dreamerofmalta's Journal

I've been busy throwing a pity party for myself. For no good reason really. Actually, for news that should be happy. Remember the whole pregnancy thing? Turns out we're getting twins.( Read more... )

I've been really interested in the Arts and Sciences 50 challenge.
I'm working on the persona challenge with 50 things my persona would own, know or do. Well, I mostly am working on that. I've been bogged down in extensive research on traditional Russian embroidery motifs and whether they really are period. I'm convinced yes, and that I have the evidence to back it up, but getting comfortable with the logic strings and archeological evidence has taken a journey. Really, really interesting stuff but I'm only starting to think that I might be able to design a textile that might be passable and in keeping with the tradition and importance of them. ( Read more... )

I just put things up at LibraryThing and called it good. Much easier that typing it all out. My username is Praksedys if anyone really wants to take a peek at my Russian and Ukrainian embroidery obsession.

I got delayed awhile as I decided to be crazy and sew the stepping down outfits for the local SCA king and queen. In a week. Plus I made a needlefelted Persian cloud collar since I didn't have time to embroider one. ( Read more... )

Just putting this in a convenient place. I wanted to have a list of what I have on my shelves so friends can check for things they might need to borrow. This is the historical reenactment list. It's heavily weighted to Russian and embroidery materials quite obviously. Going to take a while to list stuff, but figured I'd get a few listed at a time

EMBROIDERY

Kelly, Mary B. Goddess Embroideries of the Balkan Lands and the Greek Islands

Kelly, Mary B. Goddess Embroideries of Eastern Europe

Klimova, Nina Folk Embroidery of the USSR

Gostelow, Mary Embroidery of All Russia

Gostelow, Mary Blackwork,

RUSSIAN WOMEN

Clement, Barbara Russia's Women:Accommodation, Resistance, Transformation

Razina, Tatyana

Our digital camera has officially died and I'm starting to browse and look for what I want in a new one. Gandhi wants a super-duper-uber one that he can use for art reference and such. While I'd love that, I worry that we won't buy it any time soon and I won't ever get my hands on it if he gets what he really wants. I'll settle for something mediocre but functional.

My favorite little boy is 2 today. I'd love to post pictures, but the digital camera seems to be completely dead. I'm going to pick up a disposable camera later today so we have birthday pictures at the very least. He got a haircut so he looks a great deal older. Also on the gifting list are a stick pony and a bunch of comic book t-shirts. We're going to go see the new Studio Ghibli movie with the kids and get pizza. Already a geek at 2.

The coif continues. I'm down to 8 motifs left to outline. Hoping to finish this week and start doing the goldwork. I switched to a small Q-snap frame so its nice and portable and that seems to be helping. Even better was the frame was 50 cents at the thrift store. I have a larger one, but the kids took off with the snappy parts before I could ever use it. This one is maybe 4x4 and seems to be just right for working in my lap.

I did at least get something I was supposed to get done today done. Honest. I cut out bowling shirt patterns for Gandhi, Demetri, and my 2 nephews and then actually got as far as cutting out one for each of them. I had a vintage (looking) Batman and Joker fabric that I think is going to be really fun made up. I combined it with a nice navy homespun so the print didn't get too carried away. The 2 littlest boys are getting ones done with a cream background that has various "when I grow up" professions on it and coordinating rocket ships. Trying to decide if its too young for my 8 year old nephew. Hoping to dig up either a black or red woven and do the accents in an old print I've got with dragons, knights, and trolls. I picked it up several years ago to use for a lining of a messenger bag for Gandhi. Not much of it, but a little goes a long way.

I was supposed to be cleaning, or weeding or something useful, and instead ended up starting to make rose petal beads. ( Read more... )

My husband swore up and down that I was alone in the whole wearing Elizabethan garb thing. He is quite content in his Persian (if a bit reluctant to wear turbans and hats) and unwilling to wear highly structured garments. Last night a caveat was added to that declaration however. We got home from fighter practice and were watching "In Search of Shakespeare" on PBS. I was only half awake (interesting program, I was just exhausted) and had to reconfirm, but Gandhi totally agreed to wearing an doublet if it was Francis Walsingham's. He doesn't care what it looks like, he just wants the back story of associating with Elizabeth's spymaster. Gandhi is a code junky (he's currently rereading Simon Singh's The Code Bookfor the umpteenth time.) If its part of an elaborate cipher, he's in.

