Ladyfishfelt

Felted Lampshade completed

2012-02-20T11:19:00.001-05:00

I have 3 lamps in the house from IKEA that I love. They can be moved around in different directions where you need the light. I don't like the fact that the lampshade is plastic. The most often used lamp had the plastic shade cracking. So I took it off and designed a lampshade out of felt.

I used a prefelt from my enormous stash of wool, and used my niece Bethany's design from her book, laying out some silk roving, then covered with prefelt on the top.

This is the felted piece.

And this is the felted piece hanging in front of the window illuminated by the ambient light.

Since the plastic shade was held up by three screwy things that attached to three wires jutting out from the light base, I had to create a lampshade. I had to use two different sized bamboo embroidery hoops, one on the bottom and one on the top and the uprights were chopsticks from a downtown Philadelphia Korean Restaurant called Giwa. I am lucky to have picked up a bundle of embroidery hoops at a local thrift shop awhile ago, so did not feel bad about breaking up two pairs. I drilled three holes in the bottom piece and made sure they fit properly with the wire/screw thingie. I sewed the lampshade by hand and on the inside sewed 4 felt strips to hold the upright chopstick supports to give the lamp the vertical support it needed. Here is the lampshade lit up with the design showing through.

It makes the lamp much less contemporary and it actually fits the living room better than it did before. I like it.

Felting with Heather

2012-02-12T09:31:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I had a wonderful day felting with my friend Heather. I drove over to her house in the snow, which I did not mind. We had muffins and coffee and began felting. My niece Bethany has written and drawn a book on machine quilting designs and Heather and I made some felt using the designs from her book. "Modern Quilting Designs: 90+ Free Motion Inspirations"

Heather decided to go with the fern, and I learned a technique from her. First she drew the design onto the resist. Then she wet the pencil roving with an olive oil soap solution and put it down on the resist. She of course is making a purse as Heather loves making purses. You will have to watch Heather's blog http://woollove-functional-fiberart.blogspot.com/ to see what she made.

The first thing I wanted to try was a prefelt with silk roving sandwiched between and to be made into a lampshade. This is one of Bethany's easier designs. When its not being lit up the design is not really that visible but with lighting it pops.

Then I liked the fern design also, but not sure what I wanted to make with it I placed the traced design under bubble wrap then using Heathers technique used a combination of olive oil damped wool pencil roving and silk roving to set my design. Then placed a piece of prefelt on top and felted it in. Added a twirl of pencil roving at the bottom. I am not sure what I will make from this one, but I have some ideas.

Its wonderful having a friend who felts close enough to where I live to spend a day felting and still be able to drive home fairly easily. Heather is a wonderful person to spend time with. I cannot wait until we spend another felting day together.

Textiles

2012-02-09T19:33:00.001-05:00

Last night I went to a local chapter of the PA Guild of Craftsmen for a monthly meeting. They had a woman who came to show us a presentation on textiles that she has collected mostly from India, Laos, and Indonesia.
She discussed the different types of silkworms and how the worm farmers take care of them and process the silk. My favorite part was the actual textiles. They are able to make perhaps one or two textiles a year at some of the places she visited.

There is one technique that I find amazing. They pinch tiny pieces of fabric and wrap threads around it tightly, many done in rows to make a design. When the fabric is dyed and the thread removed it leaves a white spot and the fabric has a unique stretch from the pucker. It is called Bandhani.
These photos do not do it justice.

Art in our house

2011-12-26T19:24:00.000-05:00

My daughter is a very talented young woman and is working hard on her art. She is hoping to get into Rhode Island School of design, and I hope she does also.

Sometimes its hard living with an artist when you are in a small house and both want to create at the same time. I cannot sew when she is drawing because we both need the kitchen table. Since her work is homework and needed for portfolio, I let her draw.

She was always easy to entertain as I could carry crayons or a pencil and paper with me everywhere and she would draw happily. She still draws happily, and often I come across objects in the house with drawings. Recently the lids of the creamer in the fridge had faces.

Tonight it was "meat face" drawn with a fork on the plastic covering of defrosting meat. Temporary artwork.

More Scenery from the South

2011-12-22T07:22:00.000-05:00

Even though its winter and the trees are bare they still look beautiful to me.

Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher.
William Wordsworth

Falls Lake Rec area - inspiration

2011-12-21T07:03:00.000-05:00

I love getting my inspiration from nature. When in North Carolina I was able to sneak off for an hour and take a walk at the local recreational area. I love the textures and colors.

Love the bark on these trees. As I was walking in the one area you could smell the pine trees.It was a relaxing walk.

Wedding and a walk in the woods.

2011-12-20T07:30:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we drove to North Carolina to attend my beautiful niece's wedding. We left at 5 AM Saturday, got there around 1230PM had lunch, checked into the hotel and off we went to the practice and practice dinner. It always amazes me the positions that my daughter can sleep in. This is how I found her at the dinner. The friends that they have down there are very generous, and friendly.

The next day I had time to go for a walk at Falls Lake Rec Area. I find walking along the shore very relaxing.

I took a bunch of photos for felting. Great texture pictures that I will post next time. Here is a quick look.

I played driver and took Jim fishing, got lunch, Picked Jim up, took Julia to the church, came back to hotel, picked up Kim and Jim and back to the wedding.

The bride was beautiful and the groom handsome. He is in the military and may be deployed soon. A very nice young man and amazingly calm throughout it all. Bethany, is a long arm quilter and has just had a book published with her original designs. She used some of her designs on the wedding cake which was yummy.

Arrived home last night around 530PM. It was a hectic three days and really nice to be home again and see my doggies. I have so much more to tell. I want to show pictures of the lake walk and tell you all about her book which I find inspiring. More to come tomorrow.

Christmas is coming

2011-12-05T07:35:00.000-05:00

We have had great weather this weekend. Its been fairly warm for December which for us means 50's F.

I was able to get this picture of our Flagpole Christmas tree lit up at night. It looks like it is twinkling when the wind is blowing gently.

Inspired by this, I got my santa collection out. I did not put all of them out because they will not all fit anymore. Some of them are very old. The one in the center was my fathers when he was a kid. Not sure how he survived when our house burned down when I was little but he did. I have to find the other stockings cause one is not enough. Hopefully we will be getting our tree up in the living room this week.

Christmas lights and UFOs

2011-12-03T17:15:00.000-05:00

Today we put our outside Christmas lights up on the flagpole so it looks like a tree.
Great weather for putting up outside lights. We have been doing this for quite a few years now so its fairly routine.

I will take a picture in the dark so you can see how pretty it looks.

I have also been trying to clean up the house and get it in order. Found this UFO - Unfinished Object and decided to finish it. Its a white wool on a white cotton gauze with winter trees which I felted then thread painted then felted again. It had no back on it. First I blocked it using some home made blocking boards that I made with wood, foam insulation and fabric. I wet the piece, threw it in the spin cycle to spin out the excess water then pinned it to my blocking board. This made the edges nice and flat. I then sewed a piece of muslin on the back so I can hang it up, and I did have it hanging in the window. Now I need to finish the rest of my UFO's.

Thanksgiving this year

2011-11-25T07:12:00.000-05:00

This year we had our Thanksgiving at home with Uncle John and cousin Joe.

