New Resist Purse-Beginnings

 

 

 

 

I love to make felted items and give them away...

...for some recipients, it's their first experience with handmade felt...

...and I feel like I'm encouraging others to love it as much as I do.

I also think surprising friends and family with presents is just a lot of fun...

...and I get to make more things than I could possibly use, myself.

Sometimes, though, I find that I've made an item for lots of others...

...and have neglected to make one for myself! :)

So...I decided to make myself a purse.

I had some wonderful things in my stash that I'd been dying to use...

...some sari silk waste which is just glorious...

...in all different colors of silk threads for sheen.

I also had some bright and friendly wiggly yarn...

...you knitters out there will know the correct name for yarn like this (please leave a comment!)

I wanted to try making a bag inside out this time...

...since I like the additional mystery...

...after all, once you cover it up with fiber and start the felting process...

...you can't tell what it will look like until it's nearly completed!

Stay tuned for my progress!!

New Slipper Lasts/Washing Machine Slippers

 

 

 

 

You may remember that I made slipper lasts several months ago....

As you can see from that post, I made them much larger than my feet and consequently, never found them to be of any real utility.

Recently, though, I decided to take another 'whack' at it...

...after seeing Sally Pointer's wonderful tutorial.

I used duct tape as before...

...but this time, I merely wrapped my feet in plastic grocery bags prior to taping...

...no socks! :)

I also used plastic grocery bags as stuffing...

...instead of polyfill and stones.

I used my usual resist slipper form...

...and some batts in variegated colors.

After felting them and cutting them apart...

...I turned them inside out to continue felting and fulling them a bit longer.

Then, instead of putting them on my feet to finish them...

...I rubber-banded them to the lasts, popped them into a net laundry bag...

...and threw them into the washing machine.

When rinsed and dried, I painted the bottoms with latex like Nicola does.

The top photo shows the two part liquid latex that I found in an art supply store...

...and the scale I used to weigh equal volumes from the yellow and blue bottles.

My 'sole application' wasn't perfect...

...in fact, it was quite patchy and bumpy (and I only bothered using one layer)...

...but I applied it to all of my finished 'indoor' slippers and it works like a charm.

No more slipping and sliding!

Long Skinny Scarf

 

 

 

 

I'd been wanting to make a long, skinny scarf...

...that could be wrapped several times around my neck...

...so that it would stay on more easily.

I liked the wool/yarn/fabric combination that I used in my last scarf...

...so I decided to do another 'riff' on it.

I laid out a grid of wool batt pieces...

...then yarn...

...then the long fabric strip (which I pieced in the center to get my desired length).

I wrapped the wool around the edges of the fabric, all around...

...then felted it in the usual manner.

I am happy with the way the yarn 'boings' out here and there...

...and how the synthetic gauzy fabric ruched up lengthwise.

Note: the burgundy wool is not as pink as it looks in the finished photo.

Using My Fiber Christmas Gifts

 

 

 

 

As you may recall...

I received a host of lovely Christmas presents last year...

...many of them fiber-related...

... and I've been wanting to use some of my new wool (thanks, M!)...

...and wonderful hand spun yarn (thanks, Kim!) ever since.

I made batts from the wool with my drum carder...

...and laid out strips of my batts, some red synthetic 'dotted-swiss'-ish fabric...

...and the yarn.

I left some open areas which became holes after felting...

...but I didn't do a good job of placing them evenly throughout the scarf...

...so they are more prominent in some sections than others.

My friend, C, came to town to see her college-aged daughter one weekend, though...

...and when I offered it to her as a gift, she didn't seem too bothered by the irregularities! :)

(Doesn't she look cute in it?)

I'd like to try this project again and pay a bit more attention to the lay out.

Eco-Dyeing Success! (Finally)

 

 

 

 

After my smelly black walnut dyeing experience last Fall...

...you may have thought that I'd given up on dyeing with natural substances altogether...

...but you were wrong! :)

I continued to read and marvel at the amazing dyeing experiments going on in blogland...

...and over time, one substance began to 'speak to me'...

...powdered turmeric root!

Some bloggers are not fans of yellow, but yellow (especially this golden shade) is one of my absolute favorites!

I took a silk scarf blank and put marbles, held with clips, intermittently down the length of the scarf.

I mixed some turmeric powder with boiling water and a little white vinegar...

...and let my clipped scarf soak for several hours.

I rinsed and unclipped my scarf and voila...

it's the 70's all over again!! (Tie dye)

I then needle-felted red bits of fiber in the center of the circles...

...and made a thin wool batt to nuno felt to the back of the scarf.

After the obligatory lots of rolling, the scarf was finished.

I'm really happy about the way it ruched up...

...like the skin of a dried apple head doll! :)

Shrigley Love!!!

 

I absolutely ADORE the graphic artist David Shrigley...

...so you can imagine my delight when I read about a Scottish sweater advertisement on Jenne's blog...

...by, you guessed it...David Shrigley!!

I first discovered him when I found "The Book of Shrigley" lurking on a shelf in the MOMA NYC's gift shop several years ago...

...and I have been collecting Shrigley-abilia ever since!

Now, I am not as crazed as some people...

...for instance, there is a whole section of
David's website devoted just to photos of tattoos of his artwork!!

Important Note: David Shrigley is not for everyone.

He is not, for instance, for children...

...and if you watch the Scottish jumper (sweater for us Yanks) video and find it in any way offensive, don't bother with his website...

...he is not for you, either...

...but if you have a quirky sense of humor...

...and aren't easily offended...

...you may find him as insane, funny and outrageous as I do.

Enjoy...and thanks, again, to Jenne, for bringing this to my attention.

Butterscotch Brownies: Antidote to the Winter Doldrums

 

 

A familiar comment among bloggers and other friends the last few weeks is...

