A Year in the Making, day 299

Been a bit distracted the last few days - cleaning house, as my father decided to come in at the last minute for the holiday weekend. It's amazing how quickly the clutter takes over the house. Creep creep creep goes the clutter! But I did get a couple of new pieces made, and the pieces from the weekend listed as well.

Pyrite and Antiqued Sterling Necklace



Tequila Sunrise - Citrine and Burgundy Red Glass Necklace on Sterling Box Chain




I also made a bunch of trim for parasol ruffles. I started with 2 yards of pinstriped fabric, cut out 3" strips on a diagonal, folded it over and ironed it, then finished the edges. I'd initially done about 6 yards for the first gent's brolly I posted a few days ago, and decided Tuesday night to go ahead and cut and finish the rest, as I have two more umbrellas that are asking for similar treatment. I knew I was accumulating lots of strips, especially after I went through almost 6 bobbins sewing it, but it wasn't until I got done and measured it, at just short of 24 more yards, that I decided I may have gone a bit over the top!

Here's what 24 yards looks like:



I've got the ribs covered and trim around about 1/3 of the next brolly. Who knows when I might get it finished, though, with company in town. There's also something blooming at the moment that is making me very cranky - my eyes have been itching and watering for 4 days now. We were crabbing about having such a cold rainy spring, but now that the weather's shaping up I'm praying for rain again to wash whatever this crud is out of the air.

Here's the pieces from the weekend, now listed in my Artfire shop:

Blue and Silver Necklace Bracelet and Earring Set



White Glass Strung Necklace with Silver



Waiting for the benedryl to kick in. Hopefully this isn't riddled with typos, as I'm squinting at the screen and typing in bursts between sneezes. Unhappy Kitty tonight.

A Year in the Making, day 296

It's been a busy weekend - I had two social events on Friday, a promo photoshoot for Steamcon and a movie viewing party on Saturday, and today was Pride Parade!

For one of Friday's gatherings I made what I call my Lemon Dream Cake:



It's always a favorite.

I finished the dress for the parade Friday night, and made a hat from scratch to match. I've made one other hat from scratch, but that was with a pattern. This time I completely winged it, with the aid of a pre-made piece I picked up ages ago at Display and Costume. I still had buckram left over from my previous project, and used scraps from the dress-making for the fabric.

I started off using a hat I reworked for my daughter for the basic shape:



I did a double thickness for the brim, for stiffness:



Traced out the crown for the opening on the brim pieces:



Cut out the circle for the crown and tabbed it:



Traced out the top of the crown - the outer border is the seam allowance. Neglected to take a picture, but this piece was tabbed too after I cut it out.



The assembled buckram framework:



The line you see around the brim is aluminum wire tacked on for stiffness, to keep the shape of the brim.



Here's the underside:



The fabric was tabbed also, and sewn on:





I made a band of the contrast fabric from the gown for around the crown:



Here's where I stopped taking pictures because I was running out of time. Some black cotton was used for lining, and the edges finished around the inside of the crown and around the rim of the brim with black bias tape, and then I finished it with daisy gimp:





And here's a shot of me in the dress and hat, and the necklace which inspired the gown, from today's Pride Parade in downtown Seattle - unfortunately I blinked.

A Year in the Making, day 294

Very very sleepy at the moment - got distracted and didn't post these earlier, and now all I'm wanting is beddy-bye. I got a lucky score today, a whole jar full of new beads with which to play. "What?" you say. "Aren't you supposed to NOT be buying beads?" Yes, yes, I know. I am weak. What can I say?

Playing with stringing again today:





I got the skirt of my new done this afternoon, too, only the bustle left!

A year in the making, day 292

A few pictures accumulated in the camera, but I neglected to download them yesterday.

To start off, a picture of Sunday's dinner, the savory bread pudding:



It was quite tasty, let me tell you.

And more tastiness was made yesterday, a new batch of jam, with strawberries, cherries, and peaches:



Yesterday, I also cut out the pieces for a new dress for myself. Ever since I received this necklace, I've been thinking I needed a spectacular dress with which to showcase it. I had some black on black fabric already, and when I went in search of a contrasting fabric for it, I found this wonderful white taffeta with a black velvet pattern:



The dress I'm making with it is McCall's M6097. For some reason, they have this labeled as a "Victorian" pattern.

...

*blinkblink*

...


Ooooooookay. I guess maybe because the back has a bustle? Even though the naming boggles the brain, it's still a lovely dress, and it's not the pattern's fault someone labeled it so ridiculously.

All the fabric got cut out yesterday, and I got the bodice together today. It's being modeled by Phyllis, my new dress form:





Tomorrow I'll tackle the skirt. Tomorrow afternoon, that is. Late tomorrow afternoon, most likely. I have a lunch date with a friend and a strawberry margarita.

A Year in the Making, day 290

Technically day 289, since I finished this last night, but don't want to mess up my numbering system. I'd previously taken a pink parasol and embellished it with black trim and lace. That one sold last month, and I miss it. But instead of doing another pink and black one, I decided I'd try my hand at doing a black one with pink embellishments!

Black and Pink Gothic EGL Lolita Parasol



This is the first parasol I've made that I could actually reproduce, as the materials are all very straightforward.

Also last night, I prepped today's dinner, a savory bread pudding, the husband's request for father's day dinner. He'd bought a loaf of good french bread for sandwiches last week, but my food poisoning completely threw meal planning out the window, so the loaf had gotten rather crunchy. No problem, though, that made it just perfect for baking.

