Wolf's Craftstravaganza
I've posted a few of my crafts in the past for the wonderment of all. I decided to get out my box of unframed objects and see what it held. I don't know if I'll be able to restrain myself to one per day, but I'll see what I can do.
Counted cross stitch on 18 count aida fabric.
This is supposed to be a set of Christmouse ornaments. In order to complete this project I would have to cut out carefully placed ovals around each mouse, sew it to a backing, stuff it with cotton batting, and make an attach a bit of braid around each one, also forming the hanger.
That is the reason that this has not been done. That is too much motherfucking work. I let the cuteness of the design overwhelm me into purchasing it, without thinking of the hell I would have to endure to make the ornaments.
I may eventually have it framed as is, but I will remove the guide threads.
Well that`s a side of you I never expected.
Jag, Wolf is actually a bot created by M.C.Escher.:D
I do not read historical romance novels.
Originally posted by jaguar
Well that`s a side of you I never expected.
You should see her hand-knitted holsters!! :shotgun:
One of my backburner projects (i.e., I'd have to get out too damn much equipment to even give it a start) is firearms related ... one of these days, mebbe when I'm on vacation.
Originally posted by wolf
I also crochet doileys.
If I give you steel wool will you knit me a bulletproof vest?:D
Just warning you, it's itchy. Worse than wool.
One of the things that I like about doing cross stitch is that for the most part you only do the image ... you don't have the often tedious task of filling in the background.
14 count blue aida fabric. A little cross stitch lesson. Aida is the most popular type of fabric for cross stitching. It is formed of very well defined, regularly spaced squares. The "Count" of a fabric refers to how many squares per inch there are ... 14 is the most common, with 18 next. Because you lose design detail, you don't see many projects (other than beginner/children's projects) done on 11 count, which is the next bigger one. Sometimes people will use a fabric with a higher thread count (like 28 count linen ... I'll be posting a pic later that uses this fabric) and work over two stitches.
Most folks have seen and understand how cross stitch works ... you make "X"s with thread until you make a picture. Most people, though, think of stamped cross stitch ... the stuff your grandmothers or maiden great aunts did, making tablecloth after tablecloth with flowers and cornucopias and holly leaves on them.
Or pillowcases with cute little pictures.
That's not the kind of thing I do. I do counted cross stitch. You start with a blank piece of fabric and a chart indicating where the stitches in what colors should go. You find the middle of the fabric, the middle of the chart, and that's where you begin, and work your way out toward the edges of the design.
Here is a finished piece and a graph from a kit.
I just had a horrible geek moment.
It is a bad sign when you look at the cross stitch images and think they look pixellated. "That is some low resolution."
And so it would be hilarious to do cross-stitches of well-known net images or Fark cliches!
[SIZE=1]but please not goatse!![/size]
I wonder how many cross-stitch pattern designers crossed into early computer game art design.
Interesting speculation, but this is one of those "never the twain shall meet" moments ... the best cross stitch designers still use graph paper and pencil to do their work ... feeding a picture into a software program is cheating it. The art is in the color choice, shading, and blending ...
Teresa Wentzler is the master, uh, mistress of this ... I'm working on one of her
designs but I honestly don't know if I'll ever get around to finishing it. I'm about 1/3 completed. She will mix two different color threads in one needle ... and you end up doing a LOT of color changes on her designs, but the effect is awesome.
textile machinery begat computer machinery....:)
I still have a deck of punch cards containing the first half of my record collection.:cool:
And now back to the regularly scheduled thread.:blush:
I also needlepoint. Needlepointing is done on a stiffened mesh fabric. The picture that you are making is printed directly onto the mesh. Instead of making "X's" like in cross stitch, you make a diagonal "/" staring in one box, ending in the one catty-corner to it. Because the mesh is large you work with a strand of yarn. Cross stitch is done with a given number of threads from a multi-thread floss. Flosses come in 6-strands. Depending on the count of your fabric, you use either two or three strands of the floss in the needle.
I ran out of background color yarn for this kit. I wanted to finish it. I was quite young, probably in junior high. At that time I was of the mistaken belief that "green is green". Today I think that the error adds character, charm., and warmth.
I LOVE needlepointing, its so relaxing.
I have heaps of beautiful intricate pieces, some winning awards and taking years to complete.
ill post as soon as i can.
This is the first "big" cross stitch that I completed. I had done a few tiny projects, just to get the hang of it.
Bunnies aren't just cute, like everybody supposes -
they've got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses!
And what's with all the carrots? What do they need
such good eyesight for, anyway?
