I'm undertaking a new embroidery project. I love the look of sahiko patterns so I recreated a design I liked. I did a 14x14 inch pattern in illustrator and printed it out so I can embroider it on one of the pieces of felt I've made. I'm using the ashland bay khaki color merino piece I felted with crewel embroidery thread color 984. I imagine this will be a meditative process, ahhh can't wait to sit down and chill. If you find this posting because you were searching for a free sashiko pattern and you like this one, email me and I'll send you the vector file. < I'm big at bunny design dot com >

On another satisfying note, I also ordered myself a bigger piece of pool cover and a better roller. The last of the cheap rollers I picked up at Daiso broke last night — the ol' you get what you pay for story. The pool cover piece I have was a hand me down and it's too small and doesn't have squared or straight edges.

Technorati Tags: crewel, embroidery, felt, felting, sashiko

I'm having some fun being crafty — my happy time! I hand felted some thick black merino and cut it down to size so that Mr. C's galaxy tablet will fit inside. I printed the Avantgarde logo onto some interfacing (you can see the white bits which I still need to cover or pull out) and I am embroidering it with crewel wool. It's fun and easy. I'm looking forward to pulling out the sewing machine and seaming this up. I'll post more progress soon.

Technorati Tags: embroidery, felt

I bought some variated color roving called daffodil a while back and felted it. I wasn't too pleased with the final color striations which was a bummer, though the merino felt is soft and lovely as usual. It looks too hippie funky for my tastes. To make the best of it I decided to use the piece to experiment with various stitches to see how the combinations look together. I went with a circle motif. I'm not quite done, but I'm finding it fun to basically doodle with embroidery.

Here's a close up of the buttonhole wheels and couching stitches.

And this is a picture of the backside of the work. I like it too!

Technorati Tags: crewel, embroidery, felt

yellow felt — scattered seeds design
Stitches are mostly satin stitch with a few french knots.
crewel colors used:
canary yellow 553
peachy 708
brown 184
warm soft grey 181
creamy white 992
I bought these appleton crewel embroidery threads from wool and hoop.

Technorati Tags: crewel, embroidery, felt, textile

This is dry celery fiber over an undyed white. At this stage it reminds me of a Rothko whose work I admire deeply. I really enjoy this first stage of slowly pulling the fibers an laying them criss cross each other. It's slow going and very relaxing.

Here is the same fiber now wetted with warm soapy water. At this stage I roll it over bubble wrap and with bumpy tools to agitate the fibers so they will felt. This stage of rolling and rubbing takes a longer time. I start out softly to make sure the layout stays intact and so that the edges don't roll onto each other. After a while I can really get into rolling quickly and with a lot of pressure. I do a pinch test to make sure the fiber is ready to go on to the fulling stage. I stopped taking pictures at this point. I'll follow through with more another time.

Here's a picture of the felted drab khaki which I mentioned in the previous posting.

Technorati Tags: felt, felting, roving

Doesn't the roving look like paint brush strokes before it's felted. It's really fun to pull the roving apart and gently lay down the layers. I find it very meditative. I just got a new batch of neutrals on Etsy from Eweniquely Ewe Fibers. They are all Ashland Bay merinos in celery, drab khaki, olive green and daffodil colors. The roving above is the khaki. It felted beautifully. I'll share a photo once I am back in the studio as I left it drying there. I've determined I need to start blogging about my felting process and pieces so I can keep track of source data and other bits of information I often over look. I am also keeping track of measurements and such so I can learn to be more predictable and consistent.

These are some of the recent felt pieces I've made. I plan to stitch them up after I find time to draw and paint some of the ideas floating through my mind — such meanderings I tell you! I need the luxury of consecutive uninterrupted hours in order to focus. It's very difficult to get that kind of time when you work and have children. I'd love a make art vacation!

These are the beginner pieces I am working on now. It's been fun to experiment and try different stitches and see what works for me. I need to come back to this posting and add the embroidery colors so I can keep track of what I'm using too. It's easy to get lost in a sea of embroidery floss.

Technorati Tags: art, embroidery, etsy, fabric, felt, felting, roving, wool

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Technorati Tags: embroidery

I love this big felted wool work by Ronel Jordaan found by way of an article on the Hand/Eye blog.

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Just had me a lovely time shopping through the oh so popular and extremely over-crowded San Francisco Renegade Craft Fair. I had to talk myself into continuing while I suffered through the claustro slash agora phobia attacks!

My favorites:
Darling hand sewn pin cushions by Bough & Twig
Sweet letterpress designs by Dutch Door Press
Laser felt designs by Feisty Elle
Edgy designs, super soft and nicely shaped t-shirts by Love Nail Tree
Simply stunning phases of moon letterpress calendar by Rendij Studio
Handmade toys and gifts by Life with Tigers
Adorable watercolors by Chiaki Darski
Pretty resin artworks and jewelry by Fernworks
Lovely colors of wool roving by Sincere Sheep


Inspiring felt goods by Isla Corbett
Interesting felt wear by sol del sur
Felt gardens by Fat Juicy Leaves
Gorgeous ceramic vessels by Sara Paloma
Beautifully handmade ceramics by Rae Dunn

Sweet hair pins by Buluchu (no products online)
Lovely retro inspired (reminds me of Gyo Fujikawa) drawings by Neiko Ng

I bought two dreamy cedar soy candles by type.lites

Chic letterpress cards by Satsuma Press
Silverware jewelry by Brown Banana
Some interesting headband details by Poppyhearts
Old timey neighborhood San Francisco wear by Gangs of San Francisco
Pretty type by Mary Kate McDevitt

Technorati Tags: craft, DIY

a garden, drawing by vivienne

Needle felting takes far longer than you think it should — though I find every stab completely cathartic. I spent the night whipping up a robin ornament for Max's teacher also named Robyn.

I also completed a few sets of felt pom pom-like barrettes for Vivienne's ballet classmates, Ella, Sophie, & Talia.

Max has impressed me so much with his Christmas gift list for others. He came up with interesting ideas of things to give his favorite people and they are all tailored to their specific interests. I have high hopes he'll grow up to be to be a generous and thoughtful giver. For his friend Camryn he asked me to make her a headband like the one I made for Vivienne. According to Max, Camryn loves red and wears headbands almost every day so he's sure she'll like this design. Of course it would have been far easier for me to have picked her up something from the Five & Dime like we did for the other kids! It takes me hours to hand felt each of these pieces. I have to separately felt the red for the roses, the green for the leaves and the then felt wrap the headband. Later sew the roses, embroider the leaves, sew it all together and then needle felt any thin areas and hid sewing remnants. Hours to make I tell you! Camryn is definitely walking away with this years best gift of the bunch, if I do say so myself!

Technorati Tags: DIY, felt

Many thanks to Max's buddy Jaewon for the mustache kit. Max wore a different one for days in a row: the Dali, the Italiano, mr. banksy, the stud, & the walrus.

A couple of darling snaps from our morning spent searching for the perfect Christmas tree, success of course!