sheer beaded top
Such a beautiful piece, I didn’t even care that some of the beads were loose. And after about an hour with a very tiny needle and some thread, they’re all secured. Now I just need something to conceal the fact that this top was apparently sewn onto something else. The bottom hem is a bit funky where the “separation” happened. Maybe some stretch lace?
Here’s a little trick I discovered recently that has made a big difference in my work: Photograph your project at various stages to get an “objective” point of view. That’s not very clear, so let me explain a bit. One day I was embellishing a camisole, decided it was done, and took some shots so I could put it online. When I looked at the images, I realized that it seemed incomplete, so I added a few things, reshot it, and decided it was really finished this time. And it worked! The cami sold and now I photograph quite a few pieces as they’re being put together.
Here’s another example — this sweet little camisole needed some help, so I added pale green lace and some pretty yarn around the neckline. Cute! Then I photographed it:
cami before
In real life, it looked quite nice, but in the photograph, it just sort of sits there. I realized that since visitors can’t see the real thing (duh!), all they have is the image to go by. And so far, this camisole doesn’t have enough going for it to get anyone to hit the “Buy” button.
After dithering over what to do next, I decided to get rid of the attached ties (you can barely see them hanging on either side) and add a pretty ribbon instead. Here’s how it looks now:
Big difference, yes? I plan on getting rid of the bow in front and using a fabric flower instead. Then it will be really and truly done. And I’m photographing everything as I work on it, to get a better idea of how pieces look to visitors.
Just got an order for a custom shawl from one of my favorite people. This is going to be a beauty (I can say that, right?). Check out this palette! I love having customers with such exquisite taste!!
Yes, just in time for summer — a wool necklace! But when the muse strikes, she strikes — and she doesn’t seem to pay much attention to the seasons. So here we are with a partially done, reversible necklace, made with the most gorgeous yarn (thank you, KadabrosWoolYarn!!). One side is decorated with vintage buttons and the other is going to dazzle with many tiny lavender beads. That side’s not done yet, but here’s the general idea:
Now back to work! Lots more partially done pieces to finish this weekend!
A big box of vintage doilies and lace arrived the other day. It’s amazing how much work must have gone into making these pieces, so I’m trying to use them in ways that highlight that. The first project is a bit of an experiment. I’ve had this vintage purse for a few years. It’s in excellent shape overall, but the beige jute, or whatever the fiber it’s made from is, is discolored. It’s not terrible, but it’s not very appealing, either.
I’ve taken the bag to a shoe repair person, but he said it couldn’t be cleaned without ruining it. So here’s what I’m doing — covering the white portion with a gorgeous old doily. It’s a bit tricky sewing it into place, but it looks so much better than leaving the center section a dirty white. The only problem is you can still see the dirty white parts through the doily. Maybe this one needs to be put on hold until I find a better solution.
Good news! I found a purse restorer who was able to clean the white areas of the purse and now it looks great! Soon to be posted at my new TheCraftStar shop — Back in the Day Vintage.
My latest, and the first in a series of coin purses.
So exciting — finally there’s time to make things again. For some strange reason, I’m really into these tiny coin purses right now. Maybe it’s because they can be finished quickly, even though these have a lining. I couldn’t find a pattern, so I made it up. One of these days, I’ll write it down and post it here. Fun to make and only needs a small amount of yarn.
I love using up leftover yarn! There was just enough of these two yellows to make a hat. It’s much cuter on someone, so if I find a new victim model, I’ll post another shot. 
Leftover yarn put to good use in a striped hat. The pattern is “Poppy” from Interweave via KnittingDaily. Fun and easy, knit on straight needles and seamed later. It’s supposed to have flowers and beads, but it’s kind of nice just as is. (Click on the image to get a larger, more detailed view.)
Think of it as a work in progress. This is the first time I tried this technique and the result is not perfect, but at least it looks like it’ll work with a few changes.
The idea was to make a partially felted bracelet by combining a beautiful hand-spun wool yarn with an eyelash yarn in similar colors.
The surface of the bracelet would be decorated with “beads” of plain wool on top. I knit a bracelet-size piece, about 8″ long and 2″ wide, and then stitched little mounds of the wool yarn on top and did the felting thing.
The problem is I didn’t make the wool beads big enough, so I added more yarn for the next trip through the washing machine and the new yarn didn’t mesh well with the original beads. The end result isn’t bad — okay, it is pretty awful! — but it’ll be a lot better next time!
naughtymonkeys 
