Work in progress and beads

My husband took a photo of some of my items prior to the felting process.  I have not taken an after picture but will.  I'e been experimenting with beading onto scrap pieces of wool and handmade felt beads.  Below is the result.  I really like them and they are fun to make although somewhat time consuming.  I've made a few bracelets and necklaces with the beads.  I'll put up a picture soon of some finished products.

How time flies and felt flowers

I have been very busy although this blog certainly doesn't show it.  I've been making flowers for a new friend who has a business called Sassy Hats.  We have a business deal where I make flowers and a few bands for her hats.  They are all felt - hats and flowers and bands.  I'm loving making the flowers and hat bands.  It's loads of fun.  I don't want to bore everyone with tons of pictures of flowers.   But here's one and then a beautiful picture of our crab apple as seen from our kitchen window this morning.  These flowers are not quite finished.  I added centers to them all. But you get the idea.

    

Knitted then Nuno felted shawl

Large Nuno pieces are difficult to handle.  They have to start out so large to end up big enough in the end.  I like how it came out though.  The colors are a bit too bright or dark or something.  But, I do like the finished piece.   I'm going to make another but use more subdued colors of wool.  I've also got a couple of plain scarf/shawls that I am going to use to make Nuno shawls.  I'm not sure of the fabrics, so it will be interesting to see how they come out.  One of them is Viscose and Silk.  The other I have no idea.  Both have very loose weaves, so I'm hoping that means they will accept the wool.  Stay tuned to find out.  This piece was created by knitting some lace weight wool and tencel yarn using 25mm needles (yes - huge needles).  Then I added the wool (turquoise and white), silk (pink) and bamboo (brown).  Then proceeded to rub and roll and throw.  I love the backside too which you can see at the top where it is rolled over a bit like a collar for the picture. 

Reversible Handbag

Today's adventure involved making a reversible handbag.  AS you can see the two sides are completely different.  I admit I much prefer the white and gray side to the colored side, which surprised me.  Although the colored side is also pretty.  I actually have not yet attached the handles because I can;t decide what method to use.  There are several that I like: buttons, knots, stitched...I'll decide once it's dry.  It's pretty thick so it is taking a very long time to dry.  I suppose I could throw it in the dryer, but I'm afraid it might get distorted.  If it's not dry tomorrow when I want to do the handles, I will probably try the dryer.  

Meanwhile, in the morning I am meeting with two friends to talk felt.  One that makes knit hats and then felts them in the washer and one who is amazing at making needle felted animals and other things as well as wet felt.  In fact she is the one who originally introduced me to felting.  So all of this is really her fault.  Ha!  

Felt flowers

I'm experimenting with felt flowers this week.  Wet felted with wool and silk.  The first one I made (red one with white silk) seemed rather large, so I made a small one (purple).  I don't care for the pruple one.  It's different wool and too thick.  I also think it looks the least like a flower.  I like the pink and white one which I used pink silk roving and white Brown Sheep wool roving to make.  I'm using a resist with a hole cut in the center so the petals are attached at the center and don't require ant stitching together.  It works out quite nicely.  I'm not sure yet what these flowers will end up as.  Hat adornments, necklaces, brooches, purse adornments,............

  

Really different shawl

I made this shawl by first knitting a large rectangle with some lace weight silk & mohair yarn and a huge set of needles.  Once that was done, I felted it using merino wool and alpaca locks.  I really love the way it came out although the length shrunk much more than I had planned on.  I'm experimenting with more items like this where I knit a piece first and then felt.  It's really labor intensive, but fun!

2 Very different necklaces

This necklace was made from rolls of wool felted cord, agate beads, some braided and felted wool yarn, silver ends and silver plated titanium ring and hook 

This one is wet felted piece sewn onto a wet felted cord.  The copper ends and hook and eye were made by me also (as are many of my ends and hooks these days).  The wet felted piece is made of merino wool roving and Alpaca wool.  I added white fresh water pearls here and there.  Oh how I love the versatility of this art of mine!

Leftovers - felt leftovers

This bracelet was made from 3 cord leftovers.  Pieces that I had to cut off of necklaces to make them the desired length.  I simply braided them and added ends and a clasp.  Couldn't have been easier, but I really like it.  I'll have to purposefully make more necklaces too long so I can make more of these!    

I'm loving purple

I got a roll of purple wool at the yarn shop.  It's beautiful.  It's got blue, pink, red, violet, purple in it.  The various colors are not obvious.  The vest I posted before was made out of that wool.  I still had a bunch left, so I made a few jewelry pieces.  

