Finished Wet Felted Handbag

     I had some doubts about this design, but it actually worked better than I expected. The lobster is rather cute, if I do say so myself, even though it's pretty much anatomically correct. There is even a difference between the pincher and the crusher claws. I really had to do quite a bit of hand rubbing through the mesh in order to secure all the parts of the prefelt design, but eventually it stuck enough that I felt it would stay in place while rolling it. I'm pleased with the result but I doubt I'll make another unless it's a commission. It's just too fiddly and I still had to do some needle felting of finer details at the end. 


     I did a good job felting this one. The felt is very firm and tough. One thing about these bags is that they are durable. I also noticed that water will pool on the surface of a dried bag. That's just cool. 

     This is probably the last of the new stuff before the big Canada Day Boardwalk Artists event. I mailed my entry fee in the other day and hope to get confirmation this week. My plans for this coming week include a large round felt to cover the top of my ratty old ottoman. I'd love to just chuck it in the garbage, but my husband brought it home from Cyprus and it's so comfortable to sit on that I suppose I can't get rid of it. It needs to be covered though, so that will be this week's project. I saw a picture taken by Andrea Graham of the work of one of her students that inspires me to try to replicate a very stormy sky, so that will be the theme of the felt. I will also give me a chance to use some of the new curly locks I bought. The kind people at Gaspereau Valley Fibers gave me a free package of white locks because they didn't feel the quality was up to par. They're wonderful to do business with and I can get the Louet fiber through them, quickly and at a better price than ordering directly from Louet, thanks to the drop shipping feature. I think the yellowed tips will look great in a moody sky scene. Wish me luck, because I really have no idea how to put them on the felt ..  this is going to be an experiment as well. I think my felting needles will be coming into play again very soon. 

Catching Up

     It's been quite awhile since I wrote anything in here, so today I'm going to try to catch up on some computer stuff. Last weekend I had a friend staying with me, which was an amazingly good time. We ate too much and drank too much but caught up on lots of news and gossip, and made some new plans. It was lovely weather all weekend. Another lady came to visit on Sunday and stayed for supper. She brought her boxer dog to play with Daisy, who was thrilled. She wagged her tail so hard she split the end of it open on something and my house looked like a crime scene since she kept wagging it. I'm still cleaning up little dried blood spots off the door frames. As soon as the weekend was over, the weather changed and I felt awful for about three days ... extreme fatigue and sore joints again. I'm just coming out of that now and only my lower back is bothering me. I did manage to get a small bag made. It's very small but would make a nice little girl's purse. The project was more about blending the two colors evenly, which I think I managed to do. The colors of dark blue and wine blended well and I was happy with the way that turned out. The yarn I used for decoration is a blend of acrylic, wool and mohair. I just love the way it looks and will surely be using a lot more of it in future projects. 

This little pouch looks just like an orange. The inside is red and the outside is yellow, but the blend worked out orange and the pebbled surface resembles orange peel. It's deadly cute! There is yellow Angelina fiber in it too. I have no idea what to use it for, but it's so pretty I will surely find something to put in it. My plans for today involve laying out another small bag ... until my back is feeling better I simply can't handle rolling a large project. This one will have a flap on front and rope strap so that's actually two projects in one as I do the rope separately. There will surely be some Angelina and yarn in it, but I haven't worked out the final design yet. Once it's wet down, I'll make those decisions ... something simple though. I've had some fabulous advice from Andrea Graham, who I consider to be my best resource at the moment as I'm in love with all her work, but especially her bags. I follow a lot of other felt blogs from around the world as well, so there is always some new art to admire and sources of inspiration.