Ornaments -- I can't stop myself!

I'm having an Ornament-making Party in a few weeks.  I don't know why I've never thought of this before given that I make ornaments every year for teacher gifts, present toppers, and for my own enjoyment.  I'll post about all the party projects eventually but here are a few ornaments that I've made in anticipation of the Ladies Night Out shopping event that I'm participating in later this week.

These are tiny trees made from scraps of cashmere.  The base is a vintage thimble.  To make them, I first secured a wire in the bottom of the thimble.  Then, I filled in the thimble with some beads to act as a kind of tree skirt.  Once all that was dry, making these was a snap.  I cut some of my varied green cashmere scraps into 6 different sizes of squares.  I used a muffin tin to keep them all separated and then sat there stacking up the squares and threading them onto the wire.  A loop at the top and a little circle of gold wool to act as a star -- super cute and super easy once the gluing is done.  I also made some of these in shades of ivory but I'm using a white tree so the green looks better.  I'm actually using these as the party favor for my ornament party but I had a few extra so I'm putting them in my sale.  I know they're going to sell.  So cute.  Vintage thimbles can be found for about $1 each on Ebay.  I love the little brass-colored ones.

Next up is owls.  I have a giant stash of plaid wool from thrifted skirts.  As you remember from my penguin stocking, I like to mix and match and these little owls are so cute!  I modified a design I had seen on Pinterest and made myself a pattern.  It's all hand-sewn and stuffed with a little bit of my cashmere and wool scraps.  I can't bear to throw even a little bit of cashmere away...  I really love the black and white owl with the contrast red stitching.  The earth-toned owls look just like some of the color variations you find in nature, don't they?  These owls are one of the projects for the ornament party.

 Some of the women coming to my party don't sew.  Not even a button.  So, this will be a little bit of a stretch for them.  It's all done in one long thread.  First you sew on the belly, then continue up and around the outside.  When you reach the point, you add some extra stitches to act as a beak before continuing down the other side.  Just before finishing, you stuff a bit inside.  You don't use much stuffing because the final step is to fold down the point and secure it with 2 buttons.  I think the stitching on the buttons really makes it look like eyes.  I used twine as a hanging cord on these so they had a more rustic feel.  Super cute.

Finally, today, I'll showcase the cupcakes.  I had hoped to use this as a project for the party but there's just too many steps and too much glue.  Using Pinterest as a resource, I saw lots of options for these.  I ended up using a cut-up toilet paper tube as my interior structure.  I would have never thought of that.  Naturally, the ribbing from some cashmere sweaters makes the perfect "wrapper."  I glued a cashmere circle on the bottom of the tube and then hand stitched the ribbing onto the tube and around the circle.  After the glue dried, I cut out 5" circles of cashmere, ran a running stitch around the outside, and pulled to make a kind of yo-yo.  I stuffed that and the tube with cashmere/wool scraps and then glued the muffin top to the bottom.  Again, I let the glue dry.

After drying, I threaded a long doll-making needle with my cord and ran the cord all the way up from the bottom, through the top, and back down.  Knot and loop at the top and a knot at the bottom.  This also served to secure the entire structure top to bottom.  On some, I ran some trim around the join between top and bottom because I didn't love the way it looked.  After all of this, I got out my beads and sequins and embellished the top of the muffin.  Way more involved than I had hoped this project would be.  I scrapped the idea of using it for the party because we just can't be bothered with waiting for glue.

Next post I'll tell you all about my little Christmas sweaters.  I came up with a great way of making little tiny hangers for them!

An amazing scarf series.

 Last year I made a few of these scarves.  A friend suggested I pursue a silk scarf backed in cashmere.  Being who I am, I had to find some kind of source for second-hand silk.  Enter Ebay and the fabulous search term, "recycled sari."  All of the silk in these scarves came from used saris.  Saris use about 5 yards of fabric because the fabric is wound around and around the body and then up and over one shoulder.  That's why you also see fantastic border prints or embroidery on most silk used for saris.  How do I know this?  I'm not Indian but once I was in an opera about Gandhi.  It was with Seattle Opera and I was in the chorus.  All the women got to wear these amazing saris as part of our costume.  Strange experience -- music by Philip Glass.  Need I say more?

But, I digress.  Saris have great border detailing and this panel is no exception.  It is a fawn/taupe color and the embroidery is brass with a little black.  Very detailed and intricate.  I did hesitate before cutting it up, but I have 3 amazing scarves and tons of silk still available so I'm sharing the wealth.

I washed the silk on gentle in the washer and hung it to dry.  Silk tears along the grain just like wool so cutting the panels into scarf-sized pieces was super easy.  The cashmere was cut 10 inches wide in as big of pieces as I could eke out of my bin of sweaters.  The finished scarf is about 9 1/2 by 65 inches.

