#Crafting

[hachama]

I've been working on crocheting a highly textured, multi colored parasol, and I've still got at least another week or so of work to do before I call it good, but tonight it was finally big enough to get loops around the spokes of the umbrella frame.

[fernsandtales]

Updated some images for the Hedgy Sewing kit. Wow, I can't believe it's been four years since I've started selling these kits. Still love this hedgy idea [🦔etsy]

[silvysartfulness]

For the ask game:

any current crafting project you'd like to share making of pics? ❤

I do have a few projects I'm currently playing around with... 🤔

The first is playing with fimo clay. We used to do lots of stuff with polymer clay when I was a kid/teen, but I haven't used it for decades.

But I wanted to try making a hairpiece to match a sparkly necklace of mine, so I bought some translucent fimo to experiment a bit. (You've already seen this one, I know, but it is one of my current creative projects! It counts!)

First experiment: pretty successful! (I had the hairstick from before) Hopefully I can scrape together the spoons to make some more elaborate designs!

I know you've seen these, too, but I want to show them off, so...

Experimenting with shrinkydinks, also for the first time in over a decade! Made a set of shimmery dragonfly wings - maybe I'll even figure out what to use them for at some point... 😂

Here's another project from just the other day - my first time experimenting with wire+nail polish flowers!

I only had clear nail polish at home, so I'll probably test either painting it or getting more nail polish in more fun colours.

This is a craft I've seen around for years and wanted to try one day, and finally got around to it! Not too shabby for a first try! I may try making more!

Finally, this. First experiment in carving/painting a sheet of translucent white plastic that I'll use to make a ceiling light! Picture to the left is lit from the front, picture to the right is lit from behind.

This was just a test-run, I still need to tweak parts of the process to get the look I want, but the goal is to make something inspired by Tiffany stained glass. We'll see how it goes! Wish me luck!

[vavoomed-for-crowley]

Crowley Cosplay Wings Progress Video

please don't mind that I just saved the video from my TikTok Account. Please don't follow me there 😂 I just didn't feel like editing the video a second time

[myarmcanfly]

Meowrimos

These tiny mossball kitties come from the same ponds and streams as koi dogs, and are often found rolling around with baby guppies. They may be small, but each one packs a big personality!

These meowrimos are being set aside for Anthrocon, July 5th-7th in Pittsburgh, PA! Find me in the dealer’s den, or $5+ patrons can order custom meows any time!

[iknityounot]

(Long post, sorry y'all)

A little more than two years ago now, my grandmother passed away. She and my grandpa had moved down to my home town a few years before so we could take care of them. I brought them groceries once a week, helped them write checks, fixed tvs, and found lost things. I was really close with my grandma.

In addition to her hilarious personality and dry wit, one of my favorite things about her was that she was a painter and a crafter like me! She used to crochet, and I took her to the craft store a couple of times so she could get more yarn and books on crochet. But her arthritis and the shaking in her hands kept getting worse, so she eventually had to stop.

She kept her most recent project, a granny square blanket, safely packed away in a plastic bin. She told all of us she was going to finish it one day.

Her hands never got better, and when she got sick, and we found out it was cancer, she rapidly deteriorated.

After she passed, I went to work helping my mom clean out my grandparents apartment so we could move my grandpa in with her. In our frantic cleaning, I found that bin again:

DOZENS of granny squares, dozens of half used skeins. I asked my mom what she wanted me to do with it, and she said she didn't care. I set it aside and later took it home.

Maybe a month later, that tumblr post about the Loose Ends Project was going around. It felt like a sign--I was never going to learn to crochet in order to finish my grandmother's blanket. But they might be able to help!

So I filled out the interest form. They got back to me SUPER quick. And maybe 2 weeks later, I was paired with volunteer in my state (only 2 hours away!) and the box of yarn, granny squares, and my grandmother's crochet hook were in the mail. That was at the end of January this year.

Over the next couple of months, my "finisher" emailed me regular updates on her progress, and asked me questions on my preferences for how she constructed the final blanket.

At the end of August, the blanket was done!

I had always intended the blanket to be a gift for my mother. So I cleaned it up, put it in the only bag I had big enough to fit it, and drove to my mom's. I gave the blanket to her and she was gobsmacked. I explained to her all about Loose Ends, and how someone volunteered to finish the piece for us. She was speechless. (I was quite pleased with this, because I am not the best at giving gifts, so this was a pretty exciting reaction!)