The first piece s a cuff bracelet.  It's a bit difficult to see, but it connects via a felt ball which is pulled along with the end of the bracelet through a felt band on the other end.  There is a tiny heart sewn to the top of the felt ball.  This piece is made with silk and wool.  The white you see is the silk.  I love the textural results I got from the silk.  The second and third are both pins (brooches).  The white you see here is cotton cheesecloth.  I also really love the texture this makes.  In fact, the vest I made the other day looks like this on the inside as it was made on cheesecloth as well.  The first pin has white seed beads sewn to it adn a tiny heart also.  The second pin has red needle felted pieces added to it for a pop in color.  Similar (the same color scheme) to a necklace I posted the other day when I spoke about the felt hat class I had attended which was also made from the same wool.  This pin is versatile in that you can really wear it in any direction and it looks just as good.  That's pretty unusual, but I guess it's the abstractness of the design.  I still have more of this felt, so at some point, I'love be making more purple pieces, but I think I'll branch out to other colors for a while.  I love purple, but it is not my favorite color.    

Branching out -- wearable felt project

I can tell you that making clothing from felt is huge.  I mean the size of the wool layout.  It has to be huge!  I made this a little bigger than I thought I needed and it came out too small.  It's ok - it fits after adding some needle felted pieces to the front to accommodate the button, but I was hoping for something bigger.  The good news is that I learned a TON with this project.  I can use the pattern that I designed for it - just have to enlarge it - a lot - in all directions!  It was great fun and I can't wait to try another one.  But right now, I'm working on a few more jewelry pieces.  Yes, I know, I'm in a bit of a rut (besides this ad the hat), but I just can't help myself.  I am simply in love with making felt jewelry and making the wire parts too.  I love the freedom of the size of the pieces.  I also love that my ideas seem endless.  And, I suppose if I run out of ideas, I can simply do some internet searches to rekindle the spark.  It doens't feel like that's going to happen any time soon however.  Each piece, once it's dry, seems to speak to me almost.  It tells me, "This is what I want to be!"  Ok, well maybe not quite - but kind of. 

More cuff bracelets

I love making cuff bracelets and as you can see, each one is very different from the others.  Each of these was made with the usual Merino wool wet felted.  All of them are soft and a pleasure to wear.  For each one I added various yarns.  The first one has blue and green wool yarn run though the entire piece and is used for the hooks.  The "buttons" are felted beads I made that are attached with wire.  

This one has a beautiful variegated wool and silk yarn randomly twisted throughout the piece before felting.  The buttons are wooden buttons covered with the same wool and yarn.  This cuff has regular machine stitched buttonholes.  I love the way this one looks.

This one has some wool yarn and a bit of copper tape added below the top layer of wool.  Then I added some gold seed beads and some pretty pink beads.  I love the color combo.

Felt hat class

Today I attended a class on how to felt a hat using a resist.  I had a great time and met some wonderful woman.  The hat is not complete, but it is coming along fine.  I will work on it tomorrow and hopefully finish it.  Then I will share a picture, as usual.  The bet things about the class were the wonderful ladies I met and learning how to use a resist correctly.  I also learned some other general felting tips that should help me with my other felting.  I did finish a couple of pieces yesterday.  

This piece is wool felt cord, beaded with seed beads and wrapped with red wool yarn.  

This one is a bit different.  The "beard" is made of Alpaca wool.  My husband says my work is getting weirder.  I think that it is getting more unique and fun!

Needle felted pendant necklace

Just finished these two pieces.  The pendants are needle felted with bead and yarn embellishments.  I also made the wrapped wire endings and clasp on the wet felted cords.  Now I have to decide which piece of wet felt that I made yesterday I'm going to work on next.  They were all fairly small pieces for necklaces or cuff bracelets.  A couple may get cut up and used for brooches, but that remains to be seen.  Rarely do know for sure what a piece will be when I first start it.  These cords of course we're made specifically for the pendants, but my flat pieces I usually wait until they are totally felted, filled and dried before I decide for sure what they will end up looking like.  I prefer working that way.  ALthough I admit I do start with an idea of what it could be.  It just doesn't always turn out that way and I'm very happy with that.  

  Well, It's snowing outside.  Obviously no yard work again.  It's supposed to continue for at least another day.  It's not amounting to much and it's above freezing (just barely), so hopefully it will not accumulate.  Of course, I knowit's only mid March and this is Colroado after all, so I won't complain if it does end up piling up.  I just want to point out that spring begins in jsut a few days!!

