Socks!

I just made the best darned fleece socks in the world! They better be after I broke two sewing machine needles on the second one, and by golly they are. ^_^

[I was using pins to mark where to sew, and ran the needle right over the plastic head of the pin. The first time the needle broke at the eye and so fell apart, the second time it broke right over the eye, leaving the end of the needle around the thread. Thankgoodness nothing else in the machine broke, and I have a goddess for a mother as she gave me 15 replacement needles with the machine itself.)

I'm awesome. I now have matching fleece socks and scarf, and I'm going to try a hat and gloves soon. It took me around 2 hours to make the socks. :( I'm sure I'll get faster, but I don't know how much faster, or faster enough to be worth it, or how fast I'll get faster... Man, if a half-hour scarf is worth $15, these things shoudl be worth $60 all by themselves!


The top edge is a bit messy...


... but not as messy as the heel joint. I'm going to have to sew one of them up by hand already.


And here's a self-portrait in my socks and scarf. :-P

More scarf info

It takes me around 30 minutes to make a scarf, and on average a dollar's worth of material. I've been folding them up small and then rolling and tieing up with a scrap of the same color and putting them in gift bags. All my friends are going to get them for Christmas! :) These things usually run for $15 in stores.

Scarves

Earlier this week I was thinking about crochetting scarves, and how long it takes, and how I find the simple yarns boring and the fancy yarns make me lose count. Then I looked at the scarf I'd been wearing for a while - fleece - and a lightbulb went off. A couple days of searching later, and I'd found a fabric store with a convenient sale on items! Solid color fleece that normally went for $8/yd was reduced to $4/yd, and I found a yard of black in the remnants bin, along with some fancy cloth that will make fancy scarves.

To make a fleece scarf:

1. Cut to 12" wide (and as long as the fabric allows). Make sure the edges are straight and not ragged. (I'm a n00b, and don't have fancy equipment so this's a challenge for me.) If you're lazy, your scarf is already done.


2. Measure around 4" from each end, and stick in a pin to mark it. This will be the tassels.


3. Using a thread color that matches or contrasts (your preference of course!), hem up the long edges, and across the short edge where the pins are placed.


4. Cut fringes/tassels into the unsewn ends, I make them around an inch wide, and stop cutting around 1 cm from where the thread is. Now you are done for my fancy version.


5. Other options include making it double thick (if the pattern is one-sided), folding over the edges before sewing it up, and other forms of tassels.

The hardest part of this all was figuring out how the sewing machine worked. I'd last used it some 8 years ago...

I'm going to gift a few of these scarves to friends, but I'm going to have leftover fleece. Anyone ever try selling on eBay? I'm worried I'll waste my money posting about them and not actually sell any.

Earthy Glass/Wirewrap Pendant

This pendant shows off silver hand wirewrapping around three earth-tone glass tiles. The whole pendant measures about 1.2" wide by 2.5" long and is worn by a black ribbon.







Price of $13 via PayPal includes S&H by U.S. First Class Mail.

Orange/Green Dichroic Glass Earrings

The simple design of this earring and necklace set allows the multi-colored glass beads to shine through. These are black in background, with a "think film coating" applied on top to give the shimmer. One side is sparkling green, the other sparkling orange. Earrings measure 3/4" long by 1/2" wide and hang from hooks with bright orange beads beneath the main bead. They come with backings so you won't lose them, and in a white silk pouch for safe-keeping or gifting. Necklace is the main bead in the center with orange beads on the side, all strung on an adjustable "invisible" string.





Price of $25 via PayPal includes S&H by U.S. First Class Mail.

Pink/Maroon glass tile wire-wrapped earrings

The 1"-wide pink glass tile has a 1/2" maroon glass tile attached to it by criss-crossed layers of wire wrapping.





As usual, these hook earrings come with a backing and in a maroon silk bag. Price is $10 via PayPal, S&H included.

Now with PayPal!

