Handspun Yarns and Handmade "Fulled" Crochet Flowers in the Works!

I know it must seem like I dropped off the face of the earth.  Well, I haven't!  I'm alive and well.  It has just shaped up to be a very busy summer so far.

I have been able to do a few fiber-filled things though.  I've found that wet felting is a little too time consuming right now, and needle felting, although easy to pick up and put down, is not very baby-friendly with those super sharp, barbed edge needles.  Therefore, I have settled on spinning and crocheting for a while.  I have found that it is easier to pick up and put down a drop spindle or crochet hook out of harm's way while periodically chasing after my baby girl.  I prefer to full, or shrink, my crocheted items because I like the final effect - a texture sort of like traditional wet felting which I adore!  The crochet process is much, much different though.

Most of the handspun yarn that I've made has been done on my Kundert drop spindle with one in the photo (the lime green skein) done on my new mother marion style kick spindle.  Each skein is anywhere from around 30 - 60 yards and made of various combination of wool, mohair, and tussah silk.  Although the kick spindle is much quicker at cranking out yarn, I have found it to be a bit awkward to use, and it appeals a little too much to my baby girl.  I think that she sees it as one of her toys because she heads right for it when I try to use it around her.  I guess that, for now, I will be sticking mainly to the drop spindle for its ease of use and the lesser attention that it draws from my baby girl. Even though I like to use the kick spindle for the bigger skeins it can produce more quickly, it just isn't practical for me most of the time.  I have even thought of selling it, but can't quite decide on that because I do like it.

As for crocheting, I think of myself as a complete novice.  I learned how to crochet in an elementary art class, but have only practiced it off and on casually in the past.  I can't read a pattern very well and usually resort to small free-form objects like the flowers.  I am taking a crochet class at the upcoming MOPACA Fiber "U" event though so I am hoping to learn to read a pattern and venture into making some larger things.  If anyone has any ideas for small (easy!) crochet items that I could make, I would appreciate knowing.  Although I like doing the flowers, variety is the spice of life!

As for traditional feltmaking, I actually do have a few felt art objects in the works, but it is slow going right now with all the summer plans.  I gradually get time to work on them and hopefully will have some photos to post later in the summer.  I still feel somewhat like I'm in a creative dry spell, but I'm trying to focus on just a couple of things at a time to not get overwhelmed and discouraged.  On the bright side, I have the opportunity to teach felting at the Fancy kitty Missouri Fiber Jamboree on September 25th.  Although I've taught a lot of other subjects on design in the past, I haven't ever taught felting hands on so I'm pretty excited about it!  If any of my fellow feltmakers out there has any teaching tips or online sources, I would sincerely appreciate the information.  I'm a bit nervous about teaching.  I have always wanted to though.

(And, some of you probably noticed that I referred to my Crochet items as fulled rather than felted.  I guess that I'm somewhat of a stickler for this terminology.  By definition from what I have always understood, felted items are non-woven; therefore, a shrunken crocheted piece would actually be considered fulled rather than felted.  I know that opinions on this subject vary widely so to each their own.  It seems that often times anything that is shrunken, no matter what process or fiber it is made by, is referred to as felted.)

I want a copy of this book soooooo badly!

After seeing Andrea Graham's post about it on Facebook, I looked up the book 1,000 Artisan Textiles: Contemporary Fiber Art, Quilts, and Wearables. Now I'm drooling over the sample pages that I saw on its Amazon listing. It looks like it is filled with wonderful felted creations - such awe inspiring photos!! I'd love to get my hands on a copy for my collection of felting books.

Although, with diapers, formula, etc., on the top of the list to buy right now, I think that I'll have to wait just a little while, but someday it will be mine!

Gorgeous Vessels and other Felted Wool Creations from Sensory Felteds

Occasionally I try to feature a wonderful feltmaker on my blog.  I don't feel that I've done this often enough lately.  It is overdue for me to tell you about Sensory Felteds.  This newly established Etsy shop has creations by Connie, a long-time customer of mine and online friend.  

  

Besides being very encouraging and a sweet lady in general, she is also a very talented feltmaker.  Her wet felted bowls and vessels are a beautiful mix of form and color.  She creates an array of other felted wool items including brooches and wall hangings too.  For more about her and her felt art, please visit her blog.  You can see more images of her work at her flickr photo gallery.

Hand Dyed Silk for Your Handmade Nuno Felting & Other Fiber Arts Now Available in My Shops!

