Browsed by
Author: Marilyn aka Pandagirl

More Booties

More Booties

Comments 28 comments

I’ve been spending most of my spare time making bootie favors  for my nephew Mike and his wife Stephanie’s baby shower. This time they were blue for the little boy they are expecting this spring.  This was the first batch.

20161202_135347

 

I made a total of 40.  I couldn’t find the same kind of bows I used on the 60 pink ones I made two years ago, but Amazon finally came to my rescue.  There was no pearl in the center, but looked more masculine.  I thought about cutting off the tails to look like a bow tie, but I ran out of time.

The candy I had inside  were little candy coated balls of carob and chocolate.  I had to devise a system to fill the netting in a bowl because those little suckers traveled fast and rolled everywhere if I didn’t contain them.

20161208_165948

20161208_170004

All 40 finished and ready to go.

20161208_165931

The shower was held this past Sunday at a restaurant. Of course, it snowed all day Saturday and Sunday.  But it was still a big success for those who braved the storm. Here are the booties on one of the tables.

20161211_134921

I told the family I hoped it would be a while before there were any more baby showers and booties.

I know many of you have done fairs.  Have you done any special projects lately?

Finishing the Panels

Finishing the Panels

Comments 28 comments

Last week I showed you two large panels I made using scraps.  Since then I created three more.

One long panel.

20161116_145808  20161118_122459

20161118_122511Two short ones.

20161116_145815 20161118_122422

20161118_12244120161116_145808

20161118_122349 20161118_122404

Here they are laid out on the floor.

20161201_214933-1

 

Here’s the final project.

20161204_142831 20161204_143117 20161204_143049 20161204_143029 20161204_143002 20161204_142938 20161204_142841

 

So, whats underneath?

My Simplicity Needle Felting Machine naked.  Sorry about the lighting, this was our first snow and kind of cloudy.

Now you see it.

20161204_142455Now you don’t.

20161204_143002

I was amazed that I got the sizes right.  I purposely left the edges organic.  Its a little lopsided but the top of the machine is narrower than the bottom.  Now I can change it around for a different look when the mood strikes.

Did you see that coming?

We have three spots left for sponsorship to keep our forum ad free, if you’re interested, please visit the forum and leave a response under 2017 Sponsorhips.  Thanks!

Creating Panels for a New Project

Creating Panels for a New Project

Comments 19 comments

I had such a good time using my scraps and embellishments for my coupon case, I decided to do a larger project using panels.  And using up more of my scraps.

Here is the first large panel.  I started on white prefelt and added  bits of leftover batts creating a cloud effect for the background..

20161113_155937

Then I added silk selvage, pieces of cheesecloth, silk pieces,  scraps of scarves, metallic fabric, yarns and a little of this and that, topped with threads  and a bit of wool wisps to secure the threads.

20161114_140636

The next panel I forgot to take a pic of the cloud background.  But for this one I used silk selvedge, silk scraps, cheesecloth, boucle yarn bits, mohair, prefelt offcuts, and pieces of leftover roving amongst other things including threads.

20161114_140725

It was fun just picking out things from bags and literally throwing it on. The textures are great.

20161116_144454

Closeups:

20161116_144517 20161116_144529

I love the way the threads cross over and look like roadmaps.

Here is the first one finished with closeups.

20161116_144611 20161116_144649 20161116_144633

I was surprised the prefelt just grabbed everything.  I had to shave each panel to get some of the glittery stuff to shine again.

Three more panels to go, so stay tuned.

Have you done your 4th Quarter Challenge yet?

 

Mini Weaving

Mini Weaving

Comments 23 comments

It seems lately everyone is into weaving. This past summer I was shopping with my daughter in law at Joann’s and this mini loom caught my eye.  I actually thought it might be something to do with the grandsons.

20161113_152046

The last time I wove anything was on one of those metal looms using loops to make pot holders.  Yeah, I’m showing my age.

I forgot about the loom when I got home then when I was gathering all my scraps for the 4th Quarter challenge I found it under a pile. Ok, let’s see how this works and what all the hoopla is about.  Looks easy enough.