So, like any good demon, when a bargain is made, I'm totally jumping at the opportunity. It's a deal, baby.

I found a store with shelves of wool fabrics in every color imaginable. 100% linen too. Cotton batiste at less than $5 a yard. And 100% silk duchess satin, silk twill, silk organza, and some really beautiful (though not right for period clothing) handwoven silks. I was quite literally drooling. Directly next to the fabric was venice lace and across from it was silk embroidery threads. Apparently they specialize in items for people who do smocking and heirloom sewing. I barely got out alive.

They also had, through a weird twist and a class they offered ages ago, teeny tiny crochet hooks. I now have size .4mm and .5 mm crochet hooks which yesterday I did not know existed. I also have the thread to match. Guess I'm making lace. Why is that again exactly? Especially when there was some quite pretty Venice Point sitting right there on the shelf and I've already spent more than I would have just buying it in the first place?

Oh, yes. I'M CRAZY. Silly me, I momentarily forgot.

The coif continues. A slight problem has occurred in my color choice though. I've been reading more and now understand how blue is a color that is easily achieved with period dyes on linen. Therefore, while a linen coif in a color other than white is uncommon but did happen occasionally, blue would totally make sense since indigo dyes linen nicely. Yellow is probably not something as easily achievable. Damn. I'm a week in with a minimum of 3 hours a day on it. 10 motifs done in outline. I really don't want to start over. Suppose I can pretend its silk?

The coif continues to make progress. Slowly. I have about 7 motifs outlined and I'm getting happier with the look the more are done. I think it really will look nice once the speckling and spangles happen. Somewhere around a month from now, I suppose, unless my speed seriously improves.

I went looking for a new drop spindle, as I don't like the balance on my current one, and walked out of the store with that, and 2 books of vintage crochet patterns. One has 5 or 6 patterns for Venetian crochet, which is the crochet lace made to look like Venice lace. I was thrilled to see it. What I was not thrilled to see was the hook size and thread size. It requires a size 14 hook and size 80 to size 100 thread. The smallest I've ever worked with is size 30. I honestly didn't realize that they made it smaller. Thinner than sewing thread smaller. I'm a little intimidated. I'm also a bit worried that my infamous gauge problems (I'm a seriously loose woman :p) will cause a disaster. I ordered a couple of hooks though, so we'll see. Apparently, the normal modern size for a size 14 is .75mm. I ordered a size .6mm and .5mm Clover Soft Touch (they are the only company to make them that small) so we'll see how it goes. I've also got to modernize the crochet patterns since antique ones are nothing like modern terminology. I know its still not correct to crochet the lace, but at least this will be a much closer version to the real stuff and that makes me a great deal more comfortable. And I now have yards and yards of lace to edge towels. Or a skirt, or something. I don't know. Lace isn't really my style, but I've got quite a bit of it made these days.

I DO also have bobbin lace instructions in one of my books that I didn't realize were there. That's a stupid idea though. Really. If I start doing that this dress won't happen for 10 years. Bad idea.

I decided to be lazy, even after not being able to find my transfer pencil. I drew over the existing coif in black marker and then laid the new piece over it and traced the pattern. It worked pretty well and I got back to stitching. I finished the outline stitching on 2 of the motifs plus a bit of extra scrollwork. It is looking okay, but I'm concerned that the motifs are overall too large. It will mean that I can finish the thing, but I'm concerned that the lines aren't close enough together, and even with the speckling added, it will look unfinished since there isn't much fill to this design. I'm also rethinking the yellow and wishing I'd just done white since I'm not sure how much the gold thread and spangles are really going to show. MUST STOP OBSESSING OVER EVERY LITTLE DECISION. It's going to look beautiful. Really, I think it will. Besides that, after 100+ hours of working on this, it will be half covered by a hat, a huge ruff, and crazy hair. So, there we go.

