RabbitTalk Handicrafts Thread. What do YOU make?

[ohiogoatgirl]

So today I hopped on the forum here just at the right time to see a couple posts about peoples handicrafts on the chatbox. The last post being that we should have a thread for that. After checking the recent posts and not seeing a new thread I thought to myself "hey someone should do that". Then I thought to myself "hey, I'm a someone". So here ya go!

I know there was a thread a while back here in the fiber rabbit section I think about spinning and knitting. But I figured in this section we could all post whatever handicrafts and chat about all of them.

I am a hobbyist of hobbies. A collector of hobbies. :roll:
*spinning
*knitting
*crocheting
*weaving
*sewing
*quilting (just a little)
*carving/widdling (just a little)
and probably a handful of others that I haven't done recently. :lol:

Let's hear what YOU guys and gals do! And let's see some of it too :mrgreen:

 

[Easy Ears]

I am a hobbyist of hobbies. A collector of hobbies. :roll:
*spinning
*knitting
*crocheting
*weaving
*sewing
*quilting (just a little)
*carving/widdling (just a little)
and probably a handful of others that I haven't done recently. :lol:

Let's hear what YOU guys and gals do! And let's see some of it too :mrgreen:

Good going Ohiogoatgirl! And I am the same way, I love finding new hobbies!
*Knitting
*Crocheting (just a little)
*Sewing
*Loom knitting
*Carving/Widdling
*Paper crafts like card making
*Molding with clay

A few I would love to try are spinning, weaving and felting--I will be receiving my recently purchased felting materials in the mail soon! So exciting!

Thanks for making this thread!

 

[Nymphadora]

Haha, thank you for starting this for me ohiogoatgirl!

I've been most involved with sewing for the past few years. I bought myself a little Brother sewing machine when I was in 8th grade and proceeded to teach myself to sew. At this point I've done everything from mug rugs, to clothes, to my wedding dress. I love to play with fabrics and watch them take shape throughout the process, and I've been upping my skills by practicing with a variety of different fabric types. And after about 10 years of sewing, I decided to bite the bullet and buy a serger to achieve a more "finished" look in most of my garments... gosh do those overlocked stitches ever look nice! DH is also very proud of his handy wife, and knows better than to ask her to use her amazing skills to fix holes in jeans... mostly. :roll:

Anyways, here are a few textile hobbies I particularly enjoy:
*sewing
*crochet
*knitting (traditional and loom)
*embroidery (veeery limited)

... and some of the less textile craft hobbies:
*woodburning
*beading
*glassblowing (ok, I just did a bit when I was in college, but it was amazing, and if I could afford the studio time and materials, I'd keep learning and doing it)

So, ready for a photo overload? Because I really love showing off my pieces (because I haven't been able to make a business of any of it yet)...

one of my first mug rugs

another mug rug... first time I did applique

the cutest plush whale I ever made (I lived in California and humpback whales were often on our coast)

an apron that I (quoting DH) "am not allowed to cook in"

my first ever queen-size quilt

a rainbow horse plush for an animal-lover if I ever knew one...

the awesome egg-collecting apron I made from scraps of quilting cottons

backside of said apron... so it's reversible

wrap-pants that are now my favorite pool cover-up

loom-knit a mermaid tail blanket for my sister's birthday (she saw something similar on pinterest) :roll:

home-sewn chenille blanket

So, there's some of my textile work For some things I've even written up full tutorials (because I was trying to start a blog... which with my paid work became overwhelming, so I haven't updated in a while). Hope you guys enjoy, and please add what you love to do, where you learned to do it, what you still want to learn... I love talking crafts (especially sewing), and I think we can have a great sharing space for all our projects here.

opcorn:

 

[Zass]

AMAZING textile work Nymphaedora! :shock: The photography is excellent too.

For crafts, I mainly stick to:

*Low level sewing and crafting for fantasy themed costumes.

*Digital painting

*Pelt preservation, tanning and leather making

BIG eastern coyote, still a little moist here, but I couldn't help snapping a pic. The child is 8 years old, and that is a 6 foot privacy fence. (I'm still impressed by just how big eastern coyotes really are.) This one was, apparently, hit by a car.

 

[Nymphadora]

@Zass, your digital art is fantastic!

Also, when I start collecting pelts for tanning, can I ask you for help if I mess up the 30-or-so tutorials there are for tanning at home? Yours look like they turned out just great.

 

[Zass]

@Zass, your digital art is fantastic!

Also, when I start collecting pelts for tanning, can I ask you for help if I mess up the 30-or-so tutorials there are for tanning at home? Yours look like they turned out just great.

