Almost Back From Vacation

 So, I was able to only have 3 days of getaway but it was a productive time, albeit shorter than planned.

The first piece I went after was this wisteria bouquet, which came out really well, except she is missing leaves.  I face-palmed when I realized I had already bound her up and left out the leaves and butterflies and things that make these pieces really pop.  So I will either put her up at a discount, or just unmount her and start over.










The next piece I attempted were these three, a true peony style.  I have wanted to make one of these for a while but never had the experimental nerve to risk losing chirimen.  I made the blue one first, which I didn't like that you can't see the patterned fabric hardly. I made the red one next, and tried to cut the petal a different size.  I made the fourth one last, but I still think the first method was the best.  So, print on the exterior of the petal, and solid interior.  I used 1.5 inch squares for the outer ring and trimmed them up a bit for the second inner ring. The third is one inch squares folded in rounded petal, but with just three.  My base was 1 3/4 inch circle.






Then I got into the barrettes, which are coming out beautifully! I love my pink one and the green one, I really get to show off prints and small left over colors I only have a few scraps remaining. 
I also have tons of mizuhiki to use for this now, and I am really looking forward to using that.  I just need to find some gold and silver, but I do have several other colors.
I started with an order of 10 for the forms and I have already covered them all in fabric.  I am still deciding exactly how I am going to cover each one, but it is going to be a lot of fun to experiment.  




There are several other pieces I have not photographed just because they were nothing beyond my usual work.  I did a large momiji on a hair stick and another attempt at a peony cluster in blue and purple.  I also started a autumn colored kiku for a comb or bouquet.  But I have enjoyed doing these barrettes the most. There will be LOTS more of these.

Updated Work Report

completed temari

 I have been doing lots of work while the shop is closed.  But that energy is dwindling down, and I don't have much of it left. 

First up is my friend's ball. I finished the silver outline and decided to cut out the obi and negate most of the decorative stitching.  Most of the remaining areas are uneven, and doing more detail work would accentuate that further.  But it came out really well!!!! My stitches aren't masterwork, but this is definitely the best kiku I have ever done. 

Formerly white wedding bouquet

The rest of the kanzashi pictures are reworks.  The white kanzashi is from the white wedding piece, one  of the first big pieces I ever attempted.  I took off the shidare, and rewired each piece and thread wrapped it in olive green to match the foliage.  And a better hair fork than the original ones I used which always seemed to pull my hair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thyroid awareness fork

This thyroid cancer awareness double sakura with pearls hair fork is something I made back in 2015, but the thicker nylon thread wrapping came loose and pulled away.  I rewired and reworked it to a new hair fork with rayon thread wrapping in pink.  The shidare has a cute little butterfly charm, the symbol of thyroid cancer awareness.

Nanaohana with side piece

 This nanohana (or rapeseed blossom/canola flower) is a beautiful display of lemon yellow.  With dark green leaves within the flowers to accentuate, this piece is a real improvement from it's smaller origin kanzashi.  I didn't feel right with the butterflies permanently wired in, so I used the left over blossoms and one of the butterflies to make an optional hair fork. 







I have several more I have fixed recently that will go back in the store as soon as I reopen.  For instance I fixed strawberries and cream piece, and I am about to start on the hydrangea pieces, all 3 of them. 

I also might start some bigger pieces, with silk.  I have a recipe for rice starch, and I was thinking about iris or narcissus kanzashi, especially since I have enough mizuhiki to make the proper leaf configuration. 

Meanwhile, I am working deeply in Muse to start my website, and updating DeviantART as well.  I have also started another temari which I plan on plotting today.  I am thinking a divided 6 config, though I don't think I have ever done that before.  I am going to go through my books later and pick a pattern.  Doesn't help the Mari is BRIGHT ORANGE, and I can't stitch it with black. 

Anyone have any ideas?? Feel free to comment or contact me.  I love correspondence!!!

No News Means I'm Still Working

I wasn't planning on it, but I am still working quite a bit this week and did a lot the week past.

I sent off my package to the TZArtisan Store.   Keep an eye out for a few recycled pieces, that white comb and fork I did, plus some new hair stick/hair pin sets. I also sent over several bookmarks, hair bands, and ornaments.

I am getting rid of the ornaments.  Soon they will go into clearance for the home decor and after Christmas, the holiday ones will go into clearance as well.

I have started mapping out a new website front end for Etsy.  I'm not using "Pattern" like they suggest, I am using Muse from Adobe to construct this bad boy.  I am pretty excited and think I have a good handle on it from hours of watching video tutorials.  I will go ahead and purchase the Muse package as soon as my Lupron fiasco is handled.

Speaking of which, started that yesterday. So October 6th or so, I will reopen the store.