I think I've figured out the PayPal thing. All my items for sale should now have PayPal buttons on them. Please note: although you can manually change quantities for any item to more than one, there only exists ONE OF EACH ITEM! Hopefully I won't have two people buying the same item, in which case I'll send it to the first person, and learn how to refund the second. Anyone know how to set the quantity of items in PayPal?

eBay: didn't sell

Unfortunately, the first three items, which I listed on eBay, didn't sell. Not too surprising I don't think, but I'm not sure how I would get them to sell. Anyone else sell things on eBay much?

I can relist them if anyone wants to buy them, or leave a comment or email zandperl-AT-gmail-DOT-com and we'll arrange it through PayPal instead.

Orange glass set

This orange glass set is not currently for sale - I made it for myself to wear with a dress for a couple weddings this summer - but I thought I would show it off.

Neclace consists of a glass pendant in the shape of a heart. Half clear/white, and half opalescent orange, it hangs from a sheer golden ribbon cut to choker length that fastens with a bow. The earrings have one larger opalescent orange glass bead in a rounded tetrahedral shape, two smaller orange and yellow beads, and then one disk-shaped pearly pink/white glass bead. Beads are threaded together with a fine silver wire that also wraps around the beads. Hook earrings with a backing, currently hanging in a gold silk bag from the same hanger as the dress.

Maroon glass tile Earring and Pendant set

This one is my favorite yet, and I won't be sad if it doesn't sell. One-inch square maroon glass tiles are hung diagonally and wrapped three times each way across the face for a secure hold. Above are smaller white with pink glass tiles wrapped similarly. The pendant has an additional white and pink tile beneath the main maroon one.

Hook earrings come with an included backing so you won't lose them. Necklace not included - I would recommend a simple silver box chain, or lightweight black silk, though you could try leather or a silk ribbon in various colors. The set comes with a matching maroon silk bag to keep them safe in a drawer, carry while traveling, or to use as a gift bag.


Maroon set on the table.


They're translucent.


Size compared to hand, showing off the colors more.


All three pieces come in a garnet-colored silk bag for protection, storage, or gifting.

Price $25 including shipping by U.S. First Class mail, via PayPal.

PayPal to eBay

I'm afraid the PayPal "Buy Now" buttons seem to be giving me issues. Anybody else use them and want to help me out?

In the meantime, I'm going to remove the buttons from each item and put a link to the eBay auction. If that ends without a winning bid, I will put up static prices, and if you wish to purchase an item, leave a comment on that item's comments, and when I reply with confirmation you can use the "Donate" button in the right sidebar. All my eBay auctions are available here.

Aqua Glass Earrings

These blue-green earrings are made from glass tiles hand-wrapped with silver wire. They measure 1.25" wide and around 1.75" long, and hang from hooks. I've included backings for the hooks so you'll never lose them, and a dark blue silk bag to keep them safe or use as gift-wrapping.

Cost of earrings is $15, including shipping and handling (via U.S. First Class Mail).

Handmade Pink Glass Tile Wire-Wrapped Earrings

Pink glass tile hand wrapped with silver wire along the edges to display to opalescent shimmer. Comes with a backing for the hook so that you'll never lose it, and a gold-colored silk bag to keep the earrings safe, or to use as a gift bag.







Earrings measure 1.25" wide by 1.5" high. Price $10 including shipping by U.S. First Class mail, via PayPal.

Welcome!

Welcome to Zandperl's Fancies, home of handmade jewelry and other creations. I'll be posting new items as I make them, and all are for sale through PayPal. I hope to have reasonable prices - I make these for fun, not profit, but I don't really want them sitting around the house when I'm done making them.

Comments Rules
I welcome and encourage comments, including feedback and suggestions (though I am not yet taking commissions, if I ever do).

No comment spam. Posts that appear to be for no purpose other than to provide a link to another webpage will be deleted. Comments with links to executable files will be deleted, as they could contain viruses and I do not want my blog to inadvertantly compromise anyone's computer.

No profanity, insults, or flame wars. I would like to keep this site PG-13, apolitical, family friendly, safe for work, accepting of all individuals, and respectful. I do understand that these things sometimes slip out, and even PG-13 movies aren't 100% pure, so I will not delete every such post, just when they become excessive according to my own standards. I don't expect that I'll ever have to actually implement this policy.

That said, feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions, or comment just to say "hi" and who you are!