Random Wooliness

Work in Progress

2012-02-28T22:35:00.002Z

There's been a chaos of creative activity at Random Wooliness HQ over the last few weeks...I am completely engrossed in crochet, an inspiring workshop has filled my head full of new ideas, and I have been beavering away experimenting and working on my commission!

I think I am at a stage where I can share some of the commission project... other exciting and colourful acitivity will be revealed in further posts...(including a project I'm really pleased with made back in January) - when I put my hook and yarn down!

The first stage in the commission project was to experiment and try to incorporate some shiny fabric in the felting process...

I already had a tiny slice of this

its amazing rainbowy organza-like and sparkly, from a larger piece of fabric - if anyone knows where I can find any more please let me know!

As I was unsure on the colour scheme I invested in some ribbon...

and tried several ways of incorporating it into the felt....

...just laying it on top...

....catching it round the edges...and capturing sari silk underneath...

and part wet felting, part needle felting...

..it is interesting how the needle has textured the ribbon when punching it...

However having chatted to the friend who has requested the piece we have decided to possibly use a different fabric and a modified technique although we may omit the fabric altogether ....

Its great being able to share creative ideas with the person who has asked for the item.

Some of the materials in use are:
New Zealand Corriedale in Fuchsia
Shetland hand dyed top in Sea Green and hand painted River
all from Sara's Texture Crafts

the colours are beautiful..I just love the Fuchsia and the ever changing tones in the bluey green!

Hopefully if the measurements are ok I'll try and mount it on the piece of Scottish driftwood.

I have had a full trial run and I've wetfelted the final piece, needlefelting next...taking photos as I go so that the people who receive it will know its story!

When it is finished I'll tell you its tale too!

More firsts!

2012-02-21T13:34:00.000Z

How exciting! I have been awarded a Versatile Blogger Award by Carrad over at Faded Reverie. Carrad is lady of many crafty talents - I'd like to thank her for the award and making the days she posts that bit more colourful!

I gather the instructions are as follows:

a. Pass the Award on to fifteen recently-discovered blogs of your own.

b. List seven facts about yourself, and

c. Thank the awarder.

I seem to have started this in reverse..so I will continue that way!

Carrad listed seven 'Firsts' from her childhood and that got me thinking about 'firsts' so here are seven of my 'firsts':

The first poster on my bedroom wall was of Donny Osmond sporting a maroon cap and a toothy smile!

My first part in a school play that I can recall was as a tree - and I been a wooden actress ever since!!

I got my first pair of glasses after my 40th birthday.

On the first morning that I stayed at my Grandma and Granda's house I was woken by the sound of an approaching rattling cup and saucer - I was given a very weak cup of tea containing a couple of spoonfuls of rainbow sugar crystals!

I have just completed my first week crocheting (have I mentioned that exciting fact before?!)

I followed my first felt bowl tutorial from Liz, my first blog comment was from Becky, Melody is my first blog buddy from the USA, I won my first giveaway from Sarah, Kate is the first person I know who runs two blogs singlehandedly, Jenny is the first person I have seen to embroider spectacles! and Tracey is the person who inspired me to make my first post!

....and my last first is that this is the first anniversary of my first post!!

So I'd like to pass the award on to three bloggers I have found recently:

Flaming Nora

Emma Varnam

Lynne's Knits

and one who's a little less recent

Creative Chaos Art

Helen has lots of creative strings to her bow and her birthday cake was incredible!

I am aware that some bloggers are uncomfortable with the accepting and passing on of awards, so if I have included you on the list I will not be offended if you choose to ignore it.

My intention in mentioning your blog is to to say how much I look forward to your updates and all your creative inventions!

Reflecting on my first year of blogging I have really enjoyed reading lots of people's experiments, exploits, tips, and stories and have been inspired by the beautiful pictures, illustrations, photos and items people have designed and made.

Some blogs I love for their writing style and content - Linnhe you really make me smile, and think!

I'd like to finish by saying a massive thank you to all my bloggy friends for your comments, inspiration and support. Also another massive thank you to all my other followers who comment so positively when they see me!

Here's to another fun bloggy year and some posts with a few more pictures!!

Happy Birthdays!

2012-02-17T17:12:00.000Z

We know a fair few friends and family who celebrate February birthdays!

In addition to the crochet bunting...which now has a new home!...

the following will be finding their ways to new homes too....

It was good to get back into the swing of needlefelting with yarn again...and to find a good stock of the bags at a local crafty superstore...one day I will felt my own bags!

Happy Birthday to all of you with February birthdays!...

Spring is in the air - there's blooms in the garden!

I'm hooked!

2012-02-14T19:57:00.000Z

Outer ring designed by mum...

teeny tiny heart design by Lucy at Attic 24

a bit wobbly but ok for a beginner?!

Happy Valentines Day! x

Firsts!

2012-02-12T16:04:00.001Z

Here is a surprise post - and for me a very exciting one!

This is my first flower bunting/hanging decoration...

thanks to Tracey for sowing the seed a while ago!

Its also the first of a few fun felted birthday presents being given this week.

I knew the best way to connect the flowers was to hook a cord..however, as I have tried so many times to crochet without success I decided to plait instead.

As it needed to be quite a length I kept getting my yarns in a knot - not to mention my knickers!

So once again I thought I'd try..I got out a tiny hook, some thin yarn and a book I was given for Christmas last year - the crochet pages of which had not been turned....

and.....I did it!!

I raced out to buy a larger hook for chunky wool and I made the cord, sewing a thread of bright green through it afterwards to add some extra colour.

So here is the bunting - loomed flowers with needlefelted middles sewn onto a crocheted cord!

I am restricting myself to a foundation chain until I get the rhythm...walking before I can run..but I am so pleased I have started!

Any beginners tips or tutorials gratefully received from fellow bloggers who crochet so well and have inspired me to have another go!!

Its also the first time I have used crochet in my labels!!

Off to hook another chain...and dream up some ideas of how to use all these chains I am making!!?!

A fantastic day out

2012-02-10T21:58:00.001Z

Lost in Lace...and I literally was...

This will be one of my click the link posts...

This week Mum, Dad and I visited BMAG to experience the Lost in Lace exhibition. The museum was buzzing (numbers possibly enhanced by visitors to the 10 daVinci drawings currently on loan) with a wide range of ages. We approached the LiL hall via displays of traditional lace, from BMAGs textile collection, and information about its history, techniques, and makers. Whilst interesting and informative it could not have been more different to our exciting experience in the main exhibition!

The information leaflet invites you to

'Step into a world of lace like you've never seen before. See how the patterns, materials and cultural traditions of lace are represented through radical new approaches by UK and international artists. Featuring large scale, theatrical and visually spectacular work, this exhibition challenges perceptions of what lace can be, involving the visitor in an environment where spaces become fluid and thread creates entirely new boundaries.' ...and we did just that - we were challenged to think out of the box (and in it in a couple of installations!), it was certainly theatrical and visually spectacular!

On entering we were mesmerised by the sparkling beauty and ingenuity of Atelier Manferdini's Inverted Crystal Cathedral glimpsed through the magnificently tall yet delicate Cosmos Series by Naomi Kobayashi.

There was an amazing video installation by Kathleen Rogers of a piece of black lace (donated to BMAG by Lady Cadbury) magnified by an electron microscope accompanied by a soundtrack of noisy silkworms munching on mulberry leaves.

I loved walking in and out of Piper Shepard's Lacing Space exhibit enveloping and complementing the architectural structure of part of the hall.

However we were all blown away by Liz Nilsson's The latticed eye of memory. It was amazing on so many different levels and angles! Patterns and colours came and went as you walked around, up close or far away, shadows were cast and moved...you could see all sorts of images and they would change as you moved a fraction - just as the artist describes.

Each exhibit had a desk with information about the designers and their approach, relationship with or philosophy about lace. I particularly liked Reiko Sudo's definition of lace. Most also included a sample of fabric so you could add the dimension of touch to your overall experience.

I could enthuse so much more about each piece - however some of you local to Brum may wish to catch it in the next week and I'd like you to form your own interpretations...
..alternatively the Lost in Lace website gives you some glimpses of the background to the exhibition and fabulous artists..

I have a fascination for peering through holes (!)(framing the items within and beyond) and watching the patterns shadows cast on objects ...

this exhibition was a dream come true for both of those preoccupations - even the grates in the floors were a feature!

Quoting from the booklet again 'The works in this exhibition play with the ideas around the holes, spaces, boundaries and structures that lace creates.'

I realise that this has been a text heavy post and without much space or holes! I regret not taking my camera as photography was permitted...but I will add a few lace-y images from my own archive..

The guide talks about lace continuously evolving -
and I can convincingly say it is..... and how cool is that?!

Appreciating Design!

2012-02-05T21:35:00.000Z

One of my favourite occupations is to admire creativity - whether it be in the form of words (written or spoken), pictures (2 and 3D), sounds, textures, aromas or tastes!
I love catching up with blogs, facebook statuses, on-line crafty shops, and being antisocial with a good book! I am intrigued by knitting and crochet patterns, inspired by tutorials, calmed by photos, delighted by illustrations, and prompted to think by musings...
I know how much time, dedication and thought is put into designing each and every post, project pattern, perambulation, piece and product..

I have mentioned before that I have a scientific background,

however, I might not have said out loud that my early attempts at creativity were frustrated by the finished article not bearing a suitable resemblance to the fabulous image in my head!

I know I have confessed to wanting to run before I can walk...

and have been thinking about all of this a lot recently... in particular the fact that in the past I seem to skip the experimental or design part of a project entirely, in a sprint to finish, and consequently land at a less than satisfying final product.

I was enabled to appreciate design earlier in the year when I made a birthday cake - easy peasy..round cake, white icing and a green X - sorted!

It wasn't until I looked closely at the iconic logo that it is so much more than a green X on white! (Maybe I was subconsciously avoiding the white box that generates so many emotions and gobbles so much time!)

I'm sure the multi-talented design team that produced the logo would have been disappointed in my dismissive initial impression, but I hope to rectify that by saying how much more I appreciate their work now that I have studied it carefully!

The silvery wool top was great to needlefelt with - I'm not sure what it was as it came in a bag of mixed fibres from Sara's Texture Crafts....

It was a well received birthday card!

