, you can join as a member just for those two months for a one-off contribution. By joining, you'll also be getting a say in how we're run and how we spend out money.
Read more: http://southlondonmakerspace.org/2014/03/23/full-speed-ahead/
Artist's Impression (everything you see in this pic has already been pledged by our members, including band saw, pedestal drill and mitre saw)
South London Makerspace is happening for real! We're going to be open for two months at the old Good Companion shop on Norwood Road, opposite the Herne Hill entrance to Brockwell Park. If you'd like to support us, you can join as a member just for those two months for a one-off contribution. By joining, you'll also be getting a say in how we're run and how we spend out money.
Read more: http://southlondonmakerspace.org/2014/03/23/full-speed-ahead/
Artist's Impression (everything you see in this pic has already been pledged by our members, including band saw, pedestal drill and mitre saw)
Really like this idea.
Yuwipi Woman
Whack-A-Mole Queen
I can't believe I'm going to become someone who makes things using beads. Am I becoming a hippy?
If you haven't made yoghurt while smoking weed and beading, there's still hope.
Ceej
Where is my mind?
I finished the link bracelet on Monday. My next plan is a pair of earrings. One a spider and the other a spider's web.
Those rings are gorgeous!