I have a tubful of yarn so that’s where I started. I thought an autumn theme would be nice. The black acrylic/wool combo also has a little silver bling, the pink ball is mohair and the multi colored yarn is thick and thin with a little blue and white thin threads.  I also added some polyester and silk scraps and hand dyed boucle.  The ball of yarn under the string is the alpaca I used to make my Ginkgo leaves a while back.  Not pictured is hand dyed green pencil roving.

20161113_153717

They don’t sell the warp so I decided to just use string. Besides I didn’t want to invest in anything if it was something that I wasn’t going to do a lot of.

I didn’t like using the shuttle, so I just used my fingers.  Here it is on the loom:

20161113_144410Here’s a closeup:

20161113_144420

The instructions were not helpful so I ended up finding a video online.  I used the alpaca as fringe. I wasn’t following a particular pattern just kind of winging it.

Of course, I had to hide the ends which was a lot more fiddly than I like.  But I like the overall look.  I decided to make it a wall hanging and cut a piece of bamboo to tie it to.  You can’t tell from the picture, but it’s hanging on a light gold wall.  Sorry about the shadow .

20161113_151758It took me a lot longer than anticipated.  But I’m happy with the results.  I may try another to felt.  But I don’t see myself investing any larger looms.  I admire those of you who have the patience to dress a loom and weave away.

 

4th Quarter Challenge 2016

4th Quarter Challenge 2016

Comments 26 comments

Like everyone else I have a ton of scraps, threads, cut offs, etc.  I finally got around to organizing them somewhat into like piles.  As you see I had a lot to choose form. The first pic is a tub full of scraps etc.

20161102_155352

 

I pulled out some and put them on the table to pick from.

20161102_155330

I decided I needed a store coupon case to keep in my purse.  I recently got a new purse and none of the pockets were sized large enough to hold some of these coupons.  I have a separate coupon holder for groceries that I only use when I grocery shop.  But I never know when I might pass by a department, fabric or specialty store that calls me in to shop.

I wanted it thin so I only used prefelt on both sides of the resist. With back problems, I don’t carry a big purse and try to keep it as light as possible.

I picked through the scraps and threw a little of this and that until I was satisfied with the look.  Then I topped off each side with some wisps of merino to help keep those rayon and cotton threads and silk bits to felt in adding merino over the sides to fold over. The yellow is silk selvedge.

20161105_155136 20161105_161012 20161105_161203

I spent a lot of time rubbing so as to not disturb the little bits and thread.

While still wet:

20161107_161500 20161107_161511

The purple fringe got a little wadded up in the felting process and the edges of the flap and sides of the holder needed to be straightened a bit.

20161107_161523

After drying I still had some wild threads so I needle felted some down and cut others.  I also straightened the fringe and needled it down. I think for my use it will be fine.  Here is the finished front:

20161107_163732 20161107_163607

Back closed:20161107_163746

Now I’m ready to shop.

20161107_164205

Here’s another piece I started as an experiment.  I don’t care for dots or the colors of this scarf, so I decided to cut off a piece and see how it felts because I have two more scarves I do like and didn’t want to experiment with them.  I used some silk scraps and angelina on one side and the scarf on the other.

20161012_160157

I liked the dot side after felting. It doesn’t look so dotty, but more textured.  I may do some stitching on it. The silk side I got carried away with the angelina and don’t care for that.  I’m not sure what I’ll do with it it’s fairly small.

20161014_115349 20161014_115356

It was fun experimenting with the scraps.  I’ll probably do more. Have you started your 4th Quarter Challenge?

Eco Printing

Eco Printing

Comments 17 comments

Cathy  (Luvswool) and I had an Eco Printing day this summer.  I mordanted my fabrics before hand and picked some flowers and leaves from my garden and froze them to bring.

Elizabeth had kindly sent Cathy some Smokebush and Japanese Maple leaves.  Cathy generously shared some with me.  Thanks Elizabeth and Cathy!