On another designer subject...the process of wet felting is liberating and I have been really pleased with all of my pieces so far, especially as there is still an element of surprise in the finished product. Some fibres disappear when wet and slowly reveal themselves as they dry, some move or wriggle or wiggle and others change shape as they are felted. Colours blend and different tones appear depending on neighbouring hues.
I have been having fun designing and experimenting; choosing colours, techniques and textures for a project a friend has requested..this week she's hopefully going to see some of the ideas I have so far..and maybe I'll have the confidence to reveal them here too! I am hoping that the element of surprise will be reduced slightly in the finished piece..as I have another one of those fabulous pictures in my head....

In a bid to encourage my stages of design-ability (and to aid my sieve like memory) I do now have a bulging sketch book full of scribbles, hastily jotted notes of quantities, colours, things to improve and what worked well, and lists of what went where so the same item is not given to the same person twice!

Speaking of designers...Jenny over at love and peas* designs the most amazing mixed media and fabric creations...she is currently running a giveaway for a custom made embroidery...if you hurry you might catch it!

I'm off to appreciate some more designs...thawing footprints in the snow and snowpeople!
and later this week I'm going to (get) Lost in Lace at BMAG....

Astonishing Splashes of Colour!

2012-01-27T22:46:00.000Z

...named after an amazing book by the fabulous Clare Morrall

I've been mesmerised by colours recently...choosing and ordering shades for a new project..watching the tones change in my current makes...viewing the vibrant sunsets and sunrises...and wearing my new trainers!!
Well, they are not strictly new..I've had them for a while, I bought them off the internet, the colour choice was made by the RW men, and they have been glowing like a Dr Who creation in the corner by the door ever since.
I decided I should embrace their vibrancy and headed off to the supermarket in my neon pink footwear!

Its obviously very difficult to show the actual colour on screen or we wouldn't have had such a shock when we initially opened the box!
However I do love them..I kept glancing down at my feet whilst shopping, and have since cleaned the specks of mud and dirt off them - that won't last long!

My usual in front of the tv occupation (except during Danish subtitled dramas) has been flower looming. I have been using the wool I blogged about here..

Knitcol by Adriafil 100% merino shade 60 Rousseau phantasy

I just keep winding the next flower from where the last one left off but having used the whole ball a pattern seems to have developed...

maybe not as random as I first thought!

The other very soft and fascinating yarn is
Rowan Colourscape chunky by Kaffe Fasset....100% lambswool

in candy pink....shade 434

Every flower is different in shade to the next..some are very subtle and others less so...you can see the stages of transformation if you follow the photo below from left to right, right to left and left to right.... from purpley green through to purpley blue via orange and pink! All from a continuous flow of yarn.

Each contains flecks either large or small from the previous shade...some of the shades reminded me of food...strawberry sherbets, raspberry sorbet, barley sugars...too many beautiful colours to put a name to..
the colours are so sumptuous up close...it really has been a pleasure to work with and I'm missing it now I have wound up almost all the hank.

I now have a deep boxful bursting with blooms..next stage to needlefelt the middles and fulfil a suggestion from a while back..

Our carpets have been transforming into rainbows too...with odd threads of sari silk, fibre tufts, stray sock fluff (from new Christmas socks!!), yarn remnants etc...I suppose its a hazard of a colourful fibre fan!!

Random new thoughts!

2012-01-19T11:58:00.000Z

The excitement in our house lasts through Christmas, New Year, Twelfth Night and beyond as we have a significant birthday in January. It has taken a while for things to calm down a little and for me to find time and coherent words to compose a post. Lots of things have been buzzing away and happening some of a woolly nature and some more random!

I have been slowly emerging from my Christmas associated creative hibernation ...and have made a piece of poetry inspired wetfelt, and a needlefelted birthday card. Hopefully they will have their own posts soon.

In the meantime I have some newsy items to share:

New beginnings:

An exciting independent wool shop, Fibre Flurry has opened close by.

It is a treasure trove of colourful (more than 70%) wooliness hosted by an enthusiastic proprietor.

There's lots of other items to catch the eye and regular knitting gatherings.

On my first visit I was very restrained and only browsed - taking in the colours and textures as if by osmosis. I bumped into a woolly friend (who taught me to needlefelt...)I hadn't seen for ages and we had a bit of a yarn (hee hee).

At this point the wonders of the www come into play....

fairly recently Kate from Johnshaven (way up North) sent me a link to a Birmingham blog that happened to mention Fibre Flurry.

She also featured, a while ago, a handmade book on her blog (that her daughter had made...that was inspired by Jenny at Love and Peas*) that sowed a seed that I have been nurturing
soooo....I have been back to Fibre Flurry and have booked (ho ho) myself onto a stab stitch book course.

OOOH how exciting...thank you Kate for the seed...

Lots of bloggers have been sharing inspirational words for the New Year...I have been pondering this (for a few weeks) and I am still searching for mine.

Going with the flow?....

I was going to have 'Go with the flow' (I know its 4 words).. aiming to be a bit more laid back..however as it also has connotations to following the crowd I decided it wasn't quite me!

Walking past the nearby Quaker meeting house a large bright red poster encourages passers by to 'Live adventurously' this is one of the Quakers Advices and Queries

I think I might try to follow that advice sometimes!

Two of my bloggy friends Tracey and Jenny are doing just that and have started new ventures. I would like to wish them every success as they continue to inspire and move their bursting creativity to another level. Must also wish Helen lots of success with her creating and selling ventures too!

Perhaps there'll be others opening outlets?.....I'm hoping at least one stateside etsy shop might open sometime..?!

.....while I'm here - I'd just like to say: how amazing are the scents of hyacinths?!

maybe we'll have smellivision one day?! x

Twelfth Night!

2012-01-06T22:42:00.000Z

Its all looking a bit minimal around here as all the decorations are down and the tree is waiting in the garage to be disposed of (hopefully before September like last year's - it didn't drop at all in that time!)

In my Being Creative Vintage post I talked about the groovy 70s decorations we embellished...well, as I gazed at Mum and Dad's tree there they all were!

....there was one that had a purple velvet band with pearly sequins and some of mum's tatting...it turned out to be lace...but there's tatting to follow!

a large one with strings and a (made by mum) basket attached - in which Santa perched in his hot air balloon, given to Grandad;

and Grandma had a ...blue one covered in tatting and sparkles.

I found another that I had forgotten:

...tatting, lace, velvet, sequins and sparkles!

You can see where I inherited my love of crafty things!

.....As promised the favourite (post -war) decoration from my Grandad's tree...

my brother and I had lots of fun with this cheeky chappie!!

They are all safely packed away for another year....

Being Creative - Winter

2012-01-04T22:14:00.001Z

When I first saw this topic, in the spring, I imagined sparkling white snow scenes, snow capped tree tops, snowdrops peeking through solid icy ground...how distant that seems at the moment! Although the wind is howling the temperatures are unseasonably warm!

So instead of posting my snowy trees...

....I will be registering a randomness of Robins!
We have some in the garden and they nest regularly - one family in the drain hopper by our back door. It was a delight to watch (and hear) the chirpy stages of their development especially when they poked their fluffy heads over the edge!

First up: some made by others:

a well loved commercial sample

Tracey's new to needlefelting beautiful bird inspired by Kirstie - I'm so proud to display your first fluttery felt on our tree!

a striking stained glass species by another good friend Vix.
I love the texture in the brown glass and the shiny shadows it casts - if it is sunny!

one of my early broods - a bit basic and flattened over the years but the curly Wensleydale still fluffy!

Remodelled and homemade wet felted brown feathers...something I only dreamed about this time last year!

Class of 2011!

This little fella missed the mass photo shoot...he was the first of this years hatchlings and was put away to keep him safe, only to be found when all the others had flown the nest.

I'm secretly quite glad as it meant we could keep him!

So this is my rather belated December Being Creative post...there's a new flexible format to Being Creative 2012 without monthly deadlines...great as I have been so late the last few months!
I've really enjoyed meeting new creative bloggy friends and being inspired by so many interpretations of the themes. Look forward to seeing many of you again on Flickr...when I have got the hang of it!
Watch out for some more Being Creative blog posts too...but maybe more randomly!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T22:50:00.000Z

Lots of new supplies....Lots of new ideas.....lots of new techniques to learn!

Very early new life in the garden.... these purpley blooms have appeared where our blue and white hyacinths were dumped....

A whole new bloggy year... to be creative!

I have had a fabulous few months in blogland,

I've made and been inspired by lots of new friends, and a few old ones!....

many thanks for all your support and amazing comments.

Hope you all have a happy, healthy, creative, successful and fun 2012!

Festive Felt!

2011-12-20T21:51:00.000Z

Way back in November I was considering posting an item everyday through Advent, however it soon became apparent that was going to be tricky, increasing the blog writing at the busiest time of year..so here's a bumper blog bundle of festive feltiness!

the thick slices of felt became these snowy trees, with sparkly angelina fibres and silky bits

some were double sided:

with sari silk spatterings

Festive felty cheer:

The red wool was left over from Tracey's felted bag...

There are two types of Robin flying around the country!

and 3d

did you guess that's what the brown spheres were going to become?!

Every one is totally different - the last one is an alpaca version.

All finished off with some wonderfully red teeswater curls.

My technique varied as I made them. Some had small splits or flaps - most of which were felted in however I took advantage of this one and made it into a design feature!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!!

Hope you all have a peaceful and happy Christmas

Snail Mail Holiday Swap

2011-12-15T21:52:00.000Z

I've been really excited about the Snail Mail Holiday Swap hosted by Tracey and Emma - the planning, cyber-meeting, making, posting, waiting and receiving!

My partner is Jay and I am amazed how she is able to make such fantastic goodies, participate in festive events and meet her essay deadlines!

This week 2 almost identical squidgy packages arrived, they were nearly the same but one jingled when shaken!

Inside such temptingly squashy parcels....

Perfect mini festive stockings..in my team's home colours!

Mr Hedgehog...complete with cuddly red scarf. We captured on video a wandering hedgehog meandering across our frozen lawn last winter leaving a spiky trail...so now we have a much softer and warmer reminder!

Mr Penguin - the source of the jingling on his lovely looooooong striped headwear!

This little girl reminds me of my younger days - her hat is fab - its so long I'm sure she could sit on it! I had knitted hats as a child too - but not of this magnificence!

Jay has obviously spent lots of time with her yarn and needles creating such cute and intricate Christmas goodies.

