Woodworkers, knitters, painters, flower arrangers and metalworkers, composers and picture takers and candlestick makers, whoever you are and whatever you create … let’s talk about it here! 
So many of us have hidden talents as well as well-known hobbies, and I thought it would be nice to have a running thread where we can stealth-brag about our new creations, get opinions and advice, and just generally talk about all the things we make and create and do.
I’ll start us off with my new incomplete project: a beaded cuff bracelet.
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/03/01/aacf82955a6ff7820fba0eb49d9e3f62.jpg
It’s not snugged up at all in the snapshot so the beads are loose. But I still don’t like how the spacer beads are getting pushed out of alignment. I need to restring the silver ladder beads, but I’m not sure how to make it look right. I’m teaching myself as I go along, which is a kind way of saying that I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.
I like those stones! I hope you get some good advice.
I haven’t been all that creative lately, but I’m thinking of making and decorating some Easter bunny cookies. We have a trade/barter event at my city’s community center in two weeks. I like to bake, but the problem is that then we EAT. This way I can still bake and decorate, but save our waistlines. I have a big Easter bunny cookie cutter and saw a cute idea using coconut. Will take pics if I decide to do it.
I just finished making what amounts to a very large serving board. We have a very small living room, with no room for a coffee table. But we do have a leather ottoman that measures about 26" square. So made a top for it out of cherry, walnut and maple. I laminated it in three steps, trimmed off the ends with a circular saw, then rounded the corners with a jigsaw and routed all the edges with a 1/2" bit. I cut hand holds on two sides across the grain, and routed the edges.
Then the finishing began, first scraping off any dried glue using an old plane blade, then planing down any uneven glue joints with a #4 plane. Did rough sanding with a belt sander, then used a card scraper to clean up any tear-out. Then used a pad sander, taking the finish down to 400 grit and hand sanding the edges.
Applied three coats of clear Danish Oil, sanding to 1200 grit on each coat, and to 2000 on the final. Let it dry, then applied three coats of poly for a hard finish. Looks pretty good.
I’m on the leading edge of “The Next Collectable Car” wave.
Sometimes it breaks, sometimes it crashes.
Not that it matters much. I never sell anything. I just keep on keepin’ on! To refute Spock, its better to have than to want.
Thanks for starting this purplehorseshoe. Your bracelet is going to be gorgeous.
Chefguy, that sounds beautiful. Pictures?
I am a knitter; I knit practical things like socks but also lace things like shawls and scarves. I am currently knitting a sweater which has sections of two-color knitting which involve working with one color in each hand, following a chart. (I have to take a lot of breaks working on this part.) Sample of the lace-work can be seen here. That scarf also has beads knitted into it. Fun!
I’m making electrically-heated scarfs. They work well except that securing copper wire to nichrome wire is non-trivial. Next attempt is with butt crimps.
Jasper, got 'em off Amazon. And yeah, advice gratefully accepted. I’m using long tube spacers plus flat daisy spacers, together, to make the metallic ladder between the jasper ovals, and I just can’t get everything to stay at 90 degrees. Links to illustrations of project layouts, or general advice about cuffs, all most welcome, sine as I said I’m self taught and totally winging it.
echoes plea for pics
Heh heh. Butt crimps. 
Well, hey, in the name of fighting ignorance, quick explanation? Also, plug-in scarves exist? Wow. Technology marches ever forward, and the capacity for the human brain to invent new ways to manipulate everything for personal comfort never fails to impress me.
Believe it or not, you can safely do a Google image search for “butt crimp”.
I just finished recording a music-composition album, and am also writing a novel. But I’m starting to seriously question whether the novel will actually ever be completed.
I’ve been busy working a lot lately so I haven’t been able to get much done. I did finally finish a vinyl lettering project, though. Geek Family Rules Sign It took about five times longer than it should have because of issues that came up, so even though many of the letters look wonky, I’m keeping it.
I made a skirt for one of my girls recently out of some remnant fabric from JoAnn and it came out quite cute. She’s worn it three times and I still keep forgetting to get a picture of it.
I’m into photography of the more artistic kind, specializing in abstracts. I also like to play with digital modification of my shots.
My first graphic novel is up for pre-order on Amazon.
I love stone beads like that, purplehorseshoe. I’ve got a big old box of them in my work room. Do you know what mineral those are? Or what they’re supposed to look like?
I knit. I used to knit socks. Now that my sock drawer is overflowing, I knit cowls with all of the sock yarn that doesn’t have nylon content (and is therefore not suitable for knitting socks). 60 or 65 stitches across, size US3 needles, garter stitch. Total mindless knitting. Cast on and GO until I run out of yarn, then sew the ends together and voila, warm, chic scarf to wear around the house in winter. My husband even thinks I look good in them.
And then there is the novel-writing thing. My WIP is a seven-part serial with a final word count around 250K. In short, it’s freakin’ huge. After indulging my penchant for emotional anguish in my first trilogy of books, in this one I challenged myself to try action, intrigue, and politics. Don’t know if I will succeed or not, but I’m learning a lot while I try.
By the way, purplehorseshoe, I’ve had a sudden boom in book sales the last two days. If that’s due to word-of-mouth from you, thank you!
Really nice Chefguy.
Maybe basic, but quite lovely!
They were called “Picasso jasper” and here’s the Amazonlink.
Holy shit, there’s more? I read the trilogy and figured that was it. Wheee! 
Cool, I’ll have to check it out!
I’m doing the novel-writing thing too. The first book in my urban-fantasy series is coming out this month (with four more written already). I’ve got a pro cover artist, pro editor, and a pro promotion person helping me out with it, so I’m hoping to see some sales (I’ll announce it when it’s released).
I’ve also got another novel coming out in April, in the game universe I freelance for, this one professionally published. I’ll actually see my novel in Barnes and Noble!
Textile-wise I have two projects. Firsts off, I’m trying to use up the BRIGHT NEON YELLOW “tarn” I made from one of my Oldest Sister’s race shirts. They are becoming coasters. Well, the one I made yesterday is almost trivet-sized, but that’s all right.
My cross-stitch project is called “Sun Kissed” and I’m on Start #2 of that. I had the bottom half done, got ready to start the top half and realized I’d made a huge mistake somewhere that made everything slightly, unfixably off-kilter. :smack::smack::smack: Round 2 is going well so far. (That’s not my picture in the link, btw. I don’t work with linen and I don’t keep my needle in the fabric. I have a worn-out pincushion the way God intended).
Writing-wise I’m working on a fantasy story. It’s in the godawful first draft stage.
I paint pictures of slums, roadhouses, shacks, gas pumps, vandalized phone booths, and songbirds.
