Violet Poppy Purse and Trick or Treat

I love working with wool and fortunately I have a plethora of it! I carry this type of purse most all of the time. It slings nicely around the body so you have hands free shopping. It is just big enough to carry the essentials so you don't collect too much junk (always a challenge for me). I thought it would be fun to combine these lovely pastel colors. The print was from a nice cheery tablecloth that my Mom gave me recently.

The posy was created from old felted sweaters. And of course, my signature tags which is always the fun part to make. They are never the same and I love them as a finishing touch! This purse will go in the gallery but I may make another to put in my etsy shop.

This is my newest Halloween card creation. They are fun to make and fun to sell.

New Halloween Cards

I've been crafting some cute Halloween cards from some of my vintage images, hand-dyed fabric and gorgeous blank Crane stationary. I have a stash of beautiful, high quality Crane paper that I have been fortunate to use over the years for my paper crafting. The quality of this paper cannot be matched and most of the envelopes are lined as well.

If you like these, they are in my shop... check it out! More to come later.

Harvest Folk Angel

I had an idea that I wanted to use some of my wool to make an angel and I had this pattern lying around that I had bought ages ago from Sweet Meadow Farm so I decided to use it as a basis for this "Harvest Angel". I do like the way she is flying through the air but there is something not authentic about it because she doesn't look or feel like most of my other work. It's more work to create your own patterns and sometimes I am just lazy and try one that is already worked out but the finished product never feels right to me... even though others usually appreciate the work. There is a lesson in that....

Here is that lovely orange wool that I dyed the other day. I do love working with wool especially when the weather gets colder. My studio has a faint smell of mothballs and I know it's not good for you but I kind of like that too!

Hues of Autumn

I've been busy dying some fabric in this lovely sunshine orange... can you tell what holiday is just around the corner? The old white woolen blanket is almost used up and it surely looks beautiful dyed this orange color. I have used that blanket for so many projects. I will have to be on the look-out for another.

These pieces will be used for an upcoming project or projects depending on my ability to stay on task!

Something New

I've been busy working on home improvement projects (actually the same hallway that I've been working on for months) so I haven't spent much time in the studio. I recently got this book and it was kind of a disappointment but I did like this project which was featured on the cover and the reason I got the book in the first place. These felted flowers were fun to do and a tiny bit of stiffener makes them hold their shape. I can see lots of possibilities with these so I will definitely be making more to attach to other types of projects.

The book calls for the necklace to be made from twisted ribbon yarn but I couldn't find any that I liked so I crocheted a chain with this Suede chenille and wove a strand of glass seed bead through. My talented daughter helped me crimp the ends and attach to the toggle clasp. I know very little about beading techniques but she is a whiz!

An Unlikely Alliance

It feels like Autumn is right around the bend now with the end of summer looming so it's a good time to work with all my wool. I have bags and bags of the stuff. Here is a cute little pair I've worked on recently. I started with the owl but felt he needed a buddy... an unlikely one so I created the little mouse. I gave her a little flower because she likes to look pretty.

His feet are from a felted wool sweater that I made for my son when he was four. The wings are cut and layered from wool and tattered denim. I like his little fringed hair cut. The beak is stitched from an old cotton print.

Here is the little mouse with her silk lined ears. The flowers were made from vintage fabric that was stiffened with fabric stiffener and cut out with a paper punch. These make great embellishments for lots of things.

This tag was created with an image I found in an old Life magazine. I love making the tags for my creations and finding just the right image from all my old paper.

On another note... here is my studio of late. It's totally out of control! My little cast iron hand reaching out of the rubble looks like a desperate cry for help.

Time to clean before the next project since I spend most of my time looking for things.