Simple airship ornaments

I'm steampunking my Christmas tree. So far this has meant removing all the green and blue ornaments and adding some dark brown and deep red ones. But I wanted to make some ornaments of my own. Here's my first, very basic try.

I chose a yellow-brown shade of cardstock and a dark brown shade, then freehand-cut airships out. They turned out pretty good although I probably should have made them smaller for my little table tree. I punched holes in the tops and strung them with dark brown yarn.

But that was pretty boring, so I found some model paint that I bought on sale ages ago and had never used. It's supposed to be gold, but it was only sort of goldish. It didn't show up at all on the yellow airship, so I used black instead. If I make more of these I'll probably use a glitter gel pen or something.

Here are the finished ornaments.

Making a bucket list booklet, part 2

I finally finished this! The leather got here quickly but it took a lot of work to get the cover made. But I'm happy with the finished result, considering it was the first time I'd tried making a leather cover and only the second booklet I've ever made.

The leather was supposed to be green but no matter what light I look at it in, it looks brown to me. I don't mind; it's still just what I needed. It's thick leather but not stiff. I ordered it from TheLeatherGuyMN on etsy and got it within days. I ordered two pieces, so I had to sew them together.

First I trimmed the top of the pieces to just a little larger than the cardboard cover already in place. Then I sewed the two pieces together using the same technique I used for my lawnmower handlebar grips that I made this summer.

Once that was done I measured the piece again with the sewn edge over the spine of the booklet. I wanted the cover to be snug but not so tight that it would stretch. I trimmed the ends so that they would come right up to the inside edge of the first and last pages. Here's a picture of how I arranged the cover, before sewing.

After I was sure I had everything cut to just the right size, I glued the inside front and back flaps to the cardboard. I did not glue anywhere else, just here to keep the leather in place while I worked.

After that I had to sew the top and bottom edges in place. That's what took so very long. First I had to punch holes with the awl through both thicknesses of leather (and sometimes the cardboard), then I had to sew carefully to make sure the stitches were taut but not so tight they might pull through the leather.

I sewed from the edge of the cover to the spine, then knotted the threads from both sides and cut them short. Unfortunately, I cut them too short, forgetting that the upholstery thread I used is tough but thick so tends to untie itself if given half a chance (that's a problem with one of my lawnmower grips too; I need to repair it already). To keep from having to resew both sides, I cut a tiny piece of vellum paper (not real vellum, just the thick but transparent paper they sell to scrapbookers in craft shops) and glued it down over the thread ends to hold them in place. I then did the same thing to the other side even though the knot held, just in case.

Once it was done, it looked good--but there was a problem. I accidentally tore the paper edging the spine a bit, and that worried me that eventually the page might tear through. In the photo above you can see how flimsy that blue piece of paper is and it is pretty much the only thing holding the pages in place (there's a strip of cheesecloth too, but it's not that strong). Major oversight, plus that signature of the booklet wasn't as tight as it should be so it needed stabilizing anyway.

I wish I had realized this before I had glued and sewn the cover in place. It would have been easy to put a strip of vellum or something down before I'd made the cover. But it was too late so I did the only thing I could really do at that point without starting over: I cut more vellum (it's fairly tough paper, and I also had some on hand already) and glued it in place. I used as little glue as I could because I knew it would look bad and I also didn't want to wrinkle the pages.

I put a strip in front and one in back, then let them dry overnight while weighted. The vellum was almost invisible on the paper, and is prettily patterned anyway, but the vellum glued to the leather just looked horrible. To make the best of a bad situation, I drew all over those sections, front and back. At least now anyone looking at it will be too busy thinking, "What is that supposed to be, an octopus?" to notice anything else.

But despite the hiccups I'm happy with the result. It's handsome, sturdy, and I made the whole thing. I left room to add photos, and I already have some to add.

Making a Bucket List Booklet, Part One

I was going to wait until I made the leather cover to post about this, but I don't have any leather pieces big enough to make the cover. I had to order some and it'll be a while before I get it, so I'll go ahead and post what I've done so far.

Last year I started a bucket list--you know, a list of things to accomplish before you kick the bucket. Last week I decided it was time not only to finish and organize the list, but to turn it into a little booklet.

There are all kinds of good tutorials online on how to make and sew a booklet together. I recommend this one for being particularly clear (it's a PDF, unfortunately, which means it's probably going to lock up your computer for a few minutes). Here's another good one that isn't a PDF.

The first step, of course, is to make up your list. This is fun and leads to a certain amount of wistful introspection and blessing-counting. I had my list partly made, and I used Pinterest to help me come up with more ideas. I was conservative in my list items--I didn't include just anything that sounded interesting, I wanted my items to be both feasible and things I genuinely want to accomplish. I did include some items that I've already (recently) accomplished.

After I made my list, I typed it up the way I wanted it to appear in the booklet and printed it off on heavy cardstock in a variety of colors. This was way more complicated than it sounds since I wanted my booklet to be the size of a regular sheet of paper folded over. I won't go over how to deal with your word processing program and printer to make sure everything prints where it's supposed to, except to say if you're not comfortable doing that kind of thing, you would probably be a lot happier hand-lettering your pages.

