Projects: In Progess or Ideas? What'choo Workin' On?

[DollyKim]

Magic wand?

[Vetinari]

Dollykim Hee! Amusingly that's what all of the other blanks in the batch are likely to be turned into. (Sadly I have no whittling skills whatsoever, and I really don't want to cheekily try anything that'll overlap into her speciality when it's her project!)

ShortNCuddlyAmOoooh the knife idea... That blade looks gorgeous and it would be a nicely different way to use my lone blank. (The metallurgist in me is wondering what exactly the phases of the steel/iron are - I know a little about steel/iron but not what goes into blade manufacture specifically.) Hrmm expensive as it would be; if I did attempt knife work - the supplier also has some gorgeous bog yew knife blanks... (Though I do admit I've got no idea what prepping knife blanks would entail - I'd guess you'd want a clamp? And something to encourage the wood around the metal?) And I spy Bowie knives... Are they even legal in the UK? (I ask since Bowie knives are the exact kind of thing that get shown on the London news when the police raid a flat, and they produce knives as evidence that the poor sod was a criminal type!)

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

I can certainly recommend Brisa as a supplier, although I think they have a minimum order. A clamp would be very helpful, as would files, sand paper and probably a rotary tool of some description. For a stick tang knife (where the tang is not as wide as the blade and is hidden inside the handle), you do just drill a hole and stick it in (with epoxy these days) - if the tang's too thick you could carefully and slowly file it down - you want to keep the metal from getting hot. You could then get bolsters (the bit between the handle and the blade) and pommels (the bit at the top, as per a sword) and so on. I've only put handles on a couple of knives or so, so I'm in no way an expert.

The 15N20 in that blade is often used for saw blades. It's got a high nickel content and is used in damascus knife blades as the contrasting bit to a a carbon steel like 1095 - iirc the 15n20 resists the etching more than the 1095 so you get a nice contrast. There is a metric shed load of different steels that are used in knife making, and of course each knife maker wears the one(s) they use are the best

Bowie knives are definitely legal to own in the UK. And to carry if you have a good reason (self defence, because you like them, or because you don't want a blade that could potentially close on your fingers are not good reasons). You can legally carry a folding knife that doesn't lock open and has a blade 72mm or less (this is the [url]basic guidance[/url]). I have a suspicion they only show those sort of knives as they look more dramatic than, say, your average kitchen knife.

[Trethowan]

Projects! They're all on hold. Everything I was working on is benched until July 15th. I'm pouring all my energy into prepping the second baby's bedroom and finishing my book. I'm really close to finishing this thing! (hahaha... famous last words.) I'm nowhere close to finishing the nursery. Oh man, I've got to get a crib and move furniture and all sorts of stuff.

[richila]

Richi needs a journal. by Richila, on Flickr

[Arkinlae]

Ashes of Zo makes me happy!

I finally finished my shawl just in time for the first really cool morning. Cinderblock walls are no insulation against 50 degree temperatures.
My Shawl is 2/3 finished by Richila, on Flickr

Hehehe for some reason my brain turned the crochet hook into a dolly sized umbrella


I have to many plans going on in my head. I'm trying to sort through them so I don't get overloaded and look at what things I already have to try and make a start, rather than continuously buying things and then fill the house with things I never get round to using risking unfinished projects.

I think it will most probably just be a lot of repaint/faceup practice (once I get some of my old Barbies back from my mums) and get an area for my dolls to be displayed properly and catalog them all. I really want to do a big doll family post. Oh and getting hold of something to get rid of staining. My BeGoth doll stained my Spectra and Draculaura's faces whilst they were packed together during the move and my DD girl could do with some destaining too.

None doll related projects is to try and finish knitting some vegetables for my son

[kenaiqueen]

My sister up in Anchorage got me involved in a charity project for the Salvation Army. Local artists choose things from their stores and then remake them into something wonderful. She found an old American Girl doll at a garage sale and drafted me to make her some clothes. I ended up cleaning her up, tightening joints, repainting her face, and nails besides turning old clothes into outfits. Here are a couple of pics of the finished product. I give you Charity, the Alaskan American Girl:

Winter Parka made from an old fake fur vest.


Summer parka using new fabric, jeans from baby pants and mocs from a baby jacket.


Kuspuk from new fabric, her jeans again and some fake white suede mocs. She also has on a tee made from an old white tee shirt.

Now I want to concentrate on a couple outfits for my new Indian Ellowyne doll.

[Eseme]

She is wonderful! Charity is going to make a child very, very happy with her beautiful wardrobe and her pet. You did an amazing job.

Eseme

[magical-pudding]

My old dolls are in pretty bad shape after being in storage for so long. My Mirodoll Wind has completely lost her wig and clothes -- I seriously have no clue what happened to them, they just got lost in the move, I guess. My Pullip Sfoglia never had a good outfit to begin with, as I bought her nude and usually just dressed her in ill-fitting Barbie clothes. ^^;;; She also needs a new wig, as her stock one she came with was quite tangled. My Obitsu/Little Dal hybrid and Hujoo still had their stuff, but I've changed so much over the past two years that I kind of want to do something different with them now. And my most recent doll, the Hello Kikipop... Well, I just didn't like her stock to begin with.

So right now, the project I'm working on for them is to get them all new things and make them fit my current interests better! For the most part, it'll be pretty easy -- all of them need new clothes and wigs. The Hujoo will be the hardest one, though, as she needs a new faceup. So I'll probably work on getting her makeover last. At this moment, I'm waiting on some new clothes for the Hello Kikipop! She already has a new wig.

And...in addition, there's one other, unrelated project I plan on doing. Looking through my old Monster High stuff (I have absolutely no interest in Monster High anymore, honestly), I saw that I had some scrap pieces laying around that gave me an idea. I'm going to be using these pieces to create a figure of one of my favorite video game characters. I say "figure" and not "doll" because the project is going to require so much sculpting, that he's going to be completely immobile when I'm through with him. But that's fine! Honestly, it's this project that I'm the most excited about; I used to customize ponies, but I haven't done so in years, so getting to actually make something again is going to be really fun.

[Dark Angel]

I give you Charity, the Alaskan American Girl

She looks wonderful! And the outfits are SO cute.