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Stitching & Crafting Room:  Some of Sunshine's Creations + other stuff too  |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 10:39:28 AM
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I'll add more later
A doll I made when my oldest daughter desided (sp?) to cut her hair without permission. The dolls hair belonged to my oldest daughter before she took her below waist length hair and made it to right below the ear hair two years ago I hated to through it away ( maybe that sounds gross she had just washed it it was clean) It was her very first hair cut so instead of a locket of hair with a bow I have a doll with long braided hair that I made into a swedish sort of hair style not sure how easy that is to see in the picture.
This dress was made for one of my friends unborn babies atfer her husband died 2 1/2 weeks ago in a plain crash (fits a 12 month old) ( have two more gifts like this to make
the red tage is how I lable things I made
have a lovely day |
Edited by - sunshine on Jul 03 2007 6:52:11 PM |
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9094 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9094 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 10:49:51 AM
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SUNSHINE,
How pretty they came out, I knew you must do nice work since I have some of your lace. Are you going to sell any of your little dresses?
Packed up more buttons for you, will send them out tomorrow. Look forward to seeing more of your work.
NANCY JO |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 10:53:06 AM
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you need to notice the nickel to see how big ( little these pieces are) 1/4 inch hexagons all hand pieced not quilted yet stich count 20 stiches to the inch 5 per side of hexagon which measure 1/4 inch if it was a full inch it would be closser to 22 stitches per inch as I would not have to deal with a corner which changes the stitching a little pattern know as grandmothers flower garden 8 years to make just the top actuall working time in hours would equal 2 + 1/2 years working 24 7 never resting about 11900 hours and I still have to quilt it
tecnique is english paper piecing
  Over 5500 pieces
have a lovely day |
Edited by - sunshine on Aug 21 2006 07:45:15 AM |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 10:57:41 AM
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nancy if you noticed the flowers on the doll I sent one to you
have a lovely day |
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9094 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9094 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 11:32:18 AM
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Sunshine,
Yes I did notice the flower. Now so I understand, how much to make a doll dress, about newborn size?
Beautiful quilt, how big will it be when its done? And what is it made out of?
NANCY JO
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9094 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9094 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 1:50:57 PM
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SUNSHINE
IS that two hundred dollars or twenty dollars?
NANCY JO |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 1:51:43 PM
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the dresses I make are all heirloom quality. they are 100% cotton (or other natural fibers like wool or rayon ( these are more expensive than cotton)). Theya re made out of crochet thread not yarn made with size 5 or smaller crochet hook ( to a 16 which is a hand made hook) the type of stuff greatgrandma would have made around 1900 to 1940. the flowers are either crocheted or are satin or organdy all are set so that the dresses are machine washable and dryable. the ribbons do not fray. And are stitched in place so they do not come out in the wash and lost. Because they are machine washable and natureal fibers you can use the same cleaning stuff you would use on t shirts don't need special cleaners here.
have a lovely day |
Edited by - sunshine on Jun 26 2006 3:48:04 PM |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 1:57:12 PM
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that is 200.00 I charge 10.00 an hour 20 hours X 10.00 = 200.00 repair work I charge 30.00 an hour.
I know most people say that sounds high but the funny part is they say they know how to crochet so it should not be that high. Then I always ask why are you asking me to make it then. The typical answer is that it is just to hard for them to hold that small of thread and hook and keep the tension right. My responce is then it is not so easy and that is what you are paying for my skill to do what most people can't and or won't. I hope this all makes since. I hope this doesn't sound snooty it isn't ment to but I think it does.
have a lovely day |
Edited by - sunshine on Jun 26 2006 2:02:33 PM |
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cmandle
True Blue Farmgirl
846 Posts
Catherine
Minneapolis
MN
846 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 2:04:41 PM
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Do other folks charge by the hour for selling handmade items? I'm curious about selling some of my own stuff down the line, but assumed that things can't go for hourly rates due to the sheer amount of time put in. Like you said, Sunshine, that's a lot of hours (and the dress is beautiful, absolutely beautiful...worth every minute). But who can afford $200 for a baby dress or other handmade item?
