Bet You Thought Sewing Was All I Did.....

Not really.  I just don't often have time to do my other crafts.  There are some projects I haven't gotten to in years, some that I started but couldn't finish, some that just need a bit more work, and some that I just can't seem to get to no matter what.

And then, there are the if-I-don't-do-something-creative-today-my-head-is-going-to-explode kind of projects.

Have always wanted to try this "yarn" - and I use that term loosely, as it seems more like an amalgam of ribbon & mesh:

My mother was the one that turned me onto this particular yarn (Sashay, by Red Heart).  She worked with it when it first came out, and has made somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 or so scarves for friends and family members.  I happened to run across it at Joann's Fabrics one day, and thought - hey! - I have a 40% off coupon, and it would only take a couple of dollars to see if I could work with this stuff.  Mom had a lot of difficulty with it in the beginning, but since I'd never seen it, I had no solutions to give her over the phone because I couldn't even picture it in my head from her description.

After I bought it, I looked at the instructions printed on the inside of the wrapper - and thought "no WONDER she was having so much trouble figuring this out!"  Talk about confusing!!!!

So I Googled it, and ended up watching videos on YouTube that show exactly how you are supposed to work with it.  Just search for Knitting with Sashay yarn or Crocheting with Sashay yarn, and select the ones that are from the Red Heart company.  They make it much clearer.

My son came through the room while I was knitting, asked what it was that I was working on, and said his girlfriend would love to have a scarf made of that.  I told him about all the color combos that it came in, and he said she'd either like a blue combo or a green combo.  The one I bought was more aqua/blue.  They have another combo that is more indigo/denim blue, so I figured once I was done with this one for myself, I'd go back and get the indigo combo for her.

Best laid plans, and all that.

While visiting the other day, she took one look at the scarf at about the halfway point, squealed, and said she would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have that when I was done with it.  So I guess the next coupon I have will be for the indigo/denim combo for myself, LOL.

The finished scarf

It's more a showpiece than a keep-you-warm-in-the-winter kind of scarf, but in Southern California, that's about all you need anyway.  And it looks pretty amazing with the teal and deep royal blue colors she has in her hair, too.  

Hmmm.  Maybe I should go with a purple combo, then.

A good friend of mine just had a birthday and we all got together at a mutual friend's house.  I didn't have any idea what to get for her (gifts weren't required, but it's always nice to bring something.....besides the typical bottle of wine, anyway).  I hit Michael's during a sale, and picked up these beads:

Oh, dear.  I'm beginning to see a color pattern, here....

I also picked up some of their nicer sterling silver findings, and since my friend really rocks these color combinations (along with the longer style of earrings), I came up with these:

Stars not included.    :^)

More UFOs

What a day.  Seems like it took forever to get going this morning, since I'm still under the weather.  Even so, I was pretty jazzed about finishing up that purse yesterday, so I thought I'd keep the ball rolling.  

After I posted about the purse, I went through some things in my workroom and picked out a few projects to work on today.  One was a restringing project for my neighbor - her eyeglass lanyard ruptured, and sent beads flying everywhere.  Luckily she was able to corral most of them, and brought them to me to restring.  Next was a pair of earrings I decided to knock out for myself (shocking, I know) - I found the components and some stones while I was looking for the lanyard parts in my jewelry-making stash, and figured "Why not?"  The third was a pile of turtleneck long sleeved t-shirts I've had for years but haven't worn for a long time - I have the makings for at least four or five refashioned shirts there.  I put everything together I would need for the next day and set it aside so it would be easy to just come in and get to work in the morning.

What I wasn't counting on was a random phone call with an opportunity to pick up another on-call banner sewing position.  Turns out that the guy they hired when I was originally applying for the position didn't work out so well.  He did while he was there, but then apparently he decided to get a full-time job and "forgot" to tell them about it.  He actually expected them to call him in for sewing jobs before seven in the morning, or after seven in the evening.  Rather silly, since the shop isn't even open then.  So the boss called me up today, wondering if I were still interested in doing the on-call work for them.  I went in to meet the head designer and got a total kick out of the place - very modern, very young (I would be the oldest person there), very hip - and only five minutes from my front door.  The employees must love it there - they even have a complete full sized kitchen with a dining area.  Couches everywhere.  Ikea furniture & decorative touches all over.  Awesome color-coordinated offices, graphics, matching orange doors (!!!), and out in the warehouse where I'll be working - six foot high banners with the photos of everyone who is an employee there, hanging at ceiling height.  How cool is that?  Just need a little time to get used to their industrial machine, which is different from the one I use at the other shop.  At least I was able to find the instruction manual online when I got home, so I can familiarize myself with the components and learn how to make adjustments if necessary.

Took a chunk of time out of my plans for today, but it was all good.  The people are really, really nice and I think if it works out, I'll like working there.  It's good for them, since they don't have enough banner work for a full-time or even a part-time position; it's good for me because it's on-call, and added to the work at the other shop it will help with the finances - best part:  it's so close!

So when I got back, I still wasn't in the best shape but decided to stick with the program anyway - maybe setting deadlines and picking out the projects ahead of time WILL help.

First up- a pair of easy earrings from the components I found while looking for lanyard parts:

Sterling silver components with lapis lazuli stones.  Surprisingly lightweight!

The flurry of turtlenecks that are about to become.....something else!

Off go the cuffs - part of the reason I haven't worn these in ages is because I DETEST cuffs.

Off goes the first turtleneck.  Years ago these didn't bother me.  Now I find them incredibly confining.

The broken lanyard, partially restrung.  It feels good to get the jewelry tools going again!

The finished lanyard with the trimmed ex-turtleneck No. 1.  

All in all, a pretty productive day.  I have plans for some of the ex-turtlenecks (one involves lace and beading), and others I'm still firming up plans for.  I also have some alterations I need to take care of for another client to get started on as well, so I'll work on at least one of her garments and one of mine every day.  Pictures to follow, so stay tuned!  Right now it's time for Robitussin Max and then off to bed.....

PS - I did get rid of something from my workroom while clearing a space to do the jewelry work.  It was a small something, but it was still something.  (Grins)