No crewel this week, but a couple of knit finishes

I made this leaf shawlette for a gift.

As much as I could get into the photo with it flat.

A preemie cap for charity.

I'm still making ornaments. Front and back.

Happy Halloween

I took a break this weekend from crewel and worked up some Halloween ornaments.

I used the format of the Christmas ornaments I've been doing (here) and paired orangier wools with olive and dark sage greens. The little spider, above, is beaded. I think I need to learn to cut better bats.

These were all gifts, now in the hands of their recipients.

Small finishes

These feathers are for the Magic Feathers project over at Jude's Spiritcloth blog.  I've been seeing other feathers appear across the blogs and decided it was time.  The four-patch squares were found in a resale shop ages ago. They're old but not antique; I think one of the fabrics is rayon, the others cotton. Stitched with perle cotton and silk threads.

I completed two more felt snowflake ornaments.  Here are the fronts and below..

...are the backs.  I have piles of felt circles waiting to be ornamented.

For these I used DMC Medici wool thread on the wool felt.

Finished object, WIP and gift

I think I may have been overwhelmed by all of the books on Friday because I just kind of shut down for a bit on Saturday. A four-hour long nap helped.  And a total change of pace.

I purchased the kit to make this felt cake-slice box from Sun Felt a couple of years ago at the International Quilt Festival in Chicago and it had been sitting, waiting all this time.

I had completed the white cake slice right away. So I dug it out and stitched it on Saturday.  They come ready to stitch with all materials, including a nice box to hold the completed cake slice.

The instructions used a lot of glue but I just can't mange glue neatly so I stitched everything. I think they're fun and silly. I have materials and want to make some felt chocolates.

Since the weather was predicted to be bad, I figured I'd be staying in so I set up to stitch on the Japanese embroidery piece.  I actually accomplished a lot (for me and JE).  I padded and stitched the entire striped cord loop at the top of the brown paper on Saturday morning.  On Sunday I stitched the more central of the two "pinks" (which are orange and white) along with the two leaves just to the right of it.  Bit by bit it's getting done. I also made up my white velvet pillow, used to dust and clean the piece as part of the finishing process (or anytime you feel your piece needs a bit of a dusting).

Last, but far from least, hubby found this lovely little crocheted hat pin cushion at an antique shop as a gift for me.  It's small enough I may add a pin back and wear it.  I have a couple of them and I made one (much larger) for a pin cushion so I guess that's a collection.

WIPs and FOs!

I had a busy weekend. I completed my first afghan rectangle for the Legal Loopers project and began the second. I completed the entrelac section in my diamond tote and am back to working rows. The stripe pattern from the top repeats and then the base is knit. It seemed to balloon up in the entrelac section--I'm very happy to be bringing it back to manageable size with the knit rows.
I've shown two of these before but this photo is better. Here are the three Japanese pastries I made from kits sent to me by my niece. They're now hanging on my office file cabinet.
On our way back from the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair on Friday, we stopped at Village Needleworks in Westmont. I picked up this painted canvas keyfob and stitched it Friday night and Saturday morning. Mostly it's floss but I found a sparkly blue mystery fiber to add to the floss for the water. It will be a Christmas gift.

Felt pastries and DMC Mentor

Last weekend I ran a conference at work. Some years I do many, this year just one, which is a nice break. I've learned I can't do any serious work while the conference is going on--I can pop up to my office and check e-mail and perhaps fill out some forms by hand, but that's it. Mostly I'm running hither and yon with conference things, with odd stretches just sitting and waiting for the next break.

So I bring a small pick-up-and-put-down stitching project to work on. This time I brought the kits for felt Japanese pastries my niece sent, originally shown here. Here are two of the three completed and hanging on my office file cabinet. They were fun and it's nice to have something to show for the long days.

I finished the third last night but haven't had a chance to get a photo of it yet. I want to get a better photo of them all, hopefully showing off the yummy (felt) bean paste in the pancakes.Several months ago I signed up for the DMC Mentor program. A couple of us who teach at the YMCA did, thinking we could use the promised kits for teaching there. I had forgotten about it when this arrived in my mailbox. A shiny folder with a really cool pin (which would not photograph at all).And stuffed full of goodies. Four ladybug kits that will be good for our kids at the Y to do next fall when we start up again. Plus a folder with several more advanced designs to use. It's quite a nice set of materials and makes me feel professional--business cards and all!

