Somehow or other I stumbled upon a most excellent site offering free, cleaned-up scans of vintage images. There are old advertisements, illustrations, calligraphy… Best of all, there’s a fabulous selection of vintage labels! Graphics Fairy gets your crafty gears turning!
Where we last left off, our estate sale sweater was getting interrogated by the washing machine. This is the aftermath:
Shrinkydink!
Before:
After:
I’ll keep you informed of the thrilling updates in this rags-to-riches/sow’s-ear-to-silk-purse/wool-sweater-to-felt-bag saga!
At this VERY MOMENT, I am felting!
Felting is a process where you punish old wool sweaters until they submit to your will. They are then recycled into new objects like purses, the fate of this poor estate sale find:
I will torture this $2 sweater with scalding water and blistering dryer heat until it capitulates! Feel my wrath, pathetic sheep fiber!
My dog is currently grateful that he’s 70 lbs of big dog muscle. I’m armed with yarn and Lion Brand patterns for little doggie outfits! If only I could stuff him into these hilarious coats!
The real reason my dog should thank his lucky stars:
What do you know? I bought some roving.
And wonder of wonders, I actually got around to making some beads!
Behold! I have transformed mere wool into FELT!
I think I’m going to make my mom a bracelet. Shhh… it’s a surprise!
In general, I think I’m relatively practical. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m not going to be President of the United States, a world-renowned actress, a professional athlete, or the greatest mind of the 21st century. I know it’s not in the cards for me to buy an island, drive a Ferrari, or own a unicorn. (Although, truth be told, I still haven’t given up hope that I’ll someday have my own cooking show on Food Network, despite the fact that my idea of cooking currently involves frozen meals and a microwave. A girl’s gotta dream.)
HOWEVER, when it comes to crafting, all bets are off. Innocently perusing the 746.43s at the library, I came across a book with surprisingly good projects.
Fully Woolly may be a kiddie book, but it reignited a flame in the forgotten embers of my heart. It reminded me of my fascination with FELTED BEADS!
Naturally, I began searching the interwebs for a good source for wool roving, the critical component in any bead felting endeavor. Thus begat a series of daydreams that escalated exponentially.
Kiki: I’m going to buy some roving and start making beads!
Kiki: I’m going to love making beads so much that I’m going to start giving handmade necklaces to all of my loved ones!
Kiki: I’m going to need to mix my own colors pretty soon, so I’m going to start dyeing my own roving with Kool-Aid!
Kiki: My hand-dyed roving is going to be so awesome that I’m going to start spinning my own yarn!!!
Mark my words. By 2009’s end, I shall have spent hundreds of dollars on my soon-to-be-forgotten felted-beads-phase.
But can you blame me? FELTED BEADS!!!!!!!
It’s nice picking up an old hobby again.
It’s like finding a twenty you had forgotten was in a birthday card, or noticing a hand-written letter at the bottom of a pile of junk mail. These beads aren’t good, but they’re a start.
Downside to picking up an old hobby again: noticing all of these hobby-related accessories that you suddenly can no longer live without!
Crafting is the best thing ever. I love reading craft blogs, I love buying craft supplies, and I love daydreaming about all of the crafts I want to make. However, I never actually seem to do any crafting. It’s more of an abstract ideal than an applied principle. Now that the semester is over and I’m rolling in free time, I made a vow:
Side note 2: The pencil scribbles are advanced eBay math where I calculated the amount I should bid on Jade-ite dishes. Stay tuned for the results of that adventure!
It was 7:00 and I still hadn’t made anything yet, and the weight of my unaccomplished day’s objective weighed heavily on my soul. I began digging around in my bead box.
Nevertheless, I got my act together and made a pair of earrings to wear tomorrow. It turns out I’ve gotten pretty rusty at wirework (hyuck, hyuck. Kiki’sDemolition.com: come for the lack of crafting, stay for the lackluster puns!). That’s okay. The point is I made something, right?
To check out people who actually do make things, you should browse the menu of the Mid-Century Supper Club. The kitschy recipes they attempt fill me with joy, if not hunger. The Ham and Egg Combo exhibits a fine attention to detail, the Fun Franks demonstrate a novel use of the noble frankfurter, and the Deviled Eggs prove that there is no limit to what you can do with food coloring.
In my life, I have sewn two things:
Despite my complete lack of knowledge, skill, or experience, I have decided to undertake two sewing projects.
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When you first begin sewing, you’re supposed to practice on cheap fabric until you get the hang of it. Apparently this wisdom is lost on me, as I’ve already spent over $50 on fabric.
Fashion police, watch out!
