A Plethora Of Protuberances- Part 1 of 2

I was fortunate enough to attend a workshop in Michigan last week...

...with the incomparable Elis Vermeulen.

 

My beautiful and oh-so-funny friend, Dawn Edwards facilitated the class.

(Thanks, Dawn...you rock!)

 

We spent a busy two days...

 

...drafting hat patterns, laying out colored roving...

 

...and helping one another!

 

At the end of Day 1, inventive hat styles began to fill the room.

 

Here's Dawn using one of my hats as a puppet...

 

...and here it is again, later, after I 'fiddled' with it a bit.

 

Next time: more photos of the finished hats!

Organza-Embellished Two-Layer Purse- Part 3 of 3

The newly narrowed bag...

...turned right-side out again.

 

A close up of the organza stripes.



Tucking the lining into the bag and pinning it in place...

...prior to top-stitching. 

 

Adding a leather strap and buttonhole (front)...

 

...and back.

 

The finished bag...



...with a matching iridescent button...

 

...and shown here with her two 'sisters'! :)

 

As you can see...

...my 'trusty' organza fabric did not disappoint. :)

The torn strips 'melted' into the project during felting...

...providing an iridescent shimmer.

I was especially thrilled to find a button in my stash...

...which so closely matched the appearance of the organza.

It's curious, isn't it (looking at the last photo)...

...how green leather accents seem 'right' for each of these three disparate bags?!

Organza-Embellished Two-Layer Purse- Part 2 of 3

The finished piece, immediately after felting...

 

...and, again, after blocking and steaming...

 

...which noticeably improves its texture and appearance.

 

A close-up of the felted-in organza...



...and one internal pocket.

 

After turning the project inside-out again...

...I narrowed the sides of the lining a smidgen...

 

...and trimmed away the extra felt

 

Sewing the cut opening closed, except for a 'turning hole'...

...prior to turning it right-side out again.

 

Even though I'm showing you this project well after my other two-layer bags...

...in actuality, I made this one first.

(Since it was a gift, I had to keep it secret until now.) :)

One of the things that I learned as I went along...

...is that it works best if the 'lining end' of the felt is slightly narrower than the 'purse end'.

In my later two-layer projects, I merely modified the resist a bit...

...but for this one, I had to stitch and trim the felt into the correct shape.

Next time: the finished bag with leather strap...

...and an iridescent button closure!

Organza-Embellished Two-Layer Purse- Part 1 of 3

Snipping (and then tearing) organza fabric into strips.

 

Laying out wool and fabric for an inner pocket.

 

Covering side one with layers of blue and white merino roving.

 

Placing organza strips on the resist surface for side two...

 

...and adding a second pocket.

 

Mid-way through felting...

...cutting open the end of the felt and removing the resist.

 

Turning the project 'right-side' out...

 

...and removing the pocket resists.

 

If you think that this fabric looks a bit familiar...

...you would be absolutely right!

It's the tail end of some well-loved yardage...

...that has felted-in beautifully for me over the years.

Next time: the lining is sorted out...

...and the bag starts to take shape.

'Revisionist' Feltmaking- Part 2 of 2

A close up of the vibrant pre-felt circle...

 

...and one of the paler pink one.

 

Sandwiching leftover bits of pre-felt between the two discs...

 

...and stitching them together with nylon thread.

 

Wetting out the 'sandwich', prior to felting.

 

After felting, the 'vibrant side' became a bit more muddy...

 

...and the pale pink side got a little darker.

(From the migration of the dark fibers in the 'filling'.)

 

My new compost bin lid in situ...

...a rather slouchy affair!

 

Keeping in mind that I needed something firm enough...

...to withstand inclement weather in a horizontal position...

...I decided not to make another 'flat top' kind of lid...

...that would quickly crease and slide into the compost bin itself.

Stacking the green felt circle from Part 1 and the pink one (above)...

...I sewed both of them into the bottom of the cat bed, providing an inner 'brace'.

I then stitched the edge of the circles to the top edge of the bin (forming a hinge)...

...and my compost bin now wears a frumpy sort of 'hat'!

Never fear, those of you who are feeling a little sad for my kitties...

...their 'love affair' with this bed was short-lived...

...and they don't even miss it! :)

'Revisionist' Feltmaking-Part 1 of 2

You may remember this cat bed that I made some time ago...

 

...and this pre-felt that I made in a shower stall in Germany last December...



...and this compost bin cover that I made on a chicken wire frame? 

 

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Well, after "Jack Frost" had made his usual winter mischief...

...I found myself in need of a new compost bin lid this spring.

The cover itself is mostly fine...

...with just a few worn- (or eaten-?) away areas near the bottom. :)

The lid, however, had rotted through near the hinge...

...probably because I made the mistake of enclosing a layer of cardboard in it for structural support...

....and I think it held water which froze and thawed all winter long...

...breaking down the felt.

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So...I laid out layers of green wool roving...

 

...and, after felting, sewed a fun pattern into the finished felt...

 

...trying to provide 'innate' structural support this time.

 

But because it still wasn't firm enough...

 

...I cut out circles of pre-felt...

...for layer number two.

 

Next time: how I make a 'stuffed pre-felt sandwich'...

...and how the cat bed saves the day in the end. :)