New Stuff! (and a quilt)

I've been working on a lot of small projects, but in the middle there, I ordered two pairs of lasts from shoe-last-shop.com.  The company is in Finland, but has the lasts made in either Portugal or Italy - mine came from Portugal.

Good to know - their prices are good - but shipping is expensive.

Here's what I got!

 

 

Higher heels (yay!).  Just two pairs.  After the holidays, I want to order some of the lasts I liked so much at shoe school, from Jones & Vining.  I have shoes planned for these, but need to get through the holidays first.  Also, I'm going out of town on vacation for three weeks - so, no shoes for a while.  (Although, I'll be looking for supplies on vacation - may have some cool new stuff!)

 

 

In other news, one of the projects I finished is a quilt for one of the nephews. 

 

 



Starting on boots

Time to get going on figuring out boots.  Past time, really.  I had taped up a last *ages* ago - the same one I used for the blue and black oxford.  Tonight, I wrapped my leg in scrap fabric, then taped it up, cut off the tape, and added it to the last.  I have no idea how this is really supposed to work, but this works for me. 

Next I'll work on the design.  At some point, I have to actually make a decision about whether I want it to lace up the front (probably a good idea) or zip up the side (closer to what I want it to look like, I think).  Either way, I can finally get off my butt and do something about this.

I haven't heard back from my contact at Jones & Vining recently.  I should really poke her, but on the other hand, I don't have the money just laying around at the moment to splurge on a bunch of lasts.  I'd really love to do a boot with a taller heel - but perhaps that can wait until I have a better idea about what I'm doing.

Quick Quilt

Well, sort of quick. 

One of two quilts I'm making this year for nephews for Christmas gifts.  I thought it would take about a week, and so of course it took three.  The younger boy loves monkeys, and I happened to have some sock monkey fabric laying around.  This is what happened.  The reverse is red super soft micro plush - so if it never goes on the bed (unlikely), it'll still be good for curling up on the couch on a snowy afternoon to watch cartoons.  (They live near St. Louis.  I'm assuming it snows there in the winter...)

Totally just tossed it onto the guest bed to snap a quick photo.  I may or may not take a better one before I wrap it up and send it off for the holidays.  The room is very green - that's not just the lighting in the photo. :)

Not spring, but cleaning anyway - ribbon edition

One big thing that's been keeping me from completing more projects lately (other than the fact that it's summer, and really, really warm, which makes me want to do pretty much nothing other than nap on the couch downstairs with a book) is that my workshop is a mess.

Several in-progress things, crap that hasn't been put away, filing that needs to be done, and new supplies that haven't been put away yet are overtaking the space.  Also, every few years, I really should pull out whole categories of stuff (ribbon, quilting fabric, other fabric, paints, etc.) and re-organize, and I haven't done any of that in quite a while. 

So today, I re-organized and put away all the dye equipment, since it was all sitting out after doing tie-dye onesies for a baby shower a couple of weeks ago.  I don't, unfortunately, have a photo of them (SO CUTE!!!), but will post one once I get it from the cousin who had the camera that day. 

Also today, I did the ribbon.  A large portion of it was still in a Rubbermaid tub from a workshop I did last November (!!!), and a bunch of the rest was just stacked on the floor.  Not good.  Here's what it looks like now that I've whipped it back into shape:

 

 

Why so much ribbon?  I have a problem.  I just can't resist ribbon for some reason.  And over the last few years, Costco has been my main enabler.  Those bottom two rows are pretty much all Costco.

 

What on earth do I do with so much ribbon?  Mostly, I make woven ribbon Christmas stockings:

 

 

I've sold a bunch of these, and given even more away as gifts.  I'd estimate I've made nearly a hundred of them over the years.  I really like working in the non-traditional colors.  Some of my favorites have been black and white, or bright pink, or caramel. 

 

 

 

What else do I make out of ribbon?  I do the same weaving technique on pillow covers sometimes, and one time, I made a messenger bag for my younger sister, the Hello Kitty fan:

 

 

I've been toying with the idea of making a laptop bag for myself, or perhaps a purse, but that will have to wait for another day.  At least now, the ribbon is tidy, and perhaps soon I can get back on top of the four or five other fairly urgent projects that I'd really like to get done soon.





Making other things...

 

Also just finished a blouse:

 

It's made of linen, from the fabric store, and one of the most nicely-finished garments I've ever made.  And I did it the right way, too.  I had an old Vogue pattern, and made a mock-up, and altered it until it fit properly, and made a new pattern.  And I finished all my seams, for once.  And learned how to make bound buttonholes.  Overall, I'm very happy with how it turned out.

 

I also bought three yards of this:

 

I have no idea what I'll do with it, but I love it.  Maybe another blouse?  perhaps a more oxford-style one this time?  I think as a dress, it would be too much all in one place, and be overwhelming.

Finally finished with the blue and black spectator!

At least, I think this is called a Spectator... 

 

Either way, they're finally done!

 

 

Here's my logo, on the sole:

 

Problems?  Lots of them.  These were most definitely an experiment, and some parts were more successful than others.  I think I could do a much better job the next time.

For one, I forgot to remove the heel tack before removing the left shoe from the last, and tore out the decorative punchwork and stitching on the counter:

Also, the top edge of the counter isn't tall enough - when I wear the shoes, they feel like they're about to slip off my heels.  On the other hand, too bitey of a top line along my achilles' tendon on commercially produced shoes has long been a problem for me, so I think I just need to remember to start lasting with the heel point up a little higher on the last.

My lasting wasn't great, so the pattern is a little distorted.  It's hard to tell, but they're just a tiny bit lopsided.  I notice it, but I doubt anyone else ever will.

 

 I do very much like how the lacing area and tongue turned out.  In the future, I'll have he better sewing machine, and this will look even better.  Ditto on the edge piping.

 

Here's the last two problems:  The beautiful back line I was going for completely disappeared.  I think I may need (eventually) to invest in a splitter.  I've been using suede and hirschkleber for my counters, and I think they're just not robust enough. 

Second, the oak heels, which I thought I had sanded smooth enough turned out to be not smooth enough.  I can see the uneven ridges through the kangaroo leather, which seems to magnify the problems, rather than leveling them out.  Next time around, I'll be experimenting with casting heels from plastic, from Smooth-on, and inserting one or more steel pins through the center.

 

A final note about lasts, and toe shape.  Here's my two pairs of heels - the first pair, from class, and the new ones.  You can really see the difference in toe shape in this photo.  The size is the same, and the heel height is the same, but the toe shape is very different, and that's why you need so many pairs of lasts.

 

New Equipment!

I keep meaning to post about this, but just haven't managed to do it. 

 

I splurged, and bought myself a really nice, heavy-duty sewing machine.  Not a $2,500 industrial model, that comes bolted to a table and has a motor that needs to sit in a gallon of oil.  But I've tried it with leather, in the way that I use it (multiple layers, multiple textures and stretchy-ness, with and without support of some kind inside), and it will be perfectly adequate to my needs.

 

It's a Juki - the brand our instructor kept saying was the best - and it works really well for garments, too.  I'm finishing up a shirt in the next few days, and my sewing has never been this precise before. 

On the other hand, it only does a straight stitch.  What do I do when I want to make buttonholes?