Spring Felt Flowers

I wanted to show you my latest little bit of felting.

I made some felt samplers a few weeks ago, playing around with surface texture and colour.

From these 3 pieces I cut some daisy shaped felt flowers. They need finishing yet, with buttons or glass beads and maybe some coloured wire.

I managed to get some really great pictures of them during a short spell of sunshine we had yesterday afternoon, so this post may be a bit photo heavy!

Can you see the silk fibre and sari silk waste glinting in the sun?
I haven't quite decided what to use them for yet. I might make them into brooches or use them to decorate a bag.

 

I can't decide whether I prefer the shell buttons or the glass heart beads in the centres. Which do you like?

I was really sad to read that Clara Luna of The Rainbow Room won't be selling her felt packs anymore. She is moving to sunny Ibiza for 6 months so has decided to stop stocking the felt in her Folksy and Etsy shops. It is of course great news for her and I took advantage of a bargain when she reduced her last few packs down to half price!

All this for only £25.00 (inc' p+p) - bargain! That should kep be going for a little while.
I have also finished (well, very almost) the little blue felted boots I made some time ago.

I just need to sew the wooden buttons on and they're done (I carefully balanced them in place for the photo!).

I have gathered 2 items for a giveaway that I'm hoping to have soon! I won't show them to you just yet, but they are good ones!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend. The sun is shining here and my sinusitis is a little better today so I might just get out in the garden - next post will be all about our green-fingered projects!
Becky x

Easter Explorations!

Sorry, another chunk of time has elapsed between my posts, but there has been little to write about. To be honest, work has been busy, the garden has needed it's springtime tidy and when I have had a little time to craft I just haven't had any enthusiasm.
I have been planning to have a giveaway for a while (my first blogging anniversary came and went) and still a lack of interest prevailed. I thought the Easter hols would revitalise me, but no, instead a nasty cold has taken hold and so the first week of the hols has passed in a fluffy of tissues and olbas oil!

 I did find the motivation to put the Easter tree up, I can't believe it was 12 months ago when I felted these eggs. The buds on the hazel twigs have opened in the warmth of our home and I'm hoping I might be able to get these branches to root.

We were fortunate to have it dry on Easter Sunday and so were able to do our egg hunt in the garden. A card from the Easter Bunny gave us our instructions before we set off on our search...

So off they went, hand-in-hand, buckets at the ready.

Two trips round the garden were needed, plus a few warmer/colder clues, before we completed our search!

The chickens watched on inquisitively (we're down to three as one sadly died a couple of weeks ago).

Buckets full and search completed, we head back inside. But, what is this? Do we have mice?

No, just a cheeky chappy helping himself! But look what was inside!

How sweet!

Two posts are planned for this week; one about a little bit of felting and a second about the garden, in which I have been far more productive.

Wet and miserable here today. I hope you have all had better weather for your bank holiday than we have had here in grey, drizzly Cornwall!

Becky x

Felting homework! Do I have to?!

I'm sorry it's been so long since my last post, no excuses, just busy, busy, busy!

Lulus came home with her weekly homework last week and informed me that this one must be felted! I was of course delighted! She often joins me at the sink and enjoys getting her hands all soapy!

It was National Science Week last week and her homework was to make an Easter basket for the Easter bunny that would protect the eggs if dropped!
We place a few layers of felt over a pudding bowl to get the basic shape. Then, to decorate it, we cut out spots from some prefelt we had made earlier.

Once rolled and dried, we sewed in some sections for the eggs and added some handles. Finished, phew!

Three chocolate eggs went into school in the basket, but only two came home! Those teachers!


I have a lovely blog award to pass on to some worthy bloggers.

But first 7 facts about me!

1. My husband and I have a role reversaI (stereotypically); I go to work whilst he stays home to look after the children and our home. I would love nothing more that to be a full time Mum and housewife, but I can earn more than he can and so that's the way it is. No point moaning about it. I am lucky to have a job that I love, pays well and offers fab holidays.