Bunnies are nocturnal and they need to be able to finad all those carrotts in the dark!
no, they arent cute. they smell. and they eat TOO much!
Whenever anything sinister happens...
My mom had a needlepoint shop for years . She won her Magestys needle worker of the year and was flown to england and presented the award by the Queen , on the way she stoped in DC and had brandy with Pat Nixon . She did a Large multi pannel hanging of the wild flowers of Tennesee , it is still touring the world last i heard . She designed MANY kneelers , vestments , rugs , and hangings for MANY churches Large and small . My FAV was always the big rug she designed for Safrari club International , ALL the dangerious game of Africa .
Lions and Tigers and Bears OH MY !!!!!!
I will see if i can find her scrap book and post a few pics .
I really do love DaBears.
You have to to complete a large cross stitch.
I have a flag for my car, too.
You've had a lot of practice at needling, no wonder you do it so well.:haha:
A kit is a package containing all the essentials ... the chart, the fabric, the floss, and one needle to get you started. Most stitchers have packs of needles in various sizes just in case the ones that come with the kits lose their finish or start rusting.
A chart is just a printed booklet containing the graph and color choices for the design. The most popular floss is manufactured by
DMC so most charts are keyed to these colors. There are conversion charts that allow you to use other brands of floss, but the other brands are not able to keep up with the numbers of varieties from DMC.
If a television, movie, or comic strip character has enough commercial success cross stitch kits and charts start appearing.
I have a pile of charts that I haven't gotten around to doing anything with for Mario, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and some others.
DMC? French? Say it ain't so, Wolf, say it ain't so.:(
I haven't bought any recently, so I don't have to scold myself over it yet.
I have enough craft kits and spare floss to last until well after Armageddon (in between battles with fur-wearing bikers that roll in from the wastelands).
girl, just gotta say, outstanding work, and i never would have thunk it. great work!
Bah, you young whippersnappers think you know it all.
I wasn't always a raisin, you know.
I was a grape,..a damn fine plump grape too,....and then....
I heard it through the grapevine, not much longer would you be mine.
Oo, I heard it through the grapevine, and I'm just about to lose my mind.
Honey, honey yeah.
You know that a man ain't supposed to cry, but these tears I can't hold inside.
Losin' you would end my life you see, 'cause you mean that much to me.
You could have told me yourself that you found someone else.
Instead,
People say you "Hear from what you see, na na not from what you hear."
I can't help bein' confused; if it's true, won't you tell me dear?
Do you plan to let me go for the other guy that you knew before?Oo,
:drunk:
Here's a pair of fantasy creatures that should be framed and hung together.
Much nicer than those New Hope mules.:)
Victorian Skaters. I found this pattern in a cross stitch magazine. It should be in a round frame.
I've been a bit lax in posting, so a two-fer for tonight.
The first one needs a bit of ironing ...
But his faithful companion is quite crisp.
How big are the Peanuts characters?:confused:
In honor of the final jewel of the Triple Crown to be run later today ...
This isn't Smarty Jones, but most bay thorobreds look alike.
Originally posted by xoxoxoBruce
How big are the Peanuts characters?:confused:
The Charlie Brown is 6" X4", Snoopy is 6" X 3".
My intention is to matte them and use 8" X 5" frames.
The kits actually came with precut mattes, which I have around here somewhere ...
Another from my "Equine Period".
This one is an Arabian.
The fabric colors of the two horses are similar but not identical. If I ever get these framed they will have to hang separately so nobody notices that.
which I have around here somewhere ...
Bwahahahahahaha, I can relate to that.:D
Gotcha. I actually tried finding the original packaging, which is hiding, so that I could just read the numbers off it rather than have to get the Big Box of Stitchery out of the closet and also find a damn ruler.
Luckily I had left the dragon guarding the ruler, so that was easier to find.
I'm really impressed! I bought a Bert and Ernie cross stitch kit about 7 years ago and I still haven't finished it. I found the half done bit of Bert's head a few years ago and started working on it again. I was having such a great time working on it that I got this grand idea that I would cross stitch something for everyone at Christmas.
Yeah, that didn't happen and Ernie and Bert are still not done.
If you get to doing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, please post them - I bet those are cool!
If I can find the charts, I'll post pictures of the artist's model ... that's as close as I'll get right now.
I have to finish the cross stitch for my sister's birthday 8 years ago first.
Needlepoint for people who find needlepoint to be too complex ... the "difficult" part of the design, in this case, the horsehead, is completed for you. All you have to do is fill in the background.
I made this during a hospital stay when I was in the 7th grade.
