More Christmas 'Swag' :)

 

 

 

 

I know, I know...

...it's January.

Christmas is over and done...

...and the gifts should all be put away (or put to use) by now...

...but I received a few more handmade gifts that I just have to share!

Now that I've managed to haul out my electric drill and plastic anchors and have finally hung it, I wanted you to see my friend, M's painting in situ.

It's remarkable how well it suits my dining room, isn't it?

She says that it looks like the painting was "either made for the room, or the room was decorated for the painting"!

I love it.

The casserole carrier is a present lovingly sewn for me by my friend, R, for whom I made the grey sweater into a purse.

(See October 22, 2009's post)

It's especially useful to me since my eldest daughter recently purchased a house nearby...

...and she often invites us to dinner...

...and then asks me what I'm bringing! Har

The handmade ceramic buttons were made for me by my dear boyfriend J...

...in 'my' colors, for use on felted purses and the like.

I can't wait to use them!!

'Addendum' Christmas Scarf

 

 

 

 

Have you ever given someone a gift...

...and in that instant, you realize that you've disappointed them?

There's something in their eyes or in their smile...

...that gives them away.

This happened to me this Christmas.

I had been given a wonderful 'charm pack' of coordinating fabrics for my birthday in March...

...and I sewed some of the fabric into a pretty scarf for the gift giver.

When she opened it and I saw the look...

...I couldn't help but ask...

...because, of course, I am the type of person who can't let an unexpressed feeling go unexpressed. Har.

So I asked my friend, "Are you sorry that I didn't make you a felted scarf?"

She admitted that it had been what she was hoping for...

...so I made her one...

...in 'her' colors.

Happiness all around! :)

My First Resist Purse

 

 

 

 

Sure, I've made felt purses before...

...from pre-felts of fulled sweaters...

...or large pieces of flat felt that I've made, then cut, using a pattern and sewn together...

...but never from a resist.

So I decided to try one.

I was a little confused by how to do this...

...and wanted the flap not to be two-layer, but only one...

...so I fiddled around with placing the fiber on the resist...

....making the flap a 'stand-alone' piece.

I was also trying for an inside cell-phone pocket...

...so I placed a piece of foam between several layers of wool...

...but I didn't really make it with enough layers to make the pocket sturdy.

(The hole you see is the 'gash formerly known as pocket')

Also, after I embellished what I thought was going to be the outside of the purse...

...I decided that I liked the inside better.

Last SNAFU?

I made a rope handle with fluffy ends...

...so I could felt it into the purse itself, seamlessly...

...but I made it too short.

When it was dry, I embroidered a running stitch along the margin of the flap...

...and added some beads in the corner.

My daughter L snatched it up as soon as it was finished...

...so I guess it's a good start after all.

J's 'Manly' Tea Cozy

 

 

 

 

My daughters and I, especially my youngest (twins) are real Anglophiles.

We love British films, currant biscuits, clotted cream and
English accents~swoon!~

Here in the US, English things are often viewed with a bit of alarm by some 'manly types'.

Luckily for us, my bf, J, is the son of German immigrants, and European traditions frighten him not one whit!

Thinking about Christmas presents this Fall, I realized that we all drink a lot of tea...

...after all, it's good for the soul! :)

So, I decided to make him a tea cozy...

...but not a girly one.

I used brown and aqua roving, and a resist...

...applying the fiber in stripes on one side...

...and a checkerboard on the other.

After it was dry, I trimmed a straight 'hem' in the bottom...

...but it's reversible, or could be cuffed up for a shorter teapot.

Light and Joy in 2010

 

 

 

 

We celebrated our Christmas late this year...

...yesterday, in fact.

It was marvelous!

The house was filled with fabulous smells...

...cinnamon-scented pine cones in a bowl...

...chickpea, spinach and vindaloo soup bubbling on the stove...

...cherry and pumpkin pies baking in the oven.

Three of my daughters helped me to make some felted votive-candle holders in the morning.

We started with white roving, then added Angelina fibers or pencil roving or novelty yarn (thanks, Kim!).

We really had no idea about resist size...

...and as you can plainly see, they could all use some modifications before we try it again.

I like how they alter the quality of the candlelight, though...

...since light is what it's all about...

...at this time of year, and, well, always, really.

So as we begin this new year...

...I'd like to wish you and your loved ones a year filled with hope and joy...

...with creativity and wonder...

...health and growth and peaceful change.

Thank you all for your friendship and love.

(My) Real Life Family

 

 

I don't know about you, but I read a lot of blogs...

...and I LOVE them...

...especially the ones which feature beautifully lit...

...beautifully set...

...photographs.

I imagine myself in Italy...

...or in a Centennial home with golden oak woodwork, buffed to an impossible sheen.

I imagine garlands of greens for Christmas...

...and vintage bowls filled with ripe fruit.

Reality, I've found, is a little bit different than that...

...for me, at least!

Here, there is, for instance, oh, so much laundry...

...all the time...

...everywhere...

...and in every 'life stage': 1)dirty, 2)being washed and dried, 3)clean, but not folded, 4)folded and ready to be taken upstairs...

...and more times than not, that's where it stays for some time...

...on the stairs to go up.

Sighhhh.

I love the chaos that my children bring, though.

I love the extra mess (and yes, laundry) that daughter #2 hauls home with her from college.

I love my bed full of wiggly daughters, elbowing each other as we watch a British movie together, snacking on something that I will invariably find, later...

...crumbled between my sheets.

I love the extra meals and dishes and phone ringing and the "Mom, can I...", "Mom, where's the..."

...and I love homemade waffles in the mornings...

...with real maple syrup.

Yum.

Swap Love!

 

 

 

 

As you may remember from my swa(m)p scarf, I participated in a fiber swap this holiday season.

The amazing Nicola (www.clasheen.wordpress.com) paired us off...

...and I was so lucky to get my swap partner!

Kim (www.viltalakim.blogspot.com) is an extremely talented felter...

...and also very generous; not only with her gifts (as you can see here), but with

her tutorials and answers to my many technical questions.

She sent me amazing new fibers (dyed flax-who knew?) and cool, organic 'inclusions' for my felting...

...and all in my favorite colors!

I don't even know where to begin!! :)

Her leaf-accented nuno scarf is so elegant and perfect...

...I may never take it off!

I feel really lucky and blessed that Kim and I are now friends...

...and I look forward to many more years of sharing our love for felt and stories of our lives and families...from across the sea!!