Well, I finished dyeing and putting together my collections of silk sooner than I expected. Yay!  I now have three collections available for purchase as supplies in my online shops at Etsy and ArtFire. Each collection was hand dyed in limited quantities; therefore, I only have a few sets of each kind available for sale. When they are gone, they are gone, and I will move on to making new fabulous colorway collections.

My current hand dyed silk collections (left to right in the photo):

• Stormy Desert - a light tan, dark brown, and blue-purple colorway
• Carnival Snow Cones - a bright blue, yellow, and pink colorway
• All the Queen's Jewels - a deep red, blue, and green colorway

Each collection includes three long strips (approximately 4" x 54" each) plus a small bonus bag of several mini silk fibers.  The strips are all top quality 100% silk gauze.  The smaller pieces are a variety of top quality 100% silk gauze, chiffon, organza, and habotai in assorted colors and sizes.  All pieces are hand dyed by me with professional grade acid dyes.  They are also hand cut; therefore, they have un-hemmed, slightly irregular shaped edges.  The collection comes nicely packaged and labeled.

The many possible uses of my silk collections...

• Nuno Felting - the combining of fine wool and silk to make a luxurious fabric
• Spinning Add-ins - cut pieces to add into your hand spun wool for texture and color
• Applique & Piece Work - cut out shapes and apply onto other fabrics or stitch together
• Embroidery & Needlepoint - use the vibrant silk fabric as a base for your small stitching projects
• Scrapbooking & Card Making - stitch the silk directly onto your paper scrapbook pages or cards

As a feltmaker and fiber artist, I personally use this silk for my nuno felting projects and have been dyeing my own silk for many years now.  You can see some examples of my nuno felted creations as well as more photos of my dyed silk at my flickr account.

For complete details on each silk collection colorway, please visit one of my online shops and check out the individual product listings.  You can also feel free to contact me!

Valentine's Day Special! Get a FREE felted heart ring! Read on for details...

This is by far one of the best deals that I will be offering all year long so I hope you take advantage of it! Here it is...

BUY ANY FELTED HEART ITEM AND GET A FREE FELTED HEART RING!

For each felted heart item, including pendants, rings, and hairpin sets, that you purchase receive one FREE felted heart ring in your choice of color. Limit of five free rings per buyer. For instance, if you purchase five felted heart pendants, you will receive five felted heart rings for free. Or, you can purchase a variety of felted heart items and receive one free ring for each item purchased up to the limit of five rings. (Please note that hairpin sets count as one item.)

How do you get this great deal? Use the coupon code BEMYVALENTINE2010 upon checkout in my Etsy Fiber Shop or my ArtFire Shop. For ArtFire, you can enter the code phrase in directly at checkout. For Etsy, you will need to put the code phrase in the message to seller at checkout. For either shop, please let me know what color(s) you'd like for your ring(s) in the message to seller at checkout. And, you MUST use the above coupon code to receive the free ring(s) so don't forget it!

Hurry, hurry, hurry! This coupon code is only valid through midnight on Tuesday, February 2nd. It is such a good deal that I can't let it go on for long, and I want to be able to get your felted heart goodies in the mail to you as soon as possible in hopes of reaching you by Valentine's Day.

THE SHORT VERSION:
THE DEAL = 1 free heart ring with each heart item

(limit 5 free heart rings per buyer)
COUPON CODE = BEMYVALENTINE2010
TIME FRAME = valid through midnight on Tues, 2/02/10

Handmade felted wool bead bangle bracelets - whoa, that's a mouthful!

 

This is what I've been up to in the past week or so.  I've been putting some of the felted wool beads that I created during my pregnancy to good use and making some bangle style bracelets.  There are also some necklaces in the works which I'll post photos of when they are finished.  Some of these bracelets are destined for Eclectics Gallery eventually along with some felted scarves.

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I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  It is finally Fall here in Kansas City, and I'm loving every minute of the cool weather and changing colored leaves.

Stripes, Dots, Swirls, and Solids - A Big Variety of Handmade Felted Wool Beads

I just finished this batch of round felted wool beads over the weekend. I created them individually through a combination of both needle felting and wet felting so quite a lot of time went into the almost 100 beads seen in the photo. There's a big variety of black and white beads that have swirls, stripes, and dots. I also made some matching solid colored beads. I think the polka dot style in both black and white are my personal favorite. It is very tempting to keep all of them and just display them in a big glass bowl, but most likely, some will be sold for supplies in my Etsy shop once it reopens after the baby is born. I will probably use some in my own jewelry creations as well. For now, they certainly make a pretty picture! (At least I think so.....)

