Calling All Embellishers Birthday Giveaway

 

 

 

 

Since my birthday's this month...

...I'd like to share my...well...joy would be too strong a word...

...how about my satisfaction with my middle-aged life, family and relationships...

...by giving one of you a gift!

I wanted to try some more pre-felt work...

...so I made a table 'topper' (smaller than a runner, larger than a placemat)...

...using birds, flowers and a bunny from Lena Corwin's dressed- up dresser tutorial.

Since the pieces were small...

...I'm afraid that several of them became a little undifferentiated upon felting.

It's nice and flat, though...

...so vases and the like can be placed on it without spillage.
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It can certainly be used as is...

...but to me, it is just crying out for a little je ne sais quois...

...and I know that there is a crafter out there in blogland, armed with some embroidery floss, beads or who knows what...

...ready to make it her/his own!!

If you'd like to win it...

...just comment on this post by midnight (EST) on Saturday, March 6th.

I will randomly select a winner on Sunday morning, March 7th.

In your comment, please be sure that I have a way to contact you!

Finished Resist Purse

 

 

 

 

I see the shocked expressions on the faces of my regular readers...

...she embellished something!! WOW!!

I know, I know...

...many of my projects would benefit from a little 'jazzing up'...

...but I don't usually have it in me.

This time, however, this project was screaming for a blanket stitch...

...and I couldn't resist using some of my Christmas buttons, either.

I used several different colors of embroidery floss (all 6 strands) along the edges of the purse and straps...

...and I sewed the straps to the bag with upolstery thread before sewing on the buttons.

To keep it secure, I sewed each half of a snap to a piece of twill tape...

...and then sewed the tape into the bag on both sides.

I think the closure won't be as hard on the felt in that area as if I just sewed the snaps to the purse itself.

The bag is nice and sturdy and will take the place of my ancient 'work purse'...

...and it even has an inside pocket! :)

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! :)