I had brought some coreopsis, day lilies, lobelia, verbena, petunias and leaves from my neighbors tree.  I have no idea what kind, but they were red, not maple, and a little wavy.  Other than a few faint marks none of my stuff did much with the exception of the coreopsis.

Cathy also had some coreopsis, a little bigger in flower size, plum, geranium and rose leaves and pansy flowers.

Of course, time was at a premium and we were anxious to get started and forgot to take pics with the leaves and flowers before wrapping.  My bad.

My first experience with eco printing last year was a disaster.  So, I had a lot to learn and fortunately Cathy had everything ready when I got there.  So we got right to work laying out, dipping leaves in iron water and wrapping. We used copper pipes, bamboo mat and binders and clips.

20160719_125819

We had two pots going, one plain and one with  sweet gum seed water.  I had brought the seeds from California.

The light plum fabric below was Egyptian cotton from an old bed sheet. It’s too tightly woven to felt, but I wanted to try printing on it.  We also added a piece of handmade paper on the inside to print on both sides.20160719_130528

While still wet:

20160719_130657 20160719_130940

Now dry:

20161031_150831

Here are both sides of the paper:

20161031_172412 20161031_172420

I had brought a variety of fabrics — silk habotai, cotton broadcloth, cotton voile and cotton kona cloth.  This was the kona cloth while still wet.

20160720_160435

Here are both sides and a couple of closeups:

20161031_150330 20161031_150355

After drying you can clearly see the string marks and the bamboo mat marks.

20161031_150404

20161031_150421The silk piece came out nicely. Here it is wet:

img_7161

Then dry:

20161031_145914 20161031_145939 20161031_145950 20161031_150108I think the Japanese Maple, Smokebush, rose leaves, coreopsis flowers and leaves, plum leaves and geranium and pansies made the nicest prints.

The broadcloth didn’t fare as well except for the very ends.

20161031_150715 20161031_150724

The cotton voile:

20161031_150759 20161031_150808

 

Thanks Cathy for your guidance!  I’m pleased with the results.

Well, we’ve managed to hang on to summer for one more post.  Next time I hope to remember to take before pictures.  Now I have to figure out what to do with all this.  Any suggestions?

 

 

A Halloween Surprise

A Halloween Surprise

Comments 20 comments

Here in the United States October 31 is Halloween.  A big holiday for dressing up and collecting treats for kids and some adults.  I’m not sure if the rest of the world has this tradition, but it’s a favorite here.

Four years ago I made my grandsons very basic pumpkin wall hangings.

SAMSUNG
SAMSUNG

Last year my granddaughter Lisa was too young although her parents took her out trick or treating around the neighborhood.  So this year I made Lisa her wall hanging.

I found some unknown orange fiber that was too bright, so I made some batts adding some white merino.  I wanted something  feminine and decided to add a button nose (wooden ball),  prefelt eyes, mouth, stem and bow for some dimension.

20161015_153100

After I wet it out, I felt it was too thin so I added some corriedale leftover batt that I did for the color challenge last year to the back.

Once it was felted and shaved, I thought it needed something else.  so, I began trying to stitch on eyelashes.  This turned out to be a nightmare.  I tried hand and machine stitching.  I did more ripping out and filling the swear jar.  I finally let it sit for a few days and found some thick cotton embroidery thread Cathy had brought me from Japan a few years ago.  Thanks Cathy!

20161020_135705

While the stitching isn’t the best, it worked.

20161023_164834

Here are some closeups.  The pumpkin was very hairy and bumpy (thanks unknown fiber) and had to be shaved a couple of times, but I doubt a 19 month old will care.

20161023_164844 20161023_164908 20161023_164923

Have you done anything special for Halloween?

 

Hat Classwork

Hat Classwork

Comments 24 comments

In September, I took Teri Berry’s first Concertina Hat Class online.  Unfortunately, I didn’t finish on time due to taking another class and travel.  But I’ve completed the first two hats.

Here is the Concertina hat with some silk embellishment:

20161012_152056 20161012_152121 20161012_152109 20161012_152103

I probably could have added a couple more folds, but I kind of like it the way it is.  Of course, my favorite colors.

