The Poly Gem Project

Hi Everyone 

Following yesterday’s post, I’ve been working on developing my bezel cups for the latest poly gems. I’m sharing one of the cups in my photo story.. The photo story shows the very first stages of the constructed bezel cup job. There’s still lots of finishing required, however, you can see how the idea will work with one of the rings. I think, there will be three rings in total ?

             

I’m going to add closed rings to several of the other cups and attach a chain for pendants. I have learned lots about the poly gem developments for the future with this project. The size is important and I needed to spend lots of time dressing the stone in the photo story. Both the edges and the base of the poly gem needed lots of filing, in future - this needs to be done at the clay moulding stage. I think, a better approach is the create a range of bezel cups and make poly gems to fit rather than the approach I took this time ie creating the cup around the gem.

Generally, I’m quite pleased with how the stones are working with the silver ring. The ring is not that big, slightly disappointed about this, but will be lovely. I think, this ring is destined for me !

Thanks for calling in today. 

Have a great weekend. 

I’m off on a family trip next week, so will be back on Monday 4/11/19 with more Making stories.

Poly Gems

Hi Everyone 

Today, I’m sharing a number of poly gem stones developed earlier this week. As I described in my initial post on this subject last week (check out the post here), I wanted to create poly gems with an enamel finish. My early experiments found that the temperatures needed to accommodate both polymer and enamel are crucial to the finish. The enamel needs a slightly higher temperature to completely melt the enamel powder. This puts the polymer at risk of burning, so the time exposed to the higher temperature needs to be managed carefully. I’ve tried applying the enamel both before and after curing the polymer. I think, applying the enamel onto pre cured polymer has worked best for me. I used my curing oven for the stones in my photo story. The first experiments were ‘cooked’ in my Efcolor stove (check out the stove here) and I managed to burn the polymer - several times.

          

The final experiment worked quite well in terms of time and temperature, so the stones are there and ready to be turned into gems for bezel cups.

I’m ready to make the bezel cups today. The poly gems are all slightly different shapes and sizes - the first bezel cups will be those for the largest stones and will form part of a ring. I’ll make a couple of cups (to start with) and see how things turn out. Watch this space for progress.

Thanks for calling in today.

Ready to Wear

Hi Everyone 

Finally, I’ve managed to refit the shirt/blouse. The original idea was introduced here on the blog a few weeks ago. I shortened the length of the garment and the sleeves. 

              

I took the cuffs off the garment and refitted them with several pleats (at the wrist). Although the job took a while, most of the time was taken up with undoing the previous stitching and making decisions. I’ve kept the body width of the item and this results in a boxy, relaxed fit. I like this fit and it seems to work well with layering for colder days (I’m wearing a long sleeved T shirt under the blouse/shirt in my photo story). Originally, I had thought about adding darts to give a closer body fit. I’m happy to have gone for the relaxed fit, I’m convinced I will wear the shirt/ blouse more.

The shirt/blouse fabric is an interesting London Underground print in a lovely soft fabric, easy to wear and a useful everyday garment. I do like the transformation job. The recycling idea was central to this project and has reinforced my intentions to continue recycling more items from my wardrobe. So, more recycling plans are required !

Thanks for calling in today.

Knitting Update

Hi Everyone 

I’m sharing progress with my current sweater knit today, the Woodbine Sweater by Fiona Alice. Check out my introductions to the project

here and here. The project has gone well so far. I’ve hand spun the majority of the yarn and hand dyed the bit that wasn’t hand spun. Generally, it’s a from scratch project. The size seems good so far, although, I’m slightly anxious that the length of the sweater maybe slightly longer than I’d hoped ! It’s difficult to tell how the final fit will work out, until I’ve knitted more of the sleeves.

          

The sides of the sweater have been created around the central lace panels and I’ve made a start with the sleeves. The sides of the sweater are closed with a three needle bind off, this is a particularly satisfying technique for closing seams and leaves a beautifully neat finish.

I need to complete the sleeves and add the neckband. The published sweater design incorporates a lace pattern on each sleeve, I’m not so keen on this element. My plan is to knit a plain stocking stitch sleeve. I do need to recalculate the stitch number for the sleeves. I’m not quite sure how they will work at the moment ? I’ll spend some time today working out the plan. The final job will be a simple rib for the neckband.

This sweater has been a great project. Considering the hand spun element, I’m quite pleased with the progress I’ve made. I’m hoping the fit will be good. If it’s not perfect, I’ll probably need to rip it out and start again ! I’ll get a sense of that today, so fingers crossed. 

Thanks for calling in today.

Spin to Knit Project

Hi Everyone 

After my recent success with spinning for knitting (see the details of the project here); I’ve started another. This time, I’m using a smaller amount of fibre for the spin and pairing it with a repurposed (to be) batch of ready made yarn. My previous project is well underway, I have the sleeves and the neckband to complete - there will be more on the project later this week.

Getting back to the new project, I’m using a very different fibre for the spin part of the project. This time it’s a carded Perendale fibre, dyed in a beautiful bright green/yellow shade called Lichen. I’ve only just started the spin but it’s going OK. I need to adjust the ‘feel’ of this spin compared to the previous experience. This time the fibre is a medium coarse wool resulting from a cross between Romney and Cheviot sheep.

              

I need to undo the majority of the yarn for my new project, currently a sweater garment. I’ll provide details of the project later this week, after I undo the sweater. My plan is to spend some time spinning - a short session each day. I will also make time to undo the sweater, soak the yarn and prepare for the new knitting project. Hopefully, I’ll be able to launch my new knit in a week or so.

Thanks for calling in today.