Christmas crafts and Toronto

I've got a lot of Christmas gifts I'm still working on. It's not as bad as it sounds: my sewing circle delayed our gift exchanging until January because several of us were out of the country - including me! I visited Toronto to spend time with my boyfriend for two weeks, just after Christmas. It was wonderful... We stayed right next to the fashion district and Chinatown, so there were TONS of awesome craft stores, cluttered with buttons to the ceiling, and upscale fabric stores with gorgeous silk dresses in the window I could never afford... But I got 5 zippers for a dollar, which made me super happy!

Anyway, I wasn't spending most of the trip crafting, but I couldn't update here with what I was doing, because we didn't have internet where we were staying. So I got about halfway through a crocheted D20 for the boyfriend (I'll mail it to him when it's done), and I finally finished the Kaylee bookmark I'd been working on for him since his birthday (in September!). Kaylee is our favorite character from Firefly, which we both agree is our favorite show ever. I used some cute free sprite patterns that I found, and made a pattern for Serenity by myself. I am so happy with how it turned out, but I can't show you the final product since I only finished gluing on the "sandstone"-colored felt to the back just before I left. There are pictures on the boy's camera, but I have to wait til he sends them.

I got a lot of machine sewing done this afternoon, but I can't reveal what, because it involves gifts for sewing circle members... Also, I'm not done with the non-machine sewing yet.

(NSFW after the jump; if you don't want to know about my sex life, stop now)
And, since I promised some sexy craftage when I started this blog... I made this. A strap-on harness handmade from old bike tubes! My version is pretty true to the tutorial. I hand-sewed (with doubled thread, and a thimble is a must) instead of using rivets, though. And as my departure date neared, I decided to hold together the butt strap anchor points with duct tape, due to packing being more important than sewing... Heh. So far it's held up well. The tubes slip out of the duct tape when in use, so it's not a good permanent solution, but the tape is useful to hold the tubes straight while sewing. Pins would leave holes and weaken the tubes.

I do find the tube material amazingly comfortable... Stretchy enough to move with the body, yet firm enough to give control. The curves that the tubes have already is great for hugging the body as well. Wheels are round; hips are, well, relatively round. My favorite thing is, if the tubes break, all I have to do is swing by my local bike store for free replacements, and buy new snaps for about $3.

Used bike tubes: free
Buckles: $5, strapworks.com
Snaps and snap-setting tools: $6, Amazon (hammer-set snaps are a must for durability)
Cock ring set: $5, Amazon (next time I'll just buy O-rings from Strapworks since these turned out to be nickel-plated... was hoping to avoid nickel as I might be getting an allergy. Oh well.)
Nubby purple Tantus silicone dildo you and your boy can physically pick out shopping: $40, Condom Shack
Taking your boyfriend's anal virginity before he takes yours, finding his prostate when his old Aneros never did, and finally understanding how vulnerable, intense, and fiercely protective penetrating someone you love can make you feel...? Priceless, of course!