Playing more with copper

I don't know why the leaves look so yellow - they are more green.  I love making my own wrapped wire ends.  This is a fun bracelet and I can't wait to wear it out.  I made some earrings like this before, but used store purchased ends.  I like making my own better.  Will copper hooks turn my ears green?  I've read that it won't if you keep the ears and the earrings clean.  Well, we shall see.  

Today I'm making a bunch of felt pieces.  I've laid them out (the most creative and fun part) and need to do the hard work now.  The hard work part is great for stress release.  Not that I have any stress in my life anymore!!  Well, unless you count having not started our taxes yet and needing to get that done.  I did at least download the software that I will use.  It's not going to be easy this year:  rented out house for a couple months, then transferred it back to personal residence, sold a house, got a 2014 bonus, worked contractor for quite a few months, along with all the usual stuff.  Ok, maybe I need that hard felting work after all!  

Another felted lace piece

Finished a bracelet from the lace I made a necklace from the other day.  This one has silver plated beads and a handmade silver plated clasp that I really enjoyed making.  As I said before, I really like the look of the felted lace.  I will be trying to find more special lace to use in this way.  I'm still a bit shocked at how much fun this can be and how my ideas seem to be endless - still - .  Last night I was dreaming (again) about making felt pieces for jewelry as well as wall art and clothing.  So may ideas and so little time.  Gotta love it!  

            No yard work today.  It's too windy out to do anything without ending up making a mess. 

Felt, yarn and beads

Last night I had some beading and wrapping fun on a felt cord that I had made a while ago.  It was fun to randomly wrap various yarns around the felt cord and then add various beads wherever I felt like they'd look good.  This was a long cord, so I could wrap it several times.  It doesn't need a clasp, it can be easily pulled overhead.  

I also completed two cuff bracelets by adding a button hole with my new sewing machine (after some practice) and Caribou antler buttons.  I love these buttons.  They were made by a local couple who find antlers (they are not hunters) and cut them into buttons.  They are expensive, but worth it, I think.  I also made another woven wire piece which I attached to a small piece of felt and added a pin to make a very nice original one of a kind brooch.  

            The landscaping continues.  We accomplished a lot yesterday, but there is still a lot to do.  We were able to have lunch out on our new deck yesterday.  Heaven!

Copper, Titanium and black felt

I'v been soldering!  The soldering on this is on the back of the woven hammered wire pieces - so you can't see it.  It was good practice.  I really like the end result of this one.  I think the black really offsets the wire colors.  It was fun learning to solder. Of course, I need a lot more practice.  I also made the hood and eye out of heavy copper wire.  I like the look, so decided to make another piece using woven wire.  It's much smaller and will be a pin.  I'm waiting for the felt to dry right now.  

The landscaping progresses.  I'm about to head outside now into the beautiful day to rake and cut and whatever we find needed. I'm so looking forward to spring which is almost here! 

Designing flowers

I've decided to experiment with flowers.  This necklace has a very long cord - I could wrap my neck 4-5 times.  I do have a small neck though.  I liked the way the flower came out, but also have many things I will do differently next time.  I like the colors.  The green is not showing up here exactly as the real thing.  It's got a bit more yellow tint to it in real life.  

My husband seems to have gotten the spring bug.  Now that our deck is finished, it's time to do some landscaping and he's going at it now.  I love our new deck.  We've already been able to enjoy coffee out there a few times on beautiful winter days.  When the grass is back, the yard will be beautiful again.  The grass was destroyed by all the work to take out the old flagstone patio and a large tree that was destroying the yard and it's drainage pathways.  I miss the tree, but not it's roots.  Thanks for stopping by to visit!

Wire work and soldering

I decided to borrow my husbands soldering tool and try my hand at soldering some wire.  Mainly because I have a piece that I messed up and cut the wire too short on and I was looking for a way to fix it. I haven't quite gotten there yet though.  Soldering takes practice and I already burned my finger.  Not badly, but enough to remind me to be very careful.  Of course, I should have known that.  This ear cuff did not need soldering.  I followed a you tube video and it took me less than 5 minutes.  I love it and think I will make a few more with my own designs now that I know how to do it to get the right size.  The dangling glass bead is one I purchased.  I can't take credit for that part.