I, myself, wouldn't rather be cycling, but this was made for a very dear, and now deceased friend.
His son returned this to me
A little do-it-yourself needlepoint project here.
This was not a kit.
When I was in college, this was my favorite Broadway Show. It still is.
One of my friends in the theater department and I spent a LOT of time in a practice room in the Music Building singing tunes from Evita. We were pretty good ...
Is that metallic thread? It really seems to sparkle.:)
Yes, the silver thread is a metallic. Pain in the butt to work with. You have to use shorter pieces of it because it frays as it pulls through the scrim.
Yet another technique ... this is "longstitch" which is done on the same type of fabric as needlepoint, but instead of stitching diagonally across stepwise holes, you make (duh) a long stitch from top to bottom of the color area.
that looks like it has some texture to it - very cool!
I like the Evita the best so far.
Keep 'em comin'.
that's one of the things that I do like about longstitch. the puffiness becomes part of the design.
Originally posted by wolf
that's one of the things that I do like about longstitch. the puffiness becomes part of the design.
It looks especially good with scene from the air, like the one you posted, because it is actually very realistic because fields would have that sort of textured look in real life.
This is the last one that I had ready to post ... there will be a bit of a lag as I have to discover other hidden caches of craft items. Also, I have a gun show to attend this weekend.
It's my favorite. The chart is called "Native American Angel." Well ... I don't
do angels, so I left the wings and halo off. She didn't mind.
Also, as presented here, the design was so much more "me."
It's stitched on 28 count linen, over two threads. As you can (sort of, the flash reflection off the glass was a pain) see, the fabric doesn't have those clearly defined squares that the aida fabric did. This was my first piece on linen. Actually, I guess I should say only piece on linen so far.
Excellent! Nice mat job, too. :)
That matting is why I do more stitching than framing.
Cost of kit: $19.95
Cost of actual stitching: Unable to calculate because I don't keep track of my time spent doing something like that.
Cost to frame completed kit: $199.95
There are a few projects that are pictured here where I got the kit on sale ... Charlie Brown and Snoopy were from a sale bin, $2 each, the Bicyclist, $1.
Cost to frame completed kit: $199.95
Amen.:)
There are several people here who are able to create custom framing for relatively cheap.
Brian
Not that I wouldn't trust folks to build a lovely custom frame ... stitchery framing is a specialty ... not every framer can do it.
Oooh oooh oooh! I found another one!!
Once you have it mounted on a stretcher, wouldn't it be the same, except for the thickness?:confused:
Stitchery framing is a PITA, that I prefer to pay someone else to do, particularly for "the big projects". Little stuff I have done myself. The process includes mounting onto a (sometimes padded) backing board, cutting mattes and glass (often overpriced "non-glare" varieties), and the actual construction of the frame itself.
Most of the pieces that I have framed or managed to have framed were given as gifts over the years.
Since there was a lot of football to watch yesterday, I had some time on my hands.
I can't just sit.
Since I wanted to actually watch some of the playoff games (anybody else hoping for an All-Penna. Stupidbowl?)
So I got caught up on some crocheting. The green one was about three-quarters finished. I did all of the yellow one yesterday.
It's been a big year for babies at the nuthouse. Two cow orkers have already given birth, one is pending. So I figured I better get cracking on the blankies that I've been slacking on something fierce (one of the kids is on solid food already, I have to get the blankie done before she's in college).
That leaves one to go as of now.
Great work, Wolf. No Hello Kitty inspired stuff, though?
If I ever get around to it, I might consider an HK filet crochet project ... But for the most part, no, I haven't done any specifically HelloKitty crafting.
Nice job!
I'm attempting to learn crochet... to put a border around a blanket. I think I'm ready to give it a try for real.
Oh! Those are beautiful! I love them both, but the green is a favorite. I so wish I could do that. Those are special gifts---I know, coz I've kept the ones people made for me when I had my little ones.
Crocheting is probably one of the easier crafts. There are only about 5 or 6 stitches you have to learn, everything else is based off that.
Actualy I'm pretty much got the hang of double crochet and I'm just going to do that all the way around. The big thing I don't know is how to hook it all back together once I've come full circle.
Actualy I'm pretty much got the hang of double crochet and I'm just going to do that all the way around. The big thing I don't know is how to hook it all back together once I've come full circle.
Can I worship you from afar you massive, bearded, tweed-ed (?) nerd-fest of a dude?
I think you have inspired me to pick up a crochet needle, wolf. I remember doing it when I was a kid, learning from my grandmother. IIRC, it required significantly less manual dexterity than knitting. I hope so, because my knitting career was short indeed.