We eat early because its easier for John. Turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet potato cassarole, greenbeans, salad for dinner.

and John brought the pumpkin and apple pie for desert

Julia and Joe having a cousin moment. And no that wine is not hers.

And Moose enjoying his bone.

A great meal and I am thankful to have people in my life who want to enjoy it with me.

Felting with Heather

2011-11-07T07:30:00.000-05:00

To make a long story short, I had to go to Michigan this fall to find a woman who lives close to me that I could felt with. I was very lucky to meet Heather Woollove. She is a really wonderful person who has great insight and is fun to felt with.

Although I was supposed to be at the Northeast Feltmakers guild meeting this weekend I was unable to attend. As it turns out a very dear friend, Bryan, passed away suddenly and I was at his funeral on Saturday. On Sunday I had a felting date with Heather.

I arrived at her house to the smell of blueberry muffins and coffee and we chatted for a bit. I got to see more of her wonderful felt. And the muffins were awesome, I might add. Then it was felting time. I had seen and heard her talk of her peanut purses and I wanted to make one. I am not a purse maker normally, although I may take it up now.

She had her studio set up already to go I just needed to add wool. I have never been happy using a resist and seeing the results, but learning Heather's technique has changed my outlook. I used a gray merino on the inside and a black merino on the outside with a silk design on the front. My merino felted up nicely and I learned how Heather stuffs her bags to dry. I took out the stuffing this morning to take a few pictures.
I still need to do the inside pocket and add a closure to the flap. But I cannot wait to use this bag.
At the end of the play date, we traded wool and silk and flax with each other and I went home.

Thanks Heather!!. We have to set up another felt date, perhaps at my house this time.

New felting book to read

2011-10-12T07:14:00.000-04:00

I was looking somewhere online and saw this new felting book. "From felt to fabric, new techniques in Nuno felting" By Catherine O"Leary. So I ordered it and it arrived the other day. What a great book. I have other nuno felt books which are nice too, however, this one I find inspiring.

Her idea of creating nuno prefelts that can be cut up and used in other pieces I find very inspiring. Right now my felt studio is in the basement of the house and with all the rain and flooding we had a lot of water in the basement so everything got moved up to the table. I do also felt small pieces in the kitchen. With this nuno felt technique of making nuno prefelts, I could make small pieces in the kitchen and then when I can get back down to the studio, I will be able to use them in a bigger piece.

This book is not for the beginner because it does not offer the step by step. It is more focused on design.
I love the colors and its a great inspiration. The author is from Australia and I have never met her before.
Its produced by Lark Crafts for $19.95 but I picked it up via Amazon for much less.

Tileworks, Fonthill, and Doylestown

2011-10-10T08:16:00.000-04:00

I have some friends visiting so I took them to Doylestown, PA for the day. Its a cute little town, with neat shops and some pretty interesting things. One of them is the Moravian Tileworks and Fonthill. There was a man named Henry Mercer who built these with concrete and tiles. These pictures are of the tileworks. Its a functioning pottery where they make tiles today.

Mercer also built a 6 story castle called Fonthill which is a museum and can be toured. It is facinating to see the tiles and mosaics that he made or collected from around the world.

http://www.buckscounty.org/government/departments/tileworks/

Felt United Day

2011-10-03T07:50:00.000-04:00

In honor of the third international day of felt, www.feltunited.com/
I created this piece at the Creative felt Gathering. I finished it up on Saturday.

It was designed to be a knapsack, messenger bag with a front pocket for a water bottle and an inside pocket. The red leather strap was made from an old leather jacket that was hanging in the attic, waiting to be recycled. It is connected on one side to a loop that was incorporated into the design and has a clip on the other end. The loop on the bottom can be used to clip the front flap and also to have the leather strap threaded through for use as a knapsack. I used it this weekend and I do like it. I like the versatility of the strap.

Creative Felt Gathering Part 2

2011-09-27T07:01:00.000-04:00

I learned a lot at the Gathering. People from the Ohio, Michigan, and surrounding areas are nice. Having Fibromyalgia I should not have driven ten hours by myself. Felting is something I love to do with other people.

I have finished enough of my cuff to post a picture. I made this in a class, where we first picked a piece of glass that Jone had made in advance. Then Pam MacGregor taught us the cuff part. Although green is not one of my colors, it did look good with the glass piece I selected and I was able to add enough blue to like it a lot. The other Linda gave me some fun metal beads to add to those I had and it enhanced it. I need to add a few more.

A little about Fibromyalgia for those who are not familiar with it, what happens is it causes much pain for a person almost all the time. Sometimes, the lining between my ribs becomes painful and it is hard to breathe which makes me hunch which makes my back hurt. I get foggy in the head when I am tired. Pain makes me grumpy. Different parts of me hurt on different days. I cannot ignore this but have to find ways to incorporate it into my life. I went to bed early there which helped. Sometimes the pain and I have very different ideas on what we want to do. I ended up leaving a very fun event a day early because of that. Next year if I go, I will either not drive the entire way myself, or I will plan to go early and allow a full day of rest before going to the gathering.

One of the days I did really well (pain wise)was on Wednesday when it was a day off for the regular teachers.
In the morning Amira Mudfaery taught us a technique using chicken wire. I did a fish because that was the first thing that popped into my head. Then she showed us a technique using roving, wire and a drill. I was not sure what to do with that one, so I decided to make a habitat for my fish. I was really happy with the end result.

I need to take a better picture so I can send her a copy. Its been a long time since I have done sculptural work and I really had fun doing it. I am slowly finishing up my pieces this week and will post more as time goes on.

Creative Felt Gathering 2011

2011-09-26T10:41:00.000-04:00

I survived the Creative Felt Gathering in Michigan. It was fun, exciting and exhausting. It was about a ten hour drive from Pennsylvania to Michigan, just me and Gumby. Here is Jone, Pam and Elis at the welcome meeting.

Gumby working hard rolling my felt for me.

Almost finished piece that I did in Elis roving class. I wish I was not so tired that day or I would have done something different.

The class with MudFaerie was tons of fun. I need to take a picture of my piece from that class.

My mittens that I did with prefelt with Jone. This was fun and I need to make more mittens.

Then the resist dying class with Chad. Like opening a surprise package with every one.

Really foggy on the way home. I left a day early because I was so exhausted from the drive there that I knew I would not be able to work on Monday if I drove ten hours on Sunday. . More details later......

Nature's weaver

2011-09-17T18:15:00.000-04:00

I am amazed by spider webs and how beautiful and effective they are. This one, was built this morning just outside my front door. I walked by it and did not see it until my daughter pointed it out to me from inside.
Not only was it a beautiful web but unless the sun was hitting it just right it was invisible. An effective trap.

And then it was gone. We did not touch it but it is almost like the spider dismantled it and moved on.

Chickens on my mind

2011-09-08T12:34:00.000-04:00

I need to make another piece for the creation myth exhibit for the NEFG show next year and was talking to my artist friend Lori. She is currently doing pottery so I was thinking of incorporating felt and pottery. Thus the above was born. Its Chicken legs with holes for me to attach felt to the top. I cannot wait to see what it looks like when it drys and is fired and I finally get it to work with. I already have a name for the piece but am not telling yet. I am excited about this collaberation.

