first off i should apologize for the lack of posting. i'm about to go into my final week of holiday breaktimes and only now am i updating this funny little blog, horrible aren't i...
the last couple of days of the semester were a whirlwind of buzyness and making plus writing a 3000 word paper on the DIY culture of today. getting everything done seemed impossible somedays but i'm glad to say i may have totally conquered the semester!
i am pretty happy with my own pack of wolves i made for the dye and print class (yet to be titled). the textures of their coats were made with both machine and hand embroidery with different types of yarns. i wanted to make one wolf be on it's back with it's paws up in a submissive posture but that meant i'd have to tweak the pattern and do a few samples which i completely didn't have time for. in the end i made five wolves, all with wire armatures so they can be somewhat in different positions. because their faces didn't have much detailing, i tried to show emotions through their tails for my critique day. i also made a few small grounds of tree branches wrapped in gauze to sort of copy the fotoshoot i did with them in the near by forest. i've been thinking of maybe playing around with the pattern more after school is out and try and make a larger pack and to stylizing the wolf shape a little more; make the body longer, legs skinnier and the wolf in general, a little larger. oh did i ever tell you that i'm kind of bonkers? no? oh ok.
it was different to have only two major projects in my main course but with all the time spent on the moons and wolves, i'm glad for the time we got for each.
for my material investigations class we had to make a self directed project that involved two processes we worked with in class. i decided to go with paper making and felting, possibly the two favourite materials that have entered my crafting life.
i made a diorama picture which i haven't done in about 7 years and after playing with branches wrapped in handmade paper, i went for a forest scene. one of required samples for the paper portion of the class was using chicken wire with handmade paper. i ended up making a deer head and wanted to make a little felted deer for the forest scene. when it came time to drawing up a picture for the proposal, my brains were so taken over by wolves that the deer kept morphing into one. i finally gave into my brains and decided to felt a mini two inch wolf. i totally wanted to dunk in my tea and eat it, it's that adorable.
with school being all done and all my sleeps caught up, i made it an effort again to make my xmas a handmade holiday, last year was my first one and definitely not the last. i'm kind of a fartbrain though 'cause i didn't take pictures of the things i made except for the gift tags but i can assure you it felt pretty awesome to only spend 25 cents on a mug for the mother while everything else, i made. yay me!
i'd say my most happy-made gifts were for the grandmother and soon to be brother in law, i made them house slippers using felted old sweaters. they're pretty toasty too, i lined them with cotton and soled them with a suede i scored at a fabric give away. in between the lining and sole i sewed in a piece of fulled sweater for a bit of cushion and more warmth. the grandma has been wearing them everyday since and i'm sure her feets are happy and warm.
as for my little shop, i've sold a few orders which always makes me happy but i also got a request for two pairs of mittens from another furniture friend.
the gloves i made for furniture friend tom last year were a hit and kyle wanted one for himself and his ladyfriend. he mentioned that he was going out east for the holidays where it can drop down into the minuses so i made sure they were both mega toasty. the teal is a nice wool and both are lined with a jersey fleece...maybe the same kind i used for my wolves.
with those and xmas out of the way, i was able to finally do up some crafty goodness for a couple of over-the-border trades i had lined up with a couple of pretty craftastic ladies.
i've never done an international trade but was pretty pumped to do one with these ladies. sarah and i connected over a dreadlock forum and swapped crafty goodness while amber was a roomate in the house i stayed in while in portland over the summer. her line of reclaimed bullet and feather jewelery is pretty fantastic. lucky for you, they both have etsy shops going! so scurry on over to sarah's etsy or amber's etsy and pick up some awesome.
it's pretty fun and am willing to do it all over again so if you can make awesome or have an etsy and are tickled by some of the things in my shop, shoot me an e-mail with the subject line 'trade funtimes' and let's trade some fun! wouldn't you want a cutie pie package like those to pop into your mail box?
i'll leave you now with a great and quiet tune from uk's The Accidental.
internally yours,
sister valentine
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