WIP Paralysis Overcome! Cropped Top

The nuno felt rectangle...folded in half and sewn, with opening.

 

The backfield in motion (obscure 60's soul song by Mel and Tim).

 

Uncovered silk ruffle.

 

My lovely dancing queen daughter (thanks, L!).

 

Quite some time ago, I made a piece of nuno felt (here)...

...which I intended to fashion into a skirt (somehow!).

I asked for (and got) advice from fellow felters, I hemmed and hawed...

...but, in the end, I couldn't ever really figure out a way to do it.

Inspiration struck recently in the form of Nicola Brown (Clasheen)...

...who shared with me an easy method for making a cropped top or poncho.

Fold a large, rectangular piece of felt in half, lengthwise...

...then, sewing from the open edge, sew a seam along one side...

...leaving a gap large enough for your head.

By choosing to hem the side which had raw silk still exposed...

...I provided a built-in ruffle for the front of the top!

With a mere 40 seconds of sewing...

...I'd transformed a moldering WIP into a beautiful, wearable garment!

Simply fabulous!!

Swell New Boots (!) and Zippered Felt Bag

My new Doc Martens boots...in Peacock!!

 

Makeup bag made from last Summer's left-over flat felt.

 

The bag back.

 

The bag...unzipped.

 

Since I know that some of you are sick-to-death of pillow covers...

...I'm taking a little detour today. :)

And just in case Santa isn't exactly sure how good I've been all year (ulp!)...

...I bought myself an early Christmas present--these fabu boots!

I actually saw them on someone else's blog recently (but, sadly, can't remember whom)...

...and absolutely fell in love!
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I made this felt with hand-dyed silk and novelty yarn...

...in order to have it on hand for the 'Creative Felt Gathering' last Summer.

Since the felt book that I made from it was small...

...I had quite a large piece of it left over.

I realized that it could be sewn into a cute little makeup bag...

...as an 'add-on gift' for 'she-who-refuses-to-give-me-a-list'.

I sewed the zipper to the top and bottom edge of the felt rectangle first...

...then opened the zipper up, flattened the bag out, and sewed up the sides.

It's important that you remember to open the zipper a bit before sewing the last side...

...otherwise, the zipper pull will be inaccessible, and you will have to rip out
your stitches!!

I think that the pink zipper looks a little funny in these photos...

...but there is pink in the yarn, and it coordinates pretty well in 'real life'!

Concentric Circles Pillow Cover

Laying out wool roving.

 

Covering the circles with green wool batts.

 

Sewing the pillow.

 

The finished pillow.

 

As you can see...

...the parade of Christmas gifts marches on! (Har)

I decided that a bright, multi-colored pillow...

...would be a change for me, plus, it would be a lot of fun to make!

I started with merino wool 'tops'...

...and laid them out in concentric circles.

Since I was working upside-down...

...I then covered the whole shebang with green wool batts.

I had a little trouble laying out the circles...

...and I wonder whether any of you have tips on laying out a design like this?

Since I pieced together short lengths to make each circle the size I needed...

...and because the ends had to connect in some way in order to form a circle...

...I ended up with little bumps that stick out on some of them. :(

Should I have tried to use exactly the right length piece of wool for each circle...

...or is there an easier technique that I'm just not 'getting'??

Thanks!!

I'd really like to figure this out, since I do love this design!

PINK Winner + Silk Blouse Pillow Cover

The pink table runner in happier times...pre-dyeing.

 

...and afterward...in all of its pink glory!

 

The lay-out for my re-purposed silk blouse pillow cover.

 

The finished pillow.

 

I drew a random winner from my four entries tonight...

...and the recipient of the very pink table runner will be Andrea (WonderWhyGal)!

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When I make felt gifts for friends who are men...

...I always keep their gender in mind while I'm 'creating'.

If I've been to their homes (or know their taste well)...

...I also try to use colors that they (or their partners) favor.

My aim is to design pieces which are a little more plain/stylized/subtle than my usual work...

...but which still have a rich and vital appearance.

This pillow's eventual home...

...is the red leather couch of a male co-worker.

I chose several well-laundered silk thrift-store blouses.....

...and cut them into pieces.

I added some other things for interest, as well...

...snippets of bamboo viscose thrums and dyed dark-salmon neps.

Some of the neps (little dots of wool) fell off during the felting process...

...but I love each nubby little fellow who managed to 'tough it out'!

Icelandic Fleece Vase- Part 2

Sewing with orange silk yarn.

 

Visible seam...hiding in plain sight.

 

White fleece 'triangle'.

 

Finished vase in all of its bubbly glory.

 

As you saw in my last vase post...

...my sizing gaffe had resulted in an impossibly large vase.

So, while it was still wet...

...I pulled the felt tight and basted it to fit with strong yarn.

After it dried, I explored my options...

...finally deciding that what I couldn't hide, I should accessorize!

I took orange silk yarn that I had bought in Rhinebeck...

...and replaced my basting stitch with large, visible stitches...

...trimming the excess felt as I went along.

I love how the Icelandic wool felted into such marvelous whorls and hairy protrusions...

...and I'm thrilled with the bubbly texture of the orange wool roving.

After living with the vase for some time, now...

...I've come to think that the scar merely gives my vase character!! Grin.

Emergency PINK Giveaway

Very pink table runner.

 

Bamboo, hemp, sari silk and Mawata silk hankies.

 

It's slightly paler than it shows here, but not much! (low light this morning)

 

Silk hankie section close up...in 'real life', the edges look purple.

 

I've been working feverishly on my hand-felted Christmas gifts for the last few months...

...and I was nearly ready to cross the last few off of Santa's list.

This table runner was intended for a good friend of mine...

...and I put a lot of time and care into it.

I used lots of fun inclusions...

...bamboo viscose thrums, hemp strands, Mawata silk hankies and sari silk fibers.

I made it very thick and felted it until it was firm and pebbled...

...so that it could be used to hold hot dishes at the table, too.

The problem, as you can easily see, is that when I overdyed it with icing dye...

...it turned a rather salmon/hot pink color, rather than the pale orange I had originally envisioned!!!

Now, I know that my friend would be extremely gracious about this gift...

...and would thank me warmly and even remember to display it when I was due to visit.

But I also know that her husband...

...a man who thinks that the color pink might cause certain important body parts of his to fall off...

...would not like it at all.

So, in the interest of marital harmony...

...and for all of you who LOVE pink (or who know how to overdye!)...

...this giveaway is for YOU!

Please comment on this post by Midnight(EST) on Tuesday, December 7th...

...and I will draw a name and post the winner on Wednesday morning.

(Please make sure that you include a way for me to contact you in your comment.)

Icelandic Fleece Vase- Part 1

Vase-with what turned out to be a much too-large resist.

 

Glorious yellow-orange roving.

 

Laying out the Icelandic fleece.

 

Frankenstein-style stitching on the much too-large vase.

 

The Icelandic fleece that I bought in Rhinebeck was still waiting for my attention...

...and inspired by Riet's post, I decided to make a vessel with it.

I found a boring, unused vase in a basement cupboard...

...and drafted a resist pattern.

Unfortunately, I didn't take into consideration that there are two sides to a resist...

...and I ended up with one twice as large as it should have been! :(

I really loved the wild and hairy nature of my vase when it was finished...

...but as I struggled, unsuccessfully, to get it to felt to size, the reality of my predicament set in.

Next time, in Part 2...

...how I modified the vase so that I could live with it.