It looks like the double vision is creeping into my sewing projects as well:
This is my new fire lotus applique design, featured here on a pair of wraparound leggings that will be in the next shop update (which is now Sunday, February 22, 4pm MST).
Perhaps it’s time to have my eyes checked? Or maybe I’m just preoccupied with thoughts of two little ones underfoot…
I finished up my project for the Gypsy Road team challenge with what, six hours to spare? Nice. Check ‘em out:
It’s a representation of Vesica Piscis, a sacred pagan symbol that possesses much power and energy. It’s also a constellation that appears during the time of Solstice, which makes it a perfect study for the “Celebrate Solstice” challenge. A closer look:
You can see them in The Shop for a full description. They’ve been creating visions of fire dancing in my head all week.
Have a happy new year everyone!!
Whew. Survived another one. Here are just a couple of the little gifties that I whipped up for the holidays:
A fancy-dancy scarflette made of a superfine mohair and silk blend that is lighter than air. I’ll be making up a couple more of these for the shop soon. This is an original design composed of a lacy Solomon stitch and a shell and picot edging.
A happy accident involving a pair of felted slippers. My attempt was to make a pair of felted moccasins but they ended up being more like lilies, which I totally love. These will definitely be making an appearance in the shop as well. This is an original design concocted once I ditched this pattern and started making up my own rules.
And speaking of appearances in the shop, I’m happy to report that there will finally be some new listings this week!! These legwarmers are first up as part of a Winter Solstice Challenge for the Gypsy Road Etsy team. I’m still working out the kinks with the wraparound legwarmers–I’m not entirely happy with the applique stitching on these so they will be discounted 10% when I list them. Nothing structural, just the perfectionist in me.
So now that the Christmas craftiness has passed,
where was I?
Happy New Year everyone!!!
ps–did you notice the common trait of the Christmas gifts? They’re pink. It’s a girl!!!
So I’ve taken up knitting. A skill that I’ve been wanting to learn for as long as I can remember has finally been added to my repetoire. I bought the book Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick about five years ago and I’m happy to say that I’m tackling my first project from its pages:
And yes, normally I am opposed to the idea of legwarmers that make your legs look like sausages encased in yarn. The sad reality of legwarmers is that unless you’re six feet tall and weigh about 135 pounds they just look terrible. As a gal with an athletic build, the world of legwarmers was just out of reach until I created my own design. The difference with these~I’m hoping~is that they’re really trim and will fit under a pair of jeans pretty easily like a pair of super warm knee highs. So far I’ve made a couple of alterations (mostly due to my guage being completely off) so I’ll play show and tell again when they’re finished.
So of course now that I knit and crochet*, I need a pretty little case for all of this equipment. A needle and hook bag is in the planning stages, featuring some of the silk brocade that my mama brought back from China:
Things in The Shop have been pretty slow during the past week because the boy finally started crawling at the ripe old age of fourteen months! Needless to say I’ve been spending a lot of extra time with him, digging him out of off limits areas and reassuring his efforts to explore the big new world that has opened up to his eyes.
I did manage to get four pairs of non-sausagey legwarmers cut out:
And I’ve been designing custom headband (which is still in the works):
It amazes me how much I’m actually getting done even when I think I’m getting nothing done. Hopefully I’ll have some finished items ready to list by the end of the week!
*A little tip: if you have been working with crochet for a number of years and decide to pick up knitting, go for the Continental style. You hold the yarn in your left hand that way (just like crochet) and it seems to be a whole lot easier to navigate while learning. Knitting American style was making me want to throw things and I kept holding the yarn in my left hand anyway. Ignore your teacher’s corrections: knit Continental.
I was pretty sure these wouldn’t last very long in The Shop. I don’t even think they were up for twelve hours before finding their loving new home.
Here’s the other one:
Don’t worry, there will be more. Remember the eye popping pink and yellow plaid wool from the Apron Tutorial? It’s making its way into a funky pair of warm and wooly legwarmers lined with a one of a kind vintage floral print as we speak. There’s also a lambswool set featuring some kind of applique or wool painting in the incubation tank…those might be for me though.
And the time has come to begin the work of an actual real live website for The Peaceful Peacock!! This day has been long in the works but I would really like to feature a gallery of work and a clearly defined listing for custom options.
And yes, you can get custom legwarmers. Of course you can. And headbands. And hats. And ornaments. And just about anything else I come up with. And there will be plenty to come as the snow flies and the belly grows, that’s for sure.
To the casual observer, I'm a web based writer who will remind you of who you really are.
To those unsatisfied by the limited scope of quick definition, come on over here and sit next to me. I'm Juliana.
I like to watch things change.
