Crafty Litsters show your work!

[desertslave]

It makes me happy just seeing it again.

Do you do stuff with it once spun yourself or sell/ gift it on Desertslave?

I do both. I've sold roughly 2/3 of what I've ever spun, and kept the rest for either weaving (long ago) or knitting. If I get the yardage that I'm hoping for with this silk, it's going to become a shrug or cocoon. I have another 8 ounces of pure scarlet silk, and I'm trying to decide whether I will ply just this blend together, or ply it with the scarlet. I'll be doing some little test batches once it's all done. I also have a very soft merino wool dyed in the same way. Again, I might or might not add them together. This is a loooong term work in progress. LOL

Meanwhile, I have two other braids of dyed wool that are peeking out of my project bag and trying to distract me.

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[desertslave]

I have tried and tried to knit. You know, the tension that I often do ok in hiding in rl goes straight into the needles. I essentially knit felt. Eventually the school craft teacher even said...."this is not for you" ( I did get quite good at making lace on needles though and embroidery...we had to do some home crafts and cooking at that school, it prepared one for being a good wife. I determined I should not marry someone in a cold climate who needed a sweater) .

I AM inspired by all the creativity here and wish I could create more. I have 'a difficult figure to fit' so don't feel inspired to sew ( but I adore fabric). But I think I might have ago at a couple of roller blinds. How hard can roller blinds be, right?

Embroidery was my very first art-love. My grandmother taught me when I was 7 or 8, and I was hooked. I still do occasional pieces, mostly for our medieval group. I made this piece on linen with freshwater pearls, silk, and gold bullion for a friend when she got our primary arts award. It was one of 12 that friends contributed, to go along the hem of her 12th century gown.

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[desertslave]

I especially love the contrast of the pearls against the linen. A texture composition to delight. You always amaze with your ability Desertslave. I hope you forgive me a little friendly envy ( of the admiring sort) of your skill set and ability. I feel proud when I have painted a wall lol.

ROFL So are we! We painted the rooms of our house before we moved in, and there are a few 'oopses' here and there. My favorite is the red smudge of the very pale green ceiling. (One wall is red, and someone who wasn't me slipped with the roller.) I see it every morning when I open my eyes. Then there's the pale patch in my studio. Light yellow paint on a white wall in a bright room....totally missed that I'd totally missed!

And for the rest...BLUSH! I adore goldwork and wish I could afford to do more of it. Getting to add pearls because they're authentic to the costume...priceless! (I have a bit of a pearl fetish.)

 

[SpunThings]

Embroidery was my very first art-love. My grandmother taught me when I was 7 or 8, and I was hooked. I still do occasional pieces, mostly for our medieval group. I made this piece on linen with freshwater pearls, silk, and gold bullion for a friend when she got our primary arts award. It was one of 12 that friends contributed, to go along the hem of her 12th century gown.

That's fantastic. I did embroidery for a time before knitting took hold of me, and it was yarn crafts forevermore after that.

 

[desertslave]

That's fantastic. I did embroidery for a time before knitting took hold of me, and it was yarn crafts forevermore after that.

Nothing wrong with that! My only problem with knitting is that I'm drawn to the complex stuff...lace, cables, color work. Plain knitting bores me, so it becomes one more thing on my "OCD scale."

Making yarn for someone else, though, is totally zen.

 

[LWulf]

Here, it's here! LOL (images omited for brevity)

have you every tried making yarn with alpaca? I hear it's very soft and hypoallergenic. If you have, is it tough or not even possible to make yarn from alpaca?

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[desertslave]

have you every tried making yarn with alpaca? I hear it's very soft and hypoallergenic. If you have, is it tough or not even possible to make yarn from alpaca?

I love alpaca! It isn't a good yarn to spin by itself. Alpaca isn't very elastic and tends to become very dense spun by itself. But, add in a little wool or silk and it's amazing! Several years ago I spun up an alpaca/silk/merino blend and made myself a pair of lacy short socks. They become my "labor socks" because I knew L&D was chilly. I even got compliments from my nurses!