2. I would love to open my own making cafe. How amazing would that be!? My husband and I did some serious thinking about it, but we just don't have the finances to invest into such an enterprise. It's a dream that must sadly remain just that (and I really have dreamt about it!), but maybe one day...

3. I love reading fantasy books like 'The Golden Compass', 'Eragon',  and a series of books by a chap called Terry Brookes. I have never managed to finish 'Lord of the Rings'!

4. I can't get to sleep without playing on my DS for 10 minutes. A very bad habit!

5. I am addicted to lattes! I have a new Gaggia espresso machine which I love and couldn't live without! I think I have told you before that if I go on holiday I take my machine with me!

6. I am an night owl, hate going to bed, hate getting up!

7. I love baking and wish I could find the time to do more. The trouble is I love eating my baking, but my ever increasing waistline is becoming a problem, so perhaps it is a good thing that I don't have time for more!

Well, that was a struggle!
So now for my chosen bloggers to pass this lovely award on to... in no particular order

1. Stuff n Bits

2. Polka.Button

3. No knitted knickers

I've chosen 3 blogs that are quite new to me and I'm very much enjoying reading their posts. No pressure to do anything with this award, just know I love reading your blogs!

I had some fantastic news today - OfSTED have done an interim assessment on our school and told us that we will not be inspected for another 12 months (they last came 3 years ago). HOORAY!!! This means I can concentrate on my class and not ticking boxes (sorry to sound cynical).

Hope you all have a lovely week.

Becky x

How 'Versatile' Am I?!

VERY! Apparently! As I received the Versatile Blogger award twice only one day apart of each other. A huge thanks to Carrad of Faded Reverie and Rae of Felt by Rae for my latest awards. I'm making quite a collection as you can see in my sidebar! I don't mind them at all. I think it's just a nice way of saying 'I like reading your posts', which, of course, we all like to hear. So, THANK YOU!
I will dutifully pass on the award to 15 bloggers and share 7 new facts about me in my next post.

I have been busy with the fluff and bubbles again, mastering (ha!ha!) another technique so I can add it to my list of tutorials. Another vessel has been felted, again on a flat resist (circle of bubblewrap).

Why does this one make me think of a sea anemone?

I used dark turquoise for the main colour, with some beautiful peach and coral yarn felted on the surface along with some creamy gold sari silk.

I'm not sure that the sari silk is actually silk, even though I pulled it out of a sari silk waste yarn ball. It just didn't felt in the way I'm used too, it was more rough (almost synthetic) and didn't want to work into the felt. Just strange.
I used my felting needle and jabbed in any bits that were left sticking out to stop it looking untidy. I am pleased with the finished effect and the sari 'silk' catches the light well.

I have also felted another pair of baby shoes. This time I made two flat resists and I think I liked this better.

I am still learning lots with each new thing I felt. This time I went on to the rolling stage too quickly and the felt started getting ripply edges after a session of rolling. I quickly backtracked to the rubbing through the net part until the fibres stopped pulling away in the pinch test. What did I learn? Don't try to take short cuts with the process!

Anyway, I saved them and they have turned out well. I'm going to crochet a cuff for the ankle part in a less pretty finish for a boy. I may have to cut the openings a little larger first, they may be a bit on the small side to squeeze a chubby foot in!

I'm back to work. I had a busy and productive half-term and feel revitalised and ready for action! I wonder how long that feeling will last?!
Becky x
PS. A huge HELLO to my new followers! Thank you for joining me here!

Baby Shoes and A Felting Tutorial.

Hope you're having as nice a week as I am. There has been a lot of relaxing and catching up with my favourite magazines. Molly Makes arrived just at the right time. I sat down to read it Monday morning with some homemade scotch pancakes and look who was eyeing up my treats!

I didn't even realise Little Mannie was in the room until the hand shot out as I was taking the photo! I did let him eat it and made several more for the family before I got to sit and enjoy mine with the mag'!

