No sewing this weekend, although I stopped back at the liquidating JoAnn's Friday afternoon. What a difference a week makes! The place looks like locusts have been through it. No Coats and Clark threads left (although a good bit of Gutermann, figure that one out!). The pattern cabinets are empty, except for a few Burda and Simplicity patterns. They'll go fast at $2 each, now that the 4/$1 patterns are gone. As for me, I bought zippers. I want to make a TSW Quincy Top for fall and it requires a separating zipper for the closure. It seems that I never have the right one when I want to make a zippered project, so why not stock up now? The cashier called me the Zipper Queen. Oh honey, if you only knew...
I also took some time out to do some clearing in the Girl Cave. It had become something of a dumping ground with all the free fabric acquisitions and other flotsam that found its way in there. I guess I was in the right mood, because it was actually kind of enjoyable.
I have been working on jewelry this weekend. Not anything wildly creative, mostly just repairs and refashioning. Working on stuff like that is a good way to see how things are put together in case I decide to create from scratch. Plus, it's like getting new stuff! I can definitely see jewelry-making becoming another crafty activity. I like wearing baubles, and it's almost instant gratification. These are some that I worked on, using some jewelry I had and some stash items that I uncovered during my cleaning.
Alas, not very good detail, but the one on the left is a carved monkey bead that I kept very simple. A small bead on the bottom to hold a wire in place, loop at the top of the wire, then a thin leather cord. The earrings are a re-styling job, just the carved bone beads on wires. The original pair was way over the top--beads, plus a woven knot and tassel. Step away from the chinoiserie! The necklace on the right is a fancy reverse-painted bead that has dragons on each side. I used a discarded knot and tassel from the earrings at the bottom to secure the wire, a spacer at the top, and made a loop to attached the silk cord. This one is still a work in process; I'm not totally happy with how the spacer sits at the top of the bead. I'll wear it until I figure out how I want to change it.
2 comments:
Jewelry fabrication is harder than it looks; having created a few lumpy projects, I have new respect for the pros. It's fun to do some simple stringing and far better to wear restyled pieces than to have a pile of unworn things.
Jewelrymaking is another fun and addictive hobby. I haven't done much of it lately but finally got around to making a two strand pearl necklace over the weekend and it reminded me how much I enjoy it.
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