She said that it was the most thoughtful gift she had ever been given. She said "your grandma would love this". To which I replied, "yeah, I know she really wanted to finish it a couple of years ago". But that was when my mom dropped the bomb of a century on me--she told me that my grandma had started making those granny squares OVER 30 YEARS AGO. She had started the blanket when my grandpa was staying in the hospital, but that was back when my mom was younger than I am now! My grandma had packed them all away, planning on finishing it, when my grandpa was sent home from the hospital. Then it went from house to house, from condo in Chicago to their apartment in my hometown. All that time and my grandma had wanted to finish it, but couldn't. First because she was busy, then because she forgot how to do it, then because of her arthritis, and then because of the cancer. My mom said she had given up on expecting my grandma to finish it. 

She said I brought a piece of her childhood with her mom out of the past.

And really, all of this is to say, if you have seen or heard about the Loose Ends Project and have an uncompleted project or piece from a loved one who has passed away--these are your people. They were so kind and treated my project with such care. That box probably would have been found by my own grandkids one day if I hadn't heard about Loose Ends.

Five stars, absolutely worth it!

(From what I understand, you can sign up to volunteer too! If you have time to share, it might be worth checking out!)

[africanmorning]

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

by 徐大花xudahua

[sixteenseveredhands]

2,300-Year-Old Plush Bird from the Altai Mountains of Siberia (c.400-300 BCE): crafted with a felt body and reindeer-fur stuffing, all of which remains intact

This artifact was sealed within the frozen barrows of Pazyryk, Siberia, for more than two millennia, where a unique microclimate enabled it to be preserved. The permafrost ice lense formation that runs below the barrows provided an insulating layer, preventing the soil from heating during the summer and allowing it to quickly freeze during the winter; these conditions produced a separate microclimate within the stone walls of the barrows themselves, thereby aiding in the preservation of the artifacts inside.

This is just one of the many well-preserved artifacts that have been found at Pazyryk. These artifacts are attributed to the Scythian/Altaic cultures.

Currently housed at the Hermitage Museum.

[sweetpieheart]

[blumineck]

How to make an archery target using recycled materials!

I’m still on the injury recovery bandwagon, but GOOD NEWS: there’s a massive stock of archery references available on my Patreon so you don’t have to miss out on watching me do cool stuff!

Edit: I found the spelling error, thanks everyone for being snarky about it 😉

[headspace-hotel]

It's just such a big task, wanting to teach people the ways of the plants, articulating a way we can rely on one another and our ecosystems instead of capitalism, and beginning the work...learning to utilize the weeds that are our friends, cooking with the edible plants, being sociable with neighbors to form a community, destroying the wasteful tracts of unused Lawn to be replaced with wild flowers and grasses and trees...

"By learning how to craft from the materials of nature" I think to myself, "there would be no need for buying plastic objects and knickknacks which doubtless were shipped from overseas and are responsible for much pollution...and the ecosystem rejoices when its gifts are accepted."

I made a little basket. I'm getting much better at it! It's made of Eastern Redcedar bark, collected from standing deadwood.

So much space devoted to mown grass, that could be taking care of us in many ways.

[bembely]

Can someone please explain to me WHY no one can accept that I knit for pleasure?? Every time someone compliments me on my knitting they ask me if I've thought about selling it. NO GOD DAMMIIT NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO BE A SIDE HUSTLE

It would take all the pleasure out of it.

Bring back people doing things for fun. Jesus.

[brachyzoid]

Link has a stick

[myarmcanfly]

Shaved Ice the Sheep

After my last con, I needed a quick little palette cleanser personal project - I love making things for other people, but sometimes you need to make something for yourself! I decided that what I wanted was a little friend to sit up on top of the Color Machine, and the sheep from the logo design felt like a perfect choice. She’s accompanied by dye bottles and a couple little balls of wool, and has a magnet in her base to help her stay steady up on top.

This was a personal piece and is not for sale, but my commissions are currently open and I’d love to talk ideas with anyone who wants to add a felted friend to their world!

[zombeesknees]

Whipped this up last week for my buddy Chris. Pattern courtesy of Shitpost Sampler.