On 2 of the scarves I used ivory cashmere for the backing.  I am a total sucker for all ivory and I really think using the neutral allows the embroidery to shine.  For the silk panel with the most blue (from the center of the fabric) I went with blue cashmere in a range from bright royal blue to pale blue to indigo and sky blue.  Stunning.  The effect is less subtle than the ivory versions but I think it will appeal to those who want a bigger splash of color near their face.

The scarves are listed in my Etsy shop for $75 plus shipping.  Last year I sold out of all the silk/cashmere scarves I made.  I have a feeling these ones are going to fly.

Radiant orchid

 First, I want to say that I made this scarf BEFORE Pantone named Radiant Orchid as the Color of the Year.  Truth.

I've been making pieced, recycled cashmere scarves for almost 10 years.  I've grown weary of the same 5-inch strips sewn back-to-back, using the ribbing as fringe.  My friend, Anne Marie, mentioned that her favorite scarf ever was a cashmere scarf that was backed in silk.  Well, that got me thinking...

 I had a piece of silk purchased years ago in some of my favorite shades of purple.  And, I had bags and bags of cashmere scraps all color sorted.  I went to work finding cashmere scraps that matched my piece of silk.  Using the scraps as my guide, I determined that I'd have to cut my strips 1 1/2 inches wide to maximize the scraps I had.  I am all about making something out of nothing and this project is right up my alley.

After cutting all the scraps into strips, I cut them cross-wise into different lengths.  Everything was a multiple of 2 1/2 inches.  This way I could lay them out like a brick wall (just like my iPad cover) and the cross seams would be offset and, therefore, stronger.  Some strips were longer if the scrap allowed for that, but most of the little pieces are the smallest size:  1 1/2" X 2 1/2".

There are 93 pieces of cashmere in this scarf.  I counted.

 The scarf is about 10 inches by 60 inches finished.  And, it is a stunner.  I wear it quite a bit because I have an eggplant-colored down jacket and I wear a lot of purple day-to-day.  By twisting the scarf as I'm putting it on, I end up with both cashmere and silk against my neck which is pure heaven.

Yes, it took a long, long time to find the right colors, cut those little tiny pieces of cashmere, and sew them all together.  But, the result is certainly worth all that effort.

Then I got to thinking, "How can I make a similar scarf inexpensively enough to be able to sell at a reasonable price on Etsy?"  I started looking on Ebay for vintage silk and came across some vintage sari's from India.  Bingo.

Below are some shots of the other scarves I made for sale.  The sari's cost about $25 and contain massive amounts of yardage.  Probably 4 yards or more.  Often, the ends are intricately patterned as you see with the green scarf.  I washed the sari's on gentle in my washing machine and dried them with no heat.  Another bonus:  silk can be torn on the grain just like wool.  This makes tearing the silk yardage a 5-minute piece of cake.  I made these scarves slightly longer (65") and slightly narrower (10" unfinished) because I found my orchid scarf to be a little thick and a little short.  Still wearable, of course, but the slightly longer length of the new version is just right.  I made 3 of the green and 5 of the maroon/black/grey.  All sold very, very quickly at a price of $75.  The maroon style was made because the colors of my boys' school are maroon and black.  So, all 5 of those sold to fellow moms at school.  And, I still have a ton of silk left for more.  The cashmere pieces are 10" wide and various lengths and that's the hardest part to source.  That's a big piece of cashmere so you can't use the sleeves unless it's a very large sweater.  I use the sleeves for my gloves and cut scarf pieces out of the fronts and backs.  A great project and very successful.  I hope you agree!

Upcycled cashmere beret -- embellished with wool and beads

I have a big head.  Finding hats is tricky.  Finding cute hats that I actually want to wear is even harder.  So, when I saw this great beret by this amazing artist, I knew I had to give it a try.  Here's the link:
 http://www.michelemademe.com/2011/01/berry-n-bird-beret-hey.html

The detail on the denim outside is fantastic.  Appliqued birds, embroidered branches, etc.  And, it's reversible.  The artist used the basic instructions from Martha Stewart's wool beret project shown below on the right. (link:  http://www.marthastewart.com/270781/woolen-beret?xsc=eml_crd_2011_12_01&om_rid=Nsho$1&om_mid=_BO13yqB8d7QdZx)

I decided to make my own beret.  I had two cashmere sweaters, a beautiful charcoal grey and a raspberry.  And, of course, lots of wool.  For the first time EVER, I made a muslim pattern using Martha Stewart's template.  I didn't have extra fabric and could not mess this up.  Plus, as mentioned, I have a big head and was fully expecting the pattern to be too small.  I was right.  But, by extending the panels to be about an inch longer, I got the greater circumference I needed.  