In books like this, where the pages are sewn together rather than glued onto a binding, the pages are separated into signatures. Each signature is made up of a set number of pages. My signatures consisted of only three sheets of cardstock folded over to make six sheets (12 pages) since the paper I used was heavy. I made six signatures. The first and last signature actually do have an extra sheet so I'd have a free page to use for gluing on the cover. That gave me an extra two pages I could actually use.

After I printed out the pages and folded them over carefully into signatures, I made sure the signatures were together in the right order (and right side up), then weighted them with a book so they wouldn't shift, and marked the edges (see the tutorials above for why I was marking them).

Then I took them into the garage, where I used my awl to poke holes where I'd marked them. I've done this before, incidentally, so I knew to open up the signatures after poking the holes, to make sure they poked through evenly to the other side, and if not, to poke the holes back through in such a way as to make them more even. I'm sorry, it's been a long weekend and I have a headache and can't figure out better words to describe that process. Make your holes small, is what I'm saying, because they never go through straight and you want to be able to enlarge them to make them as centered as possible.

So anyway, once that was done I made sure again that the signatures were in the right order and right side up. Then I cut a very long length of heavy-duty thread (waxed linen thread is best, but I had extra strong cotton/poly thread so that's what I used), probably a good five feet long. It turned out to be too long, but I'd much rather have to deal with a very long thread while sewing than have to pull it all out and start over because I ran out of thread. Using an embroidery needle (sharp but with a fairly large eye), I sewed the signatures together. Don't pull the stitches too tight. You want to make sure your pages will open without tearing. I checked frequently as I worked to make sure the pages were neither too tight nor too loose.

It's a lengthy process if you've never done it before, but when you finish you can feel proud of yourself. You've obviously got a book almost made when you're done.

After that, I cut a piece of cheesecloth and clamped my newly sewn signatures between some heavy books. See this tutorial page for directions on gluing. Basically you cover the spine with glue (I used Gem-Tac, of course, but Elmer's works fine) except for about half an inch on either end--what will eventually be the top and bottom of the spine, once it's a book--then place the piece of cheesecloth on and add a little more glue on top of it. Then let it dry overnight. Don't add all that much glue. I smeared it on with my finger, which works a lot better than dribbling it straight on.

For the front and back covers--which will not show in the end, once I make the leather cover--I used two pieces of thin cardboard the same size as the paper I'd used, folded over. This is going to sound extra confusing, but seriously, if you've read this far, you can figure it out. You want to glue the cardboard over the endpapers, with the ends of the cheesecloth inside the fold of the cardboard too. Here's a picture.

The picture's not as clear as I'd like, but the spine is on the left next to the glue bottle. I've already glued the underside of the folded cardboard to the back of the purple sheet, which is the endpaper. After I took the picture, I put a little glue down on the purple sheet and placed the cheesecloth on top to hold it in place, then glued the top inside of the cardboard and pressed it down well. (I also belatedly put a sheet of paper in between the cardboard and the first page of the booklet, to keep any glue from oozing onto it; but I didn't put glue all the way to the edge of the cardboard and I didn't use tons of glue.)

Then flip the booklet over and do the other cover the same way. Then weight the whole thing down with heavy books or whatever, and let it dry overnight.

Then wait impatiently for your green leather pieces to arrive so you can make the actual cover, which is hopefully going to look awesome.

Tutorial: make a needle case with pockets

I made a tiny travel sewing kit right before DragonCon, something I could tuck in my bag in case of costume malfunctions. As it happens I needed it a couple of times. It wasn't fancy--I threw it together in about an hour--and I didn't take pictures as I made it so I didn't think about talking about it here.

That's what it looks like, above. This week I thought about what project to make and decided to make another sewing kit. I looked around online to get some ideas and decided a needle case with pockets would be even better.

I have some brown felt that I bought a bunch of on sale and haven't figured out anything to do with yet. It has a cool pattern and I decided it would look good at the main part of the piece. I have some reddish-brown cotton that looks good as the lining.

The needle case is about the same size as the original sewing kit I made, roughly the size of a small postcard. (In fact I used a postcard to help me cut out the pieces). The finished size, opened, is 5 1/2" wide by 4 1/4" high. I cut the main piece of felt exactly that size, the lining a little bit bigger all around. I also cut the lining much longer so I could fold it up and make a pocket. And I cut a smaller piece of felt for the middle.

Now, I am not a very organized person and I probably could have had an easier time with the lining and pocket if I'd made them two pieces instead of one. You can see from the pictures below that I had to fold the edges under one way to sew the lining to the back, then fold them the other way on the bottom part of the lining when I folded it up to make the pocket.

I sewed the lining on first, all the way around, using a nice neat topstitch. At least, it started out neat and got sloppy pretty fast as I got impatient. I don't know why I decided to hand-sew this, but I did. I watched an entire Sherlock Holmes movie while I did, and part of Kick-Ass after it was over.