Handmade felt beads and more felt beads - Swirls, Sushi Style, and Geodes too!

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In an effort to keep busy and my mind off of other things during these last few weeks of my pregnancy, I've been cranking out handmade felted wool beads of all kinds. Although sometimes they can be quite time consuming to create, they really aren't that labor intensive compared to other feltmaking processes; therefore, it is something that I can physically do without overexerting myself too much. And, I've really enjoyed doing something creative everyday even if it is making something small like these beads.

In the photos you can see some of my latest felted wool bead sets. I'm currently working on swirl and sushi style beads. The orange, yellow, and olive green geode bead was the last one that I made in a batch of twenty. You can see the other geode beads in my previous post. As with the other felted beads that I've made recently, I'm not quite sure what I will do with them yet. Most likely some will be sold in my Etsy shop as supplies when it reopens after the baby is born. Others will probably end up in some of my handmade jewelry creations and as embellishments on accessories. The possibilities are endless! For now, I'm focusing on making more beads and being as productive as possible while I wait for my little girl to arrive any day now.

A Handmade Felted Wool Hat is waiting for the Baby's arrival which is hopefully soon!

I began to make the baby a felted wool hat for this winter several weeks ago. Since I created it through a process of needle felting first, then finally wet felting at the last stage, I was able to work on it at my leisure and decorate it when I had the time and the will to do so. I finally finished it this weekend. Although I didn't use any kind of pattern or precise sizing method (mostly a guessing game this time around), I think that it is just the right size to fit her in the winter when she will need it. I've made quite a few adult size hats, but this is the first baby size hat that I've made. I'd like to make her a few more handcrafted hats as well as some felted wool booties to match. For now, her teddy bear is keeping watch over this hat and wearing it until she arrives.

So what have I been up to lately? Handmade felted wool geode beads and more...

Although mainly I've been up to being pregnant and all that's involved with that, I've also found a little time to do some small feltmaking projects. Right now I have to stick to less physically active felting so I have been creating felted wool beads, balls, and cords, along with other little things. I can make these rather easily without overdoing it, and it helps me to continue to express my creative side which I feel the need to do every day. It also keeps me busy and my mind off of constantly wondering if today is the day when my little one will decide to arrive into the world.

As you can see in the photos, I just finished a batch of felted wool geode style beads. They are in all colors and sizes. These are so much fun to make because I always forget what colors are inside until I cut them open at the end of the felting process - it is like a little surprise present with each one! I don't know exactly what I will do with them yet. I may sell some as supplies in my Etsy shop, make some into pincushions, use some in jewelry and hair accessories, or a little bit of everything.

So that's what I've been up to as far as felting is concerned. As far as the pregnancy goes, all is well which I'm very thankful for. I have my 39 week checkup on Monday so it is not much longer!

Two Contest Giveaways to enter means Twice the Fun! It is your chance to win some of my handmade felted goodies!

This week my creations are being featured in two giveaway contests. One is at Simply Sentimental The Blog and the other is at Neato Stuff. Thanks to both of those great sites for hosting contests that include my felted creations! Please read below for more details and click on the images to go directly to the contest posts.



This contest at Simply Sentimental The Blog is for a custom color felted flower pendant with chain. You can enter to win through this Saturday, December 20th. Please click on the link above for complete details on how to enter.




This contest at Neato Stuff is for a stocking full of holiday tems. My bright red felted heart ring is just one of many included in the stocking. Please click on the link above for complete details on how to enter.

Come see me and my handmade felted goodies at the No Coast Craft-o-rama this weekend in Minneapolis! Shop, browse, and buy!

If you live in the Minneapolis area or just happen to be there this weekend, don't miss out on the No Coast Craft-o-rama. It is an extravaganza of top notch handmade arts and crafts. I will be a vendor this year, and I'm thrilled about it! I'll be selling a wide range of my felted goodies from hats to scarves to wrist cuffs to needle felted jewelry to brooches to wallets to . . . and the list goes on and on. I'll literally have hundreds of items displayed for sale. Some of them you can see in the photo above, and there are some brand new items that are not listed in my Etsy shop too. Besides my felted goodies, there will also be dozens of other vendors with handmade items from soaps to screen prints to jewelry to . . . well, the list goes on and on.