No problem, I LOVE talking about tanning. I've made a few RT threads in the Rabbits for Fur section too.
tanning-easy-and-using-vinegar-as-a-pickle-experiment-t18829.html

 

[Nymphadora]

No problem, I LOVE talking about tanning. I've made a few RT threads in the Rabbits for Fur section too.
tanning-easy-and-using-vinegar-as-a-pickle-experiment-t18829.html

That's how I am with sewing... I've offered to teach some of my coworkers in the past, and I am currently working on a commission for one of them. I'd love to have some time to sew up a really in-depth cosplay one of these days, too, but I definitely need more free time for that. Right now I'm just working on expanding my work/professional wardrobe, because my local fabric store is going out of business and the suiting fabrics are really cheap right now. If I wasn't moving out of state soon anyway, I'd be much more heart-broken about losing that fabric store... it's one of the only ones with a good apparel fabric selection.

And in response to your comment about my photography earlier, I love photography! I consider myself a fairly good amateur photographer, and I would love to do holiday photo-shoots with my bunnies one day (namely, when I get them).
:lol:

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

Nymphadora- OMG YOUR SEWING SKILLS!!! My sewing skills are what I would call utility and you have some awesome finesse! Seriously about to just toss the idea of me making this bunch of fabric into clothes and send it to you! Half joking because I couldn't afford it right now, otherwise I would totally love to send it to you. That is beautiful work.

Zass- what kind of programs are needed for that digital painting? It is very lovely and it is so popular form of art these days. way over my head. I use 'paint' for everything bahahahaha!

 

[Zass]

Zass- what kind of programs are needed for that digital painting? It is very lovely and it is so popular form of art these days. way over my head. I use 'paint' for everything bahahahaha!

Right now I'm using mangastudio5.0 and a cheap Huion pen tablet. I find mangastudio much easier than photoshop or even sai for painting.

 

[Nymphadora]

Nymphadora- OMG YOUR SEWING SKILLS!!! My sewing skills are what I would call utility and you have some awesome finesse! Seriously about to just toss the idea of me making this bunch of fabric into clothes and send it to you! Half joking because I couldn't afford it right now, otherwise I would totally love to send it to you. That is beautiful work.

Haha, it took me a long time to become good at sewing, and even now I mess things up once in a while. But the biggest help for me has been finding tutorials (via Pinterest or Google or YouTube) for how to do specific techniques. I just learned how to make welted pockets and bound buttonholes (the technique is similar), but I probably read at least 4 tutorials each before attempting them. And sometimes moving a sitting line over 1/8th inch changes the way the fabric reacts, so don't be afraid to rip out your stitches and try again. Unless it's leather. Those holes are permanent. :x

However, if there's a specific project you're working on, feel free to PM me and I'll try my best to help you. I think it's awesome that you're improving your sewing skills, it's something not a lot of people do anymore. :up:

 

[Miss M]

Nymphadora, WOW, what beautiful work!!! :fainting:

I am constantly looking up tutorials too!

Zass, your digital art is amazing, and I have admired your tanning expertise for quite some time now.

Much of my sewing is posted in the "Sewing projects" thread that was started last November, so here's a link to that: sewing-projects-t26891.html

I just finished my first project on the Bernina 1008 mentioned in that thread, a swimsuit for Galadriel. When she gets back this weekend, I'll take pictures and post.

 

[Nymphadora]

Much of my sewing is posted in the "Sewing projects" thread that was started last November, so here's a link to that: sewing-projects-t26891.html

I just finished my first project on the Bernina 1008 mentioned in that thread, a swimsuit for Galadriel. When she gets back this weekend, I'll take pictures and post.

Miss M, your sewing looks quite lovely as well! I can't wait to see that swimsuit you're making, maybe I'll try and get a photo of mine in the next few days.

:judges: <br /><br /> __________ Tue Jun 14, 2016 7:48 pm __________ <br /><br /> I also find it funny that the post Miss M linked to starts off basically the same... inspired by the chat box

 

[Miss M]

Miss M, your sewing looks quite lovely as well! I can't wait to see that swimsuit you're making, maybe I'll try and get a photo of mine in the next few days.

:judges:

Thank you!

The swimsuit is inspired by this one, which Galadriel found as she searched for a swimsuit to buy: https://modli.co/hot-pink-silver-betty- ... tunic.html (her previous one was this one, with the skirt instead of the shorts: http://www.blair.com/e/womens/swimwear/ ... 4/9555.uts She wasn't that crazy about it, and wanted something that covered more.). We were going to go ahead and buy it for her birthday, but I read in the comments that sizing issues seemed to be common. Since it was coming all the way from Israel, we just didn't have time to deal with sizing issues. So we bought fabric instead!

I bought and downloaded a neat little ebook written by a 17-year-old about drafting custom modest swimwear patterns: http://www.freshmodesty.com/index.php/e ... wear-ebook

And then Galadriel and I looked at waaaaaay too much spandex online. Once she settled on colors, I took the picture from the swimsuit she had liked, and recolored it with the two sleeve options she was trying to decide between:

__________ Wed Jun 15, 2016 4:02 pm __________

She wanted silver sleeves, but she wanted a nice, wide (6" x 2 yards) silver belt more. So she ended up with the blue sleeves.

