Lucy's Whatwhen

See Lucy to find out about me.

I shall make this a not-blog with notes about what I did when.


8 October 2004

Shards, as always, is my incentive for making stuff. I have begun making myself a dress out of stretchy fake-chamois-suede fabric in a gorgeous colour the shop calls 'Little Mole' but which is actually rather like the colour of really nice set honey. The design is my own, and is based on the bodice you can get out of the Custom Corset Pattern Generator. I am lengthening it so I have more coverage of my hips, adding detachable sleeves (either with lacing or concealed hooks-and-eyes), making it fasten up the front, and adding a wrap-around skirt which may, if I can get it right, wrap up and fasten at the shoulder for a dramatic draped look. I have two weeks to do it in, but I'm not working at the moment so there is hope. So far I've cut out the bodice, sewn the back seam and stiffened the front vertical hems where the lacing loops will go. I have had to experiment with stitches for the rest of the hemming but I have found something that looks okay from a decorative point of view and also functions as it should.

Before Shards fever set in, I hadn't done much crafting for a while as my mother died in mid-September. For the order of service for the funeral, though, I made a papercut which says PEACE in the middle, surrounded by twining leaves and flowers. It went in the booklet at the point in the Mass where the Rite of Peace happens. The papercut itself is rather nice, but the reproduction was dreadful! All jagged. Oh well.

Also, while my mother was ill a friend of hers helped me brush up my knitting skills, so I'm a lot more confident about making a scarf sometime soon. At the moment I'm in Reading and my needles are marooned in Wimbledon, but I'll be reunited with them next week and might start something after Shards is over. :)

And finally, my father was so impressed with the Fathers' Day card I made him (which was a music-themed A5 size papercut) he has commissioned another to frame and give to one of the people who sang at the funeral. So I've got to get going on that, too!


3 September 2004

Oops, another big gap.

I haven't done the felting yet - in fact, I've done much less crafting over the last month or so. I have made some costume items - a tunic for Robert (with about an hour's notice) and a lovely black pinstriped apron for myself. I've been doing boring sewing too - moving buttons and things. Today, however, I started doing some blackwork (like cross-stitch, but lines not crosses) which is coming on quite well. It's a tiny little kit, so it starts looking good very quickly. I wouldn't be able to cope with a larger piece, I think. This is only 24 stitches square.

Tomorrow morning, before 1pm, I will be making a toga and palla (Roman woman's dress) for an Ancient World party. This should be... interesting.

Tamsin, the needlefelted fairies look gorgeous! I'd be really interested in trying that. Let me know if you get anywhere with it.
Kake, here's a picture of my wool fluff. I scanned it especially for you!


15 July 2004

Muahahahaha! I am going to make FELT! My friend Liz Clay has sent me a new batch of wool fluff to make felt with. She gave me a feltmaking kit a long time ago, and I'm having it brought up from Reading tonight. I have lovely soft fluffy wool hanks in cream, heathery-blue, mid purple, dark purple, light pink and fuchsia, and some pine green left over from last time (when I made an A5 size piece of stripy blue and white felt). I might try to produce a handbag, or perhaps a scarf. For the moment I am just stroking my fluff happily.

(Does anyone read this thing? Please note here if you do!)

Me! I do! What is wool fluff? --Kake

I do too! And I want to know how the felting came out. I fancy a go at one of these fairy kits http://www.feltheadtotoe.com/acatalog/Miscellaneous.html - better pictures here: http://www.feltheadtotoe.co.uk/Fairies.htm --Tamsin


11 June 2004

Oops, bit of a gap there.

My mother is ill, so I am in Wimbledon and away from most of my craft stuff. In desperation I have purchased some stiff paper and a snappy knifey thing, and have been making some rather fantastic papercuts in the Chinese style. I would like to learn to cut silhouettes in the European style but that's really fiddly. I also want to buy an origami book because I have bought the gorgeousest origami paper in the world. I've been drawing a lot too.


