...like a diamond in the rough

This is my newest felted piece, Diamond in the Rough. I made it for the North Mountain Art League's exhibit that has just opened at the Northumberland County Cultural Center in Shamokin PA. The reception for the show is Friday eve April 8 2011.

My wall hanging is approx 18"x24" of wet felted wool. The beaded felt flower and leaves are 3D so they stand out from the background. I stitched the natural dyed jute rope in place and added texture by stitching with cotton and wool yarns in between the felt "rocks". It doesn't often happen, but the result was what I has hoping for!

Spring is here?

I took these photos in the Shady Grove section of my yard early yesterday morning. It was around five inches of the wettest, heaviest snow that you can imagine.

I am so anxious to get started on the garden but no such luck yet. March snows don't usually last long but this morning it is still flurrying.

Yes, I have been gone for a very long time. I couldn't figure out how to deal with posting "bad" news. Things like losing two of my uncles, losing my mommy alpaca, the barn roof getting destroyed in a wind storm... Not every day on the farmette turns out the way I pictured it. So I decided to bite the bullet as they say and dump it all at once. Then on with the new season, new shows, new products and I am even sporting a new haircut!

Compost Dyed Quilt Fabrics

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Here are some of the cloths on the line at dusk. I used alot of millet, dahlia and goldenrod in the compost dye mix and am really happy with how they turned out. For me the most dificult part is the PATIENCE it takes to wait for the magic to happen. Fortunately it has been so hot that the process is going as fast as it ever will.
The small pic to the right is a closeup of one of the cloths. It looks like marble. It is going to be difficult to part with some of these but that IS the idea afterall. This coming weekend is my first time ever vending at a quilt show. I hope the attendees enjoy these fabrics as much as I do! The show is the 37th annual Sully Quilt and Fiber Arts Show and Sale on Sunday Sept 12th at the Sully Historic Site in Chantilly VA. To make for an interesting weekend I'll be doing a craft show in East Berlin PA on Saturday. I managed to talk my friend Kipp into doing the same thing. After this schedule it may be 'former friend' Kipp!

First Felt Kitty

I certainly have a house full of models to look at! I introduced a handful of felted wool cats at ArtSpace Gallery in Bloomsburg last week and they all found homes rather quickly. Yesterday was the Lewisburg Arts Festival and some more were adopted. It is a good feeling when a new product is readily accepted. As always, I wish I could work faster!

Felt Stargazer

Finally got a chance to finish my felted flower. This is my largest wool felt creation to date. The main portion was done with wet felting and the finishing work was needle felted.This homage to a Stargazer lily is 24" across and the center is about 17" high. I have been sort of obsessed with lilies ever since I went to the Philadelphia Flower Show last year. There were some magnificent displays and I am looking forward to going there next week, after I get back from Boston. Yes, I am heading north to Bean Town in FEB for my first big craft show of the new year. I've never done shows in that area, know nothing about Boston, so it should be an adventure!
Gotta start packing now.

Small Felt Flowers

These natural dyed felt flowers are about 5" high and 10" across. They are perfect for a votive candle or candies. I have been making them in the wool colours I just dyed, yellow, red, pink and I just made a blue one! I am planning to introduce them at the New England Home Show (booth # 364) in Boston this month. The show is held in the Seaport World Trade Center Feb 25th-28th.

Felt Flower Begins

I weighed the fiber for each petal and cut a mat board stencil for the shape. I layered the wool inside the petal cutout and lightly tacked it with a felting needle to hold the shape. This large pile of wool was moved to bubble wrap, covered with a net curtain and wetted out with warm soapy water. I should have known better, well I DID know better but chose to be foolishly optomistic. The wool that I dyed lovely shades of pink and the natural white are two very diferent types of wool. I did manage to get them both to felt, however they really didn't felt to each other all that well. The colour migrated quite a bit...I have quite a bit of finishing work to do...my own fault. Will I learn????