It has a sweetheart neckline and a much fuller skirt. I didn't have time to do it "right" with princess seams or anything, I just modified the ebook pattern into a tunic pattern with a nearly quarter-circle skirt (for the pattern, resulting in something close to a full circle, except with more fabric at the sides than at the front and back because of the way I did it). I told Galadriel ahead of time that this was how it would come out, and she was fine with it.

__________ Wed Jun 15, 2016 4:09 pm __________

Well, that's weird. I can't quote unless I do it by hand, and I can't place my pictures inline. Just pretend those swimsuit pictures are where they belong, a couple of paragraphs up. <br /><br /> __________ Wed Jun 15, 2016 4:12 pm __________ <br /><br /> Oh, also, there's no hat. She didn't want a hat.

I've encouraged her to do some glass beadwork on the dress, to add a little sparkle to it.

 

[Nymphadora]

That's going to be an awesome swimdress (can we make this a word, please?), Galadriel is a lucky girl! When I was making mine, I didn't even think to look for something that had leggings/skirts. I'm so used to the usual American swimwear, I guess I was pretty pleased with the modesty (aka, not bikini) of the Jalie 3134 Racerback.

I decided to forgo the two curved white piping in mine, and used some old navy swimsuit fabric I happened to have in my stash from a different project, but it still turned out pretty stylish I think. Don't have any decent photos of it yet, but I'm bound to go swimming in this heat sooner or later, and I'll just have DH snap a few pics when I do.

Funny how we pick up sewing ideas just based on what isn't available sometimes, am I right? One of the best peels of being able to make crafts ourselves though... We decide the outcome. Mostly.

 

[Zass]

Finally found a few old pics of finished projects.
I guess I haven't done much with pelts lately..

__________ Wed Jun 15, 2016 9:29 pm __________

Zass, your digital art is amazing, and I have admired your tanning expertise for quite some time now.

Your sewing skills are far, far above my own!! I'm always drooling over the costume pieces you post. <3

Thank you for the compliment, but,
I wouldn't exactly call what I know about tanning expertise.
I'm really just an experimental hobby tanner who gets very excited by the topic. :lol:
I still have SO MUCH to learn about chemical reactions, and historical methods of leather and pelt preservation!

The thing with tanning is that it's really just preservation. The beauty come from the animal itself.
Still, there is an amazing satisfaction that can come from taking something lovely that would otherwise rot, and turning it into something supple and durable that people want to touch.

 

[Miss M]

Nymphadora, you are so right! It is neat to be able to make what you want when it isn't out there already.

And Zass, thank you for your kind words . And you are way too modest. I sit here scared to pull my pelts out of the freezer. :x

Okay, finally got to take some pictures of the (mostly) finished swimdress (there! It's officially a word!). The front of the neckline is not finished (it has been rolled and then stitched at the points), and the dress is not hemmed yet.

One of the girls with Galadriel told her she liked the swimdress better without the sash. After seeing these pictures, she agrees. It does hang better without it. So one pic with, and the rest without (with one fabric closeup thrown in showing color and sparkle ).

 

[Nymphadora]

Miss M., that is lovely work! It does hang very nicely without the sash, and you still have the silver in the leggings. I think I'd feel highly overexposed posting a picture of my own swimsuit now, though I really like the blue, it's so nice and bright. As far as the neckline goes, have you considered sewing it with a twin needle to avoid getting that wobbly, stretched-looking seam knits can get?

 

[Rainey]

Thought I'd mention what I've been making this week--something simple that anyone can do if they grow lavender. I make about 100 of these sachets each summer. Most are passed on to a friend who works with refugee resettlement and she passes them along to people she's counseling. Some we keep and the scent stays vivid and by the time it's beginning to fade it is time to make new ones. I can do them when it's too hot or I'm too tired to do anything more demanding and they smell so good while I'm picking the stems, weaving the ribbon and wherever I hang them to dry.

 

[LittleFluffyBunnies]

Hello!

I make clothes for my rabbits and sisters rabbits. You may know my rabbit Olaf ( he is the bunny in my profile photo). He is the best rabbit model I know. I get out the camera ( my iphone one.... ) and I say " pose!" and he'll stay in that pose till he hears the click of the pic!
Anyways....
I make the clothes out of recycled materiel such as old pants, old shirts, and any scrape of fabric i can find that's stretchy and comfy. I use a vest like style, so the vest doesn't go under the rabbit's tummy. Olaf and a few of the other rabbits we own don't try to rip off the clothes or anything. I think Olaf likes to wear them

I think that all the things everyone has made look so cool! I love to craft and sew and draw......ext. I mean who doesn't love a good project?

 

[olafthebunny]

Oh no! I'm so sorry......
I had meant to post that but forgot to check if my sister had logged out......
So I make the bunny clothes....not LFB.....she's the bunny breeder not the spoiler.......
Sorry again....
Will try to remember next time....and the time after that.....