I am having fun with this. So much that I think I'm going to need to make a schedule to get the kid's clothing done or I'll embroider non-stop for the next month. I also think I'm just going to decide now to not plan to have this done for October. I keep finding more things I want to make to go with it (like blackworked taffeta stocking tops-- assuming I don't knit silk stockings) so I think I'll just make a year deadline, and shoot for having it complete by my birthday in September next year and take it slow and steady. My husband will be incredibly grateful for the lack of panic as he's already started worrying.

So, more embroidery. I'll get some pictures once I've got a weeks worth of embroidery done, and will fill in with my August stash busting school clothes sewing. I've played twice a year "stash games" on sewing forums I used to haunt for the last 5 years and so am excited about a month long bulk sewing fest. I don't spend the time on them any more, but miss the challenge and focus of the game. Figured I'd do my own, complete with arcane point calculations. I'm rewarding myself with 5 yards of linen, wool or yurt canvas for every 25 yards of miscellaneous stash fabric busted so it should be a good showing (I really want to make the yurt, and I need fabric for petticoats and the pair of bodies and sleeves to match.) Trims, embellishments, buttons, elastic, and other notions will earn me more embroidery threads, reed, and perhaps some specialty accessories. I need to decide on my rules and goals before the August 1st.

AAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH! My 2 year old son decided it would be a really great idea to clip a large hole into the middle of my linen and destroy the coif. I suppose I should be happy that I only had one of the 30+ motifs done and that he did it on day one, rather than 3 weeks from now when I had a lot more time into it. I'm having a hard time looking on the bright side though. I'm also having a difficult time getting excited about re-drawing the design and starting over. I have enough linen left over, so that's not an issue at least. No place is high enough and nothing secure enough to protect things from destruction around here. It gets old really fast. It also does not excite me to get started on the kids fall clothes which are sure to be destroyed as well, if perhaps not in such a blatant manner. SIGH.

I think I might have an embroidery transfer pencil around here. Hopefully I can find that and maybe be able to just trace over the already drawn coif and then iron the pattern on to the new one. That sounds like something much more promising than getting to draw it all from a series of circles again.

I did finish the lace for the hem of the smock last night. I kept working on it just to be doing something dress related so I didn't throw in the towel and abandon the whole project last night (which was my knee jerk reaction to the destruction.) I need to firm up my decision on which pattern I'm using for the smock embroidery and decide if I'm going to make insert lace or not. The Bath smock has no hem lace, and the Wadham shift doesn't have the lace inserts. Doing both might just be overkill. Besides which, I don't have black edging on what I've made yet. I do like the look of the Bath smock more though.

Spent most of the morning getting the coif stretched so I can start the embroidery. Well, doing that and making oatmeal cookies which my daughter refuses to eat. She wants Tang instead. In squirt bags. Apparently, she is going into space. I suppose if I am dressing for Elizabethan court, she can dress to visit the moon. It only makes sense. She's been making a list of all the things she and her brother need for their expedition (I get to spell them so she can write them down.) I've been making a list of notions still to buy and tasks to do.

While she took a cartoon break, I crocheted a bit more lace for the smock. Didn't like the first attempt, so I started over with a different pattern. I was looking at Italian pattern books of bobbin and needle lace last night, trying to find one that I had an edging pattern similar to. Found one not too bad, but after this is done, I think I'll sit down and chart some closer reproductions of Venice lace and such. Sounds like a fun project, and its really what caused crochet to be popularized in the first place. But not now. As tempted as I am, I really need to get some progress on this dress if I have any hope of getting it wearable by October. I have enough lace for the cuffs and collar of the smock done. Still need to make some for the hem. I'm also considering doing some like this insert lace that is used on an extant smock in the
Costume Museum of Bath There's some on the top edge of the arm, at the armsyce, and down the side edge. Only issue is that I'd need to edge what I already finished in black to make it stand out and the pattern isn't really compatible with that. Or start over with the intent of shifting color in the first place. I may end up with a lot of edged towels to give away for wedding gifts if I keep changing my mind.

I am pretty much definite on shifting from the planned scarletwork to blackwork on the smock. Could still do the animals, but will probably do something more formal. I may eventually embroider some snails and peas on something for the astronaut in training though. She might appreciate it.

