Organic Linen

I worked so hard yesterday to finish a pair of ankle corsets so that I could finally, really play with the Lithuanian linen thread. After doing some actual making I have more information to share on how it behaves...you know, if you're interested. I got a three ball set in black, dark and light gray. It's that combination that finally got me to try it. After more work with it I would definitely put it in the size 20 range. I say range because unlike the perfect Lizbeth or DMC cotton thread that I've gotten used to, there is a variation in thickness throughout the thread. It reminds me a little of hemp or twine in that respect. It is also rougher on the hands while working with it.

I decided to use the opportunity of the new thread to also try out Etsy's new listing variations tool. It allow you to make one listing with a drop down menu the customer has to use before checkout with options like color and size, among others. My one quibble is that we have recently gotten a 'ships in' tool as well where we indicate the time before shipping and since I have black pieces ready to ship I've selected 1-2 days for the listings I've updated, but if I add color options those would need more lead time to be made to order and there isn't a way to separate those in a single listing yet.

I made up a rose tattoo pendant in each color for this experiment. I was trying to find something that would still look nice sized down in size 20 since most of my work is done in 10 and had that whole Eco-friendly vibe to it. I also tried to be as forthcoming about the differences in the thread in the listing. The lace works up less evenly with the thickness variations and there is a slight fuzziness to it as well. I was quite worried about it being scratchy as well since that's how it was behaving when I worked with it. According to Internet sources, linen softens over time and with washings so I was hoping that a nice press with steam would help and boy did it. The pendants are quite soft now. It was this worry that kept me from starting with barefoot sandals which were suggested as an Eco-friendly feeling pattern. Now that I know they will be comfortable to wear I'll have to devise a pattern that works well in size 20.

Of course I don't mean to imply that everyone who wants Eco-friendly products has a certain aesthetic. I personally want more organic and natural things in my life and I clearly have a darker aesthetic than the stereotype. This is part of the reason for the black thread, to try to provide that option to people who don't always get it, but it seemed a nice place to start was closer to the stereotype. I should have some time today to work on another set of something in the linen since I was order free yesterday and I'm trying to avoid remaking a mask right now. I just want things that work up quickly for a while, so I should have something to show you tomorrow too.

Here Comes August

Usually the end of the month is a dead zone. Yesterday however was pretty darn busy. Of course it's too early to tell whether it's a trend or a fluke, but either way I was busy yesterday. I started out the day working on my mask order, but was soon interrupted by a custom request to turn the rose motif from my rose tattoo eye patch into a pendant. So I was off to do that. When I posted this process photo on my facebook page, someone had noted that they had come up with a very similar pattern years ago too. Now, I'm pretty sure that I at least got the idea from another pattern that I must have found somewhere years ago, but for the life of my I can't find the original online anywhere. I know I'm not the only person that has probably done so either because we all seem to start the rose from the same stitch count and then they all grow organically from there into slightly different roses. Of course this design merely mimics how most people draw roses so it's probably just one of those cases where it was inevitable that many people were going to come up with the same or similar designs. It will continue to drive me insane until I solve the mystery though.

That wasn't the end of the busy day. After that it was back to the masks and once I got one more finished I got another order in the shop so I began remaking the sold piece. This repeated once more almost exactly when I finished the last piece and once more before bed so I will have some things to remake today once I finish the one mask on the schedule. That will hopefully leave me with the last mask tomorrow along with all the finishing work which means I should have this order in the mail by Friday. I'm also still patiently waiting on my beetle wing order so I can finish the replacement necklace for a lost package. I'm hoping it arrives about then so I have that project right after this one. I very much enjoy being busy. Now if we could only do something about the temperature over here because it is way too hot.