317/366: Sunny

If these past two weeks are any indication of how procrastination works with me, I'll be in good shape for the Open Studios Show in less than three weeks.

This bag marks number 15 in the purse category. I still have three more bag foundation parts made from the knitting machine.

Tomorrow, it's sewing time. All those vintage fabrics I've picked up in the last two years are finally going to see the sewing machine. In the evenings, I'll still have time to put the finishing touches on the purses.

Until next time...happy yarning!

307/366: Smell of Wet Wool

I'm certain I've spoke about my love for the smell of wet wool.  Specifically hot, wet wool.

My brother loves the smell of gasoline...perhaps wet wool is an acquired sense...I certainly don't care for the smell of gasoline or stargazer lilies or skunks.

This new purse will be dried, trimmed and embellished and available at the Artists in Buffalo's Holiday Open Studios on December 1st and 2nd at the Red Cross Building on Delaware Avenue.  Here is the website with the downloadable pdf file with map and locations and the artists at each one.  I'm alphabetical with WashMyCloth.  Hope you can stop by and say hi!

I'm looking forward to a fun weekend, surrounded by artists and customers of the arts.

Have a great weekend!

77/366: Micro March

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Do SomeTHING: Day 25

As I said, my boys like stuff.

Homemade stuff.  I can't blame them, though.

I've been busy making needle felted fish.  Four for the boys, and one you saw yesterday.  They really are pretty cute.

Spending the evening with my husband of 12 years tonight.  Looking forward to a nice anniversary dinner.

 Do SomeTHING is a month long of creativity, project finishing, exploration, and imagination.  What was your THING for today?  Leave your link in the comments for us all to see.

How to Wash an Octopus

Forty-seven.

I've made forty-seven wool felted purses.  That's almost one for every state!

But with every bag, I learn something new.  A different, better way to accomplish the felting process.  I machine felt the majority of the bag, but there are always some parts that didn't fully felt.  This is usually were I burn the heck out of my hands.

The evil eye...

Wool felts with really hot water and detergent.  Laundry or dish soap is fine, but I'm finding that the dish soap works the best.  I happened to have some rubber gloves in the garage from Sam's birthday tie dye party.  I put them on to protect my hands from the hot water.  But what I discovered, is that the tiny bumps on the gloves were the best felting tool yet.

And it only took me 47 purses to figure it out.

(Special thanks to Tom for taking these amazing photos)

Serious Boucle

Sometimes you win.

Sometimes you loose.
.

My mom gave me this yarn a while back and it just sat in my drawer until last weekend. Every inch is a big puff ballI decided to give it a try. And I knew it would be hard, the wool content was only 73% with the rest being acrylic. I mixed it with a Blue English wool.

.

I believe that it was the English wool that makes this so frizzy. It was the same type yarn I used on the orange purse and thought that was frizzy too. Two plus two makes frizzy.

.

Although I like this better not felted, it feels right to be felted. It has a good 'hand' and is a great little pouch size.

.

Side Note: While I was backing out of my mother-in-laws driveway with both boys in the car, O asked, "Mom, can you drive nuts?"

.

Perhaps they really do hear everything I say.

Orangey Potluck: Felted

5 times.

.

It never takes five times in the washer to felt.

.

Apparently, the "wool" wasn't all wool.

.

So much for a great find.

.

I am very glad I added a strand of the rose English Wool to pull it together. If you are interested in felting, look for 100% wool, at least to start with. I have heard that it must be 80% wool to felt, but the nubby joy I have on my hook right now is 73% wool, with an added strand of blue English Wool.

.

The colors blended beautifully together, but I think a little something on the front to jazz it up would make it great.

.

Off to Chicago this weekend, hoping to share a cup of coffee to my pal at Big Grey Birds . Check out her beautifully written blog. It's vulnerability and honesty is quickly taking it to the top of my daily read list.

.

Check her out, you won't be disappointed.

Zip e dee do DUH

Zippers.

I read once on a TripTik from AAA that zippers were invented* n Meadville, PA. Not sure if that is true or if my memory has collapsed on me, but zippers make me happy and frustrated.

It is a fabulous concept. I rarely buy a purse without a zipper. Why, then, would I sell at purse without a zipper?

Easy.

I hate putting them in. I haven't figured out how to cleanly add a zipper that doesn't look like a 4th grader put it in. Since I am adding it to a felted purse, my fabric is very thick and doesn't lend itself well to my sewing machine.

I am going to hand sew.

and I am afraid.

* update, not invented, but thecurrent home of the zipper, or the Universal Fastener Company. Thanks memory, you were pretty close for knowledge stored in my brain for over 15 years.