Bartering! (Shirt VS Bag) - Continued 2

Struggling with this pattern yet again, I'm really feeling something got left out of the directions, which is decidedly annoying.  My finished (so far) product has the correct bottom & top widths, but incorrect height.  What is left to add will not make up the 4 3/4" that is missing!!!  What the hell?!  I mean honestly people, if a pattern has been published you would think it would have been tested by more than just the designer.  *fumes*  I do not like looking inept at my art but this seriously makes me feel like I'm a dunce that I keep screwing this up.
Needless to say, the original estimate on yarn needed was 5 skeins.  However due to the severe amount of technical difficulties involved I will not be buying the remaining 4 at one time but rather get the remaining one at a time because I feel that that estimate will likely be off...

...sew many things, sew little thyme for ewe and eye...

Bartering! (Shirt VS Bag) - Continued 1

Ever been working on a project and get the feeling that it doesn't look right?  Yea, I did and while staring at the meager 2 inches of fabric I'd produced thus far (I've been taking a lot of breaks on this and working on other things) I got the feeling that it wasn't quite right.  Frankly I think I misread the directions - which have areas of fuzziness in them to me - and that honestly might be the issue.  So I frogged the shirt down to the foundation chain.
Starting from scratch...*sigh*...but if it's better and more correct, it's well worth it.
...sew many things, sew little thyme for ewe and eye...

Mirror for Amaterasu - Part 1

I once commented to a non-artist about art saying:  "Art isn't meant to be perfect, it's simply meant to be."  I liked the quote so much that I even went so far as to add it to my Facebook for awhile.
While working on a piece I felt as a devotee I should do I came across the issue of struggling with my desire for things to be "just so" and just letting them be.
At the moment I am participating in a Goddess Workshop and our first round was with Amaterasu - Japanese sun goddess.  One of Her symbols is the mirror and I thought that it would be neat to take sun/fire colors and make a mirror for Her.  At first I balked at the idea of doing it completely from scratch, wanting to have it "perfect".  So I intentionally put it off.  But as we've moved on from Her to the next session - with The Muses - I am reminded again of the endeavor.  I added it to my list of projects and opted to give it a test go today even to see if I could work it out.
Frustatedly did I consult my math whiz of a boyfriend about dimensions, originally wishing to make a bagua style mirror (which actually is a Feng Shui symbol and thereby originally Chinese) with equal sized triangles.  I was informed that all 8 of them would not be the same size.  At that point I threw that idea out the window - much to his chagrin as he'd been working calculations for a estimated size.  Then I opted to try a trapezoid believe it to be easier.
Boy was I fooled!
My first one, while not perfectly, in lines on the glass looked pretty good.  That all went to hell when I actually cut the glass and it skewed the original lines *argh!*  At that point I considered giving up the endeavor altogether before I took the time to attempt to measure and cut anymore glass.  Then my quote rang in my ears and I decided that as a personal devotional piece perfection was not a requirement.  It was the inspiration, the thought, the meaning behind it rather than the finished product that I should be concerned with.  So long as it conveyed the meaning to me that I wished it to the Goddess would be pleased.
With that thought in mind I went ahead and finished out my remaining 7 pieces, cutting deliberately willy nilly and not worrying about exact size, just so long as it was approximate (a 3" base for each trapezoid and about a 1" top, with the sides close to 2").
As for now I'm taking a break (no pun intended) as I have no mirror on which to mount the stained glass.  Nor have I decided exactly how I want it attached.  (I'm considering having the mirror as a top layer and the pieces set on the back and hanging it from the wall, but am unsure as I've never mounted stained glass to something else.)

Glass Choices
...sew many things, sew little thyme for ewe and eye...

Thoughts on Sewing by Hand...

When I was a little girl my mother instilled in me that I "could not use her sewing machine until I could sew like I wanted to by hand."  This was a source of frustration to me because of course as anyone knows who has sewn with a machine and by hand, the former is faster.  I also associated it with looking "more professional" and being sturdier.  Now while the latter may be true I was thinking about the former more closely as I sat on the couch working to finish my latest creation by hand (since my sewing machine is on strike again.)
The concept of it being "more professional" implies that it can only be done "right" if it's done with a machine.  Really though, that's a ridiculous notion as any artist or crafter who knows their art can be considered a professional at it and many, including myself, would rather resent the implication that because it was handmade it wasn't professional.
What really is the look you receive is "manufactured".  A machine isn't supposed to make errors, it's consistent, and so long as it's built/programmed correctly it remains that way.  Wear and tear after awhile can cause issues, but they are less fallible than people are.  Looking at my stitches I notice the line is not straight, and the space between stitches are uneven, but that's the human part of the equation coming through.  It doesn't mean it's poorly made, as that can happen with a machine just as easily.  It just doesn't look the same, and the "look" to duplicate what a machine does is highly inefficient when done solely by hand.  (That is the closeness and double-sidedness of the stitching, and other "complicated" techniques.)
But to defend all that is handmade, there is a certain quaintness to it.  An air that can never be duplicated by something the mass makes the same thing over and over again.  Things that are handmade are often "imperfect" and thereby unique.  There are little quirks in the design that came through it's construction.  For those who want to blend and be like everyone else mass manufactured has it's appeal.  Nowadays it's a status symbol to have stuff made like that.  But once long ago, pre-Industrial Revolution (eg before the 18th century), things were made by hand solely.  Tools, as with knitting and weaving, were used, but not the complex monstrosities that exist in factories today.  Things were expensive by even that times' standards because many things took large amount of effort and time on behalf of the artist or crafter.  Materials were much more limited in availability and design and took more effort and money to get.  There were also more limitations on what you could get - color and what something was made of - depending on your resources, area, and means.  But don't get me wrong, industrialization isn't all bad, it's afforded us a great many conveniences that most of us would be quite lost without.  However the trade up is that we seem to have lost appreciation for what we are buying and what it took to provide it.  I would certainly be curious to know the difference in cost between a silk shirt made pre-Industrial Revolution and one made nowadays; as well as the difference in construction/means of production and geographical availability.
...sew many things, sew little thyme for ewe and eye...