White Christmas

Last night was my EGA chapter's holiday party. It's always a lot of fun, full of good friends, good wishes and some really amazing embroideries. We have an ornament exchange and I also exchange gifts with some friends. I whipped up a storm of white wool things to bring. I made these white felt ornaments over the last couple of weeks. They're very simple but all my own designs. They feature felt holly leaves and silver and white embroidery. It's always amazing to me how whites can vary! One was my exchange ornament and the other two gifts.I made this angel for a friend. It has holly leaves too, and buttons. (The washed out picture of the oblong ornaments and the picture of the angel and wreath were taken on the same day in the same location. The only thing that changed was the strength and angle of the sun. I think it's very hard to see the oblong ornaments--I should have waited--but as I was doing it I was mostly worried that the angel and wreath would be too dark!)More antique buttons adorn this wreath, made for another friend.This little pincushion, given last night as a gift, began its live as a napkin ring for the YMCA kids. We'll be teaching it in March. It was just sitting there, waiting for March, when I unearthed a large felt bead. I wasn't sure where I wanted to keep the bead and in the meantime it kept rolling off the shelf. Finally I popped it into the napkin ring to keep it in place and, voilá, pincushion! I stitched it in place and added a felt bottom. I'll stitch up another napkin ring model before March.

As soon as I can, I'll get photos of the lovely ornaments I received as gifts.

Stitching

Over the last few weeks I carried this old stamped pillowcase around to work on in doctor's offices and at meetings. I finally finished it and washed it. It was pretty yellowed from age. It's nice, thick pure cotton--very soft.I had intended to press the case before taking a picture but I forgot until the ironing board was put away.

I should have been doing other things, but this new project called to me. I got it at the International Quilt Festival earlier this month. From Wooly Lady, it's all hand-dyed wools. Thread was not in the kit. I used the photo as a guide, because I really liked the model in their booth, and used blue floche and bright red perle cotton in the flower centers and Grape Impressions, which is mildly variegated, for the buttonholing.I did vary one thing. Most of the petal and leaf edges are not attached to the backing but float free. The lines between the petals ground them and I did stitch down most petals that were covering up the ends of leaves and other elements. This dimensionality doesn't show in the photo but I like it a lot.

There was no hanging instructions or guide for how to hang this piece. It's firm enough, I was thinking perhaps a couple of small rings on the back. I could sew on a sleeve, too, and add bell pull hardware (it's about 6" wide) or a narrow slat for support. Since I don't have immediate plans for it, I decided to just think about what I want to do for now.

Back to Reality, more or less

I've been diligently working. This weekend I felted things. First I prefelted my entrelac bag and then I stitched in the casing to hold the spring-frame closure--this technique worked really well and I'm glad I did it this way. Sewing the casing to the unflattened knitting would have been a nightmare. I then tossed it into the washer and drier again and it fulled up very nicely. Here it is, still damp, with the twisted and felted handle. Once it's dry I'll assemble it.Then I felted two wool sweaters, kindly given to me by Myrna in Wisconsin. I'd mentioned I thought I'd check the resale shops up there for wool (since there doesn't seem to be any down this way). She had found these at similar shops and gotten them to unravel and reuse the wool (she's much more dedicated that I am!). Instead she gave them to me to play with.I threw all the wool into the washer and washed it on hot--I'd never felted in the washer before and it worked okay. This sweater gave off a lot of fuzz (which I dutifully saved for needle felting!). I should have put something on the sweaters for scale--but they went from women's size to small child size. Each felted differently--in the top sweater the beige wool didn't felt too much, but the colored did. In the bottom sweater, the beige fulled tightly but the blue in the collar and cuffs didn't and still retains some of it's stretch. I'm not sure what I plan to do with them--I just kept seeing things using fulled sweaters (the proper term) and wanted to try it. Now that I have my sweaters, the ideas have fled. I'm sure they'll return sometime.As I was packing for vacation, I ran across this ufo. I designed and stitched a bunch of these cutwork ornaments, must have been a couple of years ago because I couldn't find a previous blogpost about them. I had this one drawn onto the fabric and the thread with it. I'd just barely begun to stitch the buttons on the snowman when I stopped. Since it was small, I tucked it into my bag and actually made a lot of progress while in Wisconsin. Here it is, all stitched, with the lining, backing and cotton batting to finish.I began a new entrelac bag since we've been home. This one is smaller than the first, done with a blended yarn which may not felt as tightly. I'm using one colorway of the yarn (I forgot the ball band today, sorry) and letting the colors flow. Each "square" is 8 stitches picked up and 64 knit--takes about 15 minutes. A nice project for small corners of time.