Whilst not wishing to detract from the swap... our tree (chosen brilliantly by RW Jnr) has these cool candle like protuberances on the top branches - we think they're quite effective!

I'd like to say a big thank you to Tracey and Emma for the swap hosting and admin, and a huge, hot chocolate flavoured, cup cake sweetened, woolly warming thank you to Jay for your e-mails, inspiring ideas and wonderful woolly creations!

I have several ideas to try in the new year thanks to Jay!

Swapping has been really fun!

Being Creative - Vintage

2011-12-12T21:43:00.003Z

I knew this post would be slightly late...but I didn't realise how delayed it would be!

We have only just got the big bulging box of decorations from the shelf, I was looking forward to exploring and reaquainting myself with the happy memories of Christmas past...already planning which ornaments would adorn this post:

Grandma's swan and bell - blue was her favourite colour!

Both still have some genuinely ancient wiring!

one of many retro designs from my childhood tree...

...and another

I remember helping to make these....there was one that had a purple velvet band with pearly sequins and some of mum's tatting; a large one with strings and a (made by mum) basket attached - in which Santa perched in his hot air balloon, given to Grandad; and Grandma had a ...blue one covered in tatting and sparkles.

The sparkles came from a small flat screw top jar full of jewels of all colours shapes and sizes which I think is still in operation in mum's craft collection.

Right at the bottom of the large decoration storage box lays a box that is unopened each year..I thought it contained Grandad's tree lights, which are no longer viable. I intended to photograph the lights as they were so quirky - a smiling Father Christmas face, a green parrot, a pink chinese lantern...

however I found these instead....

ornaments from his shiny Christmas tree that stood on a blue patterned plinth, they are wrapped in THE most soft toilet paper!!

I also found these:

I had to warn RW Junior that if you poked the tempting indented ones they break easily....I remember that well!!

The bottom row third from the left is a nutmeg shape!

I'm not sure where the lights are but I am soooo pleased these saw the light of day.

We have many decorations on our tree - old and new...each has its own well loved story and I hope we will pass on those tales to the next generation.....and beyond.

My favourite vintage decoration is from my Grandad's tree and hangs on mum and dad's tree now..my brother and I love it - and I'm sure it will appear in a post over Christmas......

in the meantime Happy Advent to you all. xx

Preparations...

2011-11-30T18:59:00.001Z

As the season to be jolly fast approaches I have been beavering away making exciting festive felt - hence the silent nights on the blog front!

There are lots of things still to be finished and as many of my makes are presents I can only reveal small snippets!

The eagle eyed will be able to spot the very useful rainbow pins from Becky's givewaway.
(I have also been putting the rainbow embroidery cotton to very good use, although not for stitching!)

Can you guess what these shetland merino mixed spheres will transform into?

I love the thickness of these wet felted sheets, which were designed to be double sided

It took me a while to build up the courage to slice them but what an unexpected treat when I did!

I'd like to say it was part of the design to have a striped side.....but it was just a happy accident which I will be repeating!!

You may just be able to spot the angelina fibres in the top ones and the sari silk in the ones below.

There has been lots of experimenting with how to hang some of my felt pictures, this is the newest idea...glad its on the back as my sewing isn't as neat as I'd like it to be!

Over the last few weeks I have had great pleasure and fun making and wrapping items for my swap partner Jay as part of the snail mail holiday swap.

My parcel is ready for the post....

I'm also really excited to say that when all the festive creativity is over I will have something to start the crafty New Year...a commission!! I'll be sharing lots of ideas with you about this piece as I know it will involve some new skills that I am keen to try!

In the meantime - Happy Advent to you all hope you enjoy the preparations for Christmas! x

Birthday Flowers

2011-11-13T21:14:00.001Z

There have been two close family birthdays this week. I have given you a sneak preview of their presents:

Here they are in their full glory:

A felty Fuschia - all wetfelted with mainly shetland, the odd whisp of silk, sari silk and some hand spun and dyed Teeswater yarn from Highside Farm.

and...

a wet and needlefelted poppy...

inspired by this summer photo

I am always learning as I try out new things.

The poppy started out with four distinct shetland top petals, and I added water to the completely laid out pattern,

however when it dried I wasn't happy with it as a poppy shape so I placed more blended tops and made it a bit more random!

...and finished it off with a needlefelted middle!

Happy Birthday to two special people!
xx

PS I've had a play with some of my settings so I could display larger images ...feedback as always much appreciated!

Backs to front!

2011-11-08T20:52:00.000Z

I've been experimenting this week with lots of ideas for presents, Christmas and birthdays..

I have invested in a bamboo mat, used some 'tutu' net...and re-read some helpful tutorials.

I have also tried to find the optimum winter photo taking position, especially as we have had a few dull grey days.

So.... I have been able to create some more regular shaped 'backs'

instead of this....

I have learned how to make this..

can't show you the front yet...its a secret..but you might be able to spot a hint of pink?!

I do have to say though that I like both types of back, the first being a bit more organic..at least I can choose the effect I would like now!

I have made some flat pieces for decorations - these will be double sided so you can see the fronts

and the backs...

I just have to learn to let go now and cut into them!!

Fire! Being Creative

2011-11-01T20:32:00.000Z

October's theme for Being Creative is Fire...a real gift for a felter!

I started with a dark background.....wet felting a bit of dark blue merino and some curly black uncarded fleece from a mixed bag, there are still some curls apparent, and the uncarded wool held together suprisingly well.

I didn't take a photo of this stage but this is the finished reverse with sparks of the fire poking through!

A loose fire pattern made from orange, red and yellow merino and shetland with a hint of silk was then wet felted onto the wet background. I also included some red tweed yarn from some short ends given to me by Tracey.

I couldn't have made a better autumn leaf shape if I had tried and could have stopped there....but I had a vision of fire blazing so I continued with my initial design and..

... needle felted a combination of the same yellow, orange, and red merino shetland intertwining some purply silk threads to create finger like flames with whispy ends:

I intended to write something to accompany the firey photos but November crept up quickly.

Curls of fire, Brownie and Cub campfires, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and Titian tresses, locks of flowing fiery hair on iconic Pre-Raphaelite women were images that sparked the mind of one creative, imaginative friend who had a sneak preview ....

what does it fire up for you?

Especially for Melody!

2011-10-31T19:01:00.001Z

As requested Melody...I couldn't resist your challenge! So here's a turnip whittled at the tea table!!

As a child we referred to swedes as turnips, and having 'google imaged' turnip - plenty of others do too!

We always carved a turnip, before the pumpkin became popular, and I seem to remember it used to take aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaages to scoop out the impenetrable flesh, and was quite a dangerous occupation.

I cheated slightly with this little fella - he is only two thirds of a soggy swede found at the bottom of the vegetable rack, as he is backless I was able to cut out the centre quite easily. Also he is only about 8cm high - our childhood ones were significantly larger and had string handles, though I can't imagine carrying roasting vegetables for long distances, with the string above the candle, even with a lid!

Spookily this picture captures yesterdays blog post on the right and tomorrows on the left......

Happy Halloween x

Boo!

2011-10-30T19:31:00.002Z

I have fond childhood memories of a small black sugar paper witches hat scattered with sticky coloured shapes sitting atop a chocolate cake (with flake pieces) alongside a spooky illustrated recipe card! I expect the hat is still around somewhere in a well organised box at mum and dads.

I also recall a white sheet ghost costume and the annual pumpkin, which was of course a hollowed out turnip (now known as a swede!)

Its all a bit fuzzy, but around the time of halloween and bonfire night there was a fair in the local town so I remember loud seventies tunes, clanging bells, flashing lights, goldfish in plastic bags, freezing fingers, candy floss, and very sticky toffee apples!

We are slowly gathering a handful of halloween heirlooms!

One half term RW Jnr learned how to make pompoms

....another he learned to sew buttons!

This ghost sparkles!!

We have a spider and vampire made from Hama beads which glow in the dark - and catch me out when I turn out all the lights before bed!

This year we have added pumpkins:

Here is this years carved version...a little scarier than usual...and roasting the lid as I type!

Happy All Hallows Eve..eve

Smells!

2011-10-25T14:58:00.000+01:00

There are lots of new aromas in the house today

Sensational scented lillies...becoming more pungent as each bloom explodes....

Recently baked butter biscuits...

these are our second batch in two days...the first lot didn't hang around long enough for a photo!!

The delicious and really easy recipe is from Tracey and we have transformed them into ghost biscuits...

The delicate sweet smell of summer meadows fabric conditioner as this wet felted project dries out...its a secret so only a patch is available for viewing!

Looking forward to some more autumnal aromas... distant bonfires, roasting pumpkins, sparkling fireworks and crunchy leaves (not so keen on the smell of the soggy variety!)

What's getting up your nose today I wonder?!

Rainbows

2011-10-22T22:48:00.000+01:00

To keep my fingers busy on long evenings watching tv I'm winding these lovely yarns round my flower loom...

one is Rowan Colourscape chunky by Kaffe Fasset....100% lambswool

in candy pink....shade 434

from one 100g skein I have lots of different multi coloured yarns

The other is Knitcol by Adriafil 100% merino shade 60 Rousseau phantasy

I must admit though I have to have full screen concentration for certain programmes..not relishing the final ever episode of Spooks tomorrow night!

Messing about on the river!

2011-10-18T22:48:00.001+01:00

My Goddaughter had a special day this weekend. We sent her a fuzzy fishy cuff.

A narrower version of this with presstuds to keep it in place

(or should that be Plaice?!)

Re-Post!

2011-10-18T12:00:00.000+01:00

Feeling woolly!!

Hopefully everything is fixed!

I speedily edited the rogue pictures in super quick time allowing me to browse the Firefox help forum, I followed some complicated instructions, made 1 click to unblock something... and wow! everything came back in glorious technicolour, not only in my blog but in everyone else's...

what a lot of fantastic images I have missed...

This is the bumper bundle of fuzzy fibre that arrived yesterday morning from Wheeldale Woolcrafts to keep me happy and distracted from blog frustrations and to start some Christmassy projects.

The brightness of the picture isn't great as the weather was distinctly grey....

Look what I found in the garden though to add a bit of brightness!

As this is my edited post from yesterday....some of the info in the first 3 comments below may not apply now..I hope!

Mystery Solved....

2011-10-17T21:04:00.001+01:00

......and many apologies!!