Catherine
* Proud wife of Dan * Jackson's Mom * Still missing Lucy the Cat... * |
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Kathigene
True Blue Farmgirl
160 Posts
Kathy
New York
160 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 2:07:32 PM
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Sunshine,
Your work is beautiful and since I have made dozens of doilies using crochet thread with the tiny little hooks, I understand you charging 200.00 per dress. These are so time consuming and you can't make any mistakes because there is no where to hide it like there is with yarn.
Do you remember a magazine called Decorative crochet? I used to love it because the patterns were not written but were in chart form. I haven't seen it in forever and I wonder if it is still being published.
Kathy
Dogs make such good friends because they wag their tails rather then their tongues. |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 2:17:40 PM
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cmande it depends on the peroson if they charge by the hour or the item and the quality of the item an easily made item sure charge by the item you get more money a hard to make item charge by the hour and you still won't make much. How much if you went to work would you get paid for 1/2 week 2 and 1/2 days then realize that is what that white dress is plus I made a hat that was 5 hours more and booties that are 5 hours more each for a total of 35 hours almost an entire weeks worth of work not the usual craft item that takes 1 hour or less to make ( an item with all the attachment is 350.00 item even if I charged minimum wage it would be over 200. ( I don't live in inda and make 5 cents an hour not walmart stuff)
I do sell stuff and I do more repair work than Items I have made and I actually charge more for repair work because it is usually harder to do. Say your grand mother started a table cloth in 1880- 1920 you don't have the pattern or know the hook size or what thread was used or the tension. I can do all of those things by just looking at the item. Then the hard part starts drafting a new pattern and making sure what you are drafting does not have the original crochets occasional mistake in it. Then you have to figure out the gauge of the thread from size 3 all the way down to size 150 (which is not made any more and is smaller than sewing thread) then you have to figure out the hook size and and the persons tension. Which is not easy because usually differnt parts of an item have differnt tensions because the person could be tired ( haphazard), or wide awake (usually even), happy (loose) or mad (tight) so you can't look at one spot but the whole thing. Then the thread has to be found and you have to realize what you are looking at something that probably has 100 years of dust on it that has to be cleaned before matching the thread and to keep it authentic the thread you repair it with has to be 100 years old ( I have a whole room of nothing but crochet and tatting thread for this purpose. The average crafter doesn't charge much because what they are doing pretty much most people can do ( and the supplies don't cost much and can be found easily I have to go to many garage sale and flee marts and thrift stores to find antique thread). I am not considered a crafter but an artisan. I have repaired things for the alters of cathedrals and temples antiques. This is not the acrylic yarn mile a minutes stuff most people do. I am not your normal farmers market item I am the boutique on rodeo drive item.
have a lovely day |
Edited by - sunshine on Jun 26 2006 2:38:53 PM |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 2:26:30 PM
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I like to trade people to if they make hand made items that I think are well made or pretty or for things I collect I don't always get money for the things I do some times trade then I usually give the person a greater value than what they gave me because I value there time as much as I do mine plus more as I didn't have to make it.
have a lovely day |
Edited by - sunshine on Jun 26 2006 2:39:51 PM |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 2:55:21 PM
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temari ball I made it for my husbands birthday one year ( a type of japanse embroidery)
first you get a syro foam ball or a wood bead and wrap that with batting then wrap that with three differnt sizes of yarn getting smaller as you go out the size of the yarn then you wrap that with sewing thead reel tight so it can actually bounce it is that hard then you divided the ball into equal mesurments this one is a complex 10 (c10) one of the hardest ones to divide ( an advanced pattern) and then you embroider on top of that this is embroidered with pearl cotton 30 hours to make
this is a type of needle lace meaning every thing was done with a needle and thread I did crochet around the edges with a chain stitch as decorative edging (this lace is know as polka spider web/ nanduti lace/ teneriffe lace I made to cover the back of the chair I pulled it forward for picture ( My husband and myself upholstered the chairs too) each big flower is 10 hours each the little flower are 2 hours each about 300 hours that is counting the time it take sto hand stitch them together plus the crochet edging
made to cover the other wing back chair I didn't think the antimascars needed to match ( that is what a chair cover is called where the head hits the chair) this is also pulled forward for picture yo-yo's
more pictures on next page
have a lovely day |
Edited by - sunshine on Jul 02 2006 06:58:12 AM |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 2:58:58 PM
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I have lots of stuff I have made do people want to see more or is this to much already
have a lovely day |
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9094 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9094 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 3:17:25 PM
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SUNSHINE,
Of course we would love to see what you have made, put on as much as you want, farmgirls are always interested in what their neighbors are doing.
