Monday, June 20, 2011

Bear with me >_<;;

For a while I'll probably be editing the look and feel of this place. I don't want it to be too hard for people to read, but I also want it to be visually appealing. We'll see how it goes. Until then, keep being awesome!

Bless your face

P.S. If you sneezed while reading this, bless you. ^_^

Fire, Pointy Things and War

Drums of War has come and passed, and what an event it was! From competitions to classes to the fighting, there was something for everyone! I chose to partake in a few things that I've been wanting to do for a while, and was rewarded with a great time, and (hopefully) new paths to venture forward into!


Where to start? I guess I should start with Saturday morning when I got to play with fire (hehe). I finally got to learn how to make lampwork beads! Oh, how much fun it is! Now, having watched a few youtube videos and doing some reading, I had the basic theory of what to do, but what I didn't have was the experience. The first part of class consisted of those taking the class watching our instructor, Chavah Miriam, make a bead after giving us the basic safety rules and some history. After that, it was time to sit down and have some fun. Admittedly, I spent a good two-three minutes just sitting there twirling the mandril and glass rods without the fire on to get the movements at least feeling somewhat comfortable, and then it was time to don my goggles (safety first kiddos) and get creative!





These are the pretties I was able to create! I loved every second of making them. So much in fact that I didn't realize an hour had past after bead #5 was done! Wow how fast time can fly when you're having a blast. All in all, I'm extremely happy with what I was able to come up with for my first time. I do have to say that I am a little dissapointed with the one that completely cracked (far left). I was really excited about how I was able to texture it. I think I made it too thin for the texture. Oh well, that all comes with experience, and I'm sure I'll have an opportunity to make some more in the future. My favorite one (and this seems to be unanimous with everyone who saw them) is the white and green bead. It's sooooo pretty!

Now, I am a little sad to say that I missed the fighter fashion show due to me playing with glass and fire, but even over the sound of the torches and the occasional glass rod shattering (thank heavens for the safety glasses. remember kids, safety is important) I could still hear the hollering and laughing. It sounded like a blast and I'm glad everyone seemed to have fun. 

I have to say, what I attempted next was something I was a little nervous about. Being a little clumsy and sometimes (read as often) prone to hurting myself, I couldn't help but think twice about going up to the thrown weapons range, but boy am I glad I did. Johannes of Middlegate and Lady Eleanor of Grey helped teach me how to throw axes and in general, be awesome (hehe). For my first time throwing sharp things, I think I did pretty darn well. Since I've been looking for some sort of martial activity to help me experience a different part of the SCA and meet new people, I will definitely be looking into this more in the future. 

Oh, did I mention the torrential downpour that decided to grace us with its presence? I didn't? Silly me. By the way, it happened. Fast. There I am, just sitting under one of the pavilion things, minding my own business and getting my weave on, then 10-15 minutes later, BAM! It was rain-a-palooza out there! Tents were ripped, people were soaked, and in the end, it brought people who hadn't met before together and gave us all an opportunity to get to meet those we wouldn't normally be around due to different interests. 

Now, unfortunately I wasn't able to attend the Dancing Under the Stars that night due to migraine, but I have it on great authority that it went amazingly well. I have to say that Lady Caitlin MacDonoughue did an amazing job with this event, and even after that downpour she still managed to look flawless as usual. Whatever deal she made to always look like that, I need to find out so I can do the same thing. hehe

As always,
Bless Your Face

Friday, June 17, 2011

Trim!!!

Weee! Ever since I got my inkle loom the weekend of Sapphire Joust (May 27-30) this year, I can't stop weaving on it! I have to admit, some of my other projects have fallen a bit by the wayside, but worry not ye of little faith, I shall finish them (eventually <_<;;)!!!



I really love how simple and relaxing weaving can be. Not to mention the fact that it's inspiring to watch little cones of thread become fabric! It's always so amazing and beautiful to me. That process is something that I have come to love about the fiber arts. Being able to transform one product and through some simple manipulations, create something beautiful is something that I hope I never lose the love of. I think at the heart of every fiber art enthusiast, there needs to be that raw passion to create and manipulate, watching something new come into the world through hard work, patience (sometimes a lot of patience) and a steady hand. I hope I never lose this sense of wonder for what I do. It's what keeps me wanting to do more and dig deeper.

Now, enough about that, wanna see what I've been making!? Cool! Me too! ^_^


This is the first trim that I made! I'm so proud of it. I got the thread I use for weaving at Earth Guild and it's amazing. A little on the pricy side, but for 800 yards per tube, I think it's well worth the investment.

Here's where I started experimenting with patterns! I love how you can make chains with inkle weaving! Such a simple design, but it has a great effect! 

Alright, this one took some time to get done. With how wide it is, advancing the warp was at times tricky, but I managed to do it! The pattern took some real concentration to warp, but it was well worth the effort in my humble opinion. :D

I loved making this trim. Clean and simple (notice it's the same pattern as the second picture?). I love how changing colors can change the look and feel of a completed piece. *swoon* I didn't really have any plans for this trim and one of my friends mentioned that they were his heraldic colors, so it became a gift! Hopefully he'll get some good use out of it. 

 Ahh, the belt...........*stab*. I joke. Kinda. At the request of Etienne, I wove him a belt. With silk/bamboo thread. Working with the nice smooth cotton is really awesome, the sticky, temperamental and cranky silk/bamboo? Not so much. Oh well, the finished product was beautiful and soft, and I guess it's a good starting place for when I start to weave with wool.  

 I'm really proud of this trim. It's the first thing I've made for a gift basket for another Kingdom (Caid, to be specific)! In fact, I've only made one other thing for a gift basket and that was at the baronial level. *shrugs* Oh well, at least now I know that I can make and give stuff to other kingdoms that they'll (hopefully) enjoy! I decided to use a different color for the weft threads on this trim. I wanted it to stand out and be unique, and I think I achieved that.


After a few commissions get finished and I make a belt for myself, I'll probably finish up my other projects. I still have a bag to knit for a friend and of course start getting ready for WoW and In The Phoenix Eye. So much to do!!

Until next time!
Bless your face

Here it goes!

Huzzah! I finally managed to get up the nerve (with the help of friends) to create a blog! Honestly, coming up with the name was hard enough, let alone thinking I could come up with things to post about regularly, but I will do my best internet people. As the name of the blog suggests, I love string and have yet to find a fiber art I didn't like, usually to the point where I'm tangled in strings and need to get my hubby to come save me from myself.


Now, you might be asking yourself, "Self," you knew it was you because you heard your voice, (wow, 'you' was a popular word just there) "is this blog going to be only about string related things?" Now don't you worry yourself, I love singing, painting and going to SCA events, so of course I will be posting about those as well! Hopefully I can keep things pretty well rounded and keep you entertained as well.

Until next time,
Bless your face