Thanks to some fab feedback from Liz, some serious head scratching, frantic phoning, and rational thinking (from the male members of the household) I think I have solved the mystery of the missing photos!

You see they were never really missing! Which means I have been re posting and re-uploading when they were there all the time. It also means some are HUMUNGOUS and repeated and repeated and repeated.....

In my defence all I see is one beautifully sized and well presented image...when everyone else is seeing double or multiple or HUGE pictures.

I've realised it is my browser (Firefox)...as on other browsers I can see what you can!

So I will attempt to unload my re-uploads! and get everything back to how I intended...which my not always be an improvement!

Big apologies for taking up lots of your time scrolling through all the erroneous photos and trying to make sense of the duplications!

I may be some time so please be patient if I disappear from blogland while I adjust!

I had a lovely bagful of wool this morning so I'll be able to roll out some of my frustration soon!

No photos in this post - for obvious reasons!!

Ali xx

Invisible Images!

2011-10-10T21:55:00.000+01:00

Whilst scrolling through my past posts I discovered some of my photos are missing :(

One of the reasons I started blogging was to keep a record of things I made and photos I liked.

Lots of pictures I have uploaded are mega (byte wise)....but some that have become invisible were much smaller...bit of a random deletion process going on!

I have also found that I am unable to view some mosaics on other blogs...I think its just me as other people have commented on the beautiful pictures that are not appearing on my screen.

The up side is that I have discovered Picasa...and all my pics are still stored there regardless of their visibility on the blog, alongside others that I uploaded more than once or were the wrong way up....

So I am laboriously scaling each large picture down in byte size using Picasa and re-uploading some that are missing.

Apologies if you come to a large gap in text or a caption without its image..hopefully I'll get round to restoring them all in the end...I'm also hoping that if I have edited a post it doesn't appear on everyone's dashboard again?!

All this talk of pictures has prompted me to show you some blackbirds that appeared in the garden a few weeks ago....

One has flown far North whilst another made his way South!!

I'm really excited to have joined a Snail Mail Holiday Swap hosted by Tracey and Emma..I'm looking forward to making and exchanging goodies, and getting to know my swapping partner....I'll be posting about it another time... but there's still time to get involved if you'd like.

In the meantime any pictorial advice gratefully accepted!!

Daisy Chains

2011-10-05T14:09:00.001+01:00

My daisy loving friend had a birthday at the beginning of August, last week I finally gave her the completed present I had been making!

I had the final image in my head, but it took a while, using lots of techniques I have used before and a couple of new ones!

Firstly I made lots of small white blooms on my flower loom, and needle felted their middles.

Then I wet felted a green background with shetland, some of the green merino from Becky's giveaway, and some sari silk fibres.

It took some thought about how to attach the daisies (minimal sewing) and the hanging device (thanks to my husband for the brainwave that required no sewing!)

...all finished off with a piece of green thread, again from Becky's parcel.


Before the construction.


No sewing pole inserts!

Sari silk shimmering in the sun!

I loved putting everything together, especially needlefelting the middles in the warm sunny garden.
Happy daisies, Happy Birthday! x

Being Creative - Autumn

2011-10-04T12:35:00.000+01:00

It seems so strange writing about autumn sitting in shorts and t-shirt with the windows wide open!

There are a few rusty coloured crispy leaves being swept around the garden and on a recent park stroll I loudly crunched beech nut husks under foot. The sun, although beautifully hot, disappers quickly in the evening...so autumnal signs are all around...

For Being Creative this month (well September...like autumn I am a bit sluggish)..I have made two iconic forms using wet and needle felting..

I have made wet and needlefelted balls before and will be doing so again soon.

Its difficult to make a conker from fuzzy wooly felt as it loses its silky sheen somewhat, this one is made from shetland wool which makes it extra hairy!

The shape of the pumpkin was achieved using elastic bands whilst the soggy ball was drying.

The hot weather has been great but not condusive to drying constricted felty balls, which I usually do on the radiator...this pumkin has been basking in the sun, hanging in a bag on the line, lounging in the airing cupboard and today I resorted to roasting it in the oven!

It is also made with shetland tops and merino with some silk sari fibres thrown in, which can be seen close up!

RW Junior enjoyed unclamping the elastic bands and seeing its finished shape.

I'm looking forward to more signs of autumn, warming soup and stews, vibrant tones and colours, the smell of bonfires and scrunching rustling leaves underfoot.

What do you like best about autumn I wonder?!

Collaborating - The Return...

2011-09-30T21:24:00.001+01:00

At the beginning of the summer holidays a friend and I agreed to share some of our creativity and use it to inspire each other - I was really excited by this, as I love what she does.

There were a couple of sneaky peeks at the piece of felt I gave her here.

Just before I went on holiday I received her wonderful work....and here it is, accompanied by a full view of the random wooliness:

The Return

Foamy surf, the blue-green ebb and flow of life on earth,

The never-ending motion of the pull against

The yellow sky, not a sunset, almost ominous,

Sulphurous, a backdrop for shadows.

A lumbering bulk, clumsy on land, hulking

Against the sandy vastness.

A silent, indistinct almost formless something,

Moving into the rhythm of sea.

At last, in the smooth depths, dugong-like,

Strange grace from great weight; waves lift and caress,

Silver threads weaving in and out of cerulean space,

Bubbles rising to the surface.

Finally, sunset comes, the shepherd’s sky,

A promise of good, and on the shore,

A perfect footprint, as big, as deep as a turtle’s laying nest,

Not formless, not indistinct.

I love Karen's poem, I have read it many times and find new depths.

The most amazing aspect of the collaboration has been how the image has been interpreted.

After I had read and commented on her poem Karen shared some of her thought processes.

The piece of felt had been made with the sand at the bottom and I had intended the dark form as a footprint...but Karen had looked at it the other way up and revealed a shadowy figure....how fantastic!

After my initial reading of the poem I realised this, but found it hard to see 'him' and a tryptich came to mind..(Picture of a figure with yellow sky and sea below; watery scene with smoothly swimming whale form and bubbles; and the existing image as a footprint on the sand)

However as I re-read the words and gazed at the picture the figure lumbered into view ...

I could see 'him'! I felt quite emotional!

So I have used the same image both ways up to accompany the poem, I hope you can see him too!

I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Karen and she has sent me some more of her amazing writing.

I hope to make something in response to some of her powerful work and I have an idea for another piece of wooliness to prompt some more creative writing....

Thank you Karen...may this be the first of many creative collaborations!

Holiday snaps!

2011-09-26T22:22:00.000+01:00

Its four weeks since we returned from a short but sweet holiday in the North East of England...we had some very dramatic weather, dark clouds and bright sun made the colours extra vibrant, although these phenomena could only be experienced and not captured on camera!

On our journey up the M6, through the hilly peaks past the Lakes, the sky turned a purpley black and white fluffy clouds whisped past, the grass was luminous lime green speckled with woollyblackfaced sheep, the whole clashing colourful scene would have stretched the artstic imagination had we not seen it. Shortly after, the most awesome rain shower engulfed us...thankfully we were driving and not on foot (memories of childhood lakeland cagoul clad hill walking!)

We saw some fantastic sun shafts through rolling clouds, beautiful pinky purple heather and bright pink Rosebay Willow herb....

Although we were surrounded by fields full of sheep...I didn't buy any local wool this time, I'm still using my soft heathery hand dyed Teeswater from my last trip !

One of our trips was to Hury Reservoir and on such a gusty afternoon it looked like we were by the sea, a much more dramatic experience than on a calm day!

We spent some time with relatives and during one afternoon their daughter entertained us all with her energetic games! She helped me to make and photograph some flowers,

and requested a woolly robot, for which she cut the hair!

It all seems a while ago now...but its been a treat to recall some of our memorable moments!

So much fresh air and space...on the moor top.....with a vastness of inspirational sky!

Wedding Bowl!!

2011-09-17T14:55:00.001+01:00

I have been to a wedding today, the first one for a long time...

it was a really happy and sunny occasion.

I knew I wanted to make something to give the happy couple, and as I'm not sure how to mount my flat pieces of wet felt I decided to needlefelt a bowl.

I was feeling a bit rusty but soon got into the swing of things. One of the edges had a slight dip, so I had a thought and stabbed away....

I'm really pleased how its turned out....

Most of the wool is coloured shetland with the lighter flecks of merino silk blend.

For the orange heart I added some sari silk fibres I recently purchased from Felters Journey's

Folksy shop.

All finished off the with couple's initials:

Wishing you both every happiness, a life full of bright colourful and fuzzy moments! xx

Collaborating - fusion of fabric and felt!

2011-09-12T22:05:00.001+01:00

I'm hoping this will be a mainly pictorial post....

my wordy stream is feeling a bit stagnant...I think its all the earlier mornings...need to get used to new routines!

My fabulously talented friend and neighbour has designed and made matching items from this and this

they are big enough to carry keys and a mobile...

each one has both types of felt....

one on each side...

...and are lined with the most funky floral fabric..

They are pretty perfect pouches!!

I just hope the felt is robust enough to stand up to a fair bit of use!

Thank you creative C...you are a sewing star!

Felt and Football!

2011-09-10T21:58:00.000+01:00

This is just a quickie to say how I've spent a fantastic afternoon felting whilst listening to the footie

(and we won!!)

This leaf was blown to our back door in a huge gust earlier this week

It reminded me of Becky's felted leaf....

Hope you all keep safe and dry in the forecasted blustery showery weather....

or enjoy the begining of the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness depending on where you are!

Seven things about me!

2011-09-08T21:58:00.000+01:00

One of the other exciting things that greeted me on return from my holiday was a blog award from Tracey over at baking and making. I'd like to say a huge thank you to Tracey, not only for the award but for such an inspiring blog about her homecrafted goodies and simple lifestyle philosophy.

This really does look irresistibly sweet with all those amazingly succulent looking strawberries!

In accepting the award I am to tell you seven things about myself...so here goes;

Most of my qualifications are science based..but theycertainly do not include domestic science!

A few people (including Tracey and Melody) know this one.... as a child I collected mice...the crafted not the live kind! The entire collection now sits in my wardrobe housed in fabulous 70s shoe boxes. However they will be introduced to you all at sometime ..so watch this space!

As a small girl I shook hands with footballer Nobby Stiles..who was at the time playing for the local team (Boro) and England!