NANCY JO |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 3:20:48 PM
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to nancy I went back and edited things I always do bad habbit my fingers type slower than my brain thinks and then I have to correct what looks like half thoughts and typing errors I also added a ton more info to the other pictures if you want to read then about how long they took and what they are made of just an fyi type of thing
have a lovely day |
Edited by - sunshine on Jun 26 2006 3:25:51 PM |
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rabbithorns
True Blue Farmgirl
544 Posts
Allison
Fort Scott
KS
USA
544 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 3:41:14 PM
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Your handmade goodies are divine. I just love the tiny pieces of the quilt. So dainty, but so sturdy. Fantastic. I'm impressed.
http://www.rabbithorns.etsy.com |
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Aunt George
True Blue Farmgirl
1476 Posts
Georgann
Midlothian
VA
1476 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 4:20:27 PM
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Sunshine, Your work is truly museum quality. I am amazed by the tiny pieces in your quilt. Smaller than a nickel. Totally amazing...oh, I said that. How on earth do you hold the fabric and the needle at the same time. Not to mention the cutting of each. Do you use a rotary cutter or hand scissor each piece. To get that kind of precision, I wouldn't imagine that you could scissor cut a stack. You must have alot of patience to be able to carry a project, like shown in your photos, to completion!
My mother shared with me that her mother and aunties did a type of needlework called...oh, gosh, what is the name....pulled thread? maybe that is what it is called. I've seen photos of it and it is beautiful. Have you ever done any pulled thread work?
Are your little girls learning at your knee while you work? This is a talent that you need to share with them. People just don't do this type of work much anymore.
The baby dress is exquisite and should be thought of as an heirloom to be passed down through the generations of a family.
Thank you for sharing your talent!
Georgann |
Edited by - Aunt George on Jun 26 2006 4:25:58 PM |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 4:27:15 PM
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it could be called pulled thread work( is typically done with differnt embroidery stitches that pull at the fabric making little holes like an eyelet is a very simple pulled thread work) or drawn thread work ( you pull (draw) out the threads of a piece of fabric similar to hardanger but on a very much larger scale you pull out all the weaft or warp threads ( about a 1 to 2 inch wide strip) of a weave then you use embroidery to hold them together again you get a teneriffe look see picture previous page. If you draw out warp and weft thread then you get a square hole in the fabric which you fill with needle weaving or teneriffe work in the hole to fill it in it is a type of lace making where you start with fabric and remove bits of it to reveal a lace pattern left. Where as true teneriffe is made by stitching threads together and placing it in the drawn thread work hole). I hope this makes since to you as it is hard to explain with out visuals .yes I do know how to do that type of work. My oldest daughter made her first quilt at 7 ( twin size hand quilted) and learned how to crochet at 6 years old and learned how to do bobbin lace at 8. My second daughter is just about to turn 7 so I will start to teach her crochet now ( she has less patience than her older sister so I waited longer). the third is still a little (4) young for that much time hand work. They like to help me though if I need to wind thread into a ball they like to do that not very neat but they think it is fun and think they are helping mom so all is good that way.
i use both scissors and a rotary cutter depends on what I am doing that quilt is made from scrapes of fabric from other projects that where less than 1 inch big so I used scissors as a rotary cutter was to big
On the red tags that I put on my work is reads
Sunshine's creations
the Heirlooms of tomorow to Cherish today
have a lovely day |
Edited by - sunshine on Jun 26 2006 7:34:36 PM |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 4:31:23 PM
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six year old dress ( her birthday gift from last year) front
full dress floor length the loose ribbons at the bottom are actually bows tied around the skirt of the dress that is their tales they have a satin rose in the middle of each bow
back view mother of pearl bird buttons grow grain ribbon satin roses antique collar that I duplicated the pattern on sleves and hem that my daughters great grand mother gave me which I turned into a dress ( the collar that is)
worked on this on and off for 6 months
have a lovely day |
Edited by - sunshine on Jun 26 2006 7:36:55 PM |
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Mumof3
True Blue Farmgirl
3890 Posts
Karin
Ellenwood
GA
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 5:53:35 PM
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I am sitting here with my mouth open in awe of what you can do!! Love, love, love the miniature quilt pieces and those dresses are just incredibly gorgeous!!!! YOU are one incredibly talented farmgirl.