Baltimore Grand Prix and MICA

2011-09-06T09:11:00.000-04:00

We took a trip with friends to Baltimore for the Grand Prix and added in a tour of Maryland Institute College of Art. My lovely talented daughter has this on her college list. Very nice school. I like the public transportation and the downtown area seemed nice.

Now on to the Grand Prix. What a great time we had. Traffic getting in was not bad at all, we were able to walk everywhere or take public transportation.
Great fun

Exciting things in my future

2011-09-01T11:35:00.000-04:00

I talked to my girlfriend Lori today in North Carolina and we are collaborating on a felt-pottery piece.
Lori is an awesome artist and I cannot wait to see if our idea comes to fruition. That's all I can say on that for now.

In a few weeks I will be going to Michigan to the Creative Felt Gathering and taking workshops with Elis who I am so looking forward to meeting. I just love the giant felt viking ship she has done and her current Burrows Project. Just awesome.

Chad will also be there as well as a few other teachers that I cannot remember right now. A week of felt immersion. Yahoo.

In October I am taking a day class with my wonderfully talented daughter Julia and we are learning Mono-Type from Stephanie Nadolski
http://stephanienadolski.com/
Her work is very beautiful and I am wondering how I can incorporate this into my felt work.

Chickens, Rice and Dog food

2011-08-15T18:33:00.000-04:00

I have been making these bags from used woven plastic dog food bags and hammock rope for the handle. They have apparantly become very popular, and I have had requests for some of them. Always trying to reuse and recycle, I talk about the bags when someone says they have a dog. At a recent wedding, I was talking to Aunt Pat who raises chickens. I sent her the instructions for the bags and she sent me a few chicken feed bags and a rice bag. I had fun making these as they are not the usual dog food. Perhaps I will start making dog food bags with the graphics on the outside.

Peace Felt pieces done

2011-08-13T16:35:00.000-04:00

This year I am participating in www.peacefelt.org. Each participant makes a peace felt, and ships it to a partner. You also receive a peace felt from someone. My partner is a quilter who lives in California. I decided to do a pin cushion ball and needle book for her.

This pin cushion ball has a dove holding an olive branch. I have a pin in for its eye. Its a very hard felted ball.

This is a needle book with a dove on the front. The background is blue with the inside being white

I sewed around the edges to even them out and am not shipping with needles. Waiting for it to dry before mailing it.
This was a fun thing to do. I am excited to see what I receive.

Northeast Feltmakers Guild Meeting in NH.

2011-08-09T14:05:00.000-04:00

Had a wonderful time in New Hampshire at the Guild Meeting learning from Nan all about silk painting with the other guild members.

I learned so much from her and from watching the others work with the silk.

Ginny did a beautiful design in yellow.

This was my fern silk painting.

Julia's second piece just amazing.

Not sure who did this one but I like it.

A show and tell piece I just love this.

Silk flowers cut out and felted another one I love.

This is just very cool.

This is not a great shot but its a blanket that I fell in love with. Very light weight and beautifully done.

Wildlife and family fun

2011-08-03T15:25:00.000-04:00

Headed up to the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania to have a small family reunion of sorts. Lots of good food from Kim's kitchen. I went Kayaking and geocaching on Monday. First I saw a doe and fawn, then a porcupine, then a bald eagle. Later as I was paddling away from an island, another eagle flew 20 feet over my head with a big fish in its claws. Lots of blue herons also.

Back at Kim's a beautiful Red Tailed Hawk landed in a tree just off her deck and we spent a good 20 minutes looking at it. Got this shot with my camera.
Chipmunks and deer also were photographed.

A letter arrived in the mail today.

2011-06-29T16:06:00.000-04:00

Today's mail arrived with a package from the Northeast feltmakers guild containing the letter U from Guild Member Donna Reilly. Its very exciting. I cannot wait to see more letters as they come in. WooHoo!

Guild Anniversary Challenge

2011-06-29T08:54:00.000-04:00

The Northeast feltmakers guild (http://www.northeastfeltmakersguild.org/) is having its tenth anniversary next year and we are doing a Guild Challenge for the anniversary. Each person who signs up is to do a 4 inch x 4 inch flat felt piece that can be sewn together to create a wall hanging. I choose the letter I.
This is the almost finished, ' I ' for the wall hanging.

Teaching Nuno felting and weaving on pins..

2011-05-31T07:12:00.000-04:00

There is a woman I met at the library (Sara) who wanted to learn nuno felting so I had her come over Sunday afternoon and we spent 5 hours in the studio. She created a beautiful piece but I had to send her home with it only partially done. I will see her on Thursday and hope to get pictures and check to make sure its felted enough. Hoping to have her come back soon for more felting fun.

While I was helping her I snooped around in my bins and found a pin weaving half done for a fiber art card. I took it upstairs and finished it. Then started another one. Its a nice little take with you to keep your hands busy kind of thing.

I made Sara a small pin weaving board that I will give her Thursday. She does a lot of knitting and has bits of yarn left over. The board is very easy to make. Here is mine with another weaving. I take two pieces of foam core and duct tape them together around 3 edges. Tape a piece of graph paper on the front which helps me to align my pins evenly. The pins are actually these super heavy duty "Bank Pins" purchased from Halcyon Yarn in Maine. A thimble helps and I push them in at an angle. I warped this with some heavy pearle cotton thread. Then just get a blunt end needle to use to start weaving. The one I am using here is a bamboo needle with an end that curves up. I use a bamboo skewer that is sold for cooking as a pick up if I need to.

Pin weaving allows you to weave different shapes and I have done circular shapes in the past. Eventually you will need to move the pins to a new spot and then flip the board and replace it, but its a quick and easy make.
I use thread, selvedges that have been cut off from fabric, pieces of felted wool cut into stips, yarn of course and what ever else I have as the weft. I keep a bag where I put my scraps and raid it when I do pin weaving.

New things and my lawn fish

2011-04-23T13:42:00.001-04:00

I got a new car the other day. I like it. After 16 years of driving my other car, its nice to have something more modern with electric windows and a cd player and all the other nifty things it does.
So I cleaned out the old car which my husband is driving now instead of the big pick up truck gas guzzler
he has. I found some interesting things.

Maps, one winter glove, bandaids, a water pistol, a travel game, a picture of my daughter from when she was in 4th grade, two dishwashing gloves, two felt balls and a red felt neclace. two sticky pieces of velcro, hook side only. a piece of driftwood. and a few other items like pens and such... Interesting collection.

I had 4 maps of pennsylvania so I used them to wrap up stuff for an Easter game we will be playing after dinner tomorrow. Why not reuse, recycle and have fun.

So I decided to work on my Felt United piece, a giant lawn fish that may become a lawn weather vane depending on various factors. I made the resist the other day. Its 57 inches (144.8cm) long.

I added a Gill flap on each side

And those bottom fins they have. I had to sew the resist together because I did not have a big enough
piece of foamy stuff to make it in one piece. It looks pretty cool.

So my new friend Ginny has offered me some suggestions and I am going to her place to do some fish dying with different techniques. Now I have to get this fish felted by June. I have two different wools I need to do a sample on to see what shrinkage is going to be. Lots of felting to be done.

