2009 March « life with monkey

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in progress, sunday 29 march 2009

March 29, 2009 at 7:52 am | In WIP, crafts, knitting | Leave a Comment

i always have a list of arty/crafty projects i want to work on, but sometimes i get stuck. like, yeah, i see that “make a velvet jacket” is on my list, but i really have to be in the right frame of mind for sewing velvet, especially when it involves clothing that needs to fit and not look too wonky. i love velvet, but it can be so much work.

ok, so how about working on that cat painting? the canvas is ready to go, and the picture is sketched on there, but i just wasn’t feeling the urge to paint or get messy.

sewing fabric yoyos for the stash? not in the mood.

making a muslin of that frenchglen barn jacket pattern? again, not in the mood.

making covers for those cream-colored chairs? too much planning involved.

sewing something using all those big remnants of polar fleece that are taking up valuable real estate in the craft room closet? oh, yeah, right – make something warm just in time for spring!

after that half-hour of internal debate, i finally just pulled a bunch of small balls of leftover yarn from my stash, my set of circs, and the Artfibers generic hat pattern directions and just started knitting. no plans, no ideas, just knitting and switching yarns here and there. a simple casual hat.

use what you have, part 73659

March 23, 2009 at 1:55 pm | In FO, crafts, painting | Leave a Comment

i painted this 5″ x 7″ canvas board orange awhile back (like, a year or two back), and finally got around to adding a subject yesterday. i had fun and didn’t have to spend any money. my craft stash is now a few ounces lighter.

all that’s left now is to coat it with varnish and add some sort of hanger to the back. then up on the portrait wall it goes.

why yes, i do need another apron

March 14, 2009 at 12:05 pm | In FO, crafts, sewing | 2 Comments

this time, i used simplicty 2932, view A.

overall, pretty easy to make. the placement of the neck straps on the bodice top was a little off, but i’ll know how to adjust it the next time i use the pattern.

current apron count (for those of you with scorecards): 7

mermaid, finished

March 8, 2009 at 8:12 am | In FO, crafts, painting | Leave a Comment

finished the mermaid i’d started last weekend (see my last post for the “before” pics):

sure, she’s a little lumpy, but it was a hell of a fun project. i’d forgotten how much i enjoy making mermaids.

another weekend almost gone

March 1, 2009 at 5:30 pm | In WIP, crafts, sewing | Leave a Comment

and a couple of small projects begun…

this shirt was a little tight around the chestal region, so i added some fabric on the back and will eventually be adding some embroidery on the front:

and this will eventually be a mermaid:

i’ve been thinking about wunderkammers and papier mache. since i didn’t have the forethought to prepare some papier mache ahead of time (plus that shit is MESSY), i wrapped fabric strips around a wire form, then painted on some modeling paste. i’m hoping it’ll be like papier mache without the paper. and sure, i could’ve sewn up a mermaid doll, like i have many times in the past, but i wanted to try something different. i guess i’ll see if it works out when i get to the painting/decorating part of the project.