Soap Make & Take

Yesterday, at our weekly Arts & Sciences SCA meeting, we did our second make and take project. This time, we made soap. It was a much easier process than I thought it might be, although anything you have to be so precise with - and you do need to be precise with the water/lye/fat ratio - is probably not something I am going to tackle solo very often. (also the reason for some of the cooking I don't do...)

I don't have in-process photos this time. I was busy making! I do have some pics of what I got to bring home though.

Lightly coconut scented. Can you smell it from there?

We used egg cartons and poure on top of plastic wrap to make small sized pieces to experiment with. I added a couple drops of coconut scent to the base. We used coconut oil for our fat component. Yes, I will have to trim these up a little to make them more presentable. but I'm pretty happy with them, especially for a first try.

I also used a small carton for a mold, and just made plain, unscented soap.

carton of soap

This will have to cure for several weeks. I never knew that soap needed to cure. I hope I can cut bars reletively neatly as I would like to donate some of this for largesse. I'm also looking forward to trying some out!

Our next make and take project will be pewter coins/medalions. Sounds like fun, right!

Bags Bags Bags

I completed my 13 bags, and was happy with my results. Did I take pics of all of them? NO! I was too busy trying to get them, the girl, and the stuff in the car and down to the event. And, evidently, my brain fell out or something. I really thought I took a picture or two after this one, when more bags were done.

and the stack got bigger...

I was very happy with the variety I got from a limited amount of fabrics, and trims, buttons etc that I found in my stash. No two bags were exactly alike. I had 10 envelope bags with shoulder straps, some were flat and others had boxed bottoms. I also made 3 drawstring bags. I tried to make some that were gender neutral (at least) so that they would be easier to gift as prizes or thanks. All the bags were lined.

The bags were part of an Arts and Sciences competition, which I didn't win, and honestly, that wasn't the point of making them. They were also part of a silent auction, and whomever put in the highest bid got to pick their favorite of the bunch. Someone bid and got to choose, and I wish I knew which bag they picked, but it is OK that I don't know, too. That wasn't the point either.

There were quite a few other bags given as prizes, so I think I need to branch out some, and figure out something else to make for next time!

13 of a Kind

There is going to be an SCA event next Saturday in El Paso. In the SCA we call it The Citadel of the Southern Pass, or just The Citadel. There will be fighting, and Arts and Sciences all afternoon, and I'm looking forward to attending. It is called Hastilude. Don't know what that is from or what it means, but that won't stop me from going!

Since I've been "bagging it" lately - making bags that is - I decided to participate in 13 of a kind. You make 13 items on a theme, to donate for largesse (gifts for the royalty to present as awards and thank-you's). One of the items will be used as part of a silent auction to raise funds for the barony. There will also be some kind of voting going on, but I'm not sure what people are voting on, exactly.

At any rate, the making has begun. Yesterday and today, I got cutting.

pile of bags-to-be

I'll be making a variety of bags, mostly envelope shoulder bags, but also a few drawstring bags as well. Each will be lined, and as you can tell there will be a variety of embellishments as well.

The first two bags to be sewn up were dark blue twill with a wide blue and green trim for the straps. No two of the bags will be identical, although I don't think it would matter - for this - if they were.

two of thirteen

I should be sewing up 3 or 4 each day for the next few days.

Dipped Candles - A&S

Last Thursday, our SCA Arts and Sciences group had our first make and take. We were going to make dipped candles. In theory, easy enough. Melt the wax, add the coloring, cut some lengths of wick, take turns dipping them in the wax. Take home a candle. Maybe even add a couple to the largesse/ prize stores. Yeah.

Wax melting in double boiler contraption. It worked well.

In theory. In practice, the wax we used - soy wax - was not suitable for dipped candles. Evidently it liquifies too quickly or easily and we were not able to get much build-up on our wicks. We tried. We had a line going around the kitchen island dutifully dipping and dipping, but they looked more like those long thin birthday candles.

Dip the wick into the wax, then into the water to cool the wax.

Finally, we found some paper coffee cups, and poured the wax into them to make simple molded candles. It was an interesting experiment, and although we did not get the candles we were trying for, we did end up with candles. And the determination to try it again, with different wax.

