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Sunday, July 24, 2011

Experiments in Felt



Isn't this a fabulous wood block? I couldn't wait to start playing with it. I really didn't have the time to get the dyes out so I opted for fabric paint this time just to see if my idea would work in the short time that I had to play. I wanted to create a nuno prefelt, cut out some holes and felt it onto a bottom piece of habotai. Habotai takes a little more work to felt since the weave is closer than gauze but I think the crinkly effects are well worth the extra work. I know from previous attempts that holes in wool felt do not get smaller as the felting progresses; however, in this case because the prefelt was silk, the holes got much smaller but you can still see a tiny bit of orange peeking through on piece #2. To begin with I stamped a long piece of hand-dyed silk and cut it in two pieces; one I simply felted to see how the stamp design would hold up - on the other, I cut out some holes around the top design and stopped felting just when the fibers held to the silk before adding it to a piece of orange habotai and really felting it well -- I learned that next time, I'll cut the holes much larger if the prefelt is silk if I want more of the under fabric to show through.

























































I wanted to try adding a habotai nuno prefelt to a piece of silk gauze - trying to perfect this technique before I do a larger piece - I was really pleased at the "crunchy" texture of the habotai.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Felt Eyeglass Case



I love creating felt "fabric" and smaller pieces allow me to complete a project in a weekend - first day to make the fabric, second day to decide how to use it - this piece of fabric was inspired by a lovely piece of hand dyed silk habotai and the size was just right to use for an artistic eyeglass case. The pictures just don't do it's rich deep tones or "puckery" goodness justice!



You can find it in my Etsy store!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Just Listed on Etsy

Just listed a few new things on Etsy including this Rosy Posy quilted vest - my samples are getting out of hand - waaaay too many things so as much as I don't want to, I'm having to list some things to make room. This short quilted art-to-wear vest is all free motion stitched and it was so much fun to create - the lining is as much fun as the outside.



















I've had some questions about the difference in weight between the small bags of Snippets on Etsy and the larger - the small bags are 8+ ounces and the large I weighed was 40+ ounces but please keep in mind it does vary -- build your stash while you can and I'll include a surprise!

















Perfectec the green bag handle and now it is balanced perfectly - it is so sturdy and perfect for travel with so many pockets inside.







I posted about these fish before and now they are also listed on Etsy - let me know if you have any questions - I can just see these hanging from fishing line in a corner - they could be outside as well as indoors because they are both hand washable.





The picture of "Goldy" doesn't do her justice - it was so bright and sunny that there is a glare - she is so sweet!













Kind, Beautiful Granddaughters

. . . and very strong!!! A couple of weeks ago while we were waiting for our food to come in a restaurant, Emma and Meg were "thumb wresting" -- I had never done this so I wanted to play too -- well, evidently, Emma is much stronger than me! Today, thumb had two shots, traction and is now in a splint - what's a Nana to do? smile and consider myself very fortunate that we have a granddaughter with such strength!







Friday, July 08, 2011

Finished Felt Heavy Duty Bag





















Here is my finished bag -- quite large (20 1/2" wide x 16" long) and lined with a heavier decorator fabric that has six pockets all around for cell phone and all those incidentals that we need to keep organized; I also added a magnetic closure. It is quite heavy so along the top back seam of the lining I stitched in a piece of small plastic tubing to keep it straight when it is full and the handle is attached to that; after using it last weekend on my trip to one of my favorite places on earth (Bluffton, SC) I do plan on making a slit in the top a few inches from the sides, moving the handle and reattaching it to the plastic tubing to redistribute the weight when the bag is full.


Notice the butterflies on the front - the larger one is on the bottom right front and was created with a piece of pleated shibori felted in with a little stitching added and the others are wool.

Thursday, July 07, 2011

Will it All Fit?


















YES!!!

I wanted you to see just how much will fit in a bag -- a LOT if it's crammed in!!! These are from my personal stash for sale on Etsy and include silk hand dyed fabric snippets, wool batts, roving and curls. For my Blog readers, they are 2 for $25 plus shipping with a special surprise included for each order. Each pack is different - they can be used for machine needle or wet felting detail! A great way to build your stash and have lots of colors for shading and texture. Let me know if you'd like a really big bag - $45 gets you lots with more curls!