 Meanwhile I have been working Temari!!!!  I just put the final section of purple in to an interwoven double-sided kiku on a silver-grey mari, and am about to start the final parts of silver detailing.  I might put in an octagon on the top and bottom poles as well in different shades of white to lavender to purple to match the kiku.
This one isn't going in the store, but to one of my good friends.  I didn't expect it to turn out so well, especially since I had to rip out stitches multiple times.  But it really is a beauty. And kikus are my favorite.

I do want to do another for the shop though.  And that will come closer to after Lupron.  Temari are intricate, meticulously precise work.  A properly measured grid is crucial.  And the first few rounds are generally pretty confusing.  But once you can see the pattern with your eyes, and the threads start layering properly, it goes pretty quickly.

I still have a bunch of headbands to finish before I can use the table my sewing machine is on for taking shop photos.  Most of them are for my daughter's shop, but I still have 5 or 6 left for the shop to complete.

I have a 2 page list of things I need to do this month, like kanzashi repairs and websites.  So even though I probably won't be posting much, I'm still working. 

Shop Vacation and Project Updates

This is the second piece of the bouquet set.  I decided to keep it as is, with the addition of two large leaf pieces and 3 buds.  Thread wrapped in 40wt Rayon in sage green. 

I kept off the shidare and bira bira attachments to keep it closer to the original, but improved slightly.  The blossoms were all completely disassembled and re-gathered with thread wrapping.  And it has a better hair fork, since the ones I started out with really pull your hair.



I am closing up shop tomorrow for my Lupron vacation (if you want to call it a vacation).  My first injection is imminent, so I am taking the initial preparatory steps.  Anouncements today, closing tomorrow, and my first injection by the end of the week. 

I still have all those hairbands to work on, and many are complete, but I have a whole bunch more to go. 

 And i still have deviantART updates to do.

And I am working temari again!  I made a mari for the first time in years.  Hopefully that will keep me busy in the car line. 

Thats my notes for today.
:)

Remade Kanzashi Notes

Old flowers, new set!

This piece really wasn't too difficult to do since all the blossoms were already made.  The real challenge was straightening the wire out and working with the extra short stems.  I added 3 leaves and 2 buds, plus the shidare. Left is a metal hair comb, right is a 4 inch hair fork.  Still works great for a bridal or wedding piece.  BUT I am probably sending these off to the TZARTISAN Store soon.  I have one or two more pieces to fix up before I send them off.
Both are thread wrapped in a pale sage green.  The hair fork is actually pointed to the left so it can be worn on the right side of a bun up updo in the back of the head. 

I also have about 50 hairbands in the works, half are for the shop, and half are for another project.  (as if I didn't have enough.)  Some are prints I did not get to sew because I ran out of black backing, so they are repeats.  I have a ton of the chrysanthemum arabesque gold print ones now, at least 5, though I am keeping one for myself.  I need to advertise after all.
Right now they are through with the first round of sewing, and now I am closing up the sides before the top stitching for completion (and reinforcement)

But with both my kids going full time to school next year, life is going to really open up and hopefully I can finish most of this stuff by the time that medical procedure comes around. Luckily I have something to help me manage my pain now, and that is going to help get a lot of these projects done.  (Can't sit in a chair at a table or sewing machine when in pain.)

Inventory Refresh and Reworking Pieces

No more

Every now and again, an inventory refresh is necessary.  It helps cut down clutter (where I have boxes of kanzashi in 5ft tall stacks) and I am forced to visually inspect them for damage, or poor workmanship. 

Many of my pieces have been taken down to be reworked.




This one was wired poorly, and sat in inventory for years.  3 years actually.  It needed to be redesigned and thread wrapped, as it still had it's original wire wrapping under a billion layers of tape. 

As you can see, I am working on rebinding it with several leaf and bud pieces.  It is also getting a green thread wrap. 

One of these will be going to the TZARTISAN STORE  and the other is going in my shop


I have also been doing other work on inventory refreshing, website updates! DeviantART was sorely lacking in information for some of the older, originial files.  Many still have the Kanzashi Temple logo.  Many were shot on the fly, as quickly as possible, and now have better photos to represent them properly.  So, I am starting in the original files and moving up. 

Most of these pieces I am working on will not be available till after September. 

I am still planning on shutting down the store for the month of September as I recover from my medical procedure.

Ornament Photos Complete!

I have been pretty busy, all my ornaments have been rephotographed, and are posted on the site. Even the holiday ones

Next I am going to be working on reorganizing and reworking several of my pieces.  You might notice that a couple of the ornaments are gone, particularly the orange, a fuchsia, a red, and an aqua ornament.  I also have several kanzashi fixed up and I am deciding what to keep and reuse and what to send off to the TZArtisan store.