Then I decided the case should close with a button and loop. I have some cool wooden buttons that are reddish, so I chose one and some brown cord that I really like (I think this is the third project it's ended up in). I sewed the button on, then made sure the loop was positioned correctly and sewed it up in between the front and back of the pocket. Then I sewed the other side of the pocket up.

After that, all I had left to do was sew the felt piece on in the middle. I trimmed it with pinking shears to make it more decorative, then carefully marked where the piece folded in the middle when I closed it. That took several tries. Then I put a seam in all the way down the middle. And that's it, it was done!

I'm happy with the way it looks and I think I did a pretty good job making it. I don't need it, so it may eventually end up on etsy when I have enough stuff made to reopen my shop.

The Nightgown, finished

I put pictures and commentary from my excellent DragonCon experience last week up on my regular blog. I inexplicably didn't take many pictures of random people dressed up, but there are lots and lots of blogs/sites out there with lots of pictures.

As I say, I had a fantastic time. I wore my modest costume on Saturday and got some compliments, especially on my awesome hat, attended a bunch of panels, saw friends, met new people, and saw some of my absolute favorite musicians perform. But now I'm back and I'm still not recovered from an intense, sleep-deprived weekend.

So this week I haven't done anything except laundry and housework. Yardwork's next, when I can muster my enthusiasm. The blog will probably be quiet for the next few weeks, if not longer, while I work on other stuff. But one thing I did find time for was finishing the nightgown that started this whole steampunk garage project.

My camera has vanished, but here's a small picture I took with my phone. The nightgown is simple and not terribly attractive when worn--I used this tutorial. I learned a lot about sewing from making this thing, though, including how to sew ruffles. I am something of an expert ruffler now, but it all started here. I had fun doing the embroidery although it's not as elaborate as I'd intended.

So what's up for the steampunk garage in the near future? A lot of clutter has crept back into the garage and I need to tidy it, for one thing. I also want to finish turning my antique brass blowtorch into a steampunk "weapon." And I want to make another steampunk outfit so I've got something warm and non-feathery to wear to AnachroCon in February (and probably ChattaCon in January).

So keep checking back, and hopefully soon I'll be back to work in the garage. First, though, I need to finish this steampunk YA I've been writing.

Last sleep before DragonCon!

Tomorrow morning I plan to roll out of bed at whatever time I wake naturally (or whatever time the cat wakes me, actually) and head out to DragonCon. My goal is to get there and get my badge picked up by around lunchtime or a little later, depending on traffic. Then I can hit a few panels and look around, hopefully meet up with friends, before heading to my hotel in Kennesaw to check in, grab some food, and return to the con.

Saturday will be my exhausting day, because I want to watch the parade at 10am (for which it's best to get there at 9am or thereabouts) and see Professor Elemental and Abney Park perform at midnight. Sunday will be almost as exhausting, because there's a 10am panel I don't want to miss ("The Science of Airships") and I also want to see Voltaire perform at midnight--and of course, both days I've got tons of stuff I want to do in between.

I took today off work to get all the last-minute stuff done. My attempt at making my own bag was a failure, but I found a bag I really like at Goodwill for a few bucks and added some decoration. The owl thing is my $5 pocketwatch! I finally have a place to put it.

And I crocheted this adorable pouch for Owlet from this tutorial. I didn't have time to handspin yarn of the right weight, so I bought a nice silk/bamboo blend and used it instead. Ordinarily I don't sew random gears on things, but hell, it's a pouch for a toy owl, sewing gears on it isn't going to make it any sillier than it already is. The button is for Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys, a great band but also the button has tiny owls as part of the design. So, you know.

If you're going to be at DragonCon and you'd like to meet up, just email me at kcshaw123 [at] gmail [dotcom]. If you've got the DragonCon app, email me a friend code if you like! I'd love to have someone to hang out with, especially at the live performances.

I will, of course, take plenty of pictures.I'll post them when I get home on Monday!

Yes! Pictures of my DragonCon costume!

It's not complete--I still have the bag to finish, and a few little additions--but the bulk of it is done and I got real pictures taken today.

My aunt Janice took the pictures, and she said I definitely need to wear my boots instead of the heels I had planned. The boots are more comfortable anyway. Here's a closeup of them along with my lacy socks, with me pulling my skirt up a bit to show off my petticoat:

I also need to take both the petticoat and the skirt in a bit. They're just too big. When I suck my gut in (ahem) to fasten my corset, the skirt and petticoat sag. Once the corset's fastened it's hard to adjust my clothes. Also, for anyone who's never worn a corset before: it's the last thing you should put on, including shoes. Especially shoes.

That hat is so awesome.

And here's me trying not to laugh, because of course Janice kept cracking me up. She got some action shots of me goofing around pretending to catch owls, but they were A) blurry and B) made me look insane. You'll just have to find me at DragonCon to see me acting insane. I'm not used to seeing myself doing anything but standing in front of the mirror, of course, so maybe I always look insane.