..."I am really ready for Spring this year!"

For those of us on the East Coast of the US, it has been particularly nasty...

...and I, for one, think carbohydrates are in order!!

This recipe is a family favorite...

...and it can be made from 'normal' pantry ingredients at the last minute (handy!).

You can use any kind of nuts that you have lying around...

...I used hazelnuts here (toasted in the oven with the skins rubbed off), but...

...I've even used pine nuts (pignoli) to good effect.

Important note: If you are the kind of person who enjoys 'moist and chewy' cookies, raw cookie dough or cookie dough ice cream...

...bake these the minimum number of minutes (25).

On the other hand, if you like a still chewy, but not as gooey cookie bar...

...bake them for at least 35 minutes, and watch for the consistency you like.

Another important note: These harden as they cool, so try not to overbake them on your first attempt.

(They will still taste delicious if you overbake them, but they will be difficult to remove from the pan.)

I guarantee that these will 'cure what ails you'...

...and will be a warm and sugary remedy to the 'sorrows of Winter'! :)

Butterscotch Brownies

1 stick butter (melted and cooled)
2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 and 1/2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c ground nuts
pinch salt

Mix all ingredients well. Place in a greased 8 X 12-inch pan and bake at
325 degrees Fahrenheit (163 degrees Celsius) for 25 to 35 minutes.

Cool and enjoy!!

Microbe Baby Blanket

 

 

 

 

I really like to be organized.

I'm the kind of person who is happiest getting to appointments on-time...

...(my girls would call it pathologically early)...

...having back-up paper towels, baking powder and zip-lock bags...

...and being as ready as I can be for the eventualities of life.

So, I made a baby blanket.

No, no congratulations are in order, thank-you :)...

...in fact, I think it will be quite a while before any of my girls make me a "Honey"...

...(long, long story...my future 'Grandma' name).

This hasn't stopped me from making some items for my future little sweeties, however.

I've already sewn several crib quilts...

...in strange not-usual-for-baby colors...

...and bits of vintage linens and antique lace.

You might say that I'm not the most traditional of women...

...therefore, when it came to making something for my future grandbaby(ies)in felt...

...I didn't even consider the usual suspects.

(No boats or cars or kitties or rattles for me.)

"But what should it have on it", I wondered?????
*****************************************

Then I thought of something adorable!

I had my youngest daughters draw some 'germs'...

...since they are natural artists (though they claim the opposite), and have taken a biology class far more recently than I!

I cut the baby bugs out of pre-felt and added bits of pencil roving and more pre-felt for the details.

I felted my blanket in the usual manner, being careful to check and reposition any errant bits...

...and did my best to re-shape it into a rectangle (it's still a little wonky!).

The red pre-felt was perhaps more 'felt' than 'pre-', so I found some matching thread and embroidered around those pieces...

...but the other colors virtually melted into the whole, pleasing me a great deal.

Now away to a cedar chest to wait...for a baby! :)

Happy Valentine's Day

 

 

I hope you are spending today with someone you love...

...or happily remembering a past love.

If it's the latter...

...eat something decadent!!

Winter Wonderland!

 

 

 

 

Having grown up in Cleveland, I know a little bit about snow...

...I can drive in it, and I've shoveled more than my fair share over the years.

This Philadelphia snow, however, is something to be reckoned with!

With fewer occasions to use them, the townships buy fewer plows and use less salt than in the Midwest.

Suffice it to say, it's been a loooooong week of much fancy manuvering in my car...

...and lots of shoveling.

It is gorgeous, though, especially with the sun shining on it today.

This project is a nuno scarf, made with custom-blended wool.

I made some pretty teal batts, applied them to a silk scarf blank...

...and felted it in the usual manner...

...(lots and lots of rolling!) Grin.

It's a thank you gift (along with the synthetic one from the other day) for a
teal-loving blogger friend...

...but more about that later.

Hope you are all safe and warm and dry today...

...the girls and I are done shoveling (for now, anyway!) and back inside, making dried cherry and almond cookies and homemade macaroni and cheese! Yum!

Stalled WIP-Felted Winter Gloves

 

 

 

 

A month ago, with the help and encouragement of my wonderful friend Kim, I began my first pair of gloves.

I had been wanting to use the acid-green mohair that came from these adorable angora goats for some time now.

I just love this wild color!!

As Kim advised, if you try these, remember to make a bump at the 'wrist' of your resist...

...whew...what a tongue twister!...

...or else you will never get them on after felting.

She also suggested...

...(after my failure, when I wrote to her, asking for suggestions)...

...wrapping the other fingers in plastic as you work on each one...

...something that had eluded me as I struggled to keep the gloves from turning into mittens! Grin.

My biggest difficulty, however, was that I had made the fatal felting foible of not making a sample first!

So, yes, I was lazy and I got what I got...

...which is a pair of gloves that look adorable...

...but which never fully felted and are still 'hairy and slippery', inside and out.

***************************************************************************
The fix, Kim advises, is to cover them with a fine layer of wool that I know felts well...

...but because I found this project rather difficult and trying...

...the idea of wrapping each finger again is not 'sending me anywhere'.

So here they sit...

...for now.

Synthetic Experiment

 

 

 

 

At a local fabric store the other day...

...I found myself transfixed by all of the sparkly fabrics displayed.

I am not usually attracted to unnatural fabrics...

...but something was taking me back to my childhood.

(I was the kind of little girl who wanted everything to be made of gold lame!)

So I bought some and made a nuno scarf with it.

It certainly looks sparkly and festive...

...but I'm a little concerned about the edges...

...since I didn't hem them and they feel a little 'prickly' to me.

This may not be my last synthetic attempt, though...

...since I bought several other pieces...

...with gems and beading!!

Woohoo!

(Giggle)