Gyotaku fish printing

2011-04-14T07:19:00.000-04:00

Yes I am somewhat obsessed with fish, mainly because I have spent so many years fishing, for fun, in tournaments and as a kid. Last night I got a chance to do something I have always wanted to try. Making a fish print. Also known as Gyotaku.

I recently joined the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsman which has opened up the local Bucks County Chapter to me. Last night I went to the meeting, mainly to see what the group was like, and because of the fish printing. OK so it was more like because of the fish printing. Its a very nice group of talented people but let me tell you about the Fish printing demo. It was awesome!

Michael Reimer did several fish printings of a Crevalle Jack. Yes it was a real fish. He showed us how he makes a foam bed of sorts to keep the fish stable, inking up the fish and the careful placement of paper and the rubbing.

I never thought I would actually get to make a fish print, but he asked if anyone wanted to and in my excitement I jumped up and said "I want to". His are so much better but for a first timer I think I did a nice job.

Take a look at his web site. I am drooling over the walleye print he did but its way out of my price range.
http://www.michaelreimer.com/gyotakuhome.html

Up and Coming Artist on Outback fibers website

2011-03-29T17:56:00.000-04:00

Back in November I showed my friends daughter how to make felt flowers. She wanted to raise some money for a trip so I left her with a few supplies and Jill Gully's name and website. Jill has now featured Haley on her website up and coming artist section. Go Haley!! www.outbackfibers.com is Jill's site.

Illuminated felt in Renesslaerville NY

2011-03-28T08:21:00.000-04:00

I traveled up to NY this last weekend with several felting friends Gail, Dolly (&Hammy) and Maryann to the Illuminated Felt Workshop by Sharon Costello. We stayed in the Village Inn aka Bells which was run by a wonderful woman named Edith who made us awesome breakfast every morning. After a visit to the Library we headed to the place next door for happy hour and got happy.

Then went to Sharon's and got happier.

The next morning Dolly and I took a walk to the preserve to see the waterfalls.

Then on to Sharon's workshop where she showed us numerous samples of ways to do the felt so it looks interesting illuminated. I have not always done samples but am becoming a huge fan of sampling after this.

So we started working on our felt, some of us quicker since we knew we had to leave by 2 on Sunday.

The blue one in the front is mine. Below is Diane's Piece. She is very talented.

Dolly's lamp which Hammy is proudly posing in front of.

Maryann's lamp which looks wonderful when illuminated but will not photograph for me nicely that way.

Gail's piece which did not have time to get illuminated but looks beautiful.

We ended with some sillyness, diane with her illuminated head flower and below Dolly and Gail trying to cram everything back into the car so we could leave for home.

We were a bit more subdued on the way home but did learn about Cow Magnets from Gail who is always entertaining, and of course Dolly's catnapper story. It was nice to arrive home where it was much warmer, and greener. I am hoping the four of us and a few other felters can get together sometime in the near future.

Paris in Philadelphia at the flower show

2011-03-13T19:14:00.000-04:00

Well, even with the time change, we made it to the Flower Show in Philadelphia.When you walk in it looks like you are entering a different place entirely as you are greeted with a replicated piece of the Eiffel Tower.

So there were flower animals and of course a fish

and I love the color of the tulips in this picture under the fish.

I think this gate is fantastic as well.

I did not take as many pictures this year but rather enjoyed the sights. I think I liked last years show a bit better.

The story of Dangun - finally finished and photographed

2011-03-06T11:36:00.001-05:00

Thanks to my lovely daughter Julia for taking pictures for me, and to my husband Jim for making the wrought iron frame for the piece, and to Diane C for her wonderful advice and to the Chungs for helping with the Korean text and not minding too bad that I woke them up early to do it.

The myth of Dangun is the Korean Creation Myth. This piece will be in the NorthEast Feltmakers Guild exhibit next year, details still being worked out. I have been working feverishly to get this done.

About 5000 years ago, there were Hwanin, king of heaven, and Hwanwoong.
Hwanwoong liked the human world rather than heaven. So father gave him 3,000 servants and gods who control wind, clouds, and rain and sent him to human world. Hwanwoong became king of the world and helped them.

There was a bear and a tiger where Hwanwoong came to. Bear and tiger begged Hwanwoong to make them human. So Hwanwoon gave them a handful of artemisia and 20 garlics and said "If you eat this and stay in the cave without coming for 100 days, then you will be human." Like Hwanwoong said bear stayed in the cave and became beautiful lady, but tiger couldn't stay and couldn't become human.

Bear who became a lady is named Woongnyu. But Woongnyu prayed for marrige and baby. So Hwanwoong became human for a moment and married her. So she gave a birth to a boy, who is the founder of Korean, Dangun. After Dangun became king, he named the country 'GoChosun'. And he ruled the country well for 1,500 years.

Dangun is still respected as the founder of Korean. For example, there is temple serves Hwanin, Hwanwoong, and Dangun's soul; there is religion which respect Dangun as a god. In present time, Korean is celebrating Oct. 3rd as the national foundation day of Korea when Dangun first founded country.

Creation Myth - round 3

2011-01-25T10:26:00.000-05:00

Ok so the Primordial Soup idea did not work out, nor did the big bang, so I began a new search for a creation myth. For Christmas my daughter gave me a book on Traditional patterns in Japanese Design and there was a great tiger in there that caught my eye. I knew I wanted to do it in felt.

I found a few Creation Myths with tigers and decided on the Korean Creation Myth. I am taking the middle part of the myth for my piece. A bear and a tiger lived in a cave and every day passed a tree and prayed to the divine king to be made human. So the divine king tells them if they live in the cave for 100 days eating only garlic and mugwort he will make them human. Tiger fails at this, but Bear does not and becomes human. The myth has parts before and after this section but this is the part I am working on.

I am collaborating (hopefully) with my husband who will be making a wrought iron frame with 3 panels much like a room screen but only about 12 inches high. I will have the tiger on one side, something in the middle and the bear on the right.

So far I am very happy with tiger although he needs to be wet felted to set and maybe a little fine tuning yet.

This is for the Northeast feltmakers guild 2012 exhibit "Creation Myths"

Big Bang - waiting for wool

2011-01-10T08:50:00.000-05:00

So I am working on a piece for the Creation Myths show by the NEFGuild and the deadline is approaching. I had already started on a few pieces that I was not happy with the way they were looking. I have these pieces taped down to muslin and am awaiting the wool I need to finish the piece today. They are taped just to hold them into place. I have no idea if what I have in mind will work but I guess I will find out. I am trying to use colors that I don't normally felt with. Even if this idea fails, I will at least have tried and learned something from it.

Captivation Collaboration

2011-01-09T08:56:00.000-05:00

This is a great blog started by Ulia. I know her very well. She has been taking some awesome pictures and I hope she continues with her 365 x 1 A photo a day for 2011.

http://captivationcollaborative.blogspot.com/

Felt flowers

2010-11-25T17:32:00.000-05:00

I am visiting my friend Lori and her family. Her daughter is going on a people to people trip next summer and is looking for a way to earn some money. I showed her how to make felt flowers and we made a bunch together. They came out wonderfully awesome.

