Posted on 01/24/2024 10:16:24 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
“Write it. Shoot it. Publish it. Crochet it, Sauté it, whatever. MAKE.” ~ Joss Whedon
The Monthly Create, Make and Share Thread is a monthly gathering of people that love to create and make. From yarn (crochet, knitting), fabric (sewing, quilting), threads (embroidery, weaving), wood crafts, ceramics, artwork and anything else you create and would like to share, this is the place to do it. Sharing something you’ve created and/or made is pure joy...and we need joy in our lives!
From complete Newbies that are looking to start that first project, to experienced artists, we would love to hear from you. If you have questions or would like advice, there’s probably someone on the thread who would be able to help.
It is impossible to hijack the Monthly Create, Make and Share Thread. Knitting, crochet, sewing, quilting, weaving, general crafting, art, wood working, patterns, articles on any of these topics, or even your own writing. There is no telling where it will go, and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us! Send a Private Message to Diana in Wisconsin if you’d like to be added to our Ping List.
NOTE: This is a once a Month Ping List. We DO post to the thread during the month. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest to other Create, Make and Share fans are welcomed any time.
Years ago, someone posted a pic of a scene made with dryer lint. It was so good I saved it. I’ll try to find it.
I remember learning to hand-sew so I could put my chevrons on my uniform, and was able to do a presentable job. Not great, but neat and fairly even.
I first tried my hand at machine sewing when I was seven (trying to "fix" the torn space suit of my Mercury 7 GI Joe...and I put the needle right through my right thumb...all the way through where it came out the other side! (I have a little white scar there, just above the thumbnail next to the cuticle.
My mom didn't know I was messing around with her machine! (and I didn't tell her about my thumb...I was accident prone and got so many tetanus boosters growing up that I didn't have to worry, but I was always worried about shots and stiches!)
But later in life, I tried using it a few times, and was successful. So...I kind of get it. A few weeks ago, a guy I work with designed computer caddy and I offered to make him a cover for it.
I just thought it in my head, went to the store and got some cheap fabric, cut it up with scissors and sewed it together with a rectangular hole for the handle to poke through and a hard foam board inside the cover that protected the monitor when you carried it...it was fun...:)
My wife was impressed, I didn't even jot measurements down on paper!
That's my first contribution to the Create, Make, and Share Thread.
I am also into 3-D printing (does that count?) and I refurbished my dad's retirement plaque from the Navy, with his sword, and had to design, 3-D print, assemble, and paint a scabbard because my younger brother lost my dads scabbard when he used it in a school play back in the Seventies, but I had my dad's sword...:)
Printed and ready for assembling and painting.
Assembled and painted, awaiting mounting on the re-finished plaque.
Refinished plaque with a printed holder for the sword and scabbard to replace the wooden one, dilapidated and falling apart after fifty years. It is the black square the brass emblem is mounted on.
That eagle on the front is big, thick, and heavy, an inch thick and eight inches across. It was so tarnished and nasty looking, it took me hours to polish up with Brasso, then I coated it with a sealant. Great fun!
Nice work!
I have been working with my grandmother’s and great grandmother’s Christmas garlands, glass beads at least 70 and maybe as much as 120 years old.
No point in keeping them if I just keep them in cotton and never use them. They are large beads, fragile, the ends of the beads chipping at each other, and the garlands as a whole, kind of clunky looking. I had made a go of restringing them for my mother 40 years back with unsatisfying results.
But I was inspired by something I saw on Etsy, so now restringing them with little round beads protecting the ends of the large ones and spacing them out with bugle beads. Much more graceful, lighter, longer. glinting catenaries dancing on the tree.
And I repaired the chipped ends with colored foil from Lindt truffles - such an excuse for indulgence.
Also trying to finish a needlepoint started long ago. 14x14 stitches per inch, 14x14 inches. Close to 40000 stitches. One of the pair is done. I need something to listen to while working. I look at far larger hand-knotted carpets and think, dear Lord, there’s so much work in there.
And quilts for grand babies.
https://store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org/collections/miscellaneous
Also at that website are rare plants and rare cultivars of food crops from around the world
Show off! ;) I made a sit-upon out of newspaper in Girl Scouts in the 4th grade; does that count?
Most of what I make is for my grandkids. A great hobby for me.
May I recommend listening to podcasts while working? Some of my favorites are “1001 Short Stories” “American History Shorts” “This American Life” some stuff by Lionsgate (just finished “Scamanda”) and “The Moth.”
That is handsome work!
It absolutely DOES count! (unless I don’t know the “rules”...:)
Thank you-I looked at it constantly for the last 25 years since my dad passed on, thinking that I should rebuild it, but until I got my printer, couldn’t think of the best way to do it...
Gorgeous workmanship!
I had the same ‘sewing experiences’ that you did, but much to my Mother’s dismay I am a terrible seamstress, and can pretty much only sew a straight line. Dishtowels, valances, hot pads, trivets and table runners are about the best I can do, but that comes in handy.
To her, taking apart a BEADED GOWN or a Wedding Dress to make it fit the model PERFECTLY is FUN! I would be crawling the walls, heading for a padded cell!
She does BEAUTIFUL work and I’m grateful she TRIED to show me the way. I did a few ‘smock tops’ in the 70’s that made it to the State Fair, so there’s a small victory for her. ;)
How cute! :)
Nicely done! Thanks for sharing. Another material I have sometimes used for stiffening (you used hard foam board) are the plastic canvases that might be used for needlepoint, etc.
I have actually done a little sewing lately. Youngest grandchild turns 1 next week. For Christmas, we got him a cute little wood rocking chair (from Tractor Supply). It is a tad big for him still, so I thought a nice seat and back pad would be good. Finished them (2 pieces) last night. I put sort of “belt loops” in the seemingly appropriate places, to feed ties into, but to give more flexibility for the ties locations. Due to he lives in FL and we are in Nebraska. Had enough fabric left for a nice little lap blanket. I can picture him sitting in his rocking chair, with his blankie, watching Paw Patrol or Thomas the Train or whatever they watch at 12 months. Can’t wait to see him using the chair pads.
It was very lucky that one of the views for the rocking chair, on the Tractor Supply website, shows ALL the measurements needed to create the chair pads (except the width across the top/back, so had my daughter measure that).
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