My drink of choice is black coffee or if I'm out at night a pint of bitter

I'm an early 80s girl at heart and can usually identify an intro before the lyrics kick in..however as I have increased in age I find myself becoming nostalgic for the late 70s disco hits, and mellow tunes...

As a Brownie Guide I fell off a chair immediately before taking my Safety in the Home badge.

I love yorkshire puddings...the best were made by my grandad, served as a starter, the size of the plate covered in steaming gravy.... but chocolate, in any form, is my most favourite food choice!

Also as part of the award I am to pass it onto 7 others....
I am aware that some bloggers are uncomfortable with the accepting and passing on of awards, so if I have included you on the list I will not be offended if you choose to ignore it.
My intention in mentioning your blog is to introduce others to your wonderful creativity and to say how much I look forward to your updates..and big thank yous for your friendly and supportive comments!

So in no particular order (except alphabetical):

Love and Peas*;
Jenny's vibrant colourful and exciting creations and posts are really cheerful, full of detail, charm and character!

Melody Lorraine;
I discovered Melody and her colourful little animals (real, handmade and illustrated!) via the Being Creative project. I love her storytelling, writing style and her characterful paintings and musings from across the pond.

Starfish Studio
This blog is full of lots of crafty and arty projects,
colour, talent and texture.. lots of techniques have been tried in this little corner of Scotland!

That Fuzzy Feeling;
Liz makes the most wonderful wet and needlefelted items, and has recently started cultivating her own allotment. I love her beautiful photographs of her creations and garden.

The Fluff Pot;
I have waxed lyrical about Becky's blog here and I think she may be excused the 7 things about me part as I know she has done this several times recently..but I haven't seen any strawberries on her awards yet...

The Gingerbread Bunny
Sarah has a lovely chatty blog...she has turned her hand to lots of crafts..and been in print!!

wee mindings
Linnhe Mara makes the most wonderful bags and lots of other things besides. I love her witty writing and musings...on lots of subjects I can identify with. Hers is one of three Scottish blogs on the list!

Hope you have as much fun as I have visiting these irresistible blogs... happy hopping!

OOh - How exciting!!!

2011-09-05T16:03:00.000+01:00

I think this title could be used lots of times over the next few posts!

I returned from holiday to two fantastic pieces of Bloggy news, two collaborative projects have borne fruit and there are lots of lovely holiday pictures to share.....

so this is the first of a series of posts I hope you find as exciting as I do!

Where so I start?

Becky at The Fluff Pot recently held a very generous giveaway to celebrate reaching 50 followers, (since then she has amassed another 24!) Becky began blogging just before I did, she was the first to leave a comment on my blog and has left regular positive and friendly messages since! Her blog is full of colour, inspiring images and tips. She has turned her hands to lots of crafty creations and its a joy to read all about them, and her beautiful garden.

Imagine my surprise and delight to find out that I had won her fantabulously fluffy feast of goodies.

One day last week, around lunchtime a parcel arrived ....Random Wooliness Junior and his one of his friends were spending the last day of holiday freedom at ours and were immediately mesmerised by the box of treasures.

I managed to get them to wait whilst I photographed the perfectly presented purple packages....

and the sparkly colourful gift boxes...

Just then the sun came out and we took the everything out in the garden to open..

like Christmas in the sun!

It was fantastic to see the lads choosing which shaped package to open next and hearing their descriptions of the contents, they were so enthusiastic about the colours, textures and shapes.

One spent time stroking the bright wool tops (each coloured ball was given a name!) the other was very appreciative of the jewellery wrap, its colours and the beautiful button which was examined carefully. The acorns proved to be a real winner - they loved the concept and I loved all the colour combinations and shiny patches.We all marvelled at the amazing autumn leaf vessel with the coppery wire veins.

The heart pin cushion was given a good squidge by us all and we chose our favourite coloured pins and cotton...the boys were amazed at the hearts that came from the butterfly wings and suggested uses for the colourful card decorations.

We chirped noisily about the bird brooch and watched the necklace shine and twinkle in in the sun. The rose is so delicate..both in colour and texture.

I'd like to say a huge thank you to Becky not only for sharing her talented work (its great being able to view and feel some of her bloggy items up close!) but for enabling me to hear those two chaps being so enthusiastic about such creative items!

Thanks for all the lovely comments on the announcement too.

Becky has a Folksy shop, her handcrafted items are really well made and feel fabulously fluffy!!

I think the acorns and autumn leaf will be beautifying our lounge soon,
although it feels autumnal today I'm still clinging to summer....

Travel - Being Creative

2011-09-03T22:36:00.001+01:00

One of the things I love about the Being Creative experience is hopping around worldwide spaces to see how other wonderfully creative people have interpreted the theme. I am always inspired, amazed and prompted to think about what I do. The comments people leave on each others posts are so positive and supportive, as are Julia's e-mails and posts.

This month I thought laterally about the theme... my mind travelling all over the place...wandering too randomly to record, but always returning to something safe, that could have been made from felt. However, as I like to experiment a little for Being Creative I travelled a different path...

I have been mulling over the idea of books for a while...I love viewing Love and Peas* colourful and vibrant creative journals and Starfish Studio's blog has featured a wonderful handmade book - something to aspire to!

Whilst popping over to Kaite's blog last month I followed her link to make a cut and fold mini book ..which is what I did for this months theme of travel.

I made a small book and recorded the journeys made in our car on our recent holiday in the North East of England! Simple, but a quick reminder of some of our travels this year.

I'm looking forward to the next theme of autumn...all those beautiful colours and shades....

Flowers inside and out!

2011-08-20T14:59:00.001+01:00

For my birthday, in the spring, I had some Dahlias to plant. It was a mixed bag and if the leaf shapes and sizes are anything to go by there will be many different blooms!

This is the first to flower:

Looking forward to some more colourful flowers over the summer!

Talking of which...here's one I prepared earlier!

...a little random wooliness for a friend's birthday.....

...needlefelted onto a commercallyproduced bag using Rowan Biggy Print.

I'm hoping one day I'll be needlefelting onto my own wet felted items........

Collaborating!

2011-08-14T21:18:00.000+01:00

Collaborate: to work with someone else for a special purpose

Cambridge Dictionaries online

I have had great pleasure in passing on a piece of random wooliness to a friend

for her to ponder upon!

As I don't want to add extra pressure to her cogitating I won't reveal the entire picture but here's a couple of secretive snippets!

Things are a bit quiet on the production front - I've got lots of creative ideas swimming around but as its holiday time they will remain in the pool until there's chance to get woolly!

Hope you are all having some happy times in the summer sun!

Something Peaceful

2011-08-09T22:04:00.000+01:00

Following events over the last few days I felt the need for something peaceful.....

Hope you are all keeping safe...

Being Creative - Summer

2011-08-06T19:54:00.000+01:00

I think this post should have the subtitle of: Learning to leisurely stroll before you can run!

The thoughts, as usual, for this months Being Creative topic have been whirring away at speed for more than a month... I think the process of this creation is just as important as the final result..so please bear with me!!

Following a comment I made on someone's lovely ocean creation last month I began thinking about the composition of most of my projects... I like to make things colourful, bright, cheerful and warm....things that I suppose other people would like to look at...the fish I make are orange, the sea, blue....and I do know from holiday photos on people's blogs it can be beautifully blue...but its not always!

So I decided I should be a bit more realistic in my choice of subject matter for summer.....

I still thought of flowers...poppies.... but where they grow....on waste ground or by the roadside....

after a motorway journey last week observing the roadside flora (and what an amazing array there is..such a positive and pretty colour pallette bordering the ribbon of tarmac)..I picked Rosebay Willowherb...(for the picture - in my head - not on the hard shoulder)

In the true spirit of Being Creative I decided to try something new and out of my comfort zone...

I enthusiastically ripped the plastic off a new set of watercolour pencils and opened the watercolour sketchbook with trepidation! (Yes, it was a mixture of emotions!!)

I began with a few sketch ideas to get a feel of the media, and the dived in headfirst!!

That's the point where I especially should have strolled....

As a first attempt I'm quite pleased..it certainly ticks the 'I've tried something different' box

and it has reminded me of some other factors: I like to race with the wind in my hair before I have even taken a few wobbly steps; I'd love the finished article on paper to look identical to the beautiful image in my head; I am so enthusiastic to keep the momentum going I power onto the next stage before the last one dries; I am aware of the benefits of relaxation and going with the flow; I am still trying to disguise all my 'could try harder's into positives!

It looks a bit more peaceful country garden than gritty roadside ...but again...thats what makes me appreciate even more the talents of people who can make a picture look like how they had imagined it to be, or what the viewer would like to see!

I have enjoyed this whole process once again, Thank you to Julia for the inspirational topics and to all the wonderful comments that flutter across the ether and land here. Its so great to be able to share everyone's creations.

I will leave you with one of my rough sketches which, because I was still fairly relaxed, turned out more like what I had in my head than the real thing!

Dasy Daisy!

2011-07-31T22:05:00.001+01:00

One of my friends is a big daisy fan.....it is her birthday this week...

A needlefelted flower loomed bloom...

a glass brooch daisy made for me by my sister-in -law....

the real thing growing quietly in a shady corner....

Happy Birthday L xxx

Summer blooms

2011-07-23T21:58:00.002+01:00

I am always searching for something to pick up and put down, that does not require too much thought, and will keep my fingers busy whilst watching telly!

I did try crochet...several times....

until about a year ago when I invested in a flower loom!

Since then there have been many blooms created and given as gifts (you may be able to spot one you are wearing?!) and are they are gradually making their way onto my cards....

This is my most recent bunch...

Some are looped from donated yarn.... you may recognise your colours....

others use multicoloured yarn - a petal potpourri....

These two pinky purple ones are created from the same batch of hand-dyed hand spun Teeswater fleece from Highside Farm in Middleton-in Teesdale (Liz at That Fuzzy Feeling has been there!)

Just from one skein the heathery colours are so different.

All of the crop have one thing in common........

....a needlefelted middle!

I think I'll keep the garden collection growing....

Hope you have a blooming marvellous week!

More Pavement Art

2011-07-16T21:21:00.000+01:00

Having blogged about the random pavement jigsaws near us imagine my excitement when we stumbled upon THE most impressive pavement markings on the way to a friend's house.

Of course they all have deep meanings (and some of them do relate to depth!!) but they make the most amazing patchwork of pavement art.