I didn't get the fan handle finished, but took a picture of what it looks like so far. There's also a big ol' pile of lace. It's progress! I also managed to buy linen and silk on a Sunday in Utah. It's a miracle!

I now understand how doilies happen. I just sort of got in a groove and kept going. I actually had to frog about 8 inches since I'd made too much when I got around to measuring late last night. I have never really enjoyed working with steel hooks and usually do larger work with bigger hooks. Used to be I wouldn't use much smaller than a Q and did a lot of afghans. I've moved down gradually and my hook of choice these days is an F, but I actually do a lot of work with a B. Haven't really done much with the steel hooks since I was a teenager and my mom tried to interest me in doilies and edgings for baby blankets, which have always been her favorite projects. Guess its like everything else, you just have to keep revisiting things to see if your views have changed.

Trying to decide if I'm going to start the coif embroidery next or do the lace for the smock. I'd really like to start the coif, but I don't have black silk on hand and can't buy any until at least tomorrow, and most probably not until after that since I'm going to have to try to track down a local source and will probably end up ordering online since its not exactly something you find at every store. Besides that, I'd like to get some spangles and probably should get a finer linen than I have. Really want to start NOW though. Ah well, the lace for the smock will probably be done just in time for the materials for the coif to arrive.

Got the fan mostly done yesterday. Not totally sold on the shape of the handle and think I'm going to round the bottom a bit more. Will need to do that, repaint, and re-affix the jeweled end/attachment to the girdle, but should get pictures at some point later today. I really like it for the most part. It was a fun project. I did end up using leather as a base, with two pieces attached on either side of the wooden spatula blank I used. There for awhile it resembled a flyswatter more than anything. I put on some turkey feathers to fill out the base shape (because they are cheap) but they didn't look very good. Ended up trimming them down to almost nothing and covering them with lots of ostrich feathers. They provided a bit of structure, but aren't at all visible, which is nice. The metal medallions look good, but need to be attached more strongly. Still thinking on that.

As I said, it was a fun project and I DO like it, but it is most certainly a costume piece. My fan has nothing in common with something that would have been made by a craftsman with the ability to make a real handle. That wouldn't normally bother me, but its beginning to irk me. For that matter, the lace is bothering me, despite how much I enjoyed making it. I like the fan, I really do, and it will work and keep me cool when used, but it really isn't an historical fan. Sort of interesting that the challenge of letting my inner costumer take on a big challenge has me wanting to head in the opposite direction and make beautiful, simple things that are fully realized, rather than something magnificently gaudy that is all window dressing. Praksedys is cheering and demanding an embroidered ubrus. I know I have a picture of a detail of one owned by Anastasia Romanovna Zakaryina-Yurieva somewhere. . .not that that remotely fits the bill of "simple."

Did a racking of my Midsummer Strawberry mead this morning. A wee taste was surprisingly good, especially as I don't like things that aren't smooth. Not too biting considering. Lovely sweetness, but not at all cloying, and the strawberry is very evident. It is already developing some really nice layers in flavor which has me super excited. Not quite as happy with the color. Its more of a blushing gold than anything. I suppose I was hoping for something a bit more pink or red. Not that I know anything about how its supposed to turn out yet since this is an early attempt. The color is really pretty though. It still needs a few more rackings. The strawberry seeds are insidious, but the clarity was generally pretty good and I'm all around pleased at how its going. It should be fabulous by next summer.

Need to decide what to make next, now that I have an empty carboy. I've got honey in the pantry, just waiting. I was going to try making a cherry vanilla, but never got around to getting cherries and the season is over. I was talking to a new friend on Tuesday who just got his first mead aged to drinkable. He did 20 gallons of carrot. (Apparently he never does anything small.) Sounds rather intriguing. My favorite smoothy has always been orange with carrot and I love glazed carrots-- they say celebration to me. Might go orange carrot rather than just the carrot, but I'm really considering it. Could be the perfect harvesty sort of blend for Lughnasadh or Mabon. Bet it would be wonderful with an oat bread.

