wet felting beads

Today was the day for wet felting some beads.
1st you have to chose a willing assistant.

Beads have been previously needlefelted.

Warm soapy water, towel, fish dish with some extra dishsoap and a tray to catch all the drips.

With such little balls, I just use warms soapy water in the bowl. The kids can put their hands in it without it being too hot. And I add the soap in the water.

Let them dip and roll.(I love the little bit of chub she has in her hands, even though she has spouted up and lost it elsewhere)

I also made some large balls with the intent for them to be dryer balls. Just let me say that I'm not pleased with the wool dryer ball. They don't take the static away. And here, in the winter, there is a lot of static. It's very dry. even just this past week was dry. I got shocked taking the clothes out of the dryer, shaking the clothes from the dryer to get rid of the static and shocked folding the clothes. Too much electricity for me. think I'll go back to my fabric sheets until it's a little more humid.

So I did a little needle felting to see how it would felt in the washer.

Not bad. Guess what the one on the far left is going to be?!


Oh, and I have very itchy, sore palms from the little ones. But worth it. Wait till you see what I'm going to make!


Cheers,
Amanda

eensy spider block

The eensy weensy spider

went up the water spout.

Down came the rain

and washed the spider out.

Out came the sun

and dried up all the rain.

Then the eensy weensy spider went up the spout again.


good night.
Amanda

wool roving birds

A fanciful, bright vision for a cold, spring day.


Last summer, I made some of these butterflies
here

That were inspired by the roving birds here

Last night, I made a batch of birds from the tutorial.


Just what the weather ordered.

Then I put them on a stick. They fly for real when the wind blows.

I like these things on a string. They are just right for little kids who want a kite, but can't handle all the string. Magical.

Give it a try.

ciao,
Amanda

WIP Sunday

Today was a nice Sunday. at home. well, in the afternoon. But it seemed timeless. Do you have days like that? everyone is together, but doing their own thing, weaving in and out of each other's activities? Oh and do you have a husband that makes bread for you on demand?! :} Smells good. Thanks babe. Tip though, don't use bread machine yeast to make oven bread. it takes too long to rise. A little dense, but it still smells and tastes good.
hmm, where was I?
I sat and made a few needle felted balls today to be wet felted in the washer. I had a few in some pantyhose and was interrupted by a surprise visit from a good friend. *see note below*. Now I can't find said pantyhose and don't have anymore. Project on hold!

I noticed the quilt in this photo. I haven't shown you before. It deserves a post all it's own. The nanny I had when I was 2-3 years old made this for me when I got married. It's hand stitching is amazing. And she made quilts for my children when they were born also. Hand stitching to swoon for. But another post eh?

My friend Michele stitched up and even teenier baby for the baby.

See how small it is? And squeezable.

Opps, look who jumped in the basket!

*this is the note below*
My friend Jenny from Jennifer Blaauw Photography came for a short visit. Which meant that she and my camera were in the same room at the same time!!!!! So she showed me some camera tricks. Not really tricks. Just how I could use the dang thang. So hopefully, I will have some clear photos until I can get outside to take them. Did I mention we were dumped with snow last week? Snow? how odd it is a night to have bright sunny skies and snow at 7:30 pm. Kiddie bed time keeps getting later and later.
Thanks Friend! so nice to see you.

Cheers,
Amanda

wool dryer balls

I finally made some dryer balls. It was so easy!

And smooth. Usually, I needlefelt balls. This time, I took almost my 2 arms length of roving, rolled with with a bit of needle felting to help shape it and them put them in the pantyhose with a tie between each one. Do not use wool to tie it, or the wool will felt. I had some elastic on hand and used that.

I set the machine to a Hot/Cold cycle and let it do all the work. How nice is that?

I was amazed at how smooth they were. No little bits of wool sticking out anywhere. Not fuzzy, just smooth. The grey