Well, my Crafts By Erin blog is up and running with more photos of things I've done. I've been a busy little bee as of late. I have orders for 5 paperback book bags and 5 cell phone/gadget cases. I'll go through my fabric here before too long and start pulling different fabrics for them. Of course, the paperback book bags will be the easiest to make. There's no lining and quilting involved. Then I have another Piano Key purse lined up I want to make. This one will be red/black/white. I can't wait to see it finished. Oh! And I can't forget the Blue Star Banner I'm making for a friend. Now that the red fabric has finally been rinsed out, I need to start that. She'd like to have it in place before her husband gets home from training. Since the book bags and cell phone cases are for my mother, and I think they're for Christmas gifts, I can put them on the back burner until I get this finished. She'll understand. :-) She'll probably agree that it's more important. Okay, that and it will probably only take me about 2 days, tops, to do the banner. That's not much in the way of things.
Oh, and my son wants a messenger bag. Dang. He wants that to take to school for the last two days and show off. LOL I could actually get the front, back, and side panels prepped today. I need to buy fabric for the lining this evening, so I wouldn't be able to finish it until later.
I think that it's time to start carefully scheduling my crafting time. Since I'm still working on my coffee, I think I'll create myself a little page I can write on every day and plan what I'm going to work on. Today, I think I'll cut out my friend's Blue Star Banner and put that together, layer it, and get it ready for quilting. I will also cut out the outside of my son's messenger bag and start quilting that. I think that will pretty much fill up my crafting day. :-) Now, to write that down so I don't get sidetracked. LOL
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Whoops!
Okay, it's been forever and a day since I've logged on and posted anything. Lady Liberty is a thing of the past and so far, isn't finished. I have since completed a thousand and one things in other areas. We've moved to Texas as well. Needless to say, I switched to Facebook and spaced my blog. However, I think that it's time to move on this again. :-)
Recently, I came across a cute pattern for a purse and made one for my son's teacher. Since I showed it off, I have already received two orders for them! I'm making them for "free" in exchange for word of mouth. ;-) My friend calls it "self promotion." Or if they insist on paying, I'll put it at a much lower price. I also have one more purse in mind that will be for sale from the very beginning. Ut, oh. I just thought of another color combination I want to try. Yeah, I'd better get off my lazy tail end and get a move on!
The strangest thing happened yesterday though. I decided that this purse was so dang cute that I needed one! As soon as I hugged it as it was partially finished, EVERYTHING went wrong. And I mean everything. I finally got smart and just put it away for the evening. Hopefully, I can finish the next 3 steps on my purse and call it finished. And I'm serious there. I stopped with only 3 more things to do. But I was messing up so spectacularly, that it seemed the right thing to do. Oh, and wait until you see the REST of the doodads going into my purse. It will be awesome. And, of course, each piece is sold separately. hahaha
This, by the way, is the purse I made. Adorable, huh? It IS missing a button to hold that flap down. I hope to escape to Hobby Lobby today and pick up a few fun buttons. Or, maybe, I should buy some of those larger buttons that you cover yourself... Ooh, that's an idea.
Okay, enough with the ideas. I'm off to finish up my purse. Hopefully, photos of it later today and you'll see how different they look with different fabrics. :-)
Recently, I came across a cute pattern for a purse and made one for my son's teacher. Since I showed it off, I have already received two orders for them! I'm making them for "free" in exchange for word of mouth. ;-) My friend calls it "self promotion." Or if they insist on paying, I'll put it at a much lower price. I also have one more purse in mind that will be for sale from the very beginning. Ut, oh. I just thought of another color combination I want to try. Yeah, I'd better get off my lazy tail end and get a move on!
The strangest thing happened yesterday though. I decided that this purse was so dang cute that I needed one! As soon as I hugged it as it was partially finished, EVERYTHING went wrong. And I mean everything. I finally got smart and just put it away for the evening. Hopefully, I can finish the next 3 steps on my purse and call it finished. And I'm serious there. I stopped with only 3 more things to do. But I was messing up so spectacularly, that it seemed the right thing to do. Oh, and wait until you see the REST of the doodads going into my purse. It will be awesome. And, of course, each piece is sold separately. hahaha
This, by the way, is the purse I made. Adorable, huh? It IS missing a button to hold that flap down. I hope to escape to Hobby Lobby today and pick up a few fun buttons. Or, maybe, I should buy some of those larger buttons that you cover yourself... Ooh, that's an idea.