Lace and Felt go well together

I wasn't really sure when I bought this lace in Santa Monica at Fabric Planet on Lincoln (a wonderful fabric store) what I was going to do with it, but I had to have it.  I also had no idea how the lace would accept the felt - what it would look like after I felted it.  Well, what do you think?  I really like it.  I think it's a beautiful look.  I only wish I had bought more of this lace while I was there.  Well, perhaps next visit.  I added the pearl beads and like the look of that too, so here you have it.  I'm going to have to buy more pearl beads too.  Another trip to the bead shop!  I wonder what else today will bring.  I just can't keep myself from posting a picture of the forsythia bush in our back 

   

More Original Felt necklaces

I've been very busy making felt pieces and finishing a few into jewelry pieces.  I finished these 3 necklaces yesterday and did some work on several others that you will see soon.  The two blue/green pieces are of course reminiscent of the seashore.  I love picking up seashells when I am at the beach (and rocks when I am in the mountains) and always come away with several.  I always opt for small ones which are perfect for jewelry pieces.  These were fun to make.  I also added a few fresh water pearls because I thought they looked good on the piece.  The other is a free style woven felt piece with wire connections.  I had good fun with the wire.  I'm adding more wire to my pieces lately.  I like the look with the felt.  

  

Leaf earrings

I made a couple pair of leaf earrings.  I had some trouble trying to figure out how to attach the silver ear loop to the felt.  I came up with an idea and it worked fine.  I hammered a piece of silver wire flat and glued it with really strong glue (E6000) to the back of the earring and then attached the loop to that.  I've shown the back in the picture.  I've worn them and they were fun and I got a compliment right away.  The earrings are made of felted wool of various colors then free stitched with a dark green thread.  I love the organic look of them.

I'm glad to see the sun just came out and it's warming up a bit.  The day started very overcast.  A neighborhood walk with my husband is definitely in order.  I'll be playing with felt a bit later.  As always, looking forward to that.

New original felt necklace

Some more experimentation.  This is one I know my mom won't like, but I can't ask her as her iPad is down for some reason.  Need to wait until my brother stops by to see her to figure out why and get it up and running again.  This one is felted in 3 pieces with tiny fresh water pearl beads attached,    I love the "locks" I used - they are the little curly brown and white accents on the front of the collar.  I want to use them more as embellishments.  The pearls too.  I'll be stitching the leaves I made yesterday.  I really enjoy that part of the process too.  Oh, let's face it - I enjoy the entire process!    

"oh wow, how beautiful, I love that!"

I wore the leaf necklace that I posted yesterday to coffee with my best friend this morning and she loved it.  It looks much better on than in the picture.  My husband didn't like it until I put it on and then he said it is very pretty.  I can always trust my husband to be totally honest, so I was very happy. These jewelry pieces truly are art and therefore I never know when anyone else is going to like it besides me.  I always hope so, but that is not why I make them.  I make them because I cannot not make them.  When I'm not being creative, I feel lost.  When I'm creating, I'm happy.  I've been that way all my life.  I didn't always realize that was what was going on though.  I'm glad I've finally figured myself out - well that part anyway.

Today I made some more felt pieces to work on.  Included are two pair of leaves to make into earrings.  I have to wait for them to dry, then I will add stitching and wiring.  I'll share them with you tomorrow.

I bought some interesting buttons at the yarn shop the other day.  They are made of caribou antlers.  I used one on a cuff I finished, which is posted here.  I like the color.

Felted wool and free stitching leaf necklace

I've been really enjoying combining my love for sewing with my newer love for felting.  I'm a very tactile oriented person.  I love texture of all kinds and running fabrics through my hands.  Felting is a totally tactile thing and that makes me happy.  Free sewing is something I just discovered, thanks once again to my friend Julie who encouraged me to try it out.  I've sewn all my life, but never lowered the presser foot on the machine.  Well, now I have and I may never raise it again.  Ok - well that's an exageration, but I certainly love the free form sewing that I've been doing.  This necklace is the first necklace I've completed this way.  I have also done some cuffs this way and really enjoy the organic look it produces.

Felt jewelry works in process

I spent a couple of hours making some basic felt pieces this morning.  They will become various things.  Just looking at the pieces all sitting there together gets me excited to go buy some beads and get things together and start the really fun play.  It was great fun experimenting with the felt.  I tried some different things just to see how it would work.  They all worked great, so I will use the techniques more.  I really love the look of cheesecloth under the pieces and found out I also like the look of cheesecloth on the top in small quantities.  I also found that it's easy to full the felt too much if you're not careful and get carried away with the tossing part.  I experienced with thin layers and with thicker layers.  I also experimented with combining a rope with a flat section which worked well.  I love to roll and toss the pieces.  It's a great stress reliever.