I put the grey on the outside and raspberry on the inside.  I had to do all embellishment before sewing it together, though, and this is where the fun began.  I found this great inspiration for the leaves. ( http://suespargo.blogspot.com/2011/10/misa-madeline-island-wi.html )  Photo on the left.  They are incredibly detailed.  Hand-dyed wool adds to the depth.  Embroidery well beyond my meager skill set.  But, I got out all my green wools and started to play.  My beret is on the right.  

Not bad, huh?  I really love how it came out.  I wear it all the time.  It matches any color coat and is super warm.  My favorite discovery was beading while doing blanket stitch.  In the small picture on the right you can see the result.  By adding a bead on each stitch, the beads end up perfectly outlining the applique.  Fabulous.  You know I'm not an embroiderer by trade so these little tricks really add to my arsenal.

For the inside (which has yet to be worn on the outside!) I just did a simple bird in a grey overdyed plaid.  He's cute.  I just always seem to wear the beret grey side out.

I made this in December of 2012.  My goal was to try a new technique and make something fabulous every month.  I think I succeeded that month for sure.  Stay tuned for more of the projects I completed in early 2013.

A real stunner

I'm working on scarves right now.  I probably had about 20 cashmere sweaters in all different colors.  These were a huge seller for me last year and I like making them.  It's similar to my patchwork purses of years ago but the cashmere makes them very luscious and very decadent.

This one is so pretty I thought I'd post some shots.  Usually one sweater becomes the inspiration for the scarf.  In this case, of course, it was the argyle.  A major find at the thrift store.  The argyle was only on the front of the sweater.  The back and sleeves were the beautiful turquoise color.  Then I had some pale green cabled cashmere and some butter yellow.  Funny how butter yellow looks good in almost any combination.  The final sweater in the combo was an amazing pale blue given to me by my good friend, Katie.  The sweater was vintage and the color was the precise color of robins' eggs.  Pale blue with tiny flecks of yellow and green.  Perfectly subtle and, well, perfect.

I always use the ribbing of the sweater for my fringe.  The vintage sweater had about 6 inches of ribbing but I only cut about half of it into fringe.  The edges are pinked and the double layer of cashmere makes for an amazingly luxurious scarf.

By the end of next week I'm hoping to have all the different scarf combinations listed on my Etsy shop.  http://www.ragingwool.etsy.com/   I listed this one yesterday afternoon and have already had 2 convos about it.  Sometimes you just know something is going to get a lot of attention, yes?

One of my repeat customers told me "It's almost RagingWool season."  I loved that and couldn't agree more.

We're off to New Hampshire for a reunion this weekend.  More sewing starting Monday morning.  Have a great weekend yourself.

Martha would be proud

Well, it took 3 days. I pulled every last bin and pile and shopping bag out of the cedar closet and arranged it in the outer area of the basement. Stuff I forgot I had. Stuff I should have never bought in the first place. And, happily, lots of really great stuff.

Everything has been reorganized by color and fiber. Labels on every bin tell me what's inside. No more opening 5 bins to find the item I need. I've got separate bins for dyeing supplies, felting supplies, out-of-season purses (lots of these), etc. And, I've put all my raw materials in separate bins.

Here's the woven wool:

The cashmere:

The cashmere scraps and the knitted wool:

Sadly, I only managed to put together a small bag of stuff for the Goodwill. I feel like I should save leftover upholstery fabric from house projects in case of a spill or tear or a needed repair. So, that's about half a bin. I also saved trims because you never know when you need some fringe. I should put that on a t-shirt, yes? "Life goes better with fringe." I like it.

I also saved lots of big pieces of recycled sweater. I started making some fingerless gloves this winter and they were a big hit. So, I want to do some more for the fall.

My favorite bin has all my purse supplies finally (FINALLY) in one place. Handles, magnetic snaps, webbing, lining material, patterns (all made by me), etc. It's going to be such a time-saver.

Next I want to tackle my dining room cupboard with all the beads, embroidery supplies, and other miscellaneous, small crafts. After that, The Yarn.

Wish me luck!

Featured on Try Handmade

I've spent quite a bit of time looking for blogs that interest me. I follow some that focus on recycled fiber or sewing or wool. But, one of my favorites is Try Handmade. It covers all those topics and many more. Every day I have an e-mail with a new post from Try Handmade. And imagine my delight when today's e-mail from them had an article featuring ME!!

