formerly burntorangeandsepia

@shitpostsampler

(That is my “why the hecking heck are you taking pictures and not fetching me BIGGER SCISSORS” face.)

A purple cow.

The good news is, I only own about ten cubic feet of books I don't have shelf space for, so it could be a lot worse really.

Snow cream!

Kitties don't need all the Benjamins

And finally, the end of the crafting works-in-progress wall of shame! Just in time to start new ones for holiday gifts. yay. In this set we have the newest project, which I started in August, and is a shift I am hand-sewing to a medieval pattern out of an old linen tablecloth. We also have the oldest project, a bear hand-puppet that was going to be part of a group project for 6th grade social studies, which means it's now been kicking around unfinished for twenty-one years. Also there is a very basic overdress for low-effort medieval costume, that needs a better finish to the neck and some of the side seams repositioned. That one's only been in progress since the summer of '09.

Wall Of Shame: Extremely Assorted. Here we have a basket that I made entirely out of supplies at hand: It's scrap wood and scrap yarn for lashing, with a little notching with a pocketknife to hlod the lashing. I would like to finish the ends more, though, preferable with some chip-carving, so they don't look quite so raw. Also several dozen rectangles of plywood I cut that year I was going to make jacob's ladders for everyone but ended up only making 2. And some earbuds that I bought clearance so I could cover the wires with string (which makes them SO MUCH less annoying to use OMG). And some beads made out of old comics that need a finishing gloss coat. (And all the other old comics I was going to make into beas some day...)

Wall of shame, sewing-not-mending pt. 1. First, a dress that I found in a bag of old fabric, which just need the shoulder seams sewn and the hems finished. IDK if I'd ever wear it, but it's even about my size. Next, a roof cover I'm making for our old canvas tent, which is great but leaks a little in heavy rain. The cover is also canvas, and got tested at War, but it needs more & better tie-downs, and it needs dagging sewn around it so it sort of looks pavilion-y. (The hope is that this cover transitions to a fully homemade tent. Made out of patchwork scrap canvas because why not.) And finally, a custom slipcover I started for my friends' chair, that needs to be taken back to the chair for a final fitting, and I just haven't done that yet.

More assorted mending! Here we have my favorite summertime hat of all time that is so worn and frayed and has already been repaired three times; I am going to try to put trim over the frayed edge; 9 pieces of clothing that need new elastic, one way or another; a shirt with collar-ties where the collar ties are coming out; a sweater that just needs a button sewn back on but I lost the button; a sweater that is full of frayed, bare places and also needs darned, but we loves it too much; two shirts with collar-buttons that need the buttonloops fixed; and a jean skirt I loved a lot that has stains that won't come out, so I tried to mask them with tie-dye, and the tie-dye came out pretty well but it didn't cover the worst ones, so I'm gong to try to applique 60s flowers on over them, I guess.

Wall of shame, oh yeah! Here is the last set of yarn crafts: a sweater I found in a bag of yarn etc. I bought at a rummage sale, which just needs its arms sewn on, a finished collar, and buttons. Since those are the parts I least know how to do, it seems like it's worth finishing it just to learn on. Next is a scrap yarn afghan, which I planned to do to use up all the small balls of yarn, but then I ran out of small balls of yarn?? I didn't know that was possible. I would like it to be a little longer so when I accumulate more small balls of yarn it is going to get at least another foot or two on it, and then a border in something neutral. Meanwhile I've been using it as and afghan anyway... Finally: The Sock. This is the basic pattern from the book pictures, and my first ever sock. I got down to the toe, as you can see, and then got really frustrated because none of the shaping looked like the pictures, which is how I learned that I apparently knit Combination style rather than American style. Which also explains why everybody always exclaims over my tension, I guess. Also I'm not going to have enough matching yarn to do two socks like this, so I kind of lost momentum, but I guess I should finish it one way or another, if only to get the dpns back.

