Pre-Felt Snippet Nuno Rug- Part 1 of 2

Laying out art batts in a large rectangle.

Covering the wool with cotton gauze.

Adding pre-felt shapes.

Notice how the colors from the art batts are beginning to show through the gauze?

Wrapping the edges of the cotton layer around to the back during felting.

This rug is a Christmas present for my daughter, L...

...but I don't need to worry about ruining her surprise...

...since she's already seen images of it!

A month ago while we were Skyping...

...I showed it to her before it was even finished...

...and, that fast, she had claimed it for her own! :)

A piece this big takes a lot of work...

...but, luckily, my BF helped with the pre-felt lay out and some of the rolling.

Trying to find the perfect place for each little piece was a lot of fun...

...and I got to use up some of the smaller bits of pre-felt that I had in my stash.

Using gauze in this manner is a double-edged sword...

 ...there's a lot of shrinkage...

...but you also get a lovely, highly-textured surface.

Next time: the finished rug...

...in all of its wildness!! :)

'Silk Paper'-Accented Wine Bottle Carrier

Spraying sari silk waste and tussah silk with a water and starch mixture.

The finished sari silk paper after ironing and drying...

...and a sheet made from green silk fiber.

Laying out the design...

...and covering it with wool roving.

After drying and trimming...

...and 'in use' from the front...

...and the side.

When my friend, Linda visited me recently...

...she showed me a beautiful scarf that she had made with silk paper and wool roving.

She explained to me that silk paper is surprisingly easy to make...

...you merely place layers of silk fiber onto a piece of parchment paper...

...spray them with a mixture of liquid starch and water...

...cover them with a second sheet of parchment paper...

...and iron them (on medium heat) until dry.

 I tried it myself a few weeks ago for fun...

...and it worked like a charm!

Since I still needed to make a carrier for a gift bottle of wine...

...it seemed like the perfect time to 'test drive' this new technique.

I placed pencil roving 'branches' on the resist...

...and added leaves cut from silk paper.

I covered the resist with a few layers of wool roving...

...then felted the project until it was done.

After removing the resist, turning the piece right-side out, and drying it...

...I rounded off the top of the bag and cut a slit for the handle.

The silk attaches beautifully to the wool during felting...

...and retains its lustrous shine and the intact shape of the design...

...making this a wonderful technique for intricate shapes that would otherwise 'spread out'...

...if made, instead, from wool pre-felt.

Tencel and Merino Birthday Purse- Part 2 of 2

The back side of the finished felt.

The bag with newly-stitched leather handle.

The front side of the finished purse...

...and the back.

I like the subtle shimmer that the tencel provides.

The opened purse with leather button loop.

The purse closure with Moroccan button.

I had fun trying out a new kind of fiber with this project (the tencel/merino blend)...

...and I thought that it felted beautifully.

The color gradation enhanced the very spare purse design...

...and the darkest color is at the purse bottom (to help camouflage wear and tear).

Since my friend lives in New York City, I wanted to make something compact...

...with a long strap, to wear cross-body for security.

For the closure, I used another of the buttons that my daughter brought me from Morocco...

...and I think that it makes the purse extra special! :)

Tencel and Merino Birthday Purse- Part 1 of 2

Superfine merino and tencel roving.

Laying out the roving (from the 'outside-in')

Adding layers of spongy Hog Island wool for the purse lining.

Making an inner pocket.

Cutting a line for the flap.

Turning the purse 'right-side' out.

Cutting grey leather for a purse strap.

A friend of mine just had a 'big' birthday...

...and I wanted to send her something special.

 I decided to 'break out' a braid of my special stash roving...

...a shimmery blend of superfine merino and tencel in greys, deep pinks and plums.

I wanted a long handle for this one...

...since she lives in New York City, and will certainly wear this bag cross-body.

I also had a piece of grey leather that was perfect with this roving....

...and thought it might make an especially sturdy strap.

I used a simple, rounded-off rectangle for the resist...

...and covered it with layers of merino/tencel roving...

...followed by a couple of layers of Hog Island fleece.

I often make the lining of a purse a little lighter...

...so you can see its contents a little more clearly! :)

Next time: the finished bag...

...with a Moroccan button!

"Stash Busting" Flat Felt Projects- Part 4 of 4

Laying out art batts plus my own hand-spun yarn.

The back (unadorned) side of the felt.

After fashioning the finished felt into a large caddy.

I love this little curlicue!

It's a wildly-colored, rustic carry-all...

...that would also be great for storing books or magazines...

...or even a set or two of bed linens on a closet shelf!

Close-up detail of some of the hand-spun yarn accents.

This project originated in my head with a question...

...'what could I make with a large, flat sheet of felt...

...if I made as few cuts as possible'?

So I made two parallel cuts into each long side of the rectangle...

...and folded one set of sides up and one set up and around.

I then machine-stitched the sides together...

...adding darts where needed, to help keep the sides from sagging.

Lastly, I fashioned a pieced handle...

...from scraps of felt that I had left over from Parts 1 through 3.

It's quite a large basket...

...measuring nearly 2 ft long by 1 ft wide.

I think it would be nice for storing things on a high closet shelf...

...so it would be soft if it landed on your head as you took it down...

...unlike my usual plastic crates!! Giggle.

"Stash-Busting" Flat Felt Projects- Part 3 of 4

Adding pencil roving and dyed tussah silk to layers of art batts.

Cutting pieces from the finished felt...

...this time, I let the added elements inform the design.

The finished container.

I love how the layers of color (from the blended batts) show up in the cut edges.

The felt is thick enough that the organic shape of the top 'stays put', without wilting.

The tussah silk gives it a crinkly and shimmery look.

All of the colors of the rainbow...

...for nearly any 'giftee'.

For this set of containers, I used the designs on the felt itself...

...to suggest a shape for the container tops.

These are a bit larger and taller than the earlier ones as well...

...and would be useful on a desk for a mass of pencils or pens.

Next time: a much larger project made with hand spun yarn-studded felt!

"Stash-Busting" Flat Felt Projects- Part 2 of 4

Trimming more of the felt into shape.

After stitching...

...and folding down the top cuff.

Containers for holding anything you like.

Stitching a felt 'window' onto the back side of one piece of flat felt...

...and folding it over into a decorative cuff.

The random colors and texture (from the silk additions)...

...make for containers that (I hope) will be useful for many different 'giftees'.

I don't know about you...

...but I can never have enough little containers for holding things!

I love to sequester my 'stuff' in an orderly manner...

...and I think these may be useful for others, as well.

During felting, the lengths of silk yarn often twisted or extruded a bit...

...providing a fun bit of texture for the container's exterior.

Next time: another riff on this idea.