Didn't get the fan made last night. I instead got obsessed with finishing off my current ball of thread and did another yard of lace. Just over 2 yards of the ruff lace is done as are both cuffs. If I remain obsessed I should finish it before Monday. Now I need to decide if I want to do linen and worry about the nightmare of starching it, or do organza and horsehair and make something a bit more permanent that looks closer to the delicacy of period linens. Not sure where to get the organza though. Everything I was looking at while searching last night was 100% polyester. There's no way I want that around my neck.

Pretty much decided on a blackwork pattern based on the Carew-Pole ruff that is the dust jacket on my copy of Mary Gostelow's book. Only issue is that it is originally on blue linen, so now I'm considering doing it on a color other than white. I was thinking a soft yellow would be beautiful with the dress. Colored coifs aren't common, but did occur occassionally. I suppose I'm doing enough other things loosely, that this won't matter. Starting to wonder if I'm going to do anything correctly though. Must break the mindset of getting creative and doing what looks good and do more accurate things. . . Yellow with black embroidery and some gilt and spangles would look so great though.

I was bobbing along, crocheting up a storm, and finished the first yard of ruff lace. Looking at said lace, which had taken me several days of work to finish, I said to myself, "There is no way that you need 10 yards of this. You have obviously calculated things WAY off." I then proceeded to take some paper, fold it up into about the size folds I want, measured how far it went around my neck, unfolded the paper and measured its edge and did new calculations. 4 yards. 4 yards is a MUCH better number. 4 yards might actually get done this weekend. Especially as Gandhi is out of town this weekend and is taking his computer with him so I have lot of time to fill.

It's too hot to do much else so sitting crocheting has actually been nice. I mocked up the coif and think I'm going to like it. Now I just have to finish making lace so I can start embroidering. Well, that and decide what embroidery to do. I kind of like the circular design that is on the cover of Mary Gostlow's Blackwork. The strapwork design done in buttonhole and herringbone is also quite pretty and I love doing buttonhole stitch. Trying to decide if I should change my original plans for a scarletwork smock in the cute animals and have the coif and smock match. the animals are so cute though. Not normally my thing, and I certainly don't want them on the coif, but they'd be fun to do and I wouldn't mind them on something I wore covered. Suppose if I did something in blackwork though and a bit more formal I could wear it with another gown and let it be exposed. Not that I have plans to make another Elizabethan gown. I am enjoying this though and wouldn't put the possibility past me.

I have all the components for the fan (which isn't in the portrait, but I decided I wanted one) and might give that a shot tonight after the kids go to sleep and I don't have to worry about them taking off with the feathers. Finishing something would be nice and it seems a pretty easy project. My only issue is that every instruction I've seen for one involves plastic canvas and hot glue. Not going to happen. Hot glue is not my friend. I always burn myself and it inevitably pops off. I'm going to try a flap of leather with the feathers stitched on and sandwich that in the medallions i have for the handle and see how that goes.

Lacemaking continues. I finished the second cuff last night and have about 3 inches done on the length I need for the ruff. Not much, but its a start I suppose. I spent most of yesterday making the pearled girdle. I didn't intend to start with accessories, but it makes sense since I have to make the underpinnings before I can start on the dress anyway and I need to wait until payday to buy linen and boning materials. Besides that, its the most fun part and if I don't do it now, I may not get them done in the last minute scramble.

The girdle is mostly done, but I really think it needs something. And yes, it doesn't look anything like the plain pearled girdle in the portrait. I actually like the original a great deal, but was afraid that getting that many matched pearls in that size to go around the great distance of my waist and down the front of the dress would further kill my budget. I had the pieces for this one already, and not buying more stuff for the outfit won out over perfect match.

I spent most of yesterday reading and plotting, but did make a symbolic start on the actual construction of the dress. I crocheted a cuff, just to see how long it would take. Yes, I know, crocheted lace is not period. I do not do either bobbin or needle lace though, and even if I did, 3 months would not be enough time to make the lace for cuffs and a ruff, let alone make the dress in addition. So, I chose to crochet it. I decided that handmade lace in natural fibers, regardless of the method it was made by, was better than machine-made lace in polyester and nylon. Besides that, a ball of crochet thread at a couple of dollars was much more affordable than 10 or so yards of lace at $5-$20 a yard for something remotely passable. I used the lightest commercially available crochet thread weight and my second to smallest hook, but it did not turn out very fine. The lace is basically the correct shape for ruff lace with a boxy bottom and pointed top section and has the advantage of being worked sideways so that I can determine length as I go rather than finishing the piece and realizing that I'm 2 inches short. I think it will look okay from 10 feet away, and the ruff will probably look better than the cuffs, as Lettice's cuffs are pretty flat rather than having much gather to them. ( Read more )