Can I worship you from afar you massive, bearded, tweed-ed (?) nerd-fest of a dude?
Help yourself... sorry, no tweed.
Actualy I'm pretty much got the hang of double crochet and I'm just going to do that all the way around. The big thing I don't know is how to hook it all back together once I've come full circle.
Just remember to do extra double crochets into the corner spaces for turning so that everything lays flat.
So one of my hippie friends decided that she wanted to have some tableware to carry around with her in the event that she would buy some fast food and not want to use plasticware. She bought a set of bamboo tableware when we were at an upscale culinary store in the mall. She's real into that whole sustainability thing. She drives a Prius and recently got solar panels installed on her otherwise conventional surburban roof.
She mentioned in passing that it would be really nice to have a case of some kind to carry it in. There was nothing available in the store. As we were enjoying some TCBY cones I said, "Well, it shouldn't be too hard to do something."
So I did something. I had in mind to sew something, but the sewing machine has been hibernating in a closet for several years, and I'm only a moderate sewer, anyway. I've been on a crochet kick recently, so I had some yarn and hooks within easy reach of my chair. So, the other night while I was watching Bones, I made a case. I put Velcro spots on it as a closure.
I think you may have found a job! :)
But I had told her that I would sew her a case. I was intending that it would be a fairly simple design, similar to the crocheted one, with a flap that velcros closed.
So, wolf heads off to the fabric store.
There are supposed to be women in the fabric store who actually know what they are doing, right?
I described my intentions to the lady at the fabric cutting table. I had decided that any pouch should really have a goo-proof lining of some sort. So I asked if they had any sort of fusible material that would be waterproof. "No," says the counter drone, "We don't have anything like that." But there's this stuff, it's waterproof. She leads me to a section of the store I had already investigated ... bolts of overpriced (and really ugly) vinyl.
No, that's not what i was looking for. But I didn't tell her. I pretended to finger the fabrics, because that's what you do in fabric stores. Eventually she went away and left me alone.
Which is when I discovered a bolt of fusible vinyl. It's a thin vinyl coating that you iron on to a fabric to make it waterproof. How about that ... exactly what I was asking for, but I had to find it myself.
It's a freakin' specialty fabric store ... staff are not only supposed to know every single stinkin' thread in the place, but also what do to with it.
Oh well.
Clutching the bolt of stuff to my chest, I then went a-wandering looking for fabric to please a hippie.
I think I found some good stuff.
Now, bear in mind that I have no idea how to make a pattern, or how to put this thing together.
I knew the basic shape I was going for ... a rectangle.
And I foolishly decided that the flap should be pointy. Making things pointy in sewing can be a challenge. And I decided on a really narrow seam allowance of 1/4 inch (this translates to "not much margin for error).
Part of the adventure involved ironing the vinyl stuff onto the cotton I had chosen. Okay, adventure translates to "trying not to burn myself with hot plastic while also not bonding hot plastic to my ironing board." This step went surprisingly well.
I've never worked with slippery material before, so there were a couple false starts because the fabric wouldn't feed through the machine quite right, but that is why Dritz makes seam rippers.
I should have done a proper photoessay of the whole process, but sometimes it spoils the magic when you know how it happens, right? Which translates to "I was so focused on the process that I forgot." And focused, that translates to I was really frustrated and I would have thrown the camera off the balcony with the sewing machine.
But since I live on the first floor, it would have been an empty gesture.
So, I made a lot of stuff up as I went along, ended up with a really pointy point on the flap, and found a very cool button to camoflage where I attached the velcro spot.
I hope she likes it.
And I hope that she doesn't offer me another ion cleansing footbath session in return.
I went back to the specialty fabric store and obsessed over buttons for at least 45 minutes, and picked one that was nice, but not quite what I wanted, and was $3.50 for two of the darn things.
When I got to the checkout there was a basket of clearance buttons. 50 cents for two. Moose buttons. Only ones in the basket. who would have guessed? Mother of pearl with nature scene handpanted by Chinese orphans buttons went back on the rack.
I love doing stuff like this.
When I say "I've been crocheting," I mean, "I've been crocheting obsessively."
I have finished ...
A scarf (standard winter type)
A triangle shawl with a shell border.
A bookcover.
An openwork (more girly) scarf from the leftover shawl yarn.
