Showing posts with label felt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label felt. Show all posts

Monday, 4 April 2011

Whispering Hearts

Inspired by Jude Hill's Whispering Hearts group I am experimenting with hand dyed cottons and silks on hand dyed felt. I am looking forward to seeing how the silk melts into the felt.
A heart sampler - 14" square.

Thursday, 13 May 2010

Woops! There goes my purse.




















No I haven't been mugged, but there is definitely no cash in my purse. An adventure to Malvern Quilt Show is to blame (my goodness over the years this blog could get repetitious).
End on this bundle doesn't really look that good but it's a beauty. Kim Porter's Washed and Worn fabrics were all the more popular this year so I felt I needed to grab something quick before it all went.


















See? The colours are pale golds and vintagey creams. Some are cuddly flannelette. Hmmmm it will make a nice sofa backer for the living room and I'm sure will be very popular with the cat.














This gorgeous set of linens and reds with lots of little buttons and ric-rac was from Mandy Shaw. It's a kit for a Christmas stocking which was featured on Kirsty Allsop's "Home Made" series last year.


...but then, just as I was leaving, the creative side of me tapped my shoulder and said "eherm ... you seem to have missed Oliver Twist's stall" and then these wonderful wool felts leapt into my hand and my purse slid open and all the remaining money fell into their till. I think it was partly the lovely colours, a lot to do with the warm snuggly feel, but mostly because they smelled so nice. Honestly a blind person would have chosen them.

Wednesday, 18 March 2009

A New Felt Bag and A Brainwave


At last a day at home. Isn't it wonderful when you can combine some of the necessities of life with what you really WANT to do.

In between hanging out the washing and answering the phone for work I decided I NEEDED to make another felt bag. Lots of people have commented on the last one (see previous post) that I thought I'd sell the next one! Here is the colour scheme and there's going to be a big rose on it as before.
The main part of the bag is made and drying - so watch this space!

It's a beautiful spring day and I have had a brainwave about my greenhouse. I was lamenting the lack of staging - mine has fallen apart and it's SO expensive.
My thrifty idea was a greenhouse within a greenhouse. I bought one of those little clip together affairs and have stood it inside the main greenhouse. It was only £19.99 and provides enough room for all the seedlings and, what is more, it can be collapsed and put away when the tomato plants grow big in the borders. Real staging costs upwards of £75 so I can spend that money on something else now (woman's logic)!
So far the broad beans, purple broccoli and cabbages are doing well but there's loads more to get sowing.
This is a very beautiful erythromium - it grows in semi shaded areas.

Friday, 27 February 2009

Wet Felting



At Christmas I bought my friend and I a felt bag making kit each from Gillian Gladrags. We have spent a day making the bags from the kits. They are not finished yet but I thought I'd show the fun we've had.



We each started with a selection of Merino wool tops. Mine will eventually be a black bag with white spots and a felt rose and Tracy's is lime green with grey spots and lots of felt flowers.

I have only done a little wet felting and Tracy was a virgin felter (!)
The instructions were pretty clear though but we had to follow them carefully.


Here are various stages of laying out and soaping up.


At this stage we had some borscht (see previous post) outside in the garden and some nice cheese! Then it was back to the felt therapy.
After much tittering, rubbing, giggling, rolling, snorting and general hilarity two reasonably bag shaped articles were coaxed from the fleece. I have made a long handle as well but we'll need another day for the flowers - probably because some of Tracy's morning was interrupted by having to tow her broken down husband (and his car) to a garage. Anyway eventually my tote might look like this: (ish)

If you want a kit this is the website: http://www.gilliangladrag.co.uk/










Tracy brought along the wonderful quilted bag she has just made. She's such a neat stitcher.
Anyway what a great stress-busting day it was. We both have lovely soft clean hands now from the olive oil soap and the lanolin in the wool. It's been great exercise for those flabby upper arms (known as Bingo Wings).
Neither of us have clean houses though. Who needs that?









Wednesday, 11 February 2009

Heart Felt






Heart felt love and best wishes to all those in Victoria, Australia suffering through the bush fire tragedies.


Hand made felt from Marino tops, silk tops, ribbon, scrim and Leicester curly tops - all hand dyed.

Thursday, 9 October 2008

Autumn days

It's a fabulous Autumn day and I have just enjoyed trimming a long lavender hedge in the garden - the smell was wonderful. All the clippings have gone in the compost so even that is fragrant!

Am a bit depressed though because my sewing machine has gone on strike as far as free machining goes so have just done the smoke on these trees by hand and they turned out quite nice really! It'll make a ditsy cushion.
Yesterday at Westhope I started this felt background for stitching at a later date and I've finished it for now. I NEED my machine to work. How frustrating. Well perhaps it will make me do a bit more gardening!






At Westhope a fellow student has been Kelly who makes fabulous roving and synthetic dreads and sells them online all over the world. Here she is and here's a link to her website http://www.thecutealternative.co.uk/










All of us have had fun felting over the 4 week course and here are some examples of what we have been taught by Stevie Walker the tutor.





The gardens are lovely there too and are a joy at lunchtime.