So, do I think the make and take was a failure? No! I do not. Quite a few people participated and some even got to take home a candle. We decided we would have to find appropriate candleholders for them before actually burning them or there will be a puddle of burning wax on a surface that should not have a puddle of burning wax on it. We learned, we bonded, we made stuff. Yay!

Mideaval Envelope Bags

I've been working on putting a class together for my SCA Arts & Sciences group. Several people wanted a beginning sewing class, and I'm glad to help them. I think having something to take away from the class that they make will be an awesome incintive for them to try some more sewing, as well.

I found a pattern for an envelope bag in my browsing through pinterest, and I thought it would do well for men and women, depending on the fabrics used. It is a simple shape, and simple construction, with straight lines to sew. It is fully lined, and quite functional. With very little modification - again mostly fabric - it can also look quite modern and up-to-date.

I decided to make a couple of sample bags, for people to look at and get an idea of modifications that are possible. One version is pretty simple, with a boxed bottom, and twill tape for a shoulder strap.

Simple shoulder bag

The other example is a little more colorful, and I covered some stiff innerfacing for a shoulder strap. I also included side panels and a bottom panel to give this bag more depth.

fancy lace trim

I'm working on a basic 9 by 11 pattern that will easily come out of a fat quarter or two. Twill tape for a handle makes that an easy matter of sewing in the strap with the lining.

The only thing I have left to do on either of these bags is to give them closures. The envelope shape on the flap rather needs one.

These are a good size to wander around merchant's row at an event, hold a small craft project, or even hold a kindle or a nook, and with a little added size, an I-pad or similar tablet.

In the Planning Stages

I miss visiting with my cousin and sewing. Life has circumstances, and those circumstances change, and it just isn't possible right now. But, I miss it.

A couple weeks ago, an SCA friend posted a link to a pinterest board full of largess (donated gift) ideas. Oh my goodness. It was a dangerous thing for me to look at, and I loved every moment. There were so many things I wanted to make, or try or HAVE! It got me thinking, and then, acting. We have an Arts & Sciences meeting every week, and work on crafts while we visit and chat. I passed around a paper and pencil and asked everyone to make a list of things they wanted to make or try or have, and they did. Many of them had ideas similar to mine, and seemed enthusiastic to participate. Like so many things, all it will take (I think) is someone to organize it. OK, I'll take that on.

In hopes of not overwhelming everyone, I'm hoping we can figure out a make-and-take activity each month, and some kind of class each month as well. Our first ones, planning for June, are make and take candles, and a beginning sewing class to make an envelope tote. Now I just need to figure out what everyone needs to bring/donate so that who ever wants to participate can do so.

Of course, the other part of my plan is to post the activity and results here. Excited!

summer time dressing

It means shorts! Our weather lately has definitely put us in mind of summer. Until this weekend that is, when there were wind advisories of 50+ MPH. And dust. Did I mention the dust? What, you thought that brown sky was clouds? HA HA HA.

Raine has grown so much that when we went through her play clothes drawers, she was left with about 3 paris of pants and 2 pairs of shorts. YIKES! That will not do! I'm not the kind of mom that thinks she much have endless choices. I've already made too many things for Raine that she never got around to wearing.Still, I do think the staples should be in the wardrobe, and that she should be able to have a week's worth of shorts in the summer, and a week's worth of pants in the winter. I'm not a do-laundry-every-night sort of person.

Recently, JoAnn's had a sale, and I took Raine, and she picked out fabric for shorts. I was surprised by some of her choices (not the camoflage though) and thought she made some good ones! I got them all cut out last weekend. It was the 3-day variety, and I took advantage. This weekend I let her pick the pair she wanted me to sew up first. Not surprisingly, it was the camo pair.

She is a lot happier with the shorts than this photo would lead you to believe.

She likes a basic board short with side seam pockets, and a pocket on the side, a comfortable elastic waist, and long enough to fall below her knee. I cut them out as a size 14 with added length. Like 4-6 inches added length. She doesn't look too thrilled in the photo above, but she finally got into the spririt of things, posing for pictures of all sides of the shorts.

how about this side?