The next hat was the Snail Hat which was a bit more complicated, but fun to make.

Drying on the hat block:

20161007_160430-1 20161007_160438-1

Finally dry and shaved.

20161014_115005 20161012_151814 20161012_151800 20161012_151736 20161012_151728 20161014_115150-1 I haven’t started the third hat, but will show it here when I do.

Teri is offering the class again November 4.  I highly recommend it.  There was a lot of creativity, sharing of ideas and fun.  For more information or to register:

https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/classes/felted-concertina-hat-with-teri-berry/

Here are some of the other hats made by the students:

https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/classes/felted-concertina-hat-with-teri-berry/felted-concertina-hat-gallery/

As you can see no two hats were alike.  Sign up and have some fun!

More Natural Dyeing with Cochineal

More Natural Dyeing with Cochineal

Comments 26 comments

This is the last of my summer experiments with natural dyeing.  Cochineal are those little scale insects that are picked off of cacti.

cochineal

I’ve seen some really nice results using cochineal such as Nada’s experience she posted on the forum this summer.

As with my previous experiments, I used small amounts of silk habatoi, silk gauze, silk mulberry, wool yarn, and merino and corriedale rovings.  They were pre-mordanted.

The cochineal had to be ground.  I used a wooden mortar and pestle, then put them in a blender, then made it into a paste before adding boiling water.

The mixture was then left overnight before adding to the pot. (This was divided into three parts first to use with different modifiers.)

The first pot I used only cochineal.

20160625_155500The second I modified with cream of tartar.

20160626_153605

The last I added iron.

20160626_153855

After each batch was removed from the pot, I left it “cure” for two days.  Since I didn’t have both the a lot of room to spread them out I left them bunched up hence the lines. They also dried much lighter as you’ll see.

20160626_153611-1

This was cochineal with cream of tartar.  You can see the little bits of bugs on them.20160628_112634Once they were cured, I rinsed them out and hung them to dry.

20160628_112751

Cochineal only.

20160629_120347

With cream of tartar modifier. A nice bright pink.

20160701_155219

With the iron modifier.

20160701_154915

While the results were not exactly what I expected, I believe because the bugs weren’t finely ground I got lighter colors.  I may over dye the first batch when I find an electric grinder.  If I had to order cochineal again, I’d look for powder.

Have you done any natural dyeing lately?

 

 

 

3rd Quarter Challenge

3rd Quarter Challenge

Comments 20 comments

This quarter has flashed by for me between traveling and taking classes. When I originally thought of the dimension theme, I had something different in mind to accomplish.  But as timing would have it, the Kristy Kun’s Texture Techniques with Heavy Needled Wool fell right into the quarter.  A few weeks ago Terri Simon aka Meterrilee shared her work with us from the class in this blog.  https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2016/09/16/guest-artist-terri-simon-on-dimensional-felt/

It took me a little longer to finalize my projects, but I would say they definitely qualify for dimensional felt.

For the first project the objective was to learn to add vertical prefelt to a square background. There were three different heights of the prefelt and I had no specific plan.  I just played with it to try to learn the technique which is much different than anything I’ve done before in wool.  I made some mistakes, but learned a lot in the process.

20160924_155150-1

Here is a side view to show the height.  This piece probably could have been worked a little longer to smooth it out more and I may try again.  But I had to move on to my other projects.

20160924_155200-1

 

The second project involved joining pieces to each other and being able to use colored batts.

20160924_155038-120160924_155049-1

The last project was the flower.  This one took the most time and attention. Each petal had to be worked separately a number of times at different stages.  It was a very mindful and intense process, but well worth the effort.

20160924_155311 20160924_155325-1

For this project there were two sizes of prefelt and a number of different examples of flowers or the ability to create your own.  Since I was concentrating on learning the technique, I chose to follow an example.  But with all felt projects even though you may be following an example, the end result can be different.

I really enjoyed the class and learning such a different technique.  And of course, creating dimension in a unique way.  Thanks Kristy for a great class!

Have you finished your 3rd quarter challenge yet?  If not, there is still time.