More Bartering...Reiki Awakening Logo: Part 2

Like a good little artist we decided to start the project where cross stitch is supposed to be started, in the center (this ensures that your piece is centered which is important when you go to have it framed!)  That being the case we started with the lettering and we're quite pleased with it.  Although it's funny that the "text" looks much smaller in real life than on our program.

Altogether I'm personally not a fan of backstitching, and while I understand it's purpose I like a full cross stitched letter more.  Though in this case the purpose of the backstitching was to downplay the word so it didn't take away from the name that would be under it - which I feel was successful :D. 

I think this was a great color choice and am much more pleased with the look of her name than I'd been when first choosing the "font".
...sew many things, sew little thyme for ewe and eye...

More Bartering...Reiki Awakening Logo: Part 1

If you didn't know, as well as being an artist I'm also a healer and teacher.  A fellow Reiki Master who I consider both a friend and mentor had a class she was offering that I desperately wanted to take.  Working for myself from home funds are limited still (though I'm working on my positive thinking and manifestation and making progress).  I asked how she felt about a trade at the point that I found out I couldn't pay her - stoopid IRS eating my tax refund :( - and she was fine with it.
As I love doing my art in some cases I'm not overly attached to it, so long as it goes to a good home and to someone who appreciates it, parting with it isn't a big deal.  Granted I like to be paid, I tend towards covering my expenses and making a small fee (usually intuitively chosen) rather than charging for my time.  Besides I think if I added all of that together my prices would be ridiculous because what artist would want to work for minimum wage?!
So I offered her whatever she wanted, so long as the supplies didn't greatly exceed what she wanted for her class (which in most cases they don't) and we ended up talking about a logo for her Reiki business.  I'd been wanting to design one for her and had some inspiration so straight away got to work on it.  What I came up with was simple but I think classy.  I had a few orders come in via my main store and was able to purchase the supplies all in town (rather than ordering offline and waiting) and paid less than I could have otherwise, which was great.
I've been "diligently" working on it though it's all in cross stitch and you can imagine how long THAT is taking (though for all this effort I think it'll look great when I'm done)!

My Floss Choices(so far so good with them, although I will likely try colors for the "red" hues that are closer together next time)

Aida Cloth(not my original color choice but what was immediately available)
...sew many things, sew little thyme for ewe and eye...

Bartering! (Shirt VS Bag)

from March 17, 2011 - originally posted @ Faith Works' Blog

Recently I tasked my Sewing Goddess to make me a messenger bag. It's a case of, I would do it myself, but not really and well I love her work so much I'd much rather her do it! So being that we are both artists I offered a trade of one crafted piece for another and asked her what she wanted.

*dramatic pause*

A shirt...

I could have been daunted, as I've never made an actual "garment" (eg something you put on rather than an accessory), but I find the challenge interesting...

Being the pattern hoarder that I am (I will keep a copy of any pattern that seems even remotely interesting to me in design whether I have immediate plans for it or not) I had a number of "shirts" that could be made, all of them crocheted. I let her choose and that was an adventure in itself because I had at least 20 to choose from. She finally settled on this cute little crop top halter with a beaded fringe (although the beads are hard to see in the picture I sent).

Then came the hard part...choosing a color. After slaving away trying to find the yarn that the written pattern copy I'd seen called for and failing, I finally found something similar. However being the exacting type of artist, or rather artisan, I am I wanted to see the actual yarn used. Knowing from past experiences that substituting could be fun, but also "dangerous" to one's piece I figured for my first foray I would play it safe. I finally find it, again thanks to the internet and am appalled at the boring and otherwise *ew* colors. Almost all pastels and a few bright shades and totally about 15 choices. EW! I showed them to her, she chose one, but despite it being her choice from what I'd asked her about what color she wanted it didn't seem to fit. Consulting a foreign LYS to me I found another option (as well as a slew on Ravelry that "might" work because they were similar fiber & weight) I come across the lovely "Butterfly" by Kertzer. That's all fine and good if it weren't for the 12.50 + tax/skein price. (I wanted to keep our price ranges similar, so that neither of us was "breaking the bank".) I relented and decided to go with her choice of the original, but had yet to click the "buy now"...I wanted to try one more option - my own favorite LYS, The Yarn Lounge....

Going there yesterday for a day of yarning and what ended up being a "car picnic" I chanced to ask Melanie about substituting, giving her the weight, gauge, and fiber content. While there was no Egyptian Cotton, there was a lovely Peruvian Pima cotton and with much better shade selections - including a gorgeous dark blue called Caneel Bay. I was in love and knew that this should be what I used for her shirt and it wasn't so costly as to make it not worthwhile, even with having to buy 5 skeins instead of 3...

So we're excited to have started this shirt after doing a partial gauge swatch (we really do hate swatches and rebel at doing entire ones). The color is lovely and better suited we think to the person it's for, and it's also lovely to work with!

You can check out our piece on Facebook here. Feel free to friend us & "Like" the store! And if you see anything you like we take commissions! :D

Happy Crafting,

Aradia

...sew many things, sew little thyme for ewe and eye...