glitter in progress

sparkle pushpins drying before they get another coat of glittery goodness!  check out the etsy for finished sparkled stuffs

etsy round 14[?]

mmmm ocd.  i decided ... it was about damn time i reorganized my stuff that i listed on etsy.  the vast majority of my postings expired last month and i was tempted just to dump everything back at goodwill and call it a day.  then my frugal/cheapskate ways said no way in hell.  i also briefly considered going to more consignment shops and trying to sell stuff, but my lazy ways said no way in hell.

free time

soo ive had a lot of idle time over the past month and a half, post-graduation and my foray into unemployment.  though im still considering waiting tables again, i am waiting to hear back about temp administrative positions [read: regular hours and pay].  and um.. like 6 engineering postings.  im not holding my breath.

but enough bitching.  ive made some shit.  check it out and let me know if you/friends/family/granny would be interested in buying.  i set up an etsy store before and basically forced my friends to buy things.. but its a hassle for 3 total sales.  i price things fairly [materials + time] and i dont post things like OMG ONE OF A KIND BUY NOW ITS AWESOME YOU HAVE TO HAVE THIS NOW $3000!!!! ON SALE!!. 

those really piss me off.  so click the tab that says "handmade stuff" and let me know thoughts.  kthx

sprung

as in..the daffodils and tulips have springed from the earth.

in other news roommate's bf took the kitters out for his first romp of the year

in yet more news, i posted a shitload more stuff on smashion.  and there is no noticeable change in my closet where things have been removed and boxed for storage before possible sale.  hmm.

dilly cheese muffins

another frikkin awesome recipe from light muffins!  click to zoom in for extra frikkin awesomeness.

mmm dill.  who cares if its stuck in your teeth.  ITS DELICIOUS.  plus cottage cheese that bakes up all crispy on top and gooey in the middle!

and thanks blogger for sucking at links lately.  they are supposed to link elsewhere..not back to blogger.  which i mistyped globber.  apropos.  and be sure to check out the new tab at the top-handmade stuff.  i thought about calling it "shit i made" ..but decided otherwise.  i will also be linking a picasa album with other stuff that can quickly be added to the page for purchasing.

bracelets for sale

distribution mechanism [ie.. more pics, descriptions, and possibly paypal] to be setup soon

available in purple with purple leather

yellow turquoise with brown leather

uber closeup

regular turquoise [single strand]

from another angle

also to be posted-earrings and pendants that were on etsy, the canvas bags i showed awhile ago, and some random sewings.  stay tuned folks. 

in other news, did you know there are entire blogs [with thousands of followers] devoted to nailpolish and manicures? 

all i do is sew..

..and sleep, eat, watch battlestar galactica [nerd.  i know], and never leave the house.  but monday that will pretty much die.  january 31st i begin my 2nd semester of grad school.  but until then:

does that look familiar? 

mixed prints [back side is same fabric w/ matching pocket]

most difficult handle ever.

the other side [hanging off a can of quilting basting spray..]

a poor result for handles.  will not attempt in the future

soooo this was inspired by a mutant ice cream cone plush in my sewing book..  mostly it looks like a dementedly colored oversized peas-in-the-pod instead of a banana split.  i guess it could use some happy bananas but i dont have any yellow fluff. 

new smashion store

thanks to carly of chic steals for posting about smashion.  its pretty much the clothing and accessories portion of ebay but designed for people who only what those items.  and listings are free so if things dont sell, i can dump them at goodwill without being out anything but closet space.  there are also albums to post outfit shots and style forums.  click the icon on the right or here to check out my store.  thx.

more sewing stuff

joann's carries dwell brand canvas.  so i made totes. 

 

 

 

and the roommate and i have been discussing making random plushies for the new long island children's hospital.  so i attempted to add ears to a pillow.

the result was...less than satisfactory.

and since were also a bunch of dirty hippies we made some reusable produce bags to go with our reusable grocery bags.  the nylon mesh is surprisingly hard to find but not that difficult to sew. 

friday night sewing..

yes i spent my friday night [after delicious homemade jambalaya and the fringe return] making stuff with fabric.  and taking blurryass pictures. the finished product took about 90 minutes.  it would have been faster had i not cut one piece wrong to begin with... but thats thats.

the steps:

cutting with my own janky patterns [or even store patterns] i prefer not to pin.  pattern weights would be nice but think shoe-string-budget.  so i use plastic rulers.  theyre sort of heavy.

