Failure and Success go Hand-in-Hand

I think I'll begin here with a complete fail. This is our yarmulke-wearing friend completed out. Well, not so much completed as…well…all was pretty lost at the point of the cranium here so I skipped wasting any more thread on the colors in the middle and went straight for the black detail and the flames in the eyes, to make sure that would work alright. It actually didn't. When the black got to the left "ear" area, the machine had reached it's distance limit and could go no further to complete the stitch around the outside. More measuring and more notes. The next file would be a little bit smaller.

The next attempt was to see if the total stitch count could be reduced by using a fabric applique background rather than solid stitching. This seemed to work quite well and the mottled grey fabric really added to the overall design. This test was the black and red colors only and the design was rotated on the computer before loading it into the embroidery machine. That idea failed on the eyes. The skull rotated but the pattern didn't. Best to let me do any pattern rotations within the Big Bad Barudan to avoid any surprises.

The third time is the charm…it better be because this time we took it "live" and put it on an actual Dickies button-down workshirt. No room for error or we lose a shirt!
We kept the applique-type background, and I rotated the pattern so that the eye-flame stitch effect would be going in the right direction. This one was a success!

Comments

Wire Wrap Cuff Bracelet Preview

Well, "finished" in the wirework sense. I still need to give it a patina...yukky pic, but I was so excited to be finished with the wire part... I call this my " Three Tutorial Bracelet ". When I first saw the wire-wrapped bracelets made by Julie Sigmund of Jewlie Beads my jaw hit the floor! I was perusing the Lampwork Etc. galleries last September/October and saw her bracelets: WOW! They were "just my style" made with mixed copper and silver and highlighted with a lampwork bead. What could be better? Why... a tutorial or pattern, of course! Eventually she wrote up the tutorial and put it up for sale on Etsy. This is the bracelet that she wrote the tutorial for: To purchase your own copy of Julie's tutorial go to JewlieBeads.etsy.com and look in her shop for the " Tutorial for Wire Wrapped Cuff Bracelet ". As you can see, I did not use a lampwork bead focal for my bracelet. It isn't that I don't have one, I had one all ready to go,

What is the Legal Definition of ‘Ice Cream’?

Image via Wikipedia I never thought I would have to ask that question. I was at the grocery store. I wanted ice cream. Not just any ice cream, chocolate ice cream. The suggestion had been put into my head during a recent Twitter conversation—I'm easily influenced when it comes to dessert foods. The ice cream selection at the local supermarket is unbelievable…it's huge! I don't buy ice cream very often but I do know that I can just pass the frozen yogurt, ‘lite’, soy, rice, non-dairy, sorbet, and otherwise marked package right by. If I'm going to eat ice cream, I want ice cream, full-fat and full-flavor. This particular grocery store didn't carry my favorite (and trusted) brand, Blue Bunny , so I was forced to find an alternative. Pint-sized premiums like Ben & Jerrys , Haagen Dazs , or Starbucks were out. A pint is [almost] too much to eat in one sitting but since any amount left in a pint is "too little to save, I might as well eat it all…"

Jewelry Class In-a-Box

Jewelry Class In-a-Box! I have always been crafty and love to work with my hands. I love needle arts, crochet is my favorite and the first of the arts that I learned at the tender age of 6. I started beading just four short years ago. I was looking for something to do for "extra income", something fun and crafty. I found my passion at the local Joann Craft and Fabrics in Kissimmee, Florida, in a package called Jewelry Class in-a-Box . Hey, it was on sale—something like 40 or 50% off. Couldn't pass THAT up! I had really not made any type of beaded item before. I had done some on-loom bead weaving and had made a couple of crochet necklaces from yarn but had never created a strung beaded object so it was all new to me. The kit came with glass pearls, crystals, bugle beads, metal beads, beading wire, crimps, clasps, head 7 eye pins, earring findings, a bead board, and some round-nose-type pliers. I followed the written instructions carefully and was

Rachelle Keller

Search This Blog