Amazing how things snowball. I went to buy elastic and came home with 18 yards of fabric. While fabric shopping I found the velveteen I'd been oogling on-line. It wasn't nearly as pretty in person. The colors were just as amazing, and the hand was really nice, but there was no depth to the print whatsoever. It was most definitely a print with no pretentions at being anything else. Ah well. But then I spotted it. A truly gorgeous black and gold brocade. Right next to it was a cotton/linen blend gold jacquard and next to that was a golden bronze embroidered taffeta that is going to be the perfect lining. And they were clearanced. And clearance fabrics were 50% off. Hence the fact that I now have the fabrics for the outer gown and didn't get the linen for the underpinnings.

I've been having loads of fun with my 13th Century Rus persona, but somewhere in the back of my head is a frustrated costumer jumping up and down demanding something more complicated. "Hey, hey! You know you can make something more than modified t-tunics right? A corset, baby. You need to make a corset. and a farthingale. and, and. . ."

She's just not going to shut up, so I've decided to humor her. Primarily because I find it humorous. There's going to be a "ladies of grace" tournament at the Las Vegas Ren Faire in October where I can fight in full court garb. Unfortunately, my persona's full court garb isn't nearly encumbering enough. (I tried to sell them on the fact that the hat is crazy and I'd build one to wear over my helm, but no one went for it.) So, here it is, the perfect opportunity to build a full on Elizabethan court noble outfit. Sure, it should be something I can get dirty and fight in. Am I going to do it that way? Hell, no. I'm making myself a show piece, 110% the way I really want it.

So, the plans begin. I only have until October, and I need to sew my children's fall wardrobe as well, in addition to making a second Elizabethan ensemble for my friend Rowsdower to play in the same tourney, and I really should finish the yurt I've been building, so planning is important. As is getting started. I have pretty much decided to do a Spanish style dress because it will be the easiest to meet skin coverage requirements for fighting in. The doublet is high necked and looks vaguely military and I think it'll be perfect for my needs. Not as pretty as a French style gown and I really do prefer the open ruff, but since I have some functional needs, its a great fit. Additionally, I'm trying to make Rowsdower's gown so I can swap his skirt (necessary for the "Ladies of Grace" tourney) for Venetians and have it be a male ensemble that he can wear more regularly rather than just have it be a one time novelty piece. Thank goodness women have been wearing "men's wear" for centuries and the Elizabethan doublet is basically gender neutral.

I think I have found a cotton velveteen I love that will work for the dress. Still need to decide what budget is going to be and if it will be just the forepart and sleeves or the base. Either way, I need to find something to coordinate with it and get the pattern drafted so I can calculate exact yardage requirements. Meanwhile, I'm going to start the underpinnings.

I first saw this redwork smock in Sarah Don's book Traditional Embroidered Animals and fell in love with the simple yet adorable motifs. I think I'm going to change out a few of the animals and flowers for others, but I'm pretty sure I will be keeping the acorns, the owl, the cockerel, and most probably the snails with the peapods. I was considering doing blackwork rather than red, but the Rus persona peeked her head in and vetoed that idea when the possibility of red embroidery came up. Besides, the dress is going to be red. As is the tall hat that Rowsdower is making me to go with it. I already have some linen on hand, but I'm afraid it isn't fine enough for this project since I bought it to make a rubakha (smock) for Praksedys (the Rus persona)that she could wear on its own on hot days when she felt like being peasanty. The only other linen I have right now is the linen canvas I got for my gambeson. Oh, darn, I have to buy more fabric. Handkerchief weight for the shift, and then I'm hoping to find a twill to make the pair of bodies.