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Humingbird.jpg

2010-11-23T17:23:00.001-05:00

Am visiting my friend lori for Thanksgiving. I showed her how to needlefelt. Just the basics. She is already a great artist so the results did not surprise me at all. Here is her beautiful hummingbird.
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Inspired by Nature

2010-11-18T07:27:00.000-05:00

At the recent Northeast Feltmakers Guild meeting in NJ, I took some pictures on a short walk.
I am always inspired by nature.

We felt the same way, but different

2010-11-17T07:13:00.000-05:00

I love hearing from other felters, especially those around the world. I am limited in that I only speak English, but I really enjoy looking at all of the work felters do, even if I cannot read the blog. I received a very nice comment from a woman in Spain. So I looked at her blog.

It has always amazed me at how people can take wool and create such very different things. Trudis makes felt in different ways. For her wall hangings, she uses the felt as a canvas and paints on it with acrylics.
Check out her work on her blog.

http://viltentrudis.blogspot.com/

And I cannot post without a photo so here is a picture of a tree in New Jersey USA in full autumn gold.

A South African felter

2010-11-16T12:46:00.000-05:00

I received an email from a felter in South Africa who makes some very beautiful pieces. She was asking about some information I had on silk paper for felting.

From Pascale in South Africa
It is a lonely world for felters out here. There are just a handful of us and spread very far apart so we learn by google, and then try our own things out. It is still a bit confusing for people in South Africa as to what felt actually is, because although we are the fourth largest producer of merino in the world, it has all been exported for many years, mainly to Germany, Italy and Spain, who make it into their exciting and beautiful yarn, and clothing etc. So if I want to buy 100% yarn, it comes from overseas. Very dispiriting. So I make my own yarn as well and dye it too and often use it in felting projects. Most of my customers are from Europe and some from America, but I haven’t got any marketing things in place – no time.

I got excited by felting because it is so quick and you can literally do anything with it and all my creative nature comes out.

Here are some photos of what she makes or has made in the past. This is just beautiful work. I wanted to share with her permission.

My quilt is on its way back

2010-11-11T07:23:00.000-05:00

I have dabbled a bit in quilting, although felting is my favorite thing to do. Awhile ago I made a quilt top of asian fabrics and a modified pattern. I like jelly roll quilts as they are easy for me to do and they go together fairly quickly. I finished this top and was just not sure what to do next to it. So, lucky me, I have a neice who has a machine quilting business. http://www.bethanyquilts.com/ She worked her magic on my poor little quilt and

all I can say is WOW! Its on its way back to me but she sent me this picture of the finished quilt. I am so excited to see it in person. If you know of anyone who needs an awesome machine quilter send them to Bethany. She does an amazing job.

Latest project is an old rework

2010-11-02T10:11:00.001-04:00

I started this many years ago and pulled it out recently and began to rework it a bit. The original base is handmade felt sewn to a muslin background and embellished. I removed some of the embellishments and began to add details with free motion stitching. This is my first mobile blog post so I am not sure how well this will turn out.
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Quilt Show in Oaks

2010-09-19T17:10:00.000-04:00

My daughter and I went to the quilt show today in Oaks. She took the pictures and I am not sure there are photos of all the ones I like but here are a few. I liked this one because of the unique way they used the different types of fabrice. You cannot tell from this, but the buildings were done in different upholstery fabric and even burlap. It added great texture to the piece.

I liked this quilt because of the sheep. Each one was done in a different way, and many were using wool that looked like it had been felted.

This one was really cool. Reminded me of the sun. Gradient dyed fabric doilies were used and it would look nice in my kitchen with my sun collection.

Although not traditional in the normal way, this quilt takes you back in time a bit, with lots of sewing bits, and
the baby clothing. It was part of an exhibit where the same people were provided the same fabric and each created something unique. I thought this was a nice memory piece.

There were also several quilts in one section that depicted homelessness. They brought tears to my eyes. I don't see pictures on the camera of those. It was a fun day, and I am actually glad we went today because it was not so busy.

Horsham Art show in October - November

2010-09-05T08:09:00.001-04:00

Last year was my first year entering a local art show that is put on by the Horsham library and the Horsham Preservation and Historical Association. I was asked to enter again this year and have three pieces that
I am putting in the show. This one is Bear Cove at Squam Lake which I did while sitting at a dock in Bear Cove on Squam Lake. It may actually already be sold.

This next one is "River". You cannot see the glint of the water in the picture, however it does. I needled in some wool that had been previously felted with angelina partially then abandoned as a failed experiment and reused.

This last one is one of my personal favorites, "Trail through the woods".It reminds me of a path in the Pocono Mountains at a State Park. I must tell you that my daughter took these three photos of my pieces for me. Since the show requires the pieces be mounted, and I was told they like them behind glass, I have put these behind glass. I normally prefer to NOT mount felt art behind glass but made an exception here.

Last year I had 3 pieces in the show and all 3 sold. I am hoping to be able to sell all three this year as well, as part of the proceeds go to the library and the Horsham Preservation and Historical Association.

Felt art card arrived!

2010-09-02T08:15:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I was pleased to find an envelope in my mailbox from Joei a fellow guild member. The guild is awesome and filled with felters who are very supportive. You can find more information on it here, Northeast feltmakers guild. At each meeting we now exchange felt art cards, but at the last meeting I forgot mine and so did Joei. She is an awesome felt artist and we share a birthday.
I, of course forgot to photograph my card before mailing it, but here is a little piece of Joei's felt art that I am now proud to own. Art thats felt is her blog.

Felt and Bees

2010-09-01T08:15:00.000-04:00

I did get a little more done on my layout of felt coat fabric. I have three colors of wool that I purchased
in Vermont. A purple, light blue and dark green. I also purchased a matching silk which you see on top. I am laying this out on a cotton voile that is light blue.
I still need to finish the lay out, then felt it. I can see how this matches up with my pattern. I will keep you all posted on my progress.

I have a friend who has been talking about and studying beekeeping for years. She finally jumped in and got her bees. We went to visit her last night to see her new bees. She is so very excited. My husband is also now interested in bees. He has agreed to help her when she needs it. I just want to know when the honey is ready!

A busy day again

2010-08-29T11:02:00.000-04:00

I love my Stainless steel juice extractor steamer. It is an awesome tool. We had some grapes that my daughter picked last week on a picnic and they have seeds, so hard to eat. Tossed em in here, smushed em with my smusher tool and juice comes out.

See the oregano/garlic vinegar on the left behind the juice. and the awesome raspberry crisp below.

Ok the dogs get me up early. I picked a quart of raspberries to make the crisp, chopped a head of red cabbage to try out a sweet and sour red cabbage recipe, snipped the oregano that I thought was tarragon but I was wrong, made the grape juice, packed up the rest of the dried up tomatos and its only 11AM.

I definitely will need a nap today later! Hope I have energy left to do some felting.

The fruits of my work preserving the harvest

2010-08-29T07:28:00.000-04:00

It does not look like much, but three pints of roasted red and yellow peppers, one and a half of roasted poblano peppers, five jars of pickled jalapeno peppers, dried poblanos, dried apple slices and a quart jar of tomatoes stored in olive oil.

Since I have all my canning supplies out I may start on the raspberries today.

Preserving the harvest.