Wall of shame, sharp pointy things edition! First we have my Magic Weapon, which I found along a railroad track while on a geology expedition into the middle of nowhere, PA. It had clearly been there awhile because it was in rough shape and it was missing the handle-grip entirely. But when you find a weapon like that while off in the woods nowhere near anywhere, there is definitely Destiny involved, so I couldn't leave it there. I disassembled it to clean and sharpen it and then never got aroudn to reassembling it and replacing the grip. Next: My new throwing knives, which throw well enough, but need some of the rough corners filed down more, and then painted more better visibility and heat properties. I am giong to try to do a red-and-white marble on them. Maybe. Last, my flintknapping kit. I know the basics, I just need to sit around and knap until I get a proper feel for it. The problem is it makes a MESS of tiny sharp chips of glass, so it usually seems like it's not worth the trouble.

More mending basket! This is all stuff that either has seams coming out or needs patches. Or both. Or where I need to just give up and turn it into rags. Two favorite skirts, one of which is so worn it's full of holes, the other of which has holes in the pockets; a vintage petticoat I'ce had since elementary school that's falling apart under the weight of its own netting but I love so much (every girl needs at least one froofy petticoat); a broomstick skirt that I love because pockets but is so wispy I keep ripping it; two shirts that need small fixes to collar seems; two bags that are ripping out around the handles; a skirt with seams that are constantly coming out (I must have re-sewn half a dozen times in various places but I really like it); a pair of favorite jeans that now needs a third patch on top of the other two patches; an old knit nightgown that is SO COMFY and full of runs that I've been slowly embroidering flowers over the weak spots for probably fifteen years; and four assorted blouses that were ripped by the Vicious Drawer at work.

Yarn toys! Here we have an attempt to make amigurumi dolls of all the homestuck player characters, which I lost momentum on when he introducd a bunch of new characters; crocheted spinks for Interrobang Studios, and an attempt to make my sister's cats a lion costume, which I think I'm going to have to pull out and start over with yarn where I can actually see the stitches.

This week, woolcraft! We have a drop spindle and the wool roving I'm currently practicing with, as well as some yarn that needs plied. Next is my attempt at copying the naalbinded mitten in the Icelandic National Museum, which was going great until I realized my tension was WAY too tight and there's no way I would be able to bend my fingers in it, so I'm slowly pulling it out, which takes forever with needlebinding (next to it is the ball of pull-out yarn). And finally two fleeces - an angora goat's-wool fleece and an Icelandic sheep fleece - which have been washed (sort of) but I need to separate the fibers on and pick out the remaining crud and then decided what other processing needs done before spinning or felting it.

And here's the first dip into the mending basket: stuff that needs relatively-complicated alterations. There's a shirt I thrifted that had a wide band of elastic lace at the bottom, and I'm still struggling to come up with why that was a good idea, so I took it off and will someday sew it back on, but at empire-line. And then do a lettuce hem around the bottom to match the sleeves. Which I have never done but can't be that hard, right? And then the old witch's hat which had served my family well for decades, but the seam-binding that held in the wire loop around the brim finally just gave up the ghost, so it needs somethine else to keep the brim standing out. And a really nice long jacket I bought clearace at the fair trade outlet, but I want it to be more shaped at the waist, which would be easy because it's a very simple cut, except that it's reversible and that makes everything 4x more complicated. And a silk-blend skirt printed with fantasy maps, also thrifted, which is amazing but for somebody six inches taller and with six inches less waist. And no pockets. This is totally fixable! Probably. On the other end, a plain t-shirt and a pair of work trousers, both several sizes two big, that I was going to try to cut down as practice with cutting things down, but haven't yet. And finally, my reproduction Elizabethan weskit, cut for crossplay, which is great except for a tendency to not hold its shape. Probably it should have been lined, but I didn't want to have the extra insulation for what I wear it for, so I'm hoping I can sew some cordage as stiffening on strategic seams to fix it. (It also needs better heam treatment around the collar.) And finally, a headcloth and a wrap, both of which I made bad choices about hemming when I originally made them. I think I want to replace the whit trim on the gray one with crocheted-on lace to preserce the stretch; the other one needs proper rolled hems instead of lazy ones.