Playing Catchup

There have been a few finished projects that haven't been photographed, so I think I ought to catch up. Also, I am considering creating a sidebar of projects I *want* to do, but haven't had a chance to start. I'm hoping that maybe I can perhaps use that as a way to plan ahead, have a goal and follow through with it, rather than just starting projects willy-nilly without proper planning or allowing myself enough time to do the job correctly. Maybe it will help my crazy brain.

So let's list the completed projects:

1. Beledi dress: as you can see, a triangular section was added (to both sides) from the armpit to the hip to make this dress fit a normal-sized human being. It had previously belonged to a 5'2" size 0 sort of woman, and it was handed down to me, 5'9" ... you can see the problem. Fortunately for me, the arms were sewn together with French seams which allowed me to simply rip it out, and put it back together using a normal seam, giving me about 1/2" more diameter in the arm. Otherwise, I'd have had to do another pair of triangular inserts in each arm, too.

2. Love stamp: I mentioned it being completed previously, and you saw the original drawing, and the transfer to the stamp material. Here, you can see the carved stamp material along with the stamped result. Stamp carving is one of my favorite things to do, and thanks to a friend, I've learned to not rely on the imperfect carving tools available, but to really get more precision from an X-acto knife. It really helps when you're trying to get tight corners dug deep.

3. Sari silk purse: This was an imperfect result, probably because I'm an imperfect knitter and so one side looks really good (the side shown here) and the other side looks something like the loose skin on the stomach of a person who's lost 300 pounds. Ugh. That's disappointing... who wants that hanging on their arm? 

4. Silly hat: The silly hat is coming out really well. I love DPNs (double-pointed needles) because it just seems like magic the way it works. It's not magic, but my puny brain finds the whole process of knitting to be just miraculous. I can't believe someone invented this stuff. I'm about 1/3 done with it, and having some minor issues deciding how to incorporate the silliness, so I'm taking a little break to think it through. I don't want it to be just like the hat I already have, but I want it to be flattering in the same way, and silly in the same way: not *too* silly, but definitely not normal. On a related note, I really like this website for fun knitting patterns and information.

A new stamp

Don't ask me why I'm starting a new project. I just am. But see, this one has a timeframe attached, so I ought to start now! I want to make valentine cards to sell at the flower shop. They don't currently have any cards, and I know for a fact that people buying flowers also need to buy cards. So I will make bunches of them by carving a stamp, stamping blank card stock, adding some sparkles, and then I will sell them at the shop. It's my plan, and I think it's a good one. Plus, I don't have any other paying work to do today, so I have to come up with some sort of income-generating way to spend my day.

Currently, you can see at the bottom of the picture where I drew the image I wanted. Then I transfered that image onto the rubber stamp material (the orange stuff) and will begin carving out the small spaces with an exacto knife. The larger spaces I will carve out with a special carving tool that is a V-shaped blade. It's not as delicate for the small spaces, but is easier for me to carve out big chunks of material. 

The more I look at this image, the less happy I am with the design. I better either stop looking at it, or re-draw it. It's not technically "projectitis" if I take the time to re-draw it though. Projectitis demands that I keep moving forward with a project until I'm sick of it, regardless of the quality of the outcome.