2010-08-28T13:40:00.000-04:00

Recently my fur baby Lab, Moose has had ear infections so he is on a special diet and can have only apple slices for treats. So I dug out my old dehydrater from the attic and have been making him apple slices, dehydrated and he and his sister dog love them. It makes great cheap dog treats and approved by the ear vet.

So, its also raspberry picking time, and tomato time, and this year we have a garden with red, yellow and poblano peppers growing. This was this mornings harvest. Being in a productive mood today, I decided to go to the farmers market also and got some beets, jalapeno peppers, apples and corn and red cabbage.

The tomatoes are in the dehydrator with the apple slices. The tomatoes are being dried, and stored in a canning jar with olive oil and some will be frozen. The jalapenos have been canned - a first effort at this for me. The red, yellow and poblano peppers will be fire roasted and probably frozen. The beets and corn are for dinner tomorrow, and the red cabbage, well I am not sure what I plan for that.

Tomorrow I hope its back to felting as my future jacket is rolled up partially layed out and crying to be finished. Fresh veggies and fruit will not wait, and unlike the raspberries, which I will make into jam, jelly, syrup and puree this year, they can't be frozen until I have enough to can.

A walk on the causeway in Vermont

2010-08-22T08:44:00.000-04:00

While we were in Vermont, we visited an old railroad that had been turned into a path for bikers and walkers.
It extends about three miles out into Lake Champlain towards the Islands, and sometimes there is a bike ferry at the end so bikers can go over to the islands and continue on their journey. My husband walked out to the end and went fishing and I walked out for a short bit with him. The scenery is beautiful but you must walk to one side to keep out of the way of the hoards of bikes that travel down the path. Here are a few of the pictures I took on the causeway.

The cows of Burlington VT

2010-08-21T07:25:00.000-04:00

On a recent trip to VT for the Northeast Feltmakers Guild meeting I took several trips on Church Street. They have fiberglass cows that have been decorated by different artists on display. In the area of Pennsylvania that I live in I have seen Mules and Bears. It was fun being able to get close to get pictures of the cows. Here are a few of my favorites.

A beautiful Barn

2010-08-05T07:45:00.000-04:00

We have friends who have an old house with a really neat barn. I love taking pictures of it. Its not a standard looking barn. I wish it was my barn because then I can imagine having a huge felting studio inside and being able to have workshops etc...

Zebra book cover

2010-07-30T08:12:00.000-04:00

My daughter is really into Zebras for some reason. So I decided to do a felted Zebra piece for her.
Don't tell her, cause she doesn't read my blog. Anyway I decided a picture is not the right thing for her.

I wanted it to be something more functional. I decided last night on doing a book cover. Using an old boiled wool sweater that has been repurposed I think that's what I will do.

I decided to make it for a composition book so she can replace the insides when she wants to.

This is the backside of the piece. I did something I have never done before for this one. I bought a skein of yarn from Yarnbirds .... Actually my daughter got it for me when she was visiting there, and its a good felting yarn. So I took the yarn, unwound the strands. It is a four strand yarn, and used the single strands with a felting needle to make the black of the Zebra. The white is the prefelt that I used, and the eye is blue, cause I like blue, and the nose if of course a grey blend. I added the green as a background. I have to work out the details of the cover yet, but I thought this would be a fun way to use the piece and have it be functional. Shhhh don't tell her......

Buttons, Buttons, Buttons.....

2010-07-26T08:01:00.000-04:00

Green Buttons

I love buttons. Bought a box of buttons on the weekend and spent some time sorting .Took some pictures to share.

Red buttons


glass buttons

different buttons

River View for a show in the fall

2010-07-23T07:26:00.000-04:00

I am working on getting a few pieces ready for a local show in October/November. This is not finished but close. It has been needlefelted and now I will wet felt it, then needle in more details, and perhaps wet felt it again just a little to set the picture. The edges of the river are a bit to regular for me and need to be naturalized a bit.

Waterfalls, Waterlilies and Butterfly.

2010-07-19T10:01:00.000-04:00

Lake Nockamixon and butterflies

2010-07-12T15:28:00.000-04:00

As I was waiting for my husband to get back from fishing, I took a walk and saw many butterflies.

Yesterday was a nice day in the shade and I enjoyed watching the butterflies feeding around the water lily and flowers.

Blanket part 3

2010-07-10T12:32:00.000-04:00

Was able to finish laying out the turtle piece today. Felted this and the design below.

My shipment of wool arrived so I can make a few more pieces of the blanket tomorrow.

Another piece of the blanket

2010-07-01T09:15:00.000-04:00

You cannot tell from this picture above,but the background is black. My color palette for this blanket project is Hunter Green, Black, English Violet and Wombat Gray from Outback fibers.

The second picture is the back after felting. and the front.

The edges have not been finished at this point. And I will steam press with an iron the entire piece before I work with it.

Making a new blanket

2010-06-29T07:24:00.000-04:00

Since my blanket at the workshop with Polly Stirling did not work out like I wanted, I decided to make another one. This time smaller pieces that will be sewed together. I am using a silk gauze from Dharma Trading that I have dyed
in pale green and blue. For the first piece I grabbed purple because I have a lot of it. This is a merino wool that I purchased from Outback Fibers.

I tried a new technique for this. I have a Feltcrafts felt rolling machine that I purchased used.
Once I had the piece layed out, wet down, and rolled up I put it on the rolling machine for 20 minutes.
When I unrolled it the fibers were already going through the silk. I felted it a bit more by hand, then tossed it into the dryer on air fluff with a towel. It did the rest of the work for me. I was able to lay out the next piece while waiting for the first to finish. This is the back side of the piece.

Curtain panel for the living room

2010-06-28T08:11:00.000-04:00

I spent part of the weekend felting. My first project was a curtain panel that I wanted to make for the living room window. Its a no sew panel of cotton gauze. I may decide to over dye it later. I folded over the cotton at the top so I could get a curtain rod through it. Put wool roving along the fold to hold it. then I put long strips of roving every 12 inches going down the length. I like the drape, and plan to make a second panel for the window to match. It's larger than my table so I had to improvise. I put the wool down, felted it some, scrunched it up and pulled the fabric up. Lay more wool down and so on. Here is what it looks like in my window. I rather like it. Of course I need more panels since the insulating curtains are covering the rest of the window. Its nice to let the morning light in. By late morning the sun is so strong the window must be covered or the room heats up too much.

Lessons learned in felting and questions asked...

2010-06-23T09:55:00.000-04:00

When I went to the blanket felting workshop, we had homework to do, and I thought i would do the silk paper fish and put it on a blue background. That was fine. What did not work was other changes I made.
First I was going to use a silk gauze and measured my wool based on that.
I ended up using a silk organza which is harder to felt. It also left me with less wool because it was wider.
When I layed out the wool, I did not take this into consideration.
I layed it to thick in one direction and then rather than cut my project to two pieces I did not lay enough on for the second layer to make it shrink properly.

My blanket pieces therefore did not shrink in proportion. And they are still in need of felting because of the use of the silk organza is really harder to felt.

So how can I save this project?
Do I felt these three pieces harder, cut them up and sew a blanket?
Should I use what I have to make a wall hanging which would not require a harder felt?
What other options would make sense?

