I have been making things. I haven’t really finished anything yet but there is hope.

For Clockwork in Dec, I made a pair of long spats to cover my sneakers. They were Velcro-ed together and the plan was to put buttons on the outside. The velcro was attached with hot glue which doesn’t work real well on things that flex in cold weather. Now I need to figure out which closure method I want to use and implement it.

I have a vest I am turning into a waist cinch with suspenders. It is something I saw in the garment district and suspect will show up a lot in the next year. This one is a proof of concept before I do it to a really nice/cool vest. It just needs to be tried on to see if the cut is right and then stitched up, probably with bias tape (which I have found some that will work).

I have stitched up a split seam in a corset/bodice I wore to the PEERS Courtesan Ball many many years ago. Now I need to put something over the stitches so they look nice. I couldn’t find my black bias tape but I found wide black satin ribbon and hey, it works. It is pinned and ready for a sewing machine.

I have been going nuts over a pin I am putting together. I bought the basic part at the WESale. I hit the bead store on Friday but only got chain. I can’t find the charms I want. I plan to go to General Bead on Wed to at least get a tea cup before they go away (they are being discontinued). I have painted the gold pin silver, used India Ink to darken the cracks and lacquered the hell out of it. My thanks to the O’Hare household for providing me with the little supplies I needed and the expertise on what the bleep I am doing. I have ideas but not always the best way of accomplishing them. There is still more work to be done on the pin but it seems to have the dedication allotted to it for it to get a lot farther. Not sure why but I am willing to go with it.

I bought a bicycle to test to see if I will actually get around to riding. It needs a name. I had planned on painting it silver and distressing it so as to make it look a little steampunk and make it look like something people wouldn’t want. I am now thinking I might go with hammered black and make it look more like wrought iron.

So many people are doing the brass and brown leather for Steampunk, I have to be a little different. I am focusing on black and silver as a combo. The brown and cream and gold/brass do call me but there are some neat things that can be done with black/silver/pewter. My first thought is silver to replace brass but I am thinking maybe my thing will be black iron with silver accents (bolts and screws and such). I did buy a very expensive iron fence like four poster bed frame three years ago. It would just be an extension of that.

I have been surfing the web and keep getting caught on Instructables. There was one on night lites for bikes. One included a mod for lights from a dollar store. I bought the lights and that is the next project.

I saw a picture of someone doing a crop straight jacket and I want one. There is an Instructable from Threadbangers that shows how to make one. I think it would look neat with a red and white striped corset. I saw just what I would need at the Depot for creative reuse. I would need leather cutters, buckles and snaps for the leather. This one is more nuts because there is a lot more work involved in making this a reality. The corset would be good for pirate wear though…

I have a dress that needs to have the arm holes made larger. They are marked and need to be cut and then sewn.

I saw a Instructable (by threadbangers, love these guys) on making a picnic blanket out of 8 old t-shirts that has straps so it can be worn as a backpack. I am thinking of making this when I go visit by brother and get my niece involved (and nephew if he is interested).

I have the pieces to make a recharging station for my electronics. I just need to work out what goes where, measure, cut and assemble.

I have some shelves I want to put up on the wall but I want them painted first. I have the white and black paint to do it. I just need to paint them on a not windy or rainy day so they can dry outside and then hang them on the wall.

I need to fix the hanger on one of the sides of my cast (from when I broke my foot). One side came off so it can’t hang on the wall with the bent motorcycle handle bars anymore.

Sure would be nice if I ever got around to testing my old tv vs the new tv to see which one I want to keep. I am hoping to take the left over one to the electronic recyclers maybe Thursday. I need to pick up a new to me printer and get that off Sparrow’s hands.

I need to test LEDs to see how many I want in each light I plan to mount in my car. This project has stalled out at this point. I am not as excited about it as I am the costume bits. Other than that, the plans have been worked out for what to do with them.

I need to work on my portfolio website and get that to where I am not embarrassed by it. I sure could use help in brainstorming on what to do with it. I lack the focus to move forward on that right now.

I have a book with questions about how to get out of your own way that I want to work on. More introspection sort of stuff that I don’t do well by myself.

Oh, I also want to put together a puzzle that I got for my niece before I go so I know how many pieces are missing. I have a feeling that may not happen. Or it might be the first thing that actually gets finished.

I think that is it for the live projects I have on my plate. When I have this many things at work, I start to go buggy. I am doing fine right now. My weakness is finishing things. I get bored before the end and want to start something new. I can see the new things here that are keeping me entertained as the older things get dull. It will be interesting to see how each of the things on the list go.

Damn, this is a pretty long list. Although this is how I used to work all the time.