I also picked up my black Oriental canvas design. It took me all my stitching time Saturday morning to do two leaves. Since my previous post I've also done most of one of the camellias. But, hey, progress is progress.

Holiday Weekend 1

The lovely long holiday weekend is over. It was a good time. I ran errands, did chores and shopped at Jo-Ann's on Friday (where I ran into World Embroideries and most of her family, there to get more loopers for the potholder makers). Saturday was rainy all day, but it was a nice quiet rain. I enjoyed it. I suspect all those who had picnics and parties planned were less enthused.

I pulled this pillow project from my UFO pile and stitched on it off and on over the weekend. It's no longer spring, but the umbrella fit. I also worked on the crazy quilt stocking ornaments and completed one (the picture came out too blurry to use). I worked a bit on the knitted lace sachet. Don't try to knit lace late at night when upset--it doesn't work at all well and ripping back lace isn't easy if you don't have lifelines strung. sigh... I've set that one aside for now. I used the quiet time on Saturday and Sunday to do more stenciled and silk screened felt pieces for Camp Quality (more on that later this week).

The rains stopped Saturday just in time for the fireworks. We grabbed chairs and strolled up the block to sit and watch. Our town puts on a very nice display. I absolutely love fireworks. Each year I think how so very lucky we are that these loud flashes and booms and bang engender "oohs" and "aahs" and not fear.

The big news for me this weekend was that I completed the Bayeux Tapestry piece, purchased backing fabric, and got it backed, trimmed and DONE! I dug out my limping sewing machine and put it together on Sunday. All I needed was for it to sew forward and it still does that.

The fabric it's sitting on is the leftover of the backing fabric I used, from the upholstery department. (If you need a piece let me know, I have half a yard by, probably, a yard left with no plans for it. It's a medium-weight fabric.) The wooden hanger came with it, I made a pocket on the back to hold it.

I'm rather pleased with the edge trim. I couldn't find a cording I liked and didn't want to make one from the wool thread (my usual trim), so I bought a hank of round brown leather cord from the upholstery department. I whipped it on with the dark blue wool. I also used a length of the leather to add a hanging cord to the rod.

While I had the machine out, I stitched the lining for a stocking I'd begun long ago as a holiday challenge that never made it. It now will get it's beaded fringe around the top. (Another UFO nearly done!)

On Monday we had our family get together. I'll write about that tomorrow.

Dolly visits my sister

After checking out things around our house, Dolly took an excursion up to my sister's. It was an idyllic afternoon to sit on the porch. We sat int he shade but Dolly wanted to get some sun.

She sat in the boat for a bit but decided against venturing out onto the river. It was a very busy afternoon with a lot of traffic and activity.

Last, Dolly poses in my sister's garden. She really liked this cushiony plant.

Dolly's Adventures

Dolly had an exciting weekend. First her abdomen and ankles were toned up and strengthened and then she had a hip replacement to even up her legs. While she was recuperating, her dress was edged and a snap sewed on the back for closure, her rose was stitched and attached to her hair and her wrap belt neatly tied. Dolly was ready for an adventure.

Stepping outdoors for the first time, Dolly poses with the mum plant I was given after graduation on Friday. She then ventured into the yard and found a seat for sunning herself on a clump of oak leaves (a very small oak tree that's taken root this spring).

to be continued...

Hello, Dolly!

That's what I've been calling her, Dolly. She's patiently waiting for me to finish her dress and get that pin out of her head, the one holding the flower together. This is a pattern by Mimi Kirchner that I found on Purl Bee. It been great fun.

Dolly is all felt and wool from my stash. The threads are silks and pearl cottons. She's sewn all by hand. The instructions in the pattern are clear and easy to follow. I have a list of "next times" that I should jot down.