Paint it cool

2010-06-23T09:31:00.000-04:00

"Making roads and roofs a paler color could have the equivalent effects of taking every car in the world off the road for 11 years," claims Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy for the United States.

I thought this was an interesting idea and article
http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/blogs/painting-a-mountain-to-save-a-glacier

Silk Paper for felting

2010-06-17T08:21:00.000-04:00

In the recent workshop I used silk paper that I made in order to cut out fish shapes for my blanket koi pond.

Many people were interested in how this was done. By making the silk paper it lets you cut shapes out of the silk that will then felt into the piece without too much distortion.

Here is how you make them

Ingredients:
Silk Roving
Liquid Starch
Spray Bottle
Water
Parchment paper - kind used for cooking
an Iron

Lay out the parchment paper on your ironing board or a towel
Lay out the silk roving on the parchment paper in perpendicular or even the same direction depending on
how you want it to look when felted.

Mix up the liquid starch with water in a squirt bottle. Spray the silk roving until it is wet with starch.
Lay a piece of parchment paper on top and press it with a hot iron to flatten.

Lay it aside to dry a bit. Once it drys a bit, Iron it again so its totally dry. Then you can peel the silk paper
off of the parchment paper and store it until needed.

I make quite a few sheets at a time so I have them ready.

You can also do this with silk hankies if you like. It makes them easier to deal with when laying them down.

The starch dissolves in the felting process and washes away. This is a picture of the silk shapes before felting during layout. And after they have been partially felted.

Lake George Scenery

2010-06-16T14:25:00.000-04:00

Silver Bay felting retreat with Flora Fauna Studios

2010-06-12T12:43:00.000-04:00

Spent a week felting with Polly Stirling and Sachiko from Australia. This is a part of the blanket from Polly's class. It needs to be finished

This is the piece from Sachiko's class

Silver Bay YMCA - The Inn where the retreat was held.

Sachiko modeling her work.

and more

2010-02-11T08:01:00.000-05:00

There is no overhang on this roof normally

A picture speaks a thousand words

2010-02-11T07:59:00.000-05:00

Snow Fun

2010-02-06T10:12:00.000-05:00

Well I just was outside for a very long time, running the snow blower, shoveling the front walk and uncovering my car. We have at least a foot of snow maybe a bit more here. Its still snowing and I would not be surprised to see another 6 inches before its done. All this work I did will have to be done all over again at the end of the snow. Unless a big wind blows it all off my driveway like the leaves in the fall, but its doubtful.
I took a half way uncovered car picture. That yellow thing in the front is this fantastic telescoping car snow remover with big brush /rubber window squeegie on one end and an ice scraper on the other. I can open it up all the way and do not ever have to lean over the car and get all snowy. Thanks Jim!!

My dogs who cheer me on. Yeah Mom shoot the snow blower at us again. Ok how about throwing a shovel full of snow on top of us please......

Looking down the street you can see only a part of the sidewalk that I have cleared here. There's alot more of it.

This is the car before I cleared the drive and moved it.

The kids looking for me to come play.

The Sky is Falling

2010-02-06T07:10:00.000-05:00

Lots of snow coming down here today as the giant storm dumps white flakes on our heads.
12 inches so far and probably another 6 or so to fall today.

butterfly

2009-11-10T08:50:00.001-05:00

canon 657, originally uploaded by ladyfishtek.

Last month was the month of the butterflies.

Flickr

2009-11-10T08:42:00.001-05:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Horsham Art Show

2009-10-01T18:45:00.000-04:00

I m entering three pieces of watercolor felt in the Horsham Preservation and Historical Associations art show. This one is Heron at waters edge.

And Bird on coneflower

I m not positive on the third piece I am entering yet. Should be fun to get some local exposure.

Rachels Quilt

2009-10-01T18:32:00.000-04:00

I made this quilt for young woman who always admires my work. Its for her 16th birthday and she likes cherries, pink and green. I used the Moda Oh Cherry Oh jelly roll and did a basic strip quilt with ditch stiching. Nothing fancy.

I finished this quilt top last night. Actually I fixed it so its ok from where I really messed it up. One is a close up and the fuller view to the right. Its all asian fabrics in strips.
Now I just need the batting and backing and then figure out how to quilt it. I would send it to Bethany, my neice, who does Machine quilting, but I' m embarrassed because she is really talented and my quilt top is very flawed. Its only the fifth one I have done and its pretty but truly a beginners quilt.

I am working on another top which I m going to be real careful when I do it so I can send it to Bethany to have it quilted. Take a look at her work here http://bethanyquilts.blogspot.com/2009/09/blog-post.html and you will see why I am reluctant to send my very beginners quilt to her.

Maine part 4 show and tell

2009-08-04T09:47:00.000-04:00

This was one of the highlights of the trip. I wanted to leave the last day a bit earlier but could not help waiting to see what everyone had to show and tell about.

Maine part 3

2009-08-04T09:42:00.001-04:00

After waiting in line to get our meal at Five Island Landing (?)
We enjoyed the view and the meal and the company of each other.

On the way to Maine

2009-08-04T09:32:00.000-04:00

I left home and headed to meet Roz. A wonderful felter. She was so kind to put me up for the night, feed me and I enjoyed the garden at her house.

We arrived in Maine and gathered with other felters. We had an excellent teacher at Halcyon Yarn and learned Kumihimo.

Maine Trip August part 1

2009-08-03T12:43:00.000-04:00

Just got back from a Northeast feltmakers guild meeting in Bath Maine. Here is a picture of some of the wildlife I saw. This is a Chinook. A beautiful dog with a fantastic temperament. Very calm with a herd of felters stomping around the house.

This is another Chinook on guard duty with its head out the cat door. They take their job seriously. Actually I think she was just getting some air. These are sled dogs.

Michael, pictured here with the many Marudi was waiting for us to finish our meeting so he could begin the lesson. Awesome teacher! This picture was taken upstairs at Halcyon Yarn in Bath Maine.
Some of the information he had available for us to look at.

More later.....

4th of July 2009

2009-07-05T07:47:00.000-04:00

Fun on the Fourth of July

felted stone pincushions

2009-07-03T08:56:00.000-04:00

Made a few felt pincushions that look like river stones.

Hoping to sell a few on etsy.

Dog food bags second life as a tote

2009-06-27T18:14:00.000-04:00

I spent this morning making some dog food bags into tote bags. The two doggies that eat the purina fit and trim which comes in woven plastic bags. The bags are so nice I cannot throw them away. Prototype 1 did not come out too bad but was not really measured at all. Prototype 2 came out nicely and will be a gift for a friend that I walk with. This is prototype 2. I added some fabric and used old rope from a hammock that was no longer usable as handles.
I wanted to make prototype 3 a bit bigger. First I cut out the 2 sides and the main piece. The main piece is the front - bottom and back. You can see part of it on the left. The two sides are on the right.
Then I cut a strip of 2" wide by however long the scrap was of fabric and sewed it on the top edges of the sides and on each top edge of the main bag . I ironed this strip in half so it was easier to sew on. I am able to pin into the fabric, although tape works ok but makes my needle sticky.

Next came the pocket. I used the same fabric with a piece of interfacing to add a bit of strength to it. Turned over the top edge and sewed it down.I then sewed the pocket on to the front of the bag. I also sewed on the handles using a large zig zag stitch to attach the hammock rope. Make sure they are the same length.

