I love tea. I love the taste of tea, how a good cuppa can make a bad day so much better. I love the ritual of making a fresh pot of tea, especially when you get out the "good" china. So it's not really a surprise that when the lovely ladies behind "Makers Bundles" approached me for a contributor project my mind when to tea wear. Specifically, some of the most historically rich and beautiful tea wear in the world, the Gaiwan.
If any of you have make a structural EPP piece, you will know there are limitations to what you can make cardstock do. With this piece, I think we were right on that line between success and failure. The reason being, we have created a double curve on each seam. I would have preferred to have pushed the rim out further, but I knew that it would mean the possibility of seams ripping if it wasn't sewn just right.
You can see above, how there is a "belly" in the middle of the cup which tapers in before flaring out again. While it may not look like much of a grade, when you are sewing the side seams together you can feel them fighting you as you sew. But the cup of this design really did come together perfectly the first time, which is more than I can say for the lid!!!
The lid was more of a Goldilocks moment, too big, too little, then just right. And while the lid may look like it fitted like a glove, it did need a little wiggling. Which for me as a perfectionist, was not on. It needed to just drop into the cup, like hand in glove.
I had also used a velvet ribbon for this version, which was so classy.... but trickier to sew through while assembling the lid top.
You can see the green lid was a dismal failure, who knew that 2mm per side could make SUCH a drastic difference?! Well, I should have. There are still times when I am blown away by how incredibly precise the measurements need to be on these pieces.
Take a look below and compare it to the image above, that is what the difference of .7mm does to a template. * Insert chefs kiss *. I just love it when the details come together.
Next debacle was the saucer shape and size. Sorry, there are no images of those "failures" first too big proportionally, then I made it look too much like the cup... so what was the point. I felt like it needed a little of the lining visible to create that distinction between pieces, but keep the same lines as the cup. Functionality wise didn't need to be large, just a little extra piece to keep your thread clips in etc.
The next mission is ALWAYS getting the pattern together while everything is fresh, then photography. I actually had a pretty spectacular rant at my hubby over my inadequacies in this department. (The kitchen was also a mess which is never good for my creative headspace.) So he made me a tea, and offered to try somethings out. Bless his heart, there are times he saves my sanity with the simplest things.
This was his masterpiece after scouring the paddocks and greenhouse for something usable.
And there you have it! A sneak peak behind the scenes on this project. Guess I should talk about buying it now shouldn't I ;p (that's an old school winky face, this font doesn't work quite as well as the old Nokia).
This project will be featured in the Makers Bundle 15th - 20th August 2024. Its a fantastic bundle featuring nine PDF patterns, ALL EPP!!! How good is that! It will cost $35AUD for the bundle of download patterns, and has an individual retail pattern of over $200. I love bundles like this because its a "safe" way of trying out other designers patterns and styles.
It is an affiliate sale, so If people are wanting to purchase please use the Cake & Ale referral link (HERE) as I will make my profit off that. Bundles like this are basically gambling for designers, we get paid off how many we sell... so like Amway... Hard sales pitch aside, there are some beautiful projects and you should take look! If you decide it is not for you, I will be listing the pattern up on this website 21st Aug just to make sure no one misses out. Did I mention the coupons?! Each designer has a special offer included with their patterns! Mine is a buy 2 get 1 free deal on all EPP patterns in the shop. Not too shabby!! Until next time Possums! Eat, drink and be merry. Cass
Комментарии