sides and back sewn together.  it was supposed to be a wrap type dealio.  that soon changed.

attempting to fit a sleeve

pinning on said sleeve

tadaaa!

the back is a little crooked and the right sleeve is a bit fucked up.  get over it.  i did.

in summary: weird sparkly not quite plaid/tweed itchy fabric requires double stitching to reduce fraying and is a bitch to work with.  also, i have discovered about 90% of my sewing does not turn out as planned.  that means i am either a poor seamstress or i have way too lofty ambitions.  both are entirely possible.

little black [purple] dress!

so i finally finished my dress-in-progress!  it has gone thru several iterations since the initial cutting and sewing, including a banded bottom in both black and purple, an awkwardly short black shift, and a weirdly long torso-ed black and purple scarf-added tea-length badness.

but i added elastic to the sides for some quick ruching..

[after removing brown thread and resewing] moral: sewing with all lights on is a plus.

readjusted scarf bottom

and voila!  flattering from both sides.  unusual i know.  now to get rid of it...

retro floral

so i did my usual make-a-pattern-from-an-existing-piece-of-clothing sewing.  unfortunately im functionally retarded lately and forgot to account for the extreme stretch in the tunic and the moderate stretch in my fabric.  so its a size small.  but its cute and..heres the process.

inside out after sewing rolled neckline [v in front, square in back], shoulder seam, and sides.

my first ever sleeves!  quite the bitch to pin

and voila!  even with a little pleat to make it a cap sleeve

isnt it cute?  and teeeeny tiny?  like it?  go buy it.  k thx.

blue polka-dotted brown skirt

found: one high-waist size 12 boden wool blend [lined] skirt at a thrift store for $6

problem:  size 12 ....european.  which is an 8 in american sizes.  or its a really old [doubt it] "vintage" skirt from back in the day when the average size 10 was small.  instead of the inflated average size 10 which accounts for fatty fatso americans.  regardless... way too fucking small for me.  but i liked the fabric, pattern, and style.

solution: cut off the waistband and remove the zipper and then.. do something else. 

post removal [including lining]

i serged the top edge cos too much futzing with potential ideas was making it fray like a bitch.

the zipper removal left the slit serged but unfinished, so i sewed it and double rolled the serged edge

lastly.. i added hooks.  cos i wasnt about to attempt zipper replacement.  plus i found matching thread in my giant-bag-o-embroidery-floss and despite my inability to sew in a straight line..i made some cute little french knots.  when it gets a little cooler [ie not 95 degrees] i will wear the skirt and take a picture.  or sell it on etsy.  havent really decided.

the end.

etsy!

so ive setup an etsy store. it looks pretty crappy and but i will eventually get around to customizing it. please check it out and feel free to spread the word. i will be making jewelry and other miscellaneous crafts and selling "crafting supplies" that i no longer use... including about 2 million seed beads. pricing i think is pretty fair, and is based on the expense of materials and time spent on each piece. obviously im out to make a profit as i need to subsidize my shopping habits [which as of late are atrophying from disuse] but i wont try and sell something for 5x what it is actually worth just because people will buy it ::coughurbanoutfitterscough::

enjoy. k thx.

sewing creations

you cant see so well from the picture, but there are pleats all around the top to avoid so much fabric bunchiness but still have a full bottom. i really like the fabric, but its almost in the mail to a friend. i say almost cos its in a box waiting to get mailed. but im lazy.

this fabric is called "in the garden". it looks like the creepiest fucking garden ever. but it makes for an interesting skirt. i made this one before the previous and only did the pleating in the front. it is a bit odd and takes some adjusting before the back stops poofing out.. but what can you really expect from a 20 minute skirt made up off the top of my head. i mean cmon.

i had finished this skirt ages ago. or so i thought. except i tried smocking/ruching the top and it basically fell off all the time. so whilst engrossed in yet another episode of NCIS [is that like CSI? only if youre dyslexic], i ripped out all the elastic threads and rolled the top over into a simple seam.

the fold over top skirt is the easiest thing to wear. and make actually. no elastic, no bunching, no zippers, no nothin. so obviously i had to do something to make it overly difficult. like add contrast panels! but i think it turned out surprisingly well especially as i bought both fabrics out of the remnant bin at joanns..and then decided they matched.