Take the main piece, and sew on one of the sides. I used a zig zag stitch on the outside of the bag. The bottom edge first then the sides. Then the second side. This is what it looks like when its done. I also added a bit of fabric to the handle to make it easier to hold. I did all of the sewing on the outside with a thread to match the fabric in a large zig zag stitch.

Its not perfect, but now that I know how I like to put them together I can create a pattern and make some in the same size. My two dogs eat 2 of the 40lb bags a month so I will have plenty to play around with. It was fun and I like the material since its waterproof. A good bag for the beach or the grocery store or for whatever.

Fun in the Rain

2009-06-21T19:26:00.000-04:00

So I spent the weekend doing a variety of things. Went Geocaching in the rain Friday and Saturday. And when it was not raining on Sunday. This is my third earthcache at Ringing Rocks PA where you bang a hammer on the rocks and yes they RING! So I am now a bronze earthcacher. Woo Hoo! Ok so little things make me happy.
Got to see "The Cousins" who have all grown up and looking great, even if they do have "accents".

Took lots of pictures but, alas they are not on the card but on the camera which I, of course, cannot find the right cord to download. I will find it when I am not looking for it.

Then leaving the hotel this morning in Hawley PA my husband spotted this deer standing on a concrete wall eating stuff from a tree. Not a place I would choose to eat breakfast since it was a pretty far drop.

Fashioning Felt exhibit

2009-06-14T16:36:00.000-04:00

I took a trip to New York City yesterday to see the Fashioning Felt exhibit at the Cooper Hewitt.
We drove to New Jersey and took the train up from the Hamilton station to Penn Station. It was a little over an hour to get there. Hopped on a bus and went up town. The exhibit was awesome. It was great to see it in person. I was traveling with my daughter, her boyfriend and a friend of mine. I did get the book. The web site shows the photos but there is nothing like seeing it in person. I was glad to see they had videos running that showed the process. Also an area where you could touch. You could only take photos in the palace yurt and it was beautiful.

We had lunch then walked thru Central Park over to Strawberry Fields and the "Imagine" mosiac in tribute to John Lennon. Then it started to rain. Headed back to Penn Station to catch the train home. Great day.

cypress swamp

2009-05-19T09:05:00.001-04:00

just finished piece 5x7 wet and needle felted.

Pictures from Florida

2009-04-18T10:49:00.000-04:00

On a recent trip to Florida I took a walk to take photographs to use in my watercolor felt pictures.

Here are some of the things I saw.

Heron

2009-03-14T15:20:00.000-04:00

I finished this one a few weeks ago, and just mounted it today. Picture is from before I mounted it..

felted trout

2009-02-16T19:24:00.000-05:00

This is a piece I have been working on all weekend. I need to work out how to display it, but I think its almost done. I need to sleep again and look at it tomorrow. Trout are very pretty fish and since I used to fish I thought I would felt some trout.
This one is very large, about 2- 3 foot long and 18 inches tall perhaps. I did not measure it, but am guessing.

recently finished felted pieces

2009-02-14T14:09:00.000-05:00

Finally I have gotten back to felting. Made some felt soaps, and finished up some watercolor felts that have been waiting to be completed. Posted a few for sale on my etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5355337

large wristlet /clutch

2009-01-12T07:11:00.000-05:00

I found some leftover material from my daughters duffle bag project. Decided to make a clutch with a zipper. This is only my second zipper. Then I made a little pouch for my cell phone. I still need to add a bit to it.

fabric gift bags

2009-01-06T07:38:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking about ways to help use less paper, do more reusable stuff. I came across this idea for fabric gift bags so I decided to start making some of different sizes.
I do not have the cords in these yet, and maybe might use ribbons.
I plan on making a bunch more because I have a ton of birthdays coming up that I need to wrap things, and this way they can be reused as gift bags or the recipient can use them for other purposes.

sewing frenzy

2008-12-27T17:17:00.000-05:00

Its been a while since i have posted, and I need to take some pictures of what I have been working on. Sewing frenzy is what my DH called it. Christmas placemats from the Moda Merry and Bright fabrics, and then a coiled hot pad or two, then pot holders, table runners. And here is a quilt I did that I wanted to post but had to wait until after I gave it to the recipient before I posted it. Its not a picture of it when done, but almost. It did turn out nice.

I need to get back to my felting. I received some beautiful roving for Christmas and have an idea forming in my brain. Maybe tomorrow I will be felting again.

It snowed here today

2008-10-28T15:19:00.001-04:00

I had to post this. It does not normally snow this early but we had quite a bit.

Falling Leaves Scarf

2008-10-28T07:51:00.000-04:00

Scarf made for the NorthEast Feltmakers Guild 2009 show.

Strip Quilting

2008-10-28T07:47:00.000-04:00

I have discovered strip quilting. I saw this fabric I had to have but was not a quilter.
I made this strip quilt from the fabric. It went very fast.

bear cove camp

2008-09-03T19:34:00.001-04:00

One day on our vacation in New Hampshire, I took a bunch of photographs. I had brought some wool with me and sat down to do so some needlefelting. It was not a nice lake day, cloudy and rainy.
I worked off of the small digital image on my camera that I had taken and gave this small 5x7 sized felt to our hostess as a gift for
having us at her summer camp.
This is a needlefelted, then wet felted, then needle felted, then a final wet felted picture of a view from the edge of the lake.

New Hampshire

2008-08-25T09:31:00.000-04:00

Last weeks vacation to New Hampshire was wonderful. We hiked, swam, paddled, climbed, laughed, drank wine, petted cute Pugs, ate great food and had the best hosts. It was a wonderful time at Bear Cove on Squam Lake. We were lucky to be invited.

Felted footie

2008-08-11T09:39:00.000-04:00

I have made a few inchies in the past, but they are small. I was looking for a way to make something bigger that could be changed with the seasons and mood. I decided on a 12 inch squared (footie) with grommets in the corners. I have been trying to use up stuff, so I found some hair from my old dog Rufus (1990 - 2004). Took a picture from the computer enlarged it and cut out his body.
I got the idea from the latest Quilting Arts Magazine. Pet portraits. Felted his hair, with a little wool and cut it out Needlefelted some more of his hair and a bit of wool. Put him on the background. He always smiled and his tail was set to permanent wag mode. He had gorgeous hair that was long since he was a golden retriever. I still have lots of his hair to be creative with.

kayaking, felting, tie dye and geocaching

2008-06-07T18:19:00.000-04:00

I did some felting, made this picture for my husband for fathers day. He loves to fish. Framed it and have it ready to hang up.

We did a tie dye workshop at the house with a bunch of 8th graders. T shirts, tank tops, boxer shorts, pillowcases. They all came out very colorful.

Its been a busy few weeks for me. I went kayak-fishing-geocaching on the schyulkill river, which was nice and relaxing. I love being on the water.

business card case

2008-06-02T14:21:00.000-04:00

Made this little card case from a pattern on the fibreandstitch.com website. This one holds my business cards. I made another to hold other stuff in my wallet. Its and easy and fun thing to make and goes quickly and I am actually able to understand the instructions.