Good luck charm

On By CarynIn Craft

It is traditional for Sweet Adelines to give small gifts of encouragement or luck in the time leading up to contest. Last year I crocheted worry worms, this year I made small four leaf clover charms from dyed green leather.

Photo description: suede side of a 1 inch charm cut from green leather, sitting on my hand

I designed the cut out in Adobe Illustrator. The grouping of four hearts represents the four voices of Barbershop Harmony. I originally wanted to do a fill engrave, then a cut out, but overall processing time would be 1.3 minutes each. I needed 60 charms. I redesigned the charm to be cuts only, using open slits to delineate the heart-shaped leaves, which dropped the processing time to 18 seconds each. The slits can also be used to hang the charm on a keyring or similar. I’m quite pleased with the number of pieces I was able to cut from a 12” square of leather.

Photo description: view through the yellow window of the WeCreat blue diode laser cutter to show the tight formation of clover shapes

I did lose three cuts on the left because the leather wasn’t completely flat, but all the other charms came out well. The laser does leave a charred edge, so I washed all the charms with water to remove the soot, then let them dry overnight.

I designed, printed, and cut flat cards and used glue dots to mount the leather charms to the cards.

Photo description: 60 Good Luck cards with leather charms that have my quartet logo “Precious Tones” with the words “A small good luck charm for a big moment. Go Shine!”

Guanaco

On By CarynIn Craft

I have obtained my most expensive fiber to date. Camaj Fiber Arts had a sale on Guanaco fiber, which is harvested from wild animals in South America. Because they are not domesticated animals, the fiber is harder to obtain, hence the cost.

Photo description: 1/2 ounce of Guanaco combed top fiber with an information sheet provided by Camaj Fiber Arts

I will not be blending this fiber, but spinning it pure and making swatches for my fiber books.

And yes, vicuña is on my wish list, along with qiviut.

Not in the mail box

On By CarynIn Insects

I have a red paper wasp that is trying really hard to establish a nest in our mailbox.

Photo description: paper wasp nest knocked down from the back of a white mailbox

The wasp flies out when I open the box, and I remove the nest when I get the mail. I’m hoping eventually she’ll look for a different spot.

Throwback Thursday: rocks

On By CarynIn art, Craft, Uncategorized

In April 2017 our rock painting hobby started. I read about “Kindness Rocks” a national movement to leave messages of hope and art for people to find and keep, if they wanted, or hide for someone else to find. The movement has since gone global, and although our painting isn’t as frequent now, we still do paint and hide and I still find other’s painted rocks around town.

Photo description: nine painted rocks with art or inspirational sayings painted in acrylics

Since the start I have learned that sealing the rocks with a clear coat of UV protectant helps them last a little longer outside. The thicker the coat of paint, the more likely it is to crack and peel with the freeze thaw cycles. The rocks that keep their messages the longest have only the message or drawing, not an undercoat.

Photo description: rocks in my garden that have weathered several winters, many have lost their message because the undercoat flaked away

Ring thimble

On By CarynIn Craft

I was reading about Japanese Sashiko, an embroidery method that often goes through many layers of cloth for mending and reinforcing. The post talked about a ring thimble, where the pocked metal sits inside a knuckle on the palm of the hand, rather than a fingertip. I purchased one to try, then had the opportunity to test it while working on alterations for contest costumes.

Photo description: burgundy sequined fabric in the background, ring thimble on my first finger while my hand is holding the needle

This is by far the most comfortable and least awkward thimble I have ever used. It is in a good position for easily pushing the needle, but stays nicely out of the way when I’m stitching. It is adjustable, so I was able to easily fit it to my finger. Cap style thimbles are inevitably the wrong size for my finger tip. I do have a 3 in 1 thimble, thread cutter, and needle puller, which is useful, but a bit awkward. The ring thimble was very helpful pushing the needle through multiple layers of fabric, especially near seams.