Its difficult to capture the overall impression - it's as if the street is a long, slender tattooed limb!

Not sure what the residents thought as I snapped away at the floor!

This one has all 4 colours !

Wonder how long they will stick around, the weather has dampened their glow over the weeks but I still think they're amazing!

Changing colours

2011-07-15T19:19:00.000+01:00

I am always amazed how many colour changes there are during the production of a piece of felt; from light, airy, dry fluffy tops,

to dry fixed and solid wet felted pieces, via athe soggy soapy stage!

The most impressive examples of this would have been my recent 'brown pieces'... if I had taken pictures of the original fluffy dry step.....I only remembered when gazing at the extremely dark and damp felted middle stage!

This is how light it is when dry!

I'm not sure which way up?

I love the wiggly alpaca!

Both this and the other study in brown will be winging their way to the next stage of transformation very soon!

Not sure if you can 'frog' a blog, but this one has been deleted and edited several times!!
Hope you all have happy and peaceful weekends - dodging the predicted showers!

Hardware vs software

2011-07-09T16:27:00.000+01:00

We've had a few gremlins in our computer and most of my time over the last week has been devoted to hardware rather than the softer-ware of feltiness!

So -in true Blue Peter style - here's one I prepared earlier!!

The background is chocolate shetland, layered with Falling leaves Merino and silk blend from Wheeldale Woolcrafts. The detail on the top includes some very soft streaks of alpaca amongst other fibres.

As the background is so busy the alpaca has got a bit lost visually although you can feel it and see it up close....so I intend to make another piece to show it off more ....and then both will be given to the friend who gave me the alpaca for her to weave her sewing magic and transform it into something else!!

I originally intended to create tree bark...and it reminds my friend of a stream (there's quite a bit of green in there - in real life)..isn't it great how we all see things differently?!!

Being Creative - Ocean

2011-06-30T22:07:00.000+01:00

This months Being Creative gave me the opportunity to dive in and so something I've wanted to do for ages!

Since the beginning of June I have wet felted 3 drops of ocean.....

This is a close up of the first..... as I was too excited to wait until the end of June to post about it, you can read all about it here and here

Here is the second one....before.....

with some silk and wensleydale curl waves.....

and after....

...and today I used some of the bits from here

to make this....

Its still drying so the colours are re-appearing slooooowly...you can just about see the silk shining on the fish....

I'm hoping for some better photos in sunlight!

I have loved the whole wet felting process....selecting the colours, wool and extras; hand blending and the amazing whispy colour combinations; laying out the design in all its fluffiness; watching it transform after peeling away the soapy wet bubble wrap; eagerly awaiting the colour changes as it dries; and gazing at the finished piece.

Above all I have found it extremely liberating as you never quite know how it will turn out..

..and it's so far always exceeded my expectations!

Thank you again Julia for your inspiring idea initiators!!

There will be more wet felting from Random Wooliness!!

Fish out of water...

2011-06-28T22:39:00.000+01:00

Some needlefelted Shetland and silk fish ready to dive into......

.....a box of hand blended dry shetland sea....

......just add water soap and bubble wrap!

Big fish, little fish...........

...cardboard box??

Well an terrific tin, which was only a few days ago, full of scrummy M&S jam sandwich biscuits!

mmmmmmmmmm!

Pretty pinks - shetland and merino awaiting last minute silk addition.....hand blended (yes....have you guessed? I really love the creating colour fluff process!!) ..... for a change of direction!

I'm having lots of fun preparing......although my camera and blogger keep portraiting my landscapes....and to a spatially challenged person it's time consuming to put the right way ruond!

(Think I'll keep that typo in...what more can I say?!!)

Night Night!!

Promising plans and preparations!...

2011-06-25T15:05:00.001+01:00

Where has the last week gone? In fact the whole of June seems to have skittered by in a midsummer muddle!

I have had a week of brain buzzing....lots of procrastinating plans....lots of sketchbook scribbles and lots of potential projects....

my brain feels like it resembles our over bursting blooming lavender..which (in the sun) is covered in bees!!

I'm trying to break things down into managable chunks ( that can be done with one eye on Wimbledon and packed away quickly at school home time!)

I did receive an exciting and colourful mainly shetland wool order from Wheeldale Woolcrafts but forgot to photograph it before I squirrelled it away into my woolly hamper.

I have made another piece of flat felt...but the grey skies and very damp garden have prevented picture taking!

So instead I'll show you the wonderfully smooth soft and springy alpaca top that my creative friend and neighbour brought back from The Aplaca Park on her recent holiday in Cornwall...

The rich tones are lovely and there's lots of stripeyness going on......

I already have plans for it!!

So I'd beter get on and initiate some of these promised projects!!

Inspired by.......

2011-06-18T13:35:00.000+01:00

Thanks for all your great comments on my last post...I'm hoping Jan will pop over too and see all your praise!

This is another arty post inspired by a couple of things this week!

I have been inspired by Kate over at Starfish studio who has been zentangling....

she has had some of her designs printed and they look amazing!

I have had a go at my own style and found it really therapeutic....its my permission to doodle time!!

I have made four cards this week.....and posted three without photographing them!

However this one will give you a good idea of what they looked like!

The card...a 'Fathering Sunday' one..will be saying what an inspiration my dad is!!

Random Wooliness Junior has also been doing a module at school on Art....

last year he brought home this Georgia O'Keeffe inspired chalk drawing:

His dad and I both fell in love with the colours, style and form instantly and framed it with a frame to our specifications from the internet. Its in our hall along with 'The Hidden Gem at Tyseley' from the last post.

This year we heard a lot about RW Jnr's Andy Warhol inspired piece. He really enjoyed sketching and deciding on the image he was going to use - inspired by Mario mushrooms. He described how he had measured out each individual item so each part looked equal, and he enthused about the colours he was using.

Then it all went quiet.......and when asked about his painting he became quite disgruntled....he had by accident dropped a HUGE splodge of blue paint onto a pale area, and as that colour was no longer available, he couldn't rectify his mistake...... he even recounted how the whole table of children had gasped and run to his aid with cloths and other possible solutions.

Yesterday the Andy Warhol/ Mario inspired piece came home,

with a quick bit of tlc on the splodge

we proudly framed it, replacing a rather tired print in the kitchen

We think it looks fantastic.....just the right colours to cheer up the room and I don't think you'd be able to spot the tiny accident.....I find myself gazing at it everytime I go in!

So... Random Wooliness Junior....you are an inspiration we are very proud of your creations.

Looking forward to hearing where your inspiration has come from this week!!

This is Birmingham

2011-06-12T15:03:00.001+01:00

Another of my click to see the hidden pictures posts!!

Just over a year ago we met Jan Bowman a talented travelled artist currently living in colourful Brum, when we bought a copy of her book This is Birmingham in a pop-up art and craft shop.

The book is fantastic - I loved spotting all the familiar sights of Brum and reading up on the not so well known places, people and history. The language and word choice are great. The illustrations are thought provoking, vibrant and full of interesting, quirky details. Above all it makes me proud to live in such a historic, colourful, diverse, forward thinking and friendly city!

The book is being reprinted and theres a brill trailer video to view in the meantime!

We have one of Jan's prints adorning our wall too - its entitled Hidden Gem at Tyseley and is of our local 'Energy Recovery Facility' ie the tip - rather glamourously living up to its title!

Jan also illustrated the cover of one of my favouite books What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn.

Thank you Jan for showing how vibrant Birmingham is... amongst many other things!!

A drop of ocean!

2011-06-08T21:34:00.000+01:00

Here's my eagerly awaited drop of ocean......

Can you see the angelina sparkling in the sun?

Hope it was worth the wait...

I know you'll be able to sea more soon!!

I'm soooooo excited!

2011-06-07T14:56:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I did something I have been itching to do for a long time!

I've had a kit to make a small wet felted panel for a while, but was worried about it not turning out like the picture on the front

(often my stalling point - I'm disappointed if what's in my head doesn't match the finished result...and I end up not trying at all!)

so I used the excellent laminated instructions, white merino and the soap flakes from the pack....

and the perfect opportunity to experiment - June's Being Creative topic of Ocean...

I searched through all my bright and colourful stash for blue hues

fluffed and mixed them up a bit and threw in a handful of angelina

laid them out on a bed of white merino and added a few whisps of mohair short ends (thanks Tracey!)

sprinkled on soap solution...

...and rolled!!

I am sooo pleased with the results -

I love the way you create a dry pattern and during the felting process it completely transforms and develops in a freely random way - extremely liberating for the part of my being that craves control

...it is still drying and the colours are changing often as it does so revealing hidden wooliness!!

I will be making more of this wait-and-see-when-you-unroll-the-bubble-wrap excitement...

and when its dry I'll show you too!!

Birthday Cup Cake!

2011-06-03T21:47:00.000+01:00

As I was creating my cup cake I knew who would be receiving it...

it was my dad's birthday this week so he had two cakes - this famous fluffy one

...and this squidgy yummy one.....

a joint creation for dad/grandad.

The photo does not really show how 3 dimensional it was ..nor how smoothly the delicious icing was applied by Random Wooliness Junior!

Its amazing how it only really looked like Gromit when he perfectly placed the chocolate teacake nose!

Being Creative

2011-05-31T21:19:00.001+01:00

I've been really excited again by the challenge of Home, May's Being Creative subject . Just the idea got my brain pinging in many directions, so I tried to simplify and incorporate some of my ideas into my project.

I began with 2 iconic images, one near my current home location - Selfridges in Birmingham and one from my childhood - Roseberry Topping, in the North East of England
(There are many more images of each if you google them!)

Ideally to satisfy my chronological conventiality Roseberry Topping should be on the left and Selfridges on the right - but visually they looked better the other way round - so the timeline reads from right to left.

I filled each outline with materials associated with those periods in my home life.

The childhood one has wallpaper from my bedroom that was used to back my English book. This was taught by my favourite ever teacher Miss Riding. The strawberry paper covers my homework book from first year at secondary school. There's pink flowery material from a dress my mum made me and the shiny peach I wore as a bridesmaid when I was three.My secondary school tie is there along with a Boro scarf...my home team. The blue represents the sea which was never far away, and I made the mouse as part of my collection of over 100 mice many from craft shops all over the country! I recently found some decorative ribbon that took me straight back to childhood - its brighter than the one I remember which was pastel clolours but I just had to include it as it evoked such a strong memory.