I will be in booth number C-4 (right by an entrance area). If you plan to go, please look me up on the vendor map and stop by. I'd love to meet you! Be sure to introduce yourself and let me know that you read my blog. And, as far as my blog goes, this will probably be the last post that I make until early next week because I am knee deep in handmade felted goodies in preparation for the big event. I will also be putting my Etsy shop in vacation mode later today or tomorrow until sometime early next week. If you've had your eye on anything there, I'd suggest that you snatch it up now. With over 10,000 visitors expected at the two day show, I don't know what I'll have left when I return (hopefully not much!). You can find more info about the No Coast Craft-o-rama below or visit the website for complete details. I sincerely hope to see you there!


When: Friday, December 5, from 3 PM to 8PM and Saturday, December 6 from 9 AM to 5 PM
Where: Midtown Global Market on Lake Street in Minneapolis
Who: Anyone and Everyone who loves crafty and artsy things! (It is a great place for Christmas and Holiday gift shopping!)
How much: It is free to get in, but I know that you'll be tempted by all the handmade goodies there so bring some cash!
What else: There are many great places to eat at the Midtown Global Market.

New Handmade Tie Dye Felted Wool Scarves! And a little craft show reminder too . . .

I just wanted to share my latest ties dye creations. I am having a lot of fun felting basic white merino scarves then dyeing them in a kettle. I use rubber bands and marbles to create the stripes and dot patterns. I'd like to also use a needle and thread to stitch some patterns into the scarves before dyeing them, but that will take a little more time to do. There is an instant gratification when just using the rubber band method. It is quick and pretty easy to tie dye this way. It takes a little longer to make the hand felted wool scarves though. I will be listing this new tie dye collection of scarves for sale in my Etsy shop this week and next week, and I'll probably be making more soon. You can also see more photos of them in my flickr photo gallery. If you have any good color suggestions for my next batch of tie dye scarves, please do leave a comment! I really like most of the colors so far, but your opinions are greatly appreciated.

Also, I wanted to remind you that I will be selling my wares at a craft show coming up on this Saturday, November 22nd. If you are going to be in the Kansas City area, please stop by the Christmas for a Cure Holiday Open House and say "hello!" You will find several artists and crafters with their uniquely handmade items for sale. It is a good time to Christmas and Holiday shop! Click here for time and location information. And, since I will doing a show on Saturday, this also means that I will be taking down some of my shop listings for that day. If the item sells at the show, it will be gone. If you've had your eye on a scarf, purse, or otherwise one-of-a-kind item, I suggest that you think about making a purchase before Friday late afternoon when I take the listings down until Monday.

Oh, and one more little thing - today, November 20th, is my 32nd Birthday!! No, I am not (yet) ashamed to say my age. My thirties have been very good to me so far . . . I am thankful for all the years that I've had and look forward to many more years if that is what God has in store for me.

A Sweet Treasury of the Needle Felting Etsy Street Team (NFEST) Member's Items by LittleElfsToyshop!

I came across this treasury on Etsy a couple of days ago and just wanted to share. It features items from the Needle Felting Etsy Street Team, or NFEST. It also has a sweet story by LittleElfsToyshop, the creator of the treasury list, at the end. I'm honored that my bright red felted heart ring was chosen to be a part of this.

Please browse the list of other featured NFEST members below. If you'd like to become a member of NFEST, please visit the team's profile page on Etsy. And, for more information about the team, please visit the NFEST blog.

Now go check out these great needle felters' Etsy shops . . .
feltability
coraldee
oritdotandolls
Purplemoonfibers
feltmeupdesigns
HandworkNaturals
mamakopp
TheMoonGoat
BeneathTheRowanTree
reanee
harvestmoonbyhand

Gigantic Handmade Felted Wool Flowers! A Beautiful, Bold Creation for Your Purse, Coat, and More!

Yesterday, I shared my new line of striped scarves. (Thank you for all the kind comments about them!) They are now listed for sale in the scarves and hats section of my Etsy shop. While working on making those scarves, I was also creating these gigantic felted wool flowers. They are handmade through a combination of both needle felting and wet felting. They are either merino or corriedale wool or a mix of both.

Each is a whopping 12 inches (30.5 cm) in diameter! They are a bold, beautiful attention getter and a good conversational piece too. I plan to have them listed in my Etsy shop by the beginning of next week and will have more color combinations on the way. These are really fun to make so I can see myself creating several. Each one has its individual characteristics that make it completely unique and one-of-a-kind which is just like a real flower in nature.