Felted wool necklace with agate beads

Here is the picture of the necklace I talked about yesterday.  My mother even likes this one.  I also completed another one today that my mother says is too hairy for her.  It does look hairy.  I made it is a needle felted pendant and I attached it to a cord made from braided silk and bamboo yarn.  Pretty colors though and I think it has the look I was going for.  It's such fun to experiment.  I made progress on a couple other pieces and started a few ore.  I've only laid out the wool, so barely started, but at least the basic idea is there.  I look forward to working on them tomorrow.  Good night for now!

Felt and Agate jewelry pieces

I attended a free jewelry class today to learn basics about wire work and beading.  I learned more about tolls and picked up a few tips.  I came home with an understanding of how to finish a piece that I had started yesterday, but could not get to come out the way I wanted.  After the class, I was able to complete the piece.  I don't have good lighting to take a picture this evening, so it won't get posted until tomorrow.

I took a trip to the hardware store after the class and got some copper wire to play with and was able to finish this piece early enough to get a picture:  A necklace made from felted wool roving with hammered copper wire wrapped agate.  It's an original.  I had seen the agate at the local bead shop and knew I just had to have it and make something special out of it.  I had already used a piece of it last week on a cuff and was very pleased with that piece as well.  I've also posted it.  (Please ignore the dry skinny arm.)  While I was hammering the copper wire for the agate, I hammered my left index finger.  Ouch!  I guess I need more practice with the hammer.  No problem.  I really enjoy working with the wire and especially enjoy hammered wire work.  I'm sure you'll be seeing more of it here.

Felted wrap bracelet

Yesterday I made a bunch of felt ropes.  My arms are tired (ha!).  Now I can have fun deciding what to make out of them and making whatever it is.  My first finished product is this wrap bracelet.  My husband says it is very pretty.  He doesn't like most of what I've been creating, so that is high praise.
I get so excited everyday creating something new.  It really is invigorating and fun for me.  I can't believe how blessed I am to be able to do this all day every day if I want to.

Tiny textile art

So often I find myself sitting here surfing the web and watching politics on TV.  I feel guilty.  It seems like I'm just wasting time.  BUT - I'm not!  First of all it's very important to be informed and involved (through knowledgable voting) in the government of our country if we want this to continue to be the best place in the world to live.  Second, I get so many great ideas from surfing.  You can learn absolutely anything on the web and get ideas from all the other amazingly creative people all over the world.  I see something I like on line and before I know it, I'm thinking of all kinds of new ideas for things I can create.  So, stop beating yourself up over time spent surfing and watching politics!  Now, on the other hand, do I really have to do 3 iPad puzzles every day?  Well, we all need down time and puzzles are good for the mind.
Today's finished piece is a tiny piece of textile art.  It measures 1 1/2 inches by 4 inches.  It is handmade merino wool felt with silk threads and seashells.  I added a pin on the back so I can wear it.

Felt Necklace

I made the first piece of jewelry that mother actually likes.  I'm not sure if that is a good sign or a bad sign.  My mother is in her 80s, so I guess her style could be expected to be much more conservative than mine.  Not that all 80 year olds are conservative, but certainly my mother is - in all ways.

I am continuing to experiment with felt jewelry, trying to develop a full line in an attempt to obtain a consignment arrangement for selling the jewelry.  I can't believe how much I love doing this.  It is FUN!  Of course, textile work was my first real love, after crayons of course.  Both were very important to me as a young child.  I made clothes for my barbie dolls back in the day, long before most kids are allowed to have a needle.  I love to start with a simple piece of fabric or wisps of wool and end up with a final usable or wearable product.  Here is today's finished product.  A necklace of felt and hammered wire with silver plated hook.  My own original design.

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How time flies when you're having fun - my first felt scarf

Hello dear blog.  I cannot believe how the last 6 moths have flown by since I'v re-retired.  I have been keeping very busy, admittedly after doing almost nothing at all for a while.  I needed time to just be down and quiet.  We took a long trip - driving to New England across the top of the country and back along the south.  It was wonderful.  Next time we do it - and yes, I do think there will be a next time, I hope to post pictures here as we go.  We also had a wonderful Christmas in LA.  Lots of grandchildren fun, bike riding and beach days.  Since then, I've been working on various projects.  Lots of creativity going on.  I'll be posting some of my latest explorations here over the next few weeks.  I've been doing little painting, choosing instead to get a new sewing machine and return to my first creativity love which is sewing and working with textiles and fibers.  Fun, Fun, Fun!!  I will also be posting musings about being newly retired.  

A first.  Handmade felt scarf.  The beginning of my love for making and working with handmade felt.  Thank you to my good friend Julie Higgins for sparking the interest and teaching me the basics.  Stay tuned for lots more.