A few weeks ago they convo'd me on Etsy to ask permission. The article is about love and hearts. The choices of items are inspired -- each is totally unique and each demonstrates the point-of-view of the artist. The article is here: http://tryhandmade.com/feel-the-love/

My item featured is one of my recycled cashmere hearts:

I'm really proud of these and am so flattered someone else likes them too!

In the Valentines Spirit!

I love hearts. I have a small collection of them on the windowsill right above my desk. I have paper, fiber, ceramic, glass, and metal hearts. My newest addition is this one:

You all know I deal with a lot of recycled cashmere. And, when I cut the strips for my scarves, I end up with a lot of waste pieces. I just can bear to throw them out. The smallest bits go into a big bag to be used as stuffing or fill. The larger pieces are sorted by color and carefully saved.

Over the holidays I saw some wreaths on various blogs using the rosette technique for this heart. You take a simple circle of fabric (these were 1 1/2 inch in diameter). Fold it in half, fold in half again, and tack it down. I used double thread and two stitches so they're each secured by four threads.

The base fabric is wool plaid from a thrift shop skirt. I make the base, stuff it with my cashmere off cuts, and stitch it closed before adding the rosettes. Finished size is about 5 1/2 by 5 1/2. I could look at the color range and fiber detail all day long. Hope you like it, too.

New Year, New Projects!

January and February are usually the most creative months of the year for me. No pressure from the holidays, no baseball season, and lots of cold weather keeping me indoors.

I've been buying old cashmere. Anyone that frequents the thrift shops knows that they put all the sweaters away at the end of January and don't bring them back out until the end of August. So, if you're one to use recycled wool or cashmere, you better have your act together this month!

So, yes, I've been buying old cashmere. My absolute limit in a thrift store is $12 for a sweater. And, it has to be BIG and a great color. Or, ivory is OK since I like to dye things. I've been focusing on blues lately. A lot of my women's scarves in the fall were pastels. I did some in purple and those sold very quickly. I think people may be tired of pastels. So, moving on. Plus, I'm making a gift scarf for a dear friend and she has the bluest eyes you've ever seen.

Along with the scarf-making, I have a new product: fingerless gloves. These are very popular right now. So many people have touch screen phones or need their fingers for texting. Full finger gloves can be a pain.

To make the gloves, I traced my own hand on a piece of card stock. Then, I cut out two pieces (mirror image) in recycled wool and two pieces in recycled cashmere. Stacked them up with the cashmere on the inside and just sewed them all together with the seams on the outside. Simple, yes, but not a finished product.

I loved the cashmere lining and wanted a bit of it to show on the wool side. So, I came up with the idea of making the cashmere longer on the top, the thumb, and the wrist. The width is exactly the same as the wool. Only the parts that will fold over are longer. See the pictures for my actual pattern and the resulting pieces cut out.

Before the final sewing, I had to sew the cashmere fold-over parts. I used a narrow zigzag in a contrasting thread and sewed all three edges. I pinked the cashmere below the stitching. Then, I was ready to sew the final product. Right (wool) sides together, stitch the side and thumb seams, trim very close, and press.

I listed 2 pair of these on Etsy over the weekend and they've both already sold. Now there are 2 other pair listed including this floral pair featured. Before listing, I did a comparison and my price ($22) is quite reasonable, especially for gloves that are cashmere lined. See them on my shop: http://www.ragingwool.etsy.com/ . I'm making a few more pair just to use up some wool that's laying around. Then, onto the blue scarves!!

Leaf scarf is done!

Here's a photo of my leaf-embellished scarf. Lisa has been sick but we're hoping to take our runway pics on Friday. Until then, here's the finished product. It's also listed on my Etsy shop: http://www.ragingwool.etsy.com/ .

Cool new embellishment idea!

Here's a new thought for embellishing recycled cashmere. The pictures tell the tale. It all started with a rather blase' camel-colored sweater. Too boring for use. So I over-dyed the cashmere with Cushing's Copenhagen Blue. The result is a beautiful hand-dyed soft blue that is definitely NOT boring.

So I'm ready to turn the strips into a scarf. I had wanted to try some reverse applique -- where the applique is actually underneath the main fabric rather than on top. You stitch your design and then cut away, revealing the accent color.

For the blue, I chose a nice butter yellow, almost a cream. I cut a 5-inch strip to match the 5-inch width of the blue. The yellow I had was only about 4 inches tall so I had to be careful in stitching. I thought a leaf motif would be nice. To make sure I didn't go over the edge of the yellow, I stitched with the yellow side up. Pretty smart, huh?

Once the leaves were stitched, I cut away the bits I didn't need, leaving a beautiful pattern at the ends of the scarf.

I'll post a picture of the finished scarf as soon as my friend, Lisa, comes over to model tomorrow.