Tutorial: twill labels

twill tape label

The other day, I got a bug in my brain about labels for my purses. Where does one have labels printed up? How much would that sort of thing cost? And then I got to thinking I could probably do it myself. Now, my DIY attitude has a 50/50 odds of being either great or disastrous. Stamping on twill tape (ribbon) is an idea I’ve borrowed from my scrapbooking days, and it’s hardly original. But I thought it would help to lay out the process with photos and some tips.

Supplies: Twill tape (mine is 1/2″), stamps, dye-based ink in any colour, masking tape

If using separate letter stamps, tape them together. You can do each letter individually, but it wastes time. I like the wide spaces between the letters for my lables.

Secure your twill to your work surface with masking tape. Pulling it as taught as you can makes it easier to stamp on, and also gives you a cleaner image.

Ink your stamp, and then firmly press it straight down onto the twill. Try not to rock or wiggle the stamp as that might smudge your print. Some parts will have more or less ink, depending on how even your pressure was. Just go with it. The imperfections are charming.

Stamp as many times as you can along the tape, but do remember to keep wide spaces between the designs so that when cut, you can tuck the raw edges under before you sew it down.

The finished label, sewn to the handle of a cosmetics pouch.

Unfinished business, purses, and DOLLIES!

Elegant Buttercup Bag

So…Ravelympics came and went, and I’m still only about 45% done with my Geodesic Cardigan. I was pretty broken up about not meeting the deadline for about 15 minutes, and then promptly got over it. And that’s totally ok! I had been making pretty good time (and realised I’ve gotten to the point where I can knit really fast!), but there was just too much Other going on in my life, not to mention my creative funk that hit me about two weeks ago.

Violets Are... Buttercup Bag

You know, I really should be prepared for these spells when they hit me, but each time they do, I totally forget that I can kill all the blah by just getting up and sewing or knitting something different. It’s as irrational as writers block can be (which I often suffer from, lemme tell ya!). In the end, I got my butt out of bed and made a Buttercup Bag out of some brown and white scrolled fabric. It went together so easy and so fast that I did another right after it. They’re really precious, use up a small amount of fabric, and go together super-fast (about 1-2 hours sewing time, and that includes all the pressing and pinning I did). I’m going to totally buy a licence to sell these.

I spy...

I mentioned in my last post that my honey set up his own wordpress to promote his art dolls at Black Toy Box. Today I got to go out with one of his dolls and shoot some photos for his site, and then updated his site for him with the pictures and purchase info. It’s a pretty sweet deal for any fans of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series. She’s $50 and can be purchased at this page.

Ravelympics 2010!

CAST ON!

It’s day three five of the 2010 Ravelympics, and, well, I’d like to say that I’m super far along on my project, but the truth is, I’m not.

I’ve got soooo much going on that my head is a bit kabubbled (I think I’ll add that one to my personal dictionary).  I want to be knitting, I need to be sewing, I should be cleaning, etc.  I did head over to the local bubble tea parlour and sat and knit for about four hours today, which rocks. I’m getting faster with my knitting, but not as fast as I want to be. It’s always the way, isn’t it?

Geodesic Cardigan

I’m working on the Geodesic Cardigan by Connie Chang Chinchio in Anny Blatt Fine Kid “Lie de Vin” (a gorgeous deep wine colour).  Fine Kid is a sport-weight mohair yarn, which means that the “sport” is only due to the fuzziness of the yarn. This annoys me. It’s a very fine yarn, and I’m getting a slightly smaller gauge than the Malabrigo Yarn Lace that the pattern originally calls for.

What I have done is turning out way cute, though. I’m in the middle of decreasing for the waist, and I’m setting a goal to have that done by the time I go to bed (yeah…right). The only reason I’m not knitting right now, is that I’ve been working on getting this blog posted since the twelfth.

Sweet As Honey Accessories Pouch

And now, for something not knitting, I’ve been whipping up some little accessories pouches with extra fabrics. The one featured here is in my absolute favourite fabric, and it was so much fun to make. This is the first time I’ve sewing in a zipper, and it is immaculate! I’ve been feeling pretty down on my topstitching, so I was so, so happy that I got it perfect on this one. It probably helps that I took my machine apart and gave it a good clean and oil.

Emilie Autumn by The Black Toybox

Speaking of sewing machines, I’ll be adding another to my collection this week, if only temporarily. My mother has a Brother XR65T that she’s not using, and Ryan and I need another machine so that we can both work on our projects at the same time.Ryan, by the way, can be found on wordpress at The Black Toybox, where he’s selling some really awesome art dolls for reasonable prices (around $60). He also take commissions, so if you’ve got an idea, get in contact with him and he’ll put his creative eye to the test.

New look + business venture!

In the past week, lots of things have happened. First, my job with Borders ended It was a seasonal position, but I have never enjoyed a part-time job more!

Second, I’ve decided to really go into business for myself using Etsy.  I’m nervous, confused, harried, and (weirdly) overworked as I try to get stock together, and figure out all the legal things before I officially open.  I’m planning on selling standard handbags and accessories, but I also plan to have a separate shop that is specifically Matryoshka (see the new layout?!) themed. I’ll be blogging about both shops here as I get things ready.

Speaking of handbags, I’ve got some really, truly adorable fabrics and patterns! Here’s a little sampling for ya:

Here’s the fabric for the next batch:

You can just see that the pink fabric has little bees on it every few honeycombs. I’m going to have a lot of fun with these two, and bust out some purse designs I’ve been knocking around while sewing other peoples’ patterns.

And just because it’s adorable:

Grand Opening!

I did it! I’ve finally decided on a space to share and discuss my creative ventures, after, oh, a few months of hemming and hawing. You’re also going to see pretty much the breadth of my creative interests here as I decided against just-knitting or just-miniatures, or separate blogs for each. I have, admittedly, the attention span of an elderly chihuahua, so I’m keeping it simple.

my Ishbel, blocked on my bedspread

People on my Twitter have been following my progress most recently on my Ishbel Shawl(Ravel it) by Ysolda Teague. That was my first shawl and it was really fun, and really fast. I think I spent a total of 12-15 hours on it (I was keeping track, but I think there was a bit of a stretch where I just wasn’t).

The speed could have been because I chose to use a larger yarn and a larger needle. The pattern calls for Laceweight or Fingering and a US6 needle, and I went with Naturally Caron’s Country, which is DK, and a US9. It practically flew off my needles, and as you can see, it’s just gorgeous. I hadn’t done any lace before this, and it was a lot of fun. I’m trying to talk myself into doing the laceweight version, but I’m a little frightened it’ll take me forever…