My husband made a lovely fuss over me for Valentine's Day, he's a true romantic. We went to some stunning gardens and ate at a seafood restaurant at St.Ives in the evening. Bliss!

There hasn't been a lot of felting or crocheting going on, but that's OK. The weather has been too kind to sit indoors. However, I did promise to show you the baby shoes that are now finished.

Adding crochet to felt is in several projects in my new Japanese felting book. It inspired my crochet and felt jar jacket and now it has inspired these little shoes.

They are just so cute now they are finished. They make me want to add a pair of little feet to the family just to fill them!

You may have noticed that I have added a link to felting tutorials in my sidebar. Some of the lovely comments I have received have said that many of you would like to try felting and I thought I would share some of the things that I have learnt so far and tempt you all to give it a try! I have started with a simple piece of flat felting.

This is the piece I made for the tutorial. It's ever so easy to make. This technique could be used to make a picture, a book cover or could be cut up and sewn. If you make something and blog about it or post pictures on flickr, please let me know, I would love to see how you use my tutorial.

Nearly the weekend! Hope you have a good one!
Becky x

Felt and Crochet Jar Jacket

Something new from me again, inspired by my lovely new Japanese book (I promise to share it with you soon!).

This little jacket has been felted over a glass jar (quickly whipped out of the recycling box before the recycle van came) and then finished with a crochet collar.

Another fiddly felting project. Or perhaps it's just that I haven't done it before. I can remember when felting little balls was a pain and they would all end up with little creases, but now I can make them with my eyes closed whilst icing a cake! All right, I exaggerate, but you know what I mean!

The felt is quite thin because I wanted to see what it would look like with a tea light inside. I used turquoise and teal felt which I tried to blend subtly into each other. With the light shining through the colours it looks just beautiful. 

I added the crochet to the top using a yarn called Pompeii, it's a chunky wool mix and I love how it looks with the soft felt. I can see a whole batch of these being made in a range of colours and finishes! I'm still thinking of adding some natural shell buttons down the front to finish it.

I think I will mostly use this one for pens and pencils, although it would look great with

some paper white narcissus in it. Or some white hyacinths.

I'd like to make a shorter, smaller one for my crochet hooks too.

So that's my first Monthly Make for February finished.

I have also finished the baby shoes and they are just gorgeous, but I'll save them for my next post.

Half-term is here. I'm looking forward to spending some time with my family. Baking. Walking. Playing. Laughing. Relaxing.

Lovely.

Hope you have a good weekend. Keep warm and if you have the snow enjoy it!

Becky x

New Felty Projects!

So, as you all know, I'm experimenting with different felting projects and I just had to show you this one! Can you guess what it is from the template?

Mmm... do you need a clue?!

It's actually going to be 2 things!

So, template cut out of bubble wrap.
Fibres laid out on one side, gently felted, turned over and edges turned in.
Repeated for the second side.
Layer 1 done!
Repeat the whole process twice more so that each side has had 3 layers.

Now for the hard work! I use a foam tube covered in a vinyl table mat and roll over the piece wrapped in bubble wrap 25 times, rotate 90 degrees and repeat until I'm back to where I started. I then turn the piece over and again roll, turn...

Then stage 2 of the hard work, lots more rolling! Rolled in the bubble wrap and a bamboo blind 100 times, rotated x 4, each side.

By now it's shrunk a lot (and my arms ache!)...

...any guesses yet?
Time to remove the bubble wrap.

I cut the piece into two, trimmed and shaped them.

You've guessed, now, haven't you?!
Yes, a pair of baby shoes!

They were a bit of a pain to get the same size and shape but now they're dry I'm quite pleased with them. I don't think I would make them this way again. It was hard work trying to rub away the thicker raised line down the centre which was where the felt was folded around the template.
I'm hoping to embellish them this week and add some crochet edging or maybe even sock style crochet tops. However, the new felting book has arrived from Hong Kong and I'm desperate to start the next project - it should be a good one and add another string to my felting bow!
Hope you're enjoying your weekend.
No snow here and not likely to be :(
Becky x