I forgot to sew that outside pocket on before I closed up the crotch seam, so placement was problematic, and it looks like I didn't quite get it level. Still, camo hides a myriad of flaws, right? I doubt she will even notice. I know she likes them because after she tried them on for me, she wouldn't take them off.

Hopefully she will be able to wear them for a couple of years... but she's going to have to grow into those hands, isn't she. More shorts on the horizon, preparing for summer swelter.

Steampunk Bunny

Many years ago, I made a bunch of stuffed bunnies. Like, one for every little girl I knew, and a few for some of the big girls, too. I made them from muslin, because I wanted a simple bunny, and then I dressed them up. A few years ago, I made a second batch, this time out of flannel. Of course I have some of them around the house. I've even entered one in the fair.

This spring, after attending the Wild Wild West Convention, a steampunk convention held at Old Tucson, I got the itch to play with some more steampunk. I don't know why it is, but every time I think about steampunk making, I have a hard time thinking about it on ME. Anyway, this little bunny came into view, and told me the SHE wanted to play steampunk. Well, that sounded like fun to me.

Well, I thought about what I wanted to make for some clothes, and it really wasn't too hard.

Bunny in a corset? yeah.

I put together the basic dress from the pattern, with a few modifications. Instead of elastic at the wrists, I took tucks so that it would give a more mutton leg shape to the sleeves. You can kind of see it in the right sleeve on the bunny. The dress IS long but I am going to work on some hook & eyes so that it can be fastened up to show the bloomers. I wanted it to look like she was wearing boots, so I modified the bloomers to have "feet" on them. Brown, boot-looking feet.

The boots still need some work.

My plan is to use either a very narrow ribbon or some cross stitch floss and add laces to the boots. That will let them tighten up and look more boot-ish. I would be able to loosen the laces to take the them off if I wanted to, as well.

Finally, I had fun making a corset for this bunny. I really love the ringed fabric for the corset, and the decorative hook fasteners. I doubt that they would truly be strong enough for a real corset, but they are quite decorative on the bunny... and I like the scale of them as well.

Proud of how the corset turned out!

I pretty much had to wing it on the corset. It is lined, and also has a layer of thin batting. A real corset would have a layer of canvas in it, and boning as well. Just didn't think either was necessary for the bunny. It is laced up the back, though.

get those laces tight

Now that the garments are basically complete, I have some decorating to do! I am going to look for some chain, I think, to drape around that corset, and hang little things off of. I'm also thinking of some kind of wrist ties. Leather maybe, or the brown fabric to match her boots. That would show the mutton leg sleeve a little more. And then, some head gear. hmmm a small hat perhaps? Or perhaps a feathery fascinator...

the other apron drops

I didn't get much sewing done this weekend, but I did finish the second apron. Here is the pattern I used.

Apron for fun!

I used variations of the gathered waist apron. I didn't use appliques or ruffles on the neck/shoulder ties, but I did make pockets for both aprons, and varied them with fabrics and trim. I didn't want them too froofie, or too matchy, but I did want them to look like a set.

no model :^(

I found a large rick rack that I used on the bib and pockets of this apron, and I just LOVED how it looked. I hope that my friend's daughter likes it as much as I do!

it goes well with both the orange on the sides of the bib, AND the slightly muted orange stripe on the fabric

she won't loose those pockets!

I made an adult sized apron for the daughter, as she is not far off her adult growth. I modified the mother apron further by extending the waistband about 6 inches and widening the bib. My friend is a little bigger than I am, but not much...

Aprons side by side!

mom apron

daughter apron

                   

my first apron

I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted here! Yikes!

That sort of means that I didn't really realize how busy everything else was keeping me. Well, I do realize, but I still didn't think it had been THAT long.

So, We are gearing up for Wild West Con again this year, and I'm working on some new Steampunk duds. I got a skirt cut out, and my cat happily held it in place while I worked on some aprons yesterday. Hooray for 3-day weekends!

don't worry, I'll take care of these while you sew...

