I also flung my first project which felt like I was trying to get away with something. In the back of my mind I was expecting an authority figure to be standing there with crossed arms tapping their foot and shaking their head at what I had done. That authority figure in my head has shamed me into doing or not even attempting to do many things in my life. I have allowed much joy to be stolen from me. It is good to practice banishing it. This is a wonderful side effect of my goal to finish. Removing a project that does not bring me joy is a way of finishing too. I do not need to allow guilt entry to my mind or heart. I get to choose joy everytime.
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| Decisions, decisions… I like ALL the beads! |
These watch parts are from a kit I put together when I was a teenager. It had faux turquoise beads and was very southwestern in flavor. I wore it during high school before one of the strands broke and then did not fit my adult preferences so I didn’t fix it. It has sat in a box for years until I went on my 52 week spree. I pulled out a bunch of fun beads that I liked and then played with combinations. Originally I had used fishing line and tied off the ends and glued them into the clasps. This time I used jewelry wire and crimps. I think crimps are my new best friend.
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| So easy to secure the strands of wire. I did each group and then secured them to each other. |
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| Yes, my CDO is annoyed that it is upside down but, it is still pretty! (Flipping it over messes with your brain as the wrong part is then in focus.) |
I really like it and have worn it a couple of times already. Sir T is not thrilled with the southwestern theme of the watch, and I sympathize with him, but I really like the big clear face of the watch with the second hand. Easy to read the numbers and a second hand is very useful.
This next project is a bracelet. It ended up a bit more flamboyant than what I would normally wear but I love it. Several, ok probably like 6 or 10 years ago, I ordered some Hebrew letters from a catalog. Usually people would order their name and you had the option of up to 8 letters. I had recently discovered the literal Hebrew translation of the scripture found in Zephaniah 3:17. It states, “ Yahweh your God is with you, a mighty Savior. He will delight over you with joy. He will quiet you with His Love. He will dance over you with singing.” TLV version The word translated in this version as dance is Yagil. Many other translations have the word exalt or joy instead, which is the partial meaning but does not express the full intention of what the verse is saying in Hebrew. Yagil is to dance with joy.
I requested the Hebrew letters to read Yahweh Yagil. Yahweh dances over me with joy. What an awesome promise. The King of the universe dances with joy because of His delight with me. When I dance, I dance for my king. This was such a huge important idea to me that I just didn’t know how to display it. I had made a necklace originally but didn’t like how it looked. So the letters remained in a little plastic bag, unable to remind me of the joy of my King. Since it is now my habit to wear one of my menorah necklaces, I decided to make it into a bracelet instead.
After playing around with my trademark teal color beads and silver, I created a multi layered bracelet with a beautiful flower clasp. I am really happy with this piece too. I’ve gotten several compliments on it and find that it is a really cool way to share my faith as well.
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| Hebrew is read from right to left, yod, hay, vav, hay (Yahweh) yod, gimel, yod, lamed (Yagil) |
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| I bought the beautiful flower clasp on a whim because I liked it. It is a good balance to the weight of the letters on the opposite side. |
One issue I recognized quite quickly once I started working with my beads was that they were all mixed up. I had findings in the same box as silver beads and my crimps were all over the place but never where I could find them easily. The bead sizes and colors were vaguely organized but years of just putting beads in an open spot made it chaotic. My beads needed an overhaul. They live in a 7 drawer plastic storage cart which had other things living it in as well. I emptied the cart, cleaned it up and found new homes for the non-bead items. Then I spread out everything on the floor and made piles. Those piles then got sorted into plastic organizer trays that I already had.
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| Apparently you have to make a big mess to clean up a mess. |
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| Obviously I am also a sucker for clearance stickers. |
I now can find what I need easily and I was able to pass on some of my beads and supplies to my sister-in-law who fits well into our artsy family. Win win! I got my Blessings Room cleaned up in time to welcome my mom over to work on one of her projects.
She and my dad recently moved to a new house in a new city which necesitated finding a new church home. They now have a great church they are involved in and the drama, dance and mime teams have discovered that my parents are pretty handy people. My mom has sewed dance skirts, mended costumes, made props, created a throne chair with my dad that can be carried (for a Biblical skit involving a queen) and most recently needed to make flags. Since flags are kinda my speciality, both in the waving and creating of them, she asked for my help. Yup, we can do that.
What followed was an afternoon of halarity, noise, silliness and wiggly fabric. Chiffon is slippery and likes to move even if you are holding your breath. Since I don’t like numbers, Mom was in charge of the ruler and we tripple checked the measurements because if we messed up, well, there weren’t no more of that fabric so DON’T mess up! I always stress more when I am cutting up someone else’s fabric. Mom just kept being silly and it all turned out ok.
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| Measure thrice, cut once. |
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| We may or may not have just been dancing around the dining room. Sir T said we were SO loud he couldn’t think to get his work done. Maybe we were… yeah, we probably were. |
Ok, we did get serious when we started to sew. I taught my mom how to use her seam roller foot that actually came with her machine. I paid $15 for mine and it is worth every cent. It rolls the fabric as it is pulled into the foot and sews a 1/8” seam without the need for pressing the edge twice to create the hem. I love it but it does have a learning curve to it. I ended up doing most of the rolled seams while Mom put in short end hems.
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| This is the way you roll your hem, roll your hem, roll your hem. This is the way you roll your hem all afternoon. |
We then attached the 8” by 5’ hemmed strips of fabric to ½” wooden dowels with fabric glue and staples. Sir T was called upon to help with the staples part. He wasn’t getting any work done anyway right? I don’t have a picture of the finished product as we were in a hurry to finish it up. I find that I forget to take pictures of stuff I made and remember AFTER the item is gone with its new owner. I’m sure that I’ll get to see a video of the presentation at their church sometime on Facebook.
I’ll finish off with my Dad. He stopped by to drop off my stool top that he coated with polyurethane for me. Sir T put it back together and I now have a beautiful stool in my kitchen again!
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| It is good to have things that make you smile. |
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