If you'd like to see more photos, you kind find them on my flickr account.

My Latest Collection of Handmade Felted Wool Scarves are Tri-Color and Striped! Woolly Warm All Winter!

I just wanted to share my latest collection of hand felted wool scarves. I made them through the traditional wet felting technique. They are 100% merino wool and super soft! Also, they are quite long at 55 inches (1.4 meters) which is perfect to keep toasty warm all winter long.

I have yet to come up with a good name for this collection. So far, all that I can think of is "The Triple Stripe Scarf." Perhaps you can think of something better. If so, please leave your suggestion in a comment, and as always, feel free to leave a comment about whatever else too.

These will be listed for sale in my Etsy shop very soon (probably by the week's end). And, you can find more photos of them on my flickr account.

It's Fuzzy Chickadee Friday! To put a smile on your tired TGIF face!

A little while ago, I declared it Bunny Friday. Today, I'm declaring it Fuzzy Chickadee Friday in honor of some cutie pie felted chicks that I've found on Etsy. They make me think of sugary soft candy peeps! These felted wool creations will hopefully bring a smile to your tired face after a long work week. Also, I just feel the need to share something so darn cute with my readers every once in a while. There's never too much cute to go around!

Please visit the shops of these talented fiber artists to see more lovely felted work:
fancytiger
karingrow
DraigAthar
willowpixie
feltmeupdesigns
PoofNoggin

Yay! I'm featured in Interweave Felt 2008! My Orbiting Moons Fiber Art Pendant made it into the publication!

Every year, Interweave Knits presents a special edition magazine called Interweave Felt. It is full of tutorials, felting tips, and felted eye candy. This year, one of the co-editors found me through my flickr photo gallery and requested to use a needle felted fiber art pendant to feature in their Inspiration Gallery on page 96. I, of course, was ecstatic and grateful, and immediately responded with a big "YES!" My Orbiting Moons Fiber Art Pendant is in good company along with eight other featured felt artists on that page.

If you are an avid felter or a fan of felting, I highly recommend that you go pick up a copy of Interweave Felt. It only comes around once a year and is really a treat! It has content on all kinds of feltmaking from traditional wet felting, to needle felting, to knitted and fulled items as well. And, it is an excellent resource guide for felt related supplies, blogs, web sites, and more.

I also wanted to give a shout out to those that I share the Inspiration Gallery with because it is an excellent mix of all kinds of feltmaking talent. Please take a peak at the following sites to see their felt works . . .
The Birds and Bees
Crafty Alien
Fox Glove Studios
Tanis Alexis
Laura Mabbutt
Violet Pie
Knit Knit
Intimate Forest

Thanks so much to the editor at Interweave who found me! I am truly honored!

**The image is courtesy of Interweave Felt 2008, page 96.

A little bit of non-woolly felted jewelry for the vegans out there & those with wool allergies!

Introducing one of my latest little felted creations - a needle felted bunny made of 100% pure linen! It is completely plant based and derived from flax fibers. If you are a vegan or have wool allergies, this is just the right piece of non-woolly felt for you. Now you can still wear a bit of fuzzy bling and not worry about the wool.

I plan to needle felt more shapes with this bright white linen fiber. Next up are some hearts. I have not yet tried to dye the fibers for more color variety, but that is also in the future so we'll see what happens. Please check my Etsy shop for listings as I gradually add more non-woolly felted jewelry to my established line of felted wool.

My new mannequin form for taking photos of my handmade felted wool scarves

Up to this point, I've always photographed my hand felted wool scarves on a flat surface. Recently, I started thinking that it might be better if I were able to drape my scarves over a human form to show how they hang when worn. I debated for a long time on whether or not to buy some kind of mannequin form for this purpose. After researching my options and the wide array of prices for this kind of display item, I settled on buying two inexpensive plastic mannequin torsos that set on a table top surface. They are actually hollow in the back, but for my photo purposes, it really doesn't seem to matter.

Here's a couple of photos of the results. My photos are a bit bright, but this had nothing to do with the mannequin, but rather my photography skills, or should I say, my lack of photography skills. Anyway, I think that it is an improvement to see the scarves hanging on a human figure. Hopefully, it will allow potential customers to imagine what the scarf might look like on themselves . . . and buy a scarf or two.