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[the captians wench]

Embroidery was my very first art-love. My grandmother taught me when I was 7 or 8, and I was hooked. I still do occasional pieces, mostly for our medieval group. I made this piece on linen with freshwater pearls, silk, and gold bullion for a friend when she got our primary arts award. It was one of 12 that friends contributed, to go along the hem of her 12th century gown.

So. Much. Love.

 

[desertslave]

A friend posted this in Facebook today. I haven't checked out anything yet, but I thought I would share for the potential links. I liked Etsy, I truly did, but since they went public and skewed their intent away from truly handmade, I've been very disappointed. I'd love to find a new selling home.

http://www.craftmakerpro.com/market...de-products/?utm_campaign=craft-maker-pro&utm

 

[MeekMe]

Don't laugh, he's a little over stuffed.

Crochet mouse cat toy

I was reminded of my hobby recently so I decided to take a look at what I had on hand. I have this really cheap yarn that I can't stand to use so I decided to start making cat toys for the kitties. I wanted it to be all one piece so I just put the ears in on the top stitch and then continued in the spiral using the bottom stitch to finish it off at the nose. I'm not comfortable with extra parts that have to be stitched in when making toys for the cats. They ripped off ears and tails and everything else which makes me nervous because they become choking hazards and can get stuck if swallowed.

 

[Collar_N_Cuffs]

Don't laugh, he's a little over stuffed.

Crochet mouse cat toy

I was reminded of my hobby recently so I decided to take a look at what I had on hand. I have this really cheap yarn that I can't stand to use so I decided to start making cat toys for the kitties. I wanted it to be all one piece so I just put the ears in on the top stitch and then continued in the spiral using the bottom stitch to finish it off at the nose. I'm not comfortable with extra parts that have to be stitched in when making toys for the cats. They ripped off ears and tails and everything else which makes me nervous because they become choking hazards and can get stuck if swallowed.

Omg he's adorable!
Love the little tail and ears details

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[MeekMe]

Thanks, I was rusty and doing this simple little pattern took more time than it should have. I would start a round and almost finish, look, realize I forgot a loop, unravel and start over. f^_^; It was a good refresher pattern.

I think it wouldn't last very long in the paws of a dog. 0_0

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[MeekMe]

Oh, little guy is gentle when he plays with dumb blonde cat. He loves her and is hours to play with her. She is rougher than him in their mutual games, She hits him in the face and stuff, with her claws out. and he just takes it. He would take this from no dog or anything. He does curl a lip at her when she licks him though, he doesn't like the rough tongue.

That sounds really cute. (*^_^*) My cats hate each other. Today, after making a second dangly toy, I riled them up with it and they briefly played a chasing game that didn't end in a fight. Small victories.

 

[Collar_N_Cuffs]

Don't laugh, he's a little over stuffed.

Crochet mouse cat toy

I was reminded of my hobby recently so I decided to take a look at what I had on hand. I have this really cheap yarn that I can't stand to use so I decided to start making cat toys for the kitties. I wanted it to be all one piece so I just put the ears in on the top stitch and then continued in the spiral using the bottom stitch to finish it off at the nose. I'm not comfortable with extra parts that have to be stitched in when making toys for the cats. They ripped off ears and tails and everything else which makes me nervous because they become choking hazards and can get stuck if swallowed.

I forgot to ask - what is it safe to stuff a cat toy with?

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[MeekMe]

I forgot to ask - what is it safe to stuff a cat toy with?

Anything you'd normally use for stuffing should be fine. I inspect the cat toys and toss anything that's too worn down. They havent managed to break one open yet, but they tear pieces off like ears and tails if they are stitched on. Cat toys I've made in the past I stuffed a little dried catnip in the center (as Elle has suggested). Which, BTW, cats can build a tolerance to. Also, after eating or sniffing they become immune to the effects for around 30 minutes. I keep a pot of fresh catnip that they can have when they want. For the most part they don't bother it but they love when I tear some leaves and put them out.

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[Collar_N_Cuffs]

<snip!>

Not dumb blonde ( I must think of something better to call her here)

<snip>

And I would vote you rethink dumb blonde instead, poor thing

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]