Karin |
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Shirley
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Shirley
Olympia
Wa
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 6:18:05 PM
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No sunshine you dont sound snooty, you sound VERY snooty. I make very nice things , and I do sell them at Farmers markets, farmers markets dont just have people that live out in the sticks and make crap to sell.
furthermore my things could be sold at boutique type shops, but I prefer not to pay 60-70% commission to those people . I sell direct so that my prices can be a little bit more affordable to customers and not rip them off. |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 6:34:22 PM
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that is not what I ment that is why I wrote that because it sounded bad to me to.
I don't pay a 60% to 70 % commission to any body. I also do not rip any one off if I charged less I would be ripping my self off. I hope you are not under selling your stuff if your stuff is as well made as you said then people will pay for the quality that you have put into your work don't under value yourself. People have great potential to do great things they tend to cut themselfs off and think oh its not worth that to any one but me. So they devalue their stuff then of course it is worth only that because you didn't give the customer a chance to actuallly pay you what your items are worth.
Please post some of your stuff so I can see I love seeing other peoples items. I actually like farmers markets but most of the stuff I see around where I live (not where you are I would not wast a nickel on) in california where I grew up there was lots of stuff at the farmers markets that I liked. I hope it is that way in washington too. I also sell direct to the customer and do custom orders.
I did not mean to sound like I was attacking farmers markets I miss the ones I grew up with. I am glad you posted thank you I wanted honest responces and you gave me that I hope you still have a lovely day and may God bless you in all your endevours (sp?). Many happy returns of the day to you
have a lovely day |
Edited by - sunshine on Jun 27 2006 07:41:42 AM |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 6:49:05 PM
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These are my youngest Clothes that I made for her
blue crochet bonnet fits 18 month old
picture of siz bonnets
romanian crochet dress ( this is a type of needle lace)close up
romanian crochet dress ( this is a type of needle lace) long shot
pink easter dress 3 month size
easter dress 18 month size close up front
easter dress 18 month size back side
take home from hospital out fit newborn same pattern that I made for my friend just used smaller thread so I could have a smaller dress
dress top ( cream part) I made from a very stained doily ( 100 years old) that my neighbor was throughing away took it all apart saved good blocks added pink roses and pink thread close up
full dress 2 year old dress
solomon's knot dress and bonnet fits 3 year old cream size 3 thread and peach satin ribbon french wire roses
have a lovely day |
Edited by - sunshine on Sep 01 2006 11:43:33 AM |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 6:52:51 PM
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100% wool braided rug
Hand stitched with 100% linen cord
I made for my husbands birthday
my kids spilled some type of liquid on the part near the bottom of the picture made the color bleed ( damaged) but we still love it wool is from my great aunts basement and is 70 - 100 years old
first one I ever made I got much better on my second one no big lump like at the bottom of this one this is 4 feet across the biggest braided rug I ever made is in my front room it took me 1 year to make it is 12 feet by 19 feet
I really am not trying to be snooty I just am very confident in what I make. Please if you have questions I will explain to the best of my ability some things just are hard to verbilize it is more a visual thing sometimes at least for me it is.
have a lovely day |
Edited by - sunshine on Jun 26 2006 7:20:56 PM |
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 7:11:14 PM
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more of 3rd childs bonnets I did close up for you
size 100 thread size 16 hook filet crochet bonnet rose's
broom stick lace on brim of bonnet and teneriffe lace for back of bonnet
filet crochet bonnet star burst pattern
size 10 thread french wire roses heres the funny part I used a toy I had a little girl to make this one does any one remember the old matel knitting machine well that is what I used.
have a lovely day |
Edited by - sunshine on Sep 01 2006 11:44:33 AM |
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Stitching & Crafting Room: Some of Sunshine's Creations + other stuff too |
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Some of Sunshine's Creations + other stuff too