Because of my size and not needing a wide neckline due to the Spanish style doublet, I think I'm going to try the Dorothea style corset. I already have my sloper done, so it shouldn't take much to adapt it to this. I'm a little concerned about the cups, the boned tabs, and the shoulder straps since I'm funny sized, square shouldered, large busted, and long waisted but hey, this IS supposed to be a challenge. I think drafting this is going to be this week's contribution to the cause. May as well jump in and start somewhere. Hopefully I can get the linen ordered tomorrow and I'll have the patterns for shift and the pair of bodies ready to go when it arrives. That would have me making the corset next week and get me started on the embroidery about the same time.

I got really excited about making Gandhi a wax tablet for his birthday. I didn't manage to get it done for his birthday as that happened to be my last week of school, but now that I'm finished with school my crafting can continue. We've been dabbling in historical recreation and I just couldn't imagine my geek husband without some form of notetaking device so I was really excited when I found these article shttp://www.zipworld.com.au/~zebee/tablet.htm http://www.randyasplund.com/browse/scribepg/tablets.html

They explain the how-to really well, but I wanted to share some pictures of my own version.

I'd been working on Lorelei's play food for her Christmas off and on as I had a spare minute when she wasn't around. They crocheted up really fast, but the pile of food items seemed so unfinished. I finally got a lightbulb moment just before Christmas. As a result it didn't get sealed (and I'm going to have to touch it up) but I'm pretty impressed with myself :).

I got a couple of wooden rounds and painted them black and some swirls became the "hot" part. Some wooden wheels became knobs. I got new pans from my mom for Christmas so Lorelei inherited a little pan of her own. She seems very pleased. She was making eggs with me while I cooked breakfast this morning.

Storage space for her food. I did a burger with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, and eggs and toast.

Can I just say, I LOVE seasonal pillowcases? There is nothing faster to make and you can never have enough of them (if you are me.) Everything just seems so much more festive when you wake up and go to sleep on something special.

I think this Shamash print of sledding bears is so cute, and the black starry background fits in with my color scheme for St. Nicholas Day gifts. For those who aren't aware, St. Nick's day is Dec 6th and it is traditional to fill stockings. I am excited to tell the kids the legend of St. Nicholas saving the 3 dowerless girls with gifts of gold. Its also nice to have a spot to give the little seasonal gifts that always seem to be too late when given at the end of the month.

So, 4 pillowcases to stuff in stockings.

The hats are for my kid's 12 days of Christmas. (Yes, I am crazy and celebrate as often as possible throughout December: St. Nick's, 12 days, Christmas, Solstice etc. I LOVE the idea of a month long festival at the darkest time of the year.) I still need to make Demetri some mittens. His hands are tiny though so I still need to find or fudge a pattern.

I wanted Lorelei's mittens to match her hat perfectly and the yarn was the wrong weight for my mitten pattern so I did probably the most hairbrained thing I have done (at least in the last month) I unplyed the yarn. A 1 hour project suddenly took 2 days. :yikes: Umm. note to self. Don't Do That Again!

I am far too easily distracted. (and probably have too many craft supplies.) While attempting to find yarn to make my husband a scarf I came across a couple of random skeins of eyelash yarn and decided they needed to be used now. I wanted something non-wearable since I've been doing so many sweaters, shrugs, hats etc. This is the result.

In case any one has a desire to make their own here's what I did.

Materials: wire, size K crochet hook, 1 skein ribbon yarn (I used Provo Craft Knifty Knitter Green) 1 skein eyelash yarn or fun fur (I used Moda Dea Kickx)

1. Make a star and a circle from wire. The heaviest I had was 14 gauge, but 12 gauge or heavier would have been better. A wire hanger would have been perfect.

2. Tie the points where the wire crosses itself and where the star contacts the circle. This doesn't need to be totally secure as you will be crocheting around the spots and making it more durable.

3. Tie ribbon yarn to wire and single crochet around. Yarn over the wire and single crochet as usual. Bunch the stitches as you go so they are loose and full. Join to first stitch when you get around and crochet around the star.

4. Crochet around a second time.

5. Attach eyelash yarn and sc around shape over the top of ribbon yarn. The ribbon yarn will show through.

6. Continue crocheting around just the circle. You want it to have greater coverage than the star so it is fuzzier.