The left side panel is bordered by a roll of pink wallpaper we had in our lounge until recently, there's curtain material from our son's bedroom, fabric from our old well loved settee, a slub of silk from the dress of the bridesmaid at my wedding, and a circle of our son's school tie and trousers. The shiny circular celurian (well blue) material reminds me of all the local gloriously colourful Asian material and dress shops...and Selfridges.
A circular lego brick, a twirl of bright yarn and my wedding and engagement rings complete the scene.

Along the bottom from right to left are the shapes (from above) of all the houses I have lived in, with their numbers. (One is missing as it has been flattened!)

Each is made from a piece of paper associated with someone from the time I lived there! I am pleased to say that I am still in contact with someone from each of those locations, in addition to my family!

I have thouroughly enjoyed planning and making this 'home' collage, which has now all been put safely away again.
It contained some significant images but left out so many more, particularly from my 'middle' years - though I can link to them by association - maybe the beginnings of another creation!?!

I'm really looking forward to seeing other creators interpretations of home too!

Vintage Memories!

2011-05-29T15:28:00.000+01:00

I'm having a nostalgic week ....with the being creative project about home, and the contents of my wind swept washing line !

As my genuine mid 70s duvet cover was fluttering in the breeze, between being buffeted by the stormy gusts

I spied this label:

Its ages since I'd heard anyone mention Terylene and how fantastic to have ICI alongside it! I have many many great memories of the ICI factories of the North East of England- or One-Kuh-One as they were known in our house.

I LOVE the industrial heritage I grew up with, British Steel and ICI being just two names that have disappeared from the landscape....

It prompted me to get some of the other well loved and well worn wonderful seventies paraphernalia out of the airing cupboard....

I am using the groovy circle patterned towel to mop up during my brief wet felting episodes..

and in my being creative post there will be some of the wallpaper that sat alongside these 2 floral duvet covers........

Random Pavement Jigsaws!

2011-05-24T12:53:00.000+01:00

There's a lot of road and pavement work going on around us at the moment....plenty of dust, dirt, noise, potholes, confusion and commotion!

However these (incomplete) patchwork pavement jigsaws have given us some amusement!

We are still searching for the missing piece of this one.....

How are you feeling today? Ok I hope!!

;-)

What a surprise!!

2011-05-23T17:08:00.000+01:00

I recently recieved a shiny purple package from Sarah at The Gingerbread Bunny.

I was really excited to have won her recent giveaway...and here it is:

...a beautiful hand made red journal pouch

with an amazing elephant button detail!

I found Sarah's blog through the Being Creative dessert post..

she creates handmade items, cards and partcipates in art journaling too.

I keep my ideas sketch book and my pink book underneath the settee where I sit, so I can (lazily or) handily access them at anytime - otherwise I would not get round to jotting in them.

As they are so well used they are beginning to get a bit furled round the corners when they slide between the settee and the floor...not any more though, secure in their new pouch!

Thank you to Sarah for your generous and very useful giveaway.

I have been working on May's Being Creative project on the subject of Home ...the ideas have been on paper for a couple of weeks and today I got them onto the floor!!

It includes some of this but its well hidden......!

All will be revealed later in the month!

First Felting 2.... and 2 BIG Thank yous!

2011-05-21T22:03:00.001+01:00

When I first expressed an interest in needlefelting I was really lucky to be shown how to do it by Sarah Hazell. Sarah is a really creative and multi-talented wonder with wool! Not only did she give encouragement but she gave me a bundle of fluff and short ends of yarns to play with. This gave me the opportunity to experiment and work out what else I would like to try.

...an early autumn leaf...

Sarah leads varied workshops around the country including some successful crochet sessions at Fibre and Clay, attended by Tracey, a friend of mine...small world!

Tracey is another woolly wonder...knitting and crocheting are amongst her many talents.

She often sends me squidgy parcels of her colourful, soft and woolly short ends:

I have used some on in my mug cosies, and the case for my cup cake...

I have some more ideas up my sleeve for some of those lovely colours and textures.

I would like to say one BIG thank you to Sarah for starting me off

(perhaps Tracey you could pass it on when you next see her!)

and my second BIG thank you to Tracey for keeping me going...

As Tracey has commented twice now about her interest in having a stab at needlefelting herself ....

there's a parcel of fluff in the post! x

First Felting 1 ...and one BIG Thank you!

2011-05-19T21:07:00.000+01:00

This is the first of two posts about my early forays into felting! I have been meaning to share some of my early pieces...most of which were 2d....and now seems to be a good time...as the second post will reveal!

Lots of my early creations were made by needlefelting multicoloured yarn onto felt, like the pinky flowers (Debbie Bliss SoHo yarn); snails (Sirdar Bigga); and the Christmas tree (onto sparkly felt). The top white flower was a silkier top. The bright pink and reddy blooms were free felted not backed onto commercial felt. There's a lot of silk and pinky purply throwsters waste around too.
Wensleydale curls adorn the robins!

This commercially produced mat is quite thick and was fairly tricky to felt onto, but has been well used! There's a combination of yarns, tops and silks. This is placemat sized and I did a pink table runner sized one which has been used as a wall hanging.
This mat sits on a beautiful 60s ercol coffee table which recently had 2 full steaming cups of coffee splashed over it. Much to the spiller's surprise the table was virtually unharmed as the mat had soaked up the hot liquid. After a quick cold rinse the mat was as good as new!
Its been good to look back at early pieces, to be reminded of where I started and how some of my techniques have developed.
I no longer have any of these items as they have all been given away, so I must say a HUGE Thank you to my mum who valued my my initial creations and had the foresight to photograph them (and know where to find the photo a few years later) .
........to be continued......

Bird..boxes!

2011-05-16T22:59:00.000+01:00

Two of the blackbirds have begun their journey to new homes as presents. I had been pondering how they would travel as their beaks were too prominent for padded envelopes! I had a quick scout around for commercial products to no avail...... but remembered the packaging for these amazing soaps from the little bird soap company:

They smelled absolutely fantastic...but as they were a present they only briefly perfumed our dwelling!

This is how they arrived - unwrapping in reverse order!!

This box was cleverly made from a larger one... it got me thinking and rifling through our recycling box...

What better way for a bird to travel than in (half) an egg box ?!

Having wound a protective ring of tissue paper round the beak the blackbirds were wrapped in more tissue paper, the ring keeping the outer wrapping away from the beak.

So that the top didn't get squashed I added a card topping:

....and a birthday card topping on this one:

I hope they arrive safely!...I enjoyed recycling...and will do it more often...its good to hoard (a little)!

On the subject of how things are packaged... I received a lovely letter on beautifully thick handmade paper the other day...it smelled amazing and inside was this tiny perfumed leaf:

...I'm not sure what it is, but it is still fragrancing my mail!

Brilliant idea....thanks L x

Name that Chick!

2011-05-15T21:20:00.000+01:00

I'm pleased to report that all the Easter chicks now have names and 2 are happily settled in their new homes.....

You already know Charlie the chirpy cheerful chick:

Now I'd like to re-introduce you to Chico:

...and Chickamondo!

Along with Charlie, Mo-Chikan has stayed here with us.

...so called because of his Teeswater mohawk!

Hope you have had a chirpy weekend!

Ali x

Blackbirds!

2011-05-11T16:34:00.000+01:00

Here are some of the black puddings..fully fledged!

Each one is so different, though not necessarily by design, as I don't set out to make each one dissimilar to the one before...its amazing that just by a few prods of a needle a whole unique individual is created.

There's always one that looks a bit worried.....

..a quiet one?

still worried indoors!!

Its not often you see 3 blackbirds hanging around!!

I just need to work out how they will travel to their destinations...their beaks are a bit prominent for the post!

Hope you are able to catch some beautiful birdsong while you are outside...

Black..........Pudding!

2011-05-09T21:51:00.000+01:00

I have found recently that I am always admiring colours and shapes around me, all the trees, flowers and bushes are bursting into life. The bubbling clouds here today have given a rather magnificent display of many colours, sizes and shapes!

When ordering fibre or purchasing yarn I am drawn to bright colours..I love gazing at (and fondling!) all my vibrant fluffy stuff! However when it comes down to making things, apart from spring flowers and a few other things, bright colours don't always fit the bill. I have been struck by the natural tones and hues around me and browsing blogs with creations inspired by nature, like this post from The Fuzzy Feeling.

So when purchasing some needles from Saras Texture Crafts I threw in a mixed fibre bag of natural colours. I was thrown into a quandry with the lagre squodge of black fibre, but when I felt the coarseness and curlyness I knew I had to have a stab!

The weather has been so warm and our windows have been thrown open daily so there's always the sound of birdsong around and about - I love catching the tune of a good chirpy melody! We have robins and blue tits nesting and there's a local blackbird or 2 that can all be heard above the magpies and pigeons.

So I grabbed a handful of my black fluff and made these!

which were immediately named as black puddings by other family members!

I often work in stages so this is the first one and hopefully in a few days they will be fully fledged!

In the meantime I will leave you with a robin from about 18 months ago with his wensleydale curly red breast....(although I think I may have developed some of my techniques since then!)

Under felt!

2011-05-06T22:08:00.000+01:00

Last years chick...based on a very early RW Jnr design

The last few weeks have been busy,

school holidays, birthdays, bank holidays, RW Jnr poorly days, Easter.....

.... so we have been completely out of our routine...which has been great...lie ins, family days out, in, watching dvds, reading, gardening....

The flowers everywhere are in amazing bloom - there seems to be so much more colour, volume and green growth this year...its fantastic!

I have missed my wonderful and completely necessary relaxing coffee breaks with my friend,

and there's been something else missing.......

....the time, space and energy to make things!

I was going to say create...but my mind has been whizzing with ideas some of which have made it onto paper in my sketchbook, so I have been creative and have completed a couple of projects that I am really pleased with.

I have been able to browse and comment on lots of lovely fellow bloggers posts...but have not made much to put on my own.

I would like to show you something though....

This is fantastic stuff!

Jamie Lewis stuffs his amazing animals with some of his felt waste but mentioned that off cuts from wool mattresses could be used to stuff my felted balls. I spent a while searching the net and eventually came across this......

I have cut it and used it to stuff my chicks......

....and it is amazing to felt onto, both the cupcake and nordic knitwear design had this as a base.