A friend of mine requested an apron, and I was up for the challenge. I had never made an apron before. I picked out a pattern and some fabrics... and then decided that I should make one for her daughter, too. I thought they would like to have similar aprons, so I used the same two fabrics as my friend's apron, but then added a solid since I lacked some yardage. I hadn't bought with makeing 2 aprons in mind. Plus, I didn't want them to be too matchy matchy.

I have learned SOME things while watching Project Runway, after all...

Well, I got one of the aprons finished yesterday, and the second is nearly finished. All it needs is the waist band done to hook everything together. Just enough to merit its own post... Here is the "mom" apron.

Dixie was checking it out, too.

I thought it turned out really cute, and Ron thought I needed to be holding a bowl with some cookie dough in it. It may not be the best photo, I didn't really tie the apron on, and Ron was making me laugh. Happy with how the apron turned out though!

Shirt Challenge - a loss... and a win

I'm officially declaring my self challenge to create 6 shirts over 12 weeks, over. I didn't even make them over 18 weeks.  So, in that, I failed. I guess.

On the other hand, I now have four new tops that make me happy. I win! I win!

The process of the challenge was interesting to me, and to a point, it did give me some encouragement to create when otherwise I wouldn't have had it. But life also happens, and did happen, and that is OK, too.
I'm not a fashion blogger - or even fashionable - but I do love that creative process, and have with doses of Project Runway, come to understand fashion a little more than I did (and yet still come to the conclusion that fashion - as such - is a little beyond me, or not as interesting as creativity is).

I still have two pieces of fabric left over from the challenge, and I think, I think, I have patterns picked out to go with them. I also have a shirt cut out for my brother (been cut out a while) and an apron to make for a friend (it will be my first time making an apron). So there are still projects on the horizon.

Here is one idea. I really like the short sleeved version of this top.

See the little wavey stripes on this fabric? They are horizontal on the fabric, but I will cut them the top so they are verticle. Yeah, I know, but that is how they SHOULD have printed the fabric...

I love some leaves and a tunic!

Again, I will go short sleeved. It is just a more useful length for me. I'll also point the leaves down. If I can remember to do that when I'm laying out the pattern and cutting, that is.

The main reason that I decided to conclude my shirt challenge, though, (yes, I know, time was up. WAY up) is that I have a new challenge. I need to get some things made for March and the Wild Wild West Steampunk convention in Old Tucson! It will be our third time there. I added to my wardrobe last year a little, but I would like to get two new outfits ready for this year. Yeah. I'll need to get on the ball with that, won't I.

Shirt Challenge #4 part 2

I actually like thinking/talking about the process in crafting and sewing more and more. I enjoy reading about other people's process as they make things as well. I thought I would share some of that with you as promised before I spent the week I wanted to use up sewing trying not to cough up my lungs. ew.

First of all, I look at fabric and patterns. I have a few that I keep going back to, and this is probably THE pattern for me. I can't tell you how many times I've made this shirt. I can only say many. I've made them for myself, of course, and both my brother and my dad. Dad used to like having a Christmas shirt to wear during the season, and I know I made him at least 2 of those. I made one or two for Ron, but he has decided that he likes a different pattern, with a stand-up collar better. I think the first time I made it, I was still a teen-ager.

Yes, this pattern is in a zip-lock bag. It is also about 40 years old.

Basic loose fit, button down shirt. I've done it with lining and without lining. I've enlarged it. I've lengthened it. I don't feel like this shirt is much of a challenge, really, but I think the pattern still works.

Wore my new shirt for the first day with students. I liked it!

You can see more of the pattern in the fabric in this photo. When I make this shirt for me, I shorten the sleeves, otherwise I fin myself rolling them up. I also have learned that for the smoothest look for the long run, it is best to sew down the facings in the front. It also saves some on ironing. At least on some versions of the shirt. I also sew the button holes horizontally instead of vertically. This is something my mom started me on. For those of us "of size" it allows a little movement of the buttons without haveing them pop out of the button hole as easily.

Formal? No, workplace appropriate? Absolutely (at least if you work in a school like I do). Comfortable? YES! I am very happy with this new camp shirt!