13 April 2004

This past weekend I spent in Wales at a LARP event for which I made costume. I made a brown cotton drawstring raglan chemise for myself, and another in muslin for a friend; a green cotton blouse with set-in sleeves and buttons with cord toggle-loops, also for said friend; some grey trousers for said friend which did not fit at all at the first fitting and were way worse after being amended so did not get worn; and fake-suede jackets for me, Robert and said friend. Oh, and a cloak for me. Cloak was lovely but I should have used a stretch stitch on the neckline; it was jersey knit fabric.

I also made a flag, but have yet to complete the reverse design. Painting a phoenix is hard when all your red and yellow paint dies on you.


29 February 2004

Today I have been making a black and pink [Spiral Rope Chain]? which I will probably turn into a bracelet - I haven't used enough thread to make it long enough for a necklace, and I can't be bothered to try adding more thread.

I recently finished my tiny glass vase in black and raspberry-pink beads. It looks quite good but I have made numerous mistakes. It's all a learning experience! Despite the wonkiness of some of the joins, the two bits that need to be tight and stay in place *are* tight and *do* stay in place, so I am pleased.


13 February 2004

I am not quite so ill any longer, and am back at work. I de-knitted all my scarf (about 5 rows) because I kept messing up the moss stitch. I am going to re-think it, practise some swatches, and try again eventually.

I have made some more memory wire pieces, including one with gorgeous blue beads. I have offered to make lots of jewellery for people and post it to them, which might have been a bit silly of me. But I will manage! Long bugle beads on memory wire is a difficult but interesting combination. They need seed beads in between (in groups of about 6) to make the joins bendy enough. I might manage to take some pictures sometime.


1 February 2004

I am still rather ill. I have begun knitting - I have done the cast-on and first row of a 67-stitch-wide moss stitch scarf. I intend it to be about 30cm wide and as long as I can get it. I might need to buy more wool. Anyway, the plain panels will be 67st by 45 rows(c. 30cm by 15cm) and the sparkly bits will be 67st by 15 rows(c. 30cm by 5cm). Measurements are going by the sample information on the labels. It took me a long time to work out how to purl properly but I think I have it right now.

I have also made my first jewellery piece out of memory wire, now I have bought pliers to cut it with. I have made a necklace-sized circlet of black seed beads with a centrepiece of five light-green wire beads. These are 'ReadyWire' from Hobbycraft and they look really good. And they were only 24p a packet in the sale!


27 January 2004

I finished a chemise, a bodice, two skirts and an apron for me for the party on the 24th. For Robert I finished a cloak, a black surcoat and nearly-finished a red tunic - it had to be done up with safety pins. The decoration and trimmings did not get done, sadly, nor the Horn of Gondor, but we both looked good and I won the Best Costume prize. I think my wig had a lot to do with that, though. Today I am home ill. I might manage some knitting later.


19 January 2004

I went to Hobbycraft yesterday. I spent a lot of money.

I have made some cards with special paper and gold skeleton leaves - I'm going to use them to write my thankyou letters in.

I have also started netting another glass vase. I did a medium-sized one in two shades of blue for my mother for Christmas. Now I have a tiny cheap one I'm doing in black and pink, and it's going quite well. The design is more complex this time.

I haven't got much further on the Horn of Gondor, but I have made the chemise for my hobbit costume. I only have a week to make all of Rosie Cotton's and Boromir's costumes.

I have also bought new 4mm knitting needles and various gorgeous smoky-purple wools to make a scarf with. I am going to need assistance on this because I have not managed any proper knitting ever, really. It is going to be a big stripy scarf, though.


13 January 2004

I have begun making the Horn of Gondor out of cardboard and duct tape. It is jolly diffcult, but I will triumph. I have yet to get fabric for the clothes and I am worried about how long it will take - I've been ill, so I am behind.

I am also due to make more Shards costumes, but the next event we're attending isn't till April, so I have ages for that!


26 December 2003

I'm at home for Christmas so not doing any crafts - unless baking counts. I'm making gingerbread later today. I made pinwheel cookies last week but everyone else ate them before I got a chance to. I am going to a ROTK party on January 24th and have to make a Boromir costume and a Rosie Cotton hobbit costume for it. Argh. Not sure what to do about the feet. .

Was given fabric and blank craft cards for Christmas. Super family knows what I like :-)

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