I flatten the fluff a little with my clover felting tool then put a thin base colour on top and needle felt away with my single needles. It offers much less resistance than 'felt squares' and until I produce my own wet felted sheets or pre-felt its great to use.

So thats what's going on underneath my needle felt....

and whats going on underneath my creative streak? Well, what I have learned over the last few weeks is that I really have missed my making time, I have had a period of under felt production...which I am hoping will be short lived, and normal service will be resumed as soon as possible!

Watch this space!

Being Creative

2011-04-30T17:53:00.000+01:00

I recently came across Julia Crossland's colourfully creative blog and her positive posts, I love the fact that when reading her blog I have to slow down and think - it sends my mind pinging off in lots of different directions.

The being creative concept completely captivated me and I have really enjoyed mulling over the months theme and producing my contribution.. (initially I mis-read the theme and started thoughts on desert landscapes!!)

I had a rough drawing in my sketch book which had never made it to the wool and needlefelt stage, although was based on a card I make quite often... and I thought it was ideal for dessert...

I really enjoyed making the topping, I took a large tuft of white merino then smaller ones of pink shetland and yellow merino, a few sprigs of angelina, and a pinch of purple,pinky throwsters waste. I made a white merino layered sandwich and kept pulling and restacking until the fibres were mixed into a high pile of fluff!

I then sort of wound some of it into a sausage and began to fix it to the base. I loved the way it then took shape, its loosely felted and all bumpy!

I have enough topping to make another.. and I certainly will..there are loads of possibilities, including adding some silk into the ingredients or some sprinkles in top!

I've really enjoyed my first month being creative and am already planning the next topic!

Thank you Julia for the inspiration and encouragement and for enabling me to give myself the opportunity to be creative just for fun!!

Ali

The Poetry of Drawing

2011-04-27T22:17:00.000+01:00

This post is going to be a bit different....and maybe one of a few, in time...

you will have to click to see the pictures.. it'll be like rounding the corner in an peaceful art gallery and discovering a new wonder....

I have very eclectic tastes in art, music, reading, tv.....but I have a passion for the Pre-Raphaelites, and am very fortunate that it can be fuelled at regular intervals as Birmingham has the largest public collection of Pre-Raphaelite art in the world.

Its great to pop into Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery when I am in town to see lots of the real thing...and they have a fantastic on-line resource to dip into anytime!

Last week we went to see The Poetry of Drawing.. a magnificent exhibition of drawings, sketchbooks, some paintings, cartoons and textiles from many of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, associates and those influenced by them.

It is so difficult to single out particular images but with all the spring flowers and nests in blogland I was immediately drawn to and moved by this intricate and delicate beauty, almost photographic......

and this feather you could almost feel tickling you!

A William Morris daisy tile design looked so freely drawn by a perfect hand and eye.

We gazed for ages at a sketchbook by William de Morgan with some fabulous doodles and designs.

This is just a fraction of the delicate beauty of the drawings and poetic subject matter...

however there were some humourous moments..

Hope you are able to explore and click around the sites to find your own hidden gems

Until my next vsit..I'll be...

Chirpy Charlie Chick!

2011-04-25T21:08:00.000+01:00

I wanted Charlie to have his own post... he has had to wait til today....I often save the best til last...so without further ado I introduce to you Charlie the chirpy cheerful chick:

He's a bit shy I'll see if we can get a bit closer....

....and closer still....

Charlie started life like the other chicks...as a wet felted ball.

I am really grateful to Jamie Lewis

for sharing his technique one freezing Friday in February at a Craftspace event, so that I could take my needlefelting onto 3d shapes.

However Charlie is extra special as he was designed, photographed, named and mostly made by Random Wooliness Junior!

One night..probably trying to delay his bedtime..he took an interest in my needlefelting and had a stab! To encourage him to get to bed I suggested he could create his own chick the next day... which he did and here he is up even closer!

I'm really proud of his first needlefelting...he had definite design ideas and had a good go...with a bit of adult supervision to finish off! When my health and safety alarm bells rang he had even worked out that the sponge was too thick for him to stab his leg if he pushed the needle right in....

My sketch book also has some of his cool ideas in too...so there may be more from Random Wooliness Junior in the future!

Happy Easter!!

2011-04-23T20:35:00.000+01:00

Remember these?

With some yellow and red Teeswater curls they have been transformed into these:

Give us a twirl!

...and shake your tail feathers!

Before hopping off to their new homes they had an trip into the garden!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Ali x

Nests!

2011-04-22T20:57:00.000+01:00

I love making little nesty bowly things! I had been itching to make one with this amazingly fluffy blended silk and merino, Falling leaves from Wheeldale Woolcrafts

.....so here it is:

...bottoms up!

and full up:

On the subject of nests.......

these won't be hanging around long.....

Peaceful Family Day

2011-04-19T22:02:00.000+01:00

After (and before) some busy but enjoyable days we have had a family day at home....we have played in the sunny garden; been gripped, thrilled and heartbroken again by Harry Potter (and the Deathly Hallows Part 1); and laughed heartily together whilst introducing our son to the delights of The Two Ronnies!

We also made this bouncy ball from a kit ...I couldn't help photographing it glistening in the sun as it dried....its a good bouncer too!!

Happy Holidays ;-)

Easter's approaching!

2011-04-18T15:25:00.000+01:00

Sorry about the delay blogging... we've been away... and I've been engulfed in a book!

Crafty things have been having a break too...

.....here's a hatched project!

These little chicks were needle felted onto some thick felt eggs spotted by my mum in a garden centre. The lovely fluffy yellow wool is Teeswater fleece....each chap or chapess is completely unique as the curls behaved differently for each one! The bottom pink one has red Teeswater legs too!

TV knitwear!

2011-04-11T10:11:00.000+01:00

As you know I like to give home made gifts to my friends and family...but the males sometimes prove a little tricky, and usually their only handmade item is a card.

I had a flash of inspiration for my husband's birthday card.....we have been completely engrossed in 'The Killing' the recently concluded subtitled Danish Detective series...it was amazing, the best programme we have watched for a considerable time!

The female detective, whilst brilliant at her job, had only two items of upper body clothing...a white-with-brown-pattern-knitted-nordic jumper... and a brown-with-white-pattern-knitted-nordic jumper.

From a small picture in the Radio Times I have tried to recreate one of the patterns seen so regularly during the 20 episodes!

It is needledelted with spun St Kilda yarn given to me by a friend who spun it! It felted so well with very few punctures needed from a coarse needle. The texture of the pattern recreates what I imagine the jumper felt like...I presume it is what kept Detective Sarah Lund awake during the long nights of the investigation!

As my husband likes neat edges I have put a border round it!!
Happy Birthday!

Eggclectic mixture!

2011-04-08T21:50:00.000+01:00

Its been a busy week trying to get some projects completed before the Easter holidays start....

These eggs look a bit large....perhaps they belong to a chocolate cuckoo!

I have finally had a chance to try some medium sized wet felted balls! Having been shown how to do it a few months ago I've been itching to have a go....its my very first go at any wet felting... and I am pleased with my quirky results:

I know what I'll be doing with them...and the bumps, cracks and wibbly bits will hopefully add to their character....

Hope the sunnny weather continues ....happy weekend folks!

Butterfly

2011-04-05T22:19:00.000+01:00

This colourful butterfly fluttered by to a special someone on her birthday.

Everytime I see the flower on my blog header I am reminded of the fab Rowan Biggy Print yarns I have in my stash...this butterfly was needlefelted with Fiesta.

Topped off with Wensledale antennae!

Daffodil Debrief and Details!

2011-04-04T18:55:00.000+01:00

There seems to have been a lot of Randomness and not much Wooliness over recent posts... but as there's been a lot of woolly activity going on here hopefully the next few posts will redress the balance! So without further ado....

OOh I am so excited that the idea I had (right at the bottom of the post!) came out better than I expected! I have always wanted to needlefelt a daffodil but a flat 2D one was never an option!

Then I realised I could adapt a bowl as the trumpet!
I initially needlefelted channels into the inside of the bowl as it formed and then the outside and over the top. The bowl is 3cm diameter and Nasturtium shetland from Wheeldale Woolcrafts


google has twisted my photo.....looks like a fish pond!!

The petals of yellow merino were made with tails so that they could be needlefelted together.

Then came the seredipitous bit......when I placed the trumpet onto the petals there was a surplus ring of petal base wool before the petals began....but as I stabbed away to attatch the bowl to the petals the whole flower began taking a 3d shape and the surplus disappeared!

I patched over the holes left by the coarser needles on the back of the flower and finished off with a yellow Teeswater stamen.

Happy Mum!

2011-04-03T21:42:00.000+01:00

I have had a fantastic Mothering Sunday, Mum really liked her flowery gift and card and my son has been super creative!

He chose these beautiful blooms with his dad yesterday.

We have always made cards at home for each other and he made another fab comic one with his own illustrations. It is lovely to see his humour and drawing skills developing year by year.

He has spent some time this week at 2 friends houses and made something at each!

This is the most amazing chocolate cake, complete with chocolate hearts, sprinkles and edible flowers...it smells delicious and tastes fabulous! Huge Thanks to his friend who helped to make it and her wonderful mum who put it in and out of the oven!!

This beautiful glass heart has been shining brightly in the window all day (even though we have had big grey cloudy moments!) and has cast purpley shadows across the lounge. Massive Thanks to his friend and his super creative family for giving our chap his first opportunity at glass making, he really enjoyed it.

I am really proud of our son and his great friends (and very helpful and generous mums!)

Happy Mothering Sunday Mum!

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This crocus was always destined to be a Mothering Sunday card!

I am proud to have a creative mum,

from whom I have learned many creative things, and receive much encouragement

Thanks Mum!

For my mum: a needlefelted Daffodil....(debrief and details in another post!!)

Blooming beautiful!

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There have been lots of special occasions for present creating giving and receiving recently...

My friend gave me these beautiful blooms as an early Easter present...they are so colourful and smell fabulous. Every day they look different...and the colours look much more vibrant than I can capture on camera.

I gave the same friend this little collection for her birthday...I have been brave enough to use some of the photos of my creations on cards.

The flowers have been appearing as pressies for a while.... I am saving them for another post!

The wool on the mug cozy might be familiar to a certain blog reader!

I am pleased to say that an idea I have had has worked.........shhhh.......Mothering Sunday surprise!!