A cat toy (this was actually quite spur of the moment. I was at the home of the cutlery case lady watching V for Vendetta on her Solar Powered Television in her Solar Powered House and was crocheting the openwork scarf (which, interestingly, given what we were watching, is made with a V-stitch). One of her cats decided to try to help me crochet by playing with the yarn I was working with. She (the lady, not the cat) mentioned that she'd love to have a cat toy for said cat, but that just plain string was quite dangerous. I had some crochet cotton on my bag just in case I finished what I was working on. I wasn't but I set it aside and crocheted a little flat piece, and put a fancy shell edging on it. Less than 10 minutes work, and especially since she was paying attention to the movie, not me, it was really cool when I tossed it in her lap and said, "Here you go, one cat toy ..." People who don't do crafts get all impressed by that kind of thing.)
3 Hippie string market bags (two are based on the same pattern, but with a different size hook, so one is actually a wee bit smaller than the other, and another on a completely different pattern.
Two dishrags (there's a lot of leftover cotton from the market bags, but not enough to make another whole bag out of)
I'll work on some pictures of this stuff.
The scarves and the shawl are already wrapped for gifting, so I'm not able to shoot those at the moment.
Nice composite project, bamboo encased in hemlock.
It's awesome really, nice work!!
Very cool, you are Über Crafty. When I was 17 I embroidered a panel from Cheech Wizard on my jeans. I stopped after that.
Thank you!
Okay, here's some of the crochet pile.
The bookcover and the hippie bags.
You can see that the multicolored one is bigger than the mostly cream one ... same pattern, different size hooks. Actually, what's interesting about that is that the yarn manufacturer's website (Lion Brand)has the same pattern with different hook size specifications listed multiple times. I actually prefer the larger version. Either of them will hold a ton of groceries.
It seems they vary the materials and hook sizes and use the same pattern for a lot of their freebies ... that openwork V-stitch scarf I recently finished seemed really familiar ... I made it for my mom a couple of years ago in a bulky weight yarn.
The yellow and white bag is a pattern from a different manufacturer (Bernat) and is more like the European openwork "string bag" type, except for the solid bottom and handle.
Very Nice Wolf! I am blown away. :)
You can sell things on Etsy, maybe.
Could you, would you sell those on Esty or some such? Didn't Caseosene sell stuff on Esty?
[size=1]Caseosene[/size] snort!...:lol2:
very nice work there wolf!
Wolf, and I'm serious, start making afgans (sp?) You could make a killing!
Wolf, and I'm serious, start making afgans (sp?) You could make a killing!
What, like, for the army to practice on?
Wolf, and I'm serious, start making afgans (sp?) You could make a killing!
wolf could breed afghans and sell them to pet stores
Killer stuff, wolf! I love the moose button, love it!!
I wish I knew how to do that stuff. It must be really soothing.
I do find crochet to be very meditative. Depending on the pattern you can almost go on autopilot, at least for good bits of the time.
Did somebody say "afghans?"
I think I'm missing some, but I have no idea where momwolf might have hid them, and she's not talking. Of course there is always the possibility that she gave them as gifts without asking me (happened more than once) and there are uncounted numbers of baby blankets and wedding afghans and emergency birthday gifts that I do remember.
The "Christmas Afghan," the red and green one is a true double sided afghan ... green and red on one side, red and green on the other. There are two mile-a-minutes in there, and two ripples, one granny.
Oh, and one of those is knitted rather than crocheted ... the red, white, blue, and aqua one.
They are beautiful! You really do nice work.
Set up a site and get to selling your wares young lady!
My grandmother did it for years after her legs gave out and she did pretty darn well at it.
Serious question. How much would a hooded shawl go for?
It really depends on the complexity of the design. 5-8x materials cost wouldn't be unusual, if you want a really rough estimate.
What I'm really trying to ask is how much would you charge to make me a hooded shawl. :D I don't really need anything fancy. I want something thin enough to use to protect me from the a/c air that blows right at me.
I'll be honest in that I don't have any hooded shawl patterns, just shawls and scarves.
What I'm really trying to ask is how much would you charge to make me a hooded shawl. :D I don't really need anything fancy. I want something thin enough to use to protect me from the a/c air that blows right at me.
Lola - this is just the sort of project you need to start you on a lifetime of crochet (or knitting). There are loads of resources on youtube to get you started. And just think how cool it'd be to say "I made it myself" to your cow-orkers!!
I'll be honest in that I don't have any hooded shawl patterns, just shawls and scarves.
Lil' Pete is about 1' into a 10' Dr. Who scarf.
I have a Doctor-sized scarf, but it's not in the official color scheme, because I couldn't be bothered to search them all down or pay attention to the striping pattern.
Mine is in black and cream.
