Surgical Interventions on a Nudibranch
It’s hard to believe but I started making this felted mailbox cover nearly 2 years ago. This is what it looked like in March 2023 before I started adding the gills and rhinophores (horns at the front) were added.
I took it to the Fun Felters retreat that March where we collectively stretched it over the commercial mailbox (I had fulled it too far so it took a LOT of pulling and stretching to get onto the box). It took 5 of us, all pulling on a different section to get it all the way on.
Sadly I was too busy fighting the damp nudi to take any photos but I am sure we must have looked sight 🙂
After working and shaping it I wasn’t happy with the rhinophores so I wrapped some garden wire around them and then Mr TB pointed out that they looked a lot like the red flag. Urgh, I hated to admit it but he was right, even with them pointed down they could still be mistaken for a flag by a short-sighted postie 🙁
I already knew some surgery would be needed to make the flag accessible (it was trapped under the felt) so the rhinophores were amputated at the same time – ouch!
After the rhinophores were carefully removed (leaving nasty purple wounds) an incision was made over the flag. I love how you can clearly see the layers of wool and fabric across the cut edge.
The flag was extracted and the wound closed with sutures…
Before massaging to heal the wound and minimise scarring.
Here she is, fully recovered and drying in the Auckland sunshine 🙂 Waiting for a new post to be installed that she can perch on.
No animals, not even humans, were harmed in the making of this mail box 🙂
17 thoughts on “Surgical Interventions on a Nudibranch”
The nudibranch is glorious!
Would love to have seen a video of the tussle getting it stretched over the box 🙂
Me too but suspect I would be too embarrassed to share it publicly! Five, sweaty, middle-aged ladies playing tug-of-war with a mail box may be funny but not very attractive! 🙂
When I started to read I had forgotten that you’d moved to NZ and thought that you were talking about a British post box cover. and I thought that that was a new twist on yarn bombing.
Following along I realised that it was a box into which the postie would place mail being delivered to you. A great way to advertise your place – but what’s the “red flag” for? That had me perplexed when you first mentioned it too – the only red flag I’d heard of was the title of the Communist’s “anthem”!
Whatever, I love the final result and I’m sure the postie will have a smile every time he delivers to you.
Ann
Oooh, that’s a fabulous idea Ann, making felted covers for the old-style British mail boxes but can you imagine the size of the resist you’d need?!! And of course you’d need to add a door / leave a section unfelted so the postie can still retrieve the letters…. all very doable though. I wonder who will be the trendsetter to start this? Lots of really talented British Feltmakers read this blog…. Please take photos and write a post if you do!
It’s funny you should ask about the red flag, when we first moved here we thought it was a way of letting the home-owner know they had mail (that is what they seem to do in American movies at least). When our postie never raised the flag after delivering our mail we just thought he was a bit lazy. It wasn’t until the 3rd lot of eggs we had gifted to our neighbours (putting them in their mail box and raising the flag) had gone missing that the neighbours explained that raising the flag is how you let the postie know you have mail for them to collect. It transpired our postie thought our neighbour was gifting him eggs every few weeks!
Haha, now there’s a postbox that won’t go unnoticed! Love it 😀
I’d love to know whether your neck of the world has little rain or whether you’re planning on giving this guy their own umbrella when water starts falling from the sky?
Auckland is well known for its rain, we have ocean on two sides so whichever way the wind blows we get rain! To be honest I am more concerned about the vicious UV radiation from the sun (damaged ozone layer over this part of the world) than the rain. I expect the wool will hold up to the rain no problem but the UV may fade the colours and damage the fibres but only time will tell. If I need to replace it every few years, thats fine, this one was fun to make 🙂
Wonderful! I love the bright colors and the postman will definitely not miss your box. A video of the stretching process would have been fun to see but it’s good you had others to pitch in and stretch with you.
To be honest, if the AFF ladies hadn’t helped I would have probably needed to re-make this cover. It was definitely at least a 4 person job!
You always bring a smile to my face when you post Teri. Bet that retreat was a howl! I can just picture the group effort to fit a round peg over a square hole (you know what I mean).
I bet that gorgeous cover keeps makes Postman Pat (or Patricia’s) day whenever you receive mail. Does it stay out all year, even in the rain.
Helene x
Thanks Helene 🙂 The AFF retreats are always a hoot, lots of wine, chocolate, wool and laughter! Yes, once she is installed on her perch she will be there permanently marking the top of our drive, come rain, wind and hail, I hope she made of stern stuff! 🙂
Oh Teri, you’ve had me smiling at your team stretching. It must have provided some unforgettable ‘workout’ antics with much laughter no doubt.
Nudibranch is colourfully fabulous and will surely be flirting for all her worth with your postie. I too was wondering how she would survive your weather, which you’ve answered. Just make sure you keep your team on board for further productions!
I wonder if others in your neighbourhood will start to decorate their boxes and that you have started a trend? Keep us ‘posted’ on this one.
Finally I hope Mr TB was suitably impressed with your surgical skills, but maybe desist from additional practice on him. 😜
Ooh, I hadn’t considered that she might flirt with our postie! Not sure how I feel about that but she does have some pretty stiff competition for his admiration. We have a local tradition / competition for the best dressed Christmas post box each year. I hope this link works….
https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FClevedon%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02L8rSWwMarmoNfx6CqtNUuttU8QnRVLLDfEhLYhuUWE48rpFEKndcgkxcXMsS4ojBl&show_text=true&width=500
Brilliant…..it took me a while to work out that the red one was a cracker! And of course seeing the intense sunshine, completely forgot that it was your summertime, which is alien to my many decades of northern hemisphere experience.
Just fab.
So if you already have a Christmas tradition, you might now start a best dressed year round post box too! But Nudibranch will always be queen.
Xx
I love it! What a clever idea to make the ordinary, extraordinary! I also love seeing your sunshiny photos. We are in the midst of the dreary winter. It’s good your weather will cooperate with such a fabulous mailbox covering. I’m afraid our weather would result in a mildewed mess, all but maybe 4 months of the year. I also enjoyed your surgical description of how you removed appendages and performed (plastic) surgery with wool! How fun. 🤩
Thanks Capi – I have the same thoughts while reading the posts from the northern hemisphere summer, not that our winters get anywhere near as cold as the northern US.
A great mail box cover. A great land mark for people trying to find you. Here the flag means both things. The mail person puts it up when there is mail but if you want to send something you can put it in the box with the flag up and they will pick it up. I never do this, I always need to go to the post office to get stamps for what ever I am sending.
To bad you couldn’t have made some shorter rhinophores, maybe some feather like one with some locks to blow in the wind.
This post was a lot of fun to read, Teri, and your weird creature is simply gorgeous, I love its various appendages and bright colours! I am sure that the postman will never miss your mail box again! I hope that the neighbours will be up to the challenge and that you will be able to post their versions as well one day.