Okay, enough with the ideas. I'm off to finish up my purse. Hopefully, photos of it later today and you'll see how different they look with different fabrics. :-)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Lady Liberty Update
In all realities, the name of the pattern is "She Stands Tall." However, I renamed it to "Lady Liberty" the other night. I like it better. :-D Anyway! I realized that, when you switch how you're attaching the beads, it changes how they lie and the tension in the thread. Oops! As I'm doing this in sections, it's very important that they line up when they're finished. So, the second section I was working on, along with almost half of the first section, are a complete wash. In a way, it's annoying and aggravating... However, I learned something important, so I guess I won't be too upset over it. :-D
I've also decided to make myself a loom. I came across this pattern and decided to give it a try. All I'll be out is a single piece of wood and some wood screws. Not too pricey if it doesn't work. However, several comments on the page lead me to believe that it will work just fine. Unfortunately, I need the wood cut in about 3 places to create it. Bummer for me that I don't know how to use power tools and we don't own a hand saw. LOL Fortunately for me, my father-in-law will be home soon and I know he'll cut it for me. :-) Then I'll create my loom.
That leads me to a question my husband asked me, "Since you're having to completely redo 'Lady Liberty,' why don't you just wait for your loom to be finished?" It's a loom pattern, so his question makes perfect sense. Thank goodness he understands me so well. LOL He knows how much I enjoy doing handwork and the more intricate things by hand. In time, I might be willing to do things like this on the loom. Makes more sense actually as this is 100 X 101 beads. There's just that sense of peace and accomplishment I get from doing it by hand. As I told him, I'll just do the quick simple stuff on the loom, like my bracelets and the like. Stuff that I plan on selling to fund my larger tapestries. I hope to be able to sell my tapestries later on. We'll see. :-)
For now, I just want to quietly work on "Lady Liberty" in my own way. It might take longer, but it's worth it in my mind.
Now... to pick up some pretty silver-colored bugle beads to see if my latest design idea will work. Though I suppose I should finish up Kokopelli first. See how he turned out... LOL
I've also decided to make myself a loom. I came across this pattern and decided to give it a try. All I'll be out is a single piece of wood and some wood screws. Not too pricey if it doesn't work. However, several comments on the page lead me to believe that it will work just fine. Unfortunately, I need the wood cut in about 3 places to create it. Bummer for me that I don't know how to use power tools and we don't own a hand saw. LOL Fortunately for me, my father-in-law will be home soon and I know he'll cut it for me. :-) Then I'll create my loom.
That leads me to a question my husband asked me, "Since you're having to completely redo 'Lady Liberty,' why don't you just wait for your loom to be finished?" It's a loom pattern, so his question makes perfect sense. Thank goodness he understands me so well. LOL He knows how much I enjoy doing handwork and the more intricate things by hand. In time, I might be willing to do things like this on the loom. Makes more sense actually as this is 100 X 101 beads. There's just that sense of peace and accomplishment I get from doing it by hand. As I told him, I'll just do the quick simple stuff on the loom, like my bracelets and the like. Stuff that I plan on selling to fund my larger tapestries. I hope to be able to sell my tapestries later on. We'll see. :-)
For now, I just want to quietly work on "Lady Liberty" in my own way. It might take longer, but it's worth it in my mind.
Now... to pick up some pretty silver-colored bugle beads to see if my latest design idea will work. Though I suppose I should finish up Kokopelli first. See how he turned out... LOL
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Writing, among other things
Not too many people know this, but I've started writing. I stretched my wings and allowed complete strangers to read what I write. Boy, was that a huge stretch for me. Until November 2008, I'd never let anyone outside of family and a few teachers read what I write. Imagine my surprise when everyone agreed... I write well. I guess I believe it now. My dream of becoming a published author began to take shape in my mind... And then, BAM! It happened again. What's that, you might ask? Well, I have this weird habit of only working on one thing at a time. Well, I only work on one thing that interests me at a time. I do have a family with 3 young boys, 2 of which are in baseball, so I really only have time for one thing for myself at a time.
As you can tell by the name of my blog, I'm a quilter. I was solidly a quilter for 7 years before my eye started wandering in other directions. Normally, I quilt in the colder months. Generally from late fall to early spring. This year, however, I got caught up in writing, so no quilting. Now, I'm into beading. I like it... it's a lovely cool hobby. :-) I just do that, though. Switch from hobby to hobby without much thought of what I left behind. Strangely enough, not writing anymore haunts me. I know in my heart and mind how important it is to me. I just can't seem to convince myself to sit and keep writing.
To top it off, I was reading a few things the other day. Did you know that a lot of agents and publishers won't even look at you very close if you don't have a popular blog and a large following on Twitter? Well, I don't use Twitter and this blog has never been popular. Heck, I'm not even sure how many read it! LOL I did have a large following out on writing.com though. Does that count? ;-) The true readers loved my writing. I think that's more important than a general blog that looks like every other blog. Then again, I never had high hopes of being "officially" published. I was looking more along the lines of being self-published due to the fact I have serious issues with rejection. Even the bestsellers can be rejected several times before finding their 'home.'
