Star Trek Podcast Fandom

These ornaments/badges have very little popular appeal, I'd imagine. They're based on in-jokes from a podcast I love: The Greatest Generation. (A Star Trek podcast by two guys who are a little embarrassed to have a Star Trek podcast.)

But sometimes I have to make stuff just for myself, or just to see if I can, or even just because I have an idea in my head that will keep percolating until I exorcize it appropriately. 

Thus: A 6-part ornament series...based on jokes that no one but me and a very niche audience will get. 

Worf's Loaves, Kevin Uxbridge's Real Dolls, a Natural Yeager, and the potted-plant-ness of the two lead female characters on Star Trek: The Next Generation (Deanna Troi and Beverly Crusher). 

Wesley Crusher also gets an ornament, featuring his coogi-style sweaters.

And Yar's Scarves. The currency of the future? Scarves. 

Well, they made me a little bit happy, and other fans seemed to like them. So I guess it wasn't a complete waste of time.

Buttons

Felt is still happening, but instructions have slowed down a bit. 

Why? 

Because I found my grandfather's old button maker. 

That, combined with my grandmother's old vintage 1960s magazines, has produced a new craft!

Behold. Buttons.

The challenge to myself is to use the vintage phrases/words from the magazines along with the pictures. It'd be easier--though not as fun--to create my own sayings to match the vintage imagery. 

Considering that my desire to do these far outstrips the space I have on any given piece of clothing/purse/whatever to display them, I think I'll put these in my etsy shop, eventually. 

Here is a sampling of some other buttons...under the cut. 

Sally Yates: "I said no."

Timeliness can be problematic. After Sally Yates eviscerated Ted Cruz and John Cornyn I had a friend pipe up: Hey, you should do a Sally Yates thing!

Which...yeah. I totally should. And fast. Because I doing these current event felt objects means that time is of the essence. 

So I designed and made a Sally Yates ornament:

With mistakes. 

First off, Sally doesn't really have many pithy (short) quotes to use. 

Secondly, it's really hard to accurately capture that head-looking-up regal pose without someone looking just plain crooked. So much of that chin definition in that pose relies on the natural shadows and 3D-ness of the human body. It's very difficult to subtly render anything in felt, and it requires subtlety. 

Because of this, the lettering looks crooked. Which bugs me a TON. 

I also got the layering on the pink shirt wrong. I guess I haven't done one of these in a while (I've been working on a Firefly Busy Book and some stitching samplers) and I'm out of practice. 

Oh well, you can't get them all right the first time. I might still use this example in a pattern, though, because I rarely love making the same thing twice. 

Monty Python Holy Grail Busy Book

All my felt crafting started with a busy book. It was a Star Trek TNG busy book, to be exact. I bought a pattern off Etsy, and made my first project. 

But, you see, I'm kind of a Star Trek superfan. I kept thinking of scenes and characters that I wanted to add to the book. So I designed my own pages and added to it. Eventually I had to split the busy books into TNG and TOS. But I digress. 

I also love other geeky things. So I designed and made a Monty Python Flying Circus busy book. Behold!

The cover page is pretty basic, so dive in after the jump!

Adding Motion: Latrice Royale

I love RuPaul's Drag Race. Unabashedly. Unashamedly. Hence me making a RuPaul ornament. I wanted to memorialize more Drag Queens in felt (because who wouldn't want to do this?), and Latrice Royale was my next choice.

I loved this picture:

But the hand was kind of problematic in felt. It would look strange to just have it there, static. It would have been easy to eliminate that hand (by making it straight down at the side), but then I thought...why not have Latrice blowing kisses?

I have done a lot of motion stuff in my busy books (which I still have not posted...and will get around to eventually), so I had an idea to sew a button to make the arm moveable.

And thus, I added motion to ornaments.

Static pictures:

And video (if it works!):


Now I'm curious about what *else* I can add motion too. Could Julia Child actually tenderize a chicken? SHE COULD. If I can dream it, I can make it.

Techniques: Stitch Lettering

I brought my base patterns (without any instructions) down to a craft weekend with friends. I had intended to supervise and teach a bit, but becoming absorbed in my own projects made me less attentive than I should have been. I ended up saying things (after they had already started) like: "Oh, it's much easier if you do X first...sorry, I should have been paying attention."

One thing that might be particularly tricky if you don't have instructions: Stitched lettering. I have an order of operations that makes it go much more smoothly than it can otherwise go.

First:
I didn't take pictures of the very start of the process. I cut out the paper pattern and tape it to an approximate-sized piece of felt around the edges.
Note: I do not cover any stitch areas with tape. It makes it hard to tear later.
Note 2: I do not cut out the felt ornament at this time.

Tape down! Don't cut!

And here's a cut because more pics....

Off the Shop: So you've had a vasectomy!

A friend's husband had a vasectomy.

This occasion needed to be celebrated by something that I will likely never sell.

I realize it's not biologically accurate, but it does capture the spirit of things. :)