Savory bread pudding:

1 loaf french bread, cut into ~1" medallions
8 eggs
3 cups milk (or 1 cup cream or half and half plus 2 cups milk)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup chopped ham (optional)

Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper together. Pour over bread in mixing bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight, turning at least once.

In the morning, mix in cheese and ham, reserving about 1/8 cup cheese. Preheat oven to 400.

Butter an 8x8 casserole dish. Press bread mixture into dish and cover with foil.

Bake for 30 minutes, uncover and sprinkle with reserved cheese. Cook an additional ~10 minutes, till cheese bubbles and starts to brown. Let cool for 10 minutes. Slice into 2" squares and serve.

A teaser

Can't be counted towards my year in the making yet, because I won't be finished with it until I can get some pink lace, but here's a couple of shots of the parasol I'm currently working on:

A Year in the Making, day 288

Today, in celebration of Etsy's 5th birthday, a virtual craft party was declared. And I have a new refurbished umbrella to show for it! I worked on it while chatting in the virtual craft lab this afternoon. It's a little different from my previous pieces, as I was trying to create something for a gentleman's wardrobe this time:

Steampunk Brolly - Upcycled Black Silk Vintage Umbrella/Parasol



I also worked on another piece off and on all weekend, in between bouts of "OMG I feel totally miserable!", another custom piece for a local friend:


Cherries Jubilee Parasol by *dbvictoria on deviantART

I am now going to enjoy the rest of my Friday night - I am having a Coca-Cola, which means that I'll be up entirely too late tonight because I haven't had any caffeine since last Friday. But I wanted a treat after the week I've had.

A Year in the Making, day 287

Another day and I might feel almost human again, I think. This has not been a fun week. And I have reawakened my hate of the banana. It's not a bad food, really, except when it's one of the few foods you're told is safe to eat for days on end.

But, anyways, on to something a little shinier and happier! New jewelry!

Burgundy Glass and Silver Necklace Earrings Set



I am now going to drift off on the sofa to the soothing sounds of the husband cackling madly at Zombieland.

A Year in the Making, day 285

Thrown off schedule again? Remember a couple of weeks ago when I mentioned that I'd been thrown off stride by a case of food poisoning? Well, guess what? Another case of food poisoning. A much worse case. I've been a very unhappy kitty since about 6am Saturday morning. I'll spare you the unpleasant details.

I did get a necklace made today, one of which, along with the green lampwork necklace from a previous post, will be gifted to one of my daughters' kindergarten teachers. Tomorrow is the last day of kindergarten! How did the year fly by so quickly?



A brief dose of cute to make this a happier post - my daughter's first official tea party:



Tea parties must be a dominant gene in little girls. I had them when I was her age, with my own stuffed animals.

10 JETs, 2 beads

10 members of the Jewelry on Etsy team each received the same two beads, and each of us did something different with them.


My necklace, Bees Do It, is one of the 10!




Vote for your favorite here.

Green Friday!

Every Friday, the facebook group It's Better Handmade has a Feature Friday, where members vote on the color for the day, and then share greens from their own work and green pieces of others. This Friday, the color is Green!



That's my own Six Shades of Green Czech Glass bracelet. And in the spirit of the day, here's some fantastic green pieces by my Jewelry on Etsy teammate SendingLoveGallery. She makes wonderful gemstone and art glass jewelry, like these Lime Twist Fluorite Gemstone Earrings:



And then there's these beautiful peridot gemstone and freshwater pearl double strand goldfilled bracelet and matching peridot pearl earrings:





If you like the more brilliant shades of green, there's this emerald Swarovski Victorian necklace, also with matching earrings

More pictures

I was just forwarded a couple of shots this week of myself and my booth at the Vampire Ball, from one of the roving photographers:





They were taken by Kiki Nelson of Naked Tree Photography. Her website isn't up yet, it will be soon, hopefully, filled with more wonderful images!

A Year in the Making, day 278

Back in the beading saddle again, as promised! I actually have been making things the last few days, just not posting them. I nearly ran out of chain, but my supply order came just in time to save the day.

With the camera charged, I was able to list the two pieces I made last week finally!

Freshwater Pearl and Celtic Knot Necklace



Amethyst and Freshwater Pearl Necklace:



And on to the new stuff! I was already romping through the red/purple/pink box, and I have these wonderful huge rose quartz beads that finally demanded I do something with them.

Rose Quartz and Amethyst Choker



This one isn't going to be listed, as it's going to be gifted shortly:

Apple Green Lampwork Glass with White Flowers



And now I'm off to find something to satisfy my sweet tooth. I am craving pudding, but I am out of milk with which to make some. I may have to settle for yogurt. Ick.

I'll be back soon, I promise!

Took the weekend off to enjoy the almost beautiful springlike sortof weather. Plus, not being able to charge the camera battery made me not too inclined to make stuff I couldn't photograph. But the husband found my battery charger this evening! (In one of my purses - ?!?), so I'll be up and running again tomorrow.

I fought the lunch and the lunch won

I seem to be having a nice little bout of food poisoning. Erg and ick. We will (hopefully) return to our regularly scheduled making tomorrow.

A Year in the Making, day 272

I'm in another photo situation. The camera battery is dead, and I can't find the recharger this time. Dangit. Finding one black piece of black plastic in a house that's filled with lots of black objects ... yeah, that needle in a haystack thing? Worse.

I spent the evening after making today's necklace at my second waltz class. One two three one two three. We were short gents this evening, so took turns leading, to much hilarity.

Two necklaces today, one from last night and one from tonight:

Pearl and Celtic Knot Y-Necklace:



Amethyst and Pearl Choker:



Now off to a night of watching Dresden Files on Netflix and sipping a glass of cider.