I think I need to make a less serious doll. Above she just looks patient, but she's got a more wary outlook below. I stole the "flirty eyes" idea from Susan M. Hinckley. Her blog is Small Works in Wool.

Puzzling it out

For a while now I've been struggling with making puzzle pieces for Pat Winter's Pieces of Friendship swap. I got some fabric with paper dolls to use as a central image. blah. I colored in some toile with fabric crayons. feh. I tried some simple crazy quilting with fabrics I have. ho-hum.

Then last week, on our visit to Esther's Place, I found a large bin full of hand-dyed, felted wool fabric pieces (and bought way more than I could afford).

My first piece is an experiment in working with these materials. I pieced the wools and did seam treatments and then needlefelted a flower.

I often use a copier or the camera when a piece is developing, to help me "see." I'm not sure if it's the flattened plane or the different media, but I can often see things in a photo that I don't on the actual piece.

This wip photo clearly shows the large empty areas on the left that just stand out too much and detract from the flower. That solid green corner just pulls your eye away from it.

You can see in the final version at the top of the page that I used some simple embroidered swirls to break up these areas. Now the focus is back on the flower. At least, that's how it seems to me.

Photocopying can be even more helpful because it drops out the color. I almost always copy a design in progress, just to see where the lights and darks are and how things flow.

I think I'm on the right track. Pat Winter blogged several times recently about having a hard time with red as the main color. I think that influenced me to select a wool plaid in red and bittersweet as my focal fabric for my second puzzle piece. I have the background pieced and now trying to figure out where to go next.

I have a scrap of a silk print that has a bittersweet background with grayish-turquoise flowers on it, so I think I may try to incorporate that color. My initial inclination is to do something autumn with those background colors--perhaps a fall leaf or pine needles but I'd like to push a bit out of my comfort zone with this.

I also cut a solid fabric puzzle piece from a nicely mottled wool in a butternut color. I think it will be a stunning background if I can figure out what to put on it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

First off, Happy Valentine's Day! I spent one night this week punching hearts (with my new extra-large heart punch) from scrapbook papers. I used double-stick tape to tape them onto strings of perle cotton. I think I shall hang them from the top of the bedroom door early tomorrow morning. This photo only shows about the top 2/3 of the strings.

Well, this has been a wonderful week. No, I didn't win any of the OWOH draws I'd entered. I did better. I have the very best friends!

It started off Monday night when one gave me her felting stash, having moved on to other things. Just look at this amazing pile of goodies! That started to get the juices flowing and I made some sketches, getting back to my abandoned December TIF project.

But, wait, there's more...

The next day I received the sweetest Valentine's card from Stitches of Life. The card was lumpy (always a good sign!). In it were two little baggies full of charms and beads. I tried to get them to show but they kept hiding. The top bag has some of the sweetest little hands. Just perfect for Inner Child Dolls like Pat Winter makes. There are some really cool charms in there. And look at those lovely beads on the bottom. Most came from Etsy.

Still more...Then last night I found a package on my chair. Once I saw the pomegranate stamp, I knew it had to be from Paula. It was a total and complete surprise.

Okay, imagine this was the package--only it was neatly wrapped and those fuzzy yarns tied in a lovely bow. That's what I found when I opened the package. Glowing white silk with lovely fibers. A perfect Valentine. But wait, there's more...

This is what was inside the package. Two hanks (is hanks the right word?) of wool for needlefelting. The brown is alpaca and the green sheep. The alpaca feels lovely just to cuddle. There were two skeins of mohair, and some floss. The best, though, was the amazing wool felted needlebook.

Here it is--isn't it sweet. With a coordinating bottlecap pincushion. (The floss match really well so I kept them in the photo.)

Here is the inside of the needlebook and the sweet little button closure. Paula really outdid herself on this one.

So now I'm thinking that the forces of wool are definitely calling me. Time to get back to it!

I feel awash in goodies (and hubbie hasn't chimed in yet!). I'll have to get a picture for you but today as I was passing out kiddie Valentines and chocolate kisses, a friend at work handed me a pair of chainmail earrings that she made. They are turquoise and silver and very cool. I am totally overwhelmed.