Macrame All the Way!

I love learning new skills.  And I needed a plant hanger.  So I took up macrame and added another craft to my craft-lexicon.  Its relaxing.  But its not passive.  Its a lot of reaching (especially if you are working on a large piece).  But the results are really nice.  Its not the cheapest of hobbies, thicker rope is pretty pricey, so you don't want to waste it.  

But it is kinda quick, and the things you can make are really nice.  And its pretty quick to learn.  You can make nice things with 2 knots, and then you can learn a bunch of knots if you are so inclined.

This is the first thing I made.  I went for it.  And I learned a lot while making this, even though it only used 3 knots.  It hangs in my bedroom as part of Operation: Macrame my bedroom.  I'm going for a whimsical, but light theme for my bedroom, and this def fits.  It is pretty large too.  A little ambitious for my first macrame hanging, but I'm glad I powered through.

The other hanging I made for my bedroom is this plant hanger.  I got this lovely pot at the nursery I buy my plants from.  And its looks lovely.

I have a lot of plants.  So learning this has allowed me to hang my plants around.  One of my friends said it looks like "a hug for a plant." It does.

I have enough plant hangers, so I started looking for things I could make with knotted rope.  So I started making these coasters since I wanted some for our nightstands.  And I think they looked pretty cute.

I really enjoyed learning this, and I'm thinking of other ways I can incorporate macrame into my crafts.  Ooooh, maybe a lamp shade?

Hand Sewn Patches (Iron-On because I did enough sewing)

For the past few weeks, I've been obsessed with embroidering iron-on patches for my jacket.  

You see, I couldn't find my favourite denim jacket when I was changing my closet over to fall and winter clothing (because I have a small closet, I store off-season clothes).  I was really sad, and I knew I'd miss it, so I bought a new one.  But, then I found it-- Of course I did.  So now I have one that I want to sew patches onto.  And since my tastes run, ahem, weird, I wanted to make my own.  And that's how it started.

I still haven't figured out my style.  I like super detailed things, so the patches I've made have a lot of details.  I waver between botanical illustrations, and graffiti.  Extreme. 

This bee was the first one I completed.  It was, ah, a little ambitious for my first one, but I like how it turned out.  

The process is kind of long though.  First I need an idea of a patch I want to make.  Then I sketch it out in a notebook, or on some paper.  Then I ink up the sketch so that I can see the lines to trace it onto the cloth. I trace it onto the cloth (I use cotton broadcloth for the backing).  I put my cotton and my stabilizer fabric onto the hoop, and start sewing.  I mostly stitch at night.  Its pretty calming.  

I've been saying "Dope" a lot since I got this shirt from my aunt:

So, you know... it made its way into my art.  And just because I think it so pretty, here's my organized embroidery floss container:

Sigh.  I love it when things are in rainbow order.