Perhaps it's time to sit myself down for 30 minutes a night and work on my current book and see if it won't lead me somewhere. I can still picture exactly where I left off my characters. I think it's time to get them moving again. LOL I can try it. If nothing else, I might at least finish a book. I've never done that before. I'm normally a short story writer, so this book idea came out of no where and surprised me. :-)
With that, I'd better go get cleaned up and get around. I get to take 3 boys grocery shopping... I'm NOT looking forward to that. *sigh*
As you can tell by the name of my blog, I'm a quilter. I was solidly a quilter for 7 years before my eye started wandering in other directions. Normally, I quilt in the colder months. Generally from late fall to early spring. This year, however, I got caught up in writing, so no quilting. Now, I'm into beading. I like it... it's a lovely cool hobby. :-) I just do that, though. Switch from hobby to hobby without much thought of what I left behind. Strangely enough, not writing anymore haunts me. I know in my heart and mind how important it is to me. I just can't seem to convince myself to sit and keep writing.
To top it off, I was reading a few things the other day. Did you know that a lot of agents and publishers won't even look at you very close if you don't have a popular blog and a large following on Twitter? Well, I don't use Twitter and this blog has never been popular. Heck, I'm not even sure how many read it! LOL I did have a large following out on writing.com though. Does that count? ;-) The true readers loved my writing. I think that's more important than a general blog that looks like every other blog. Then again, I never had high hopes of being "officially" published. I was looking more along the lines of being self-published due to the fact I have serious issues with rejection. Even the bestsellers can be rejected several times before finding their 'home.'
Perhaps it's time to sit myself down for 30 minutes a night and work on my current book and see if it won't lead me somewhere. I can still picture exactly where I left off my characters. I think it's time to get them moving again. LOL I can try it. If nothing else, I might at least finish a book. I've never done that before. I'm normally a short story writer, so this book idea came out of no where and surprised me. :-)
With that, I'd better go get cleaned up and get around. I get to take 3 boys grocery shopping... I'm NOT looking forward to that. *sigh*
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Beading Merrily Along
Welcome back to my insane world of beading. Well, technically it's welcome to any insane world I happen to be residing in at the moment.
I'm not sure if I mentioned how many beads my latest project has in it. Since I don't remember, I'll post it here. :-D It has 10,100 beads. Well, technically 10,101 right now as I messed up last night and accidentally added a bead where one shouldn't have been. Now, don't start quizzing me on why I didn't go back and remove it. I will ask you a question though. Why is it that I always find my largest errors, usually ones that should be fixed, right after I tie in a new thread? To fix the error, I would have to remove several rows of beads, even if the mistake was right before the tie in point. *sigh* Too many knots. The thread has already been trimmed after being hidden. Usually, I just try and bluff my way through the mistake. :-D
By the end of this evening, I do believe that I will be a whopping 1/5 of the way finished with my latest project. That's not that bad as I think I've only been working on it for about 2-3 days. Each section holds 2,020 beads, so that is not too bad. I'm cruising merrily along. If I keep this up, this little mini-tapestry might even be finished within 2-3 weeks. Too bad I'm already looking around myself going, "I want to do another one. Where's a pattern for a new one?" LOL
With that, I'm going to go take another look at where I'm at in my project and then get a move on for the day. There's plenty I need to be doing and I just need to be content to work on my beading in the evening. :-)
I'm not sure if I mentioned how many beads my latest project has in it. Since I don't remember, I'll post it here. :-D It has 10,100 beads. Well, technically 10,101 right now as I messed up last night and accidentally added a bead where one shouldn't have been. Now, don't start quizzing me on why I didn't go back and remove it. I will ask you a question though. Why is it that I always find my largest errors, usually ones that should be fixed, right after I tie in a new thread? To fix the error, I would have to remove several rows of beads, even if the mistake was right before the tie in point. *sigh* Too many knots. The thread has already been trimmed after being hidden. Usually, I just try and bluff my way through the mistake. :-D
By the end of this evening, I do believe that I will be a whopping 1/5 of the way finished with my latest project. That's not that bad as I think I've only been working on it for about 2-3 days. Each section holds 2,020 beads, so that is not too bad. I'm cruising merrily along. If I keep this up, this little mini-tapestry might even be finished within 2-3 weeks. Too bad I'm already looking around myself going, "I want to do another one. Where's a pattern for a new one?" LOL
With that, I'm going to go take another look at where I'm at in my project and then get a move on for the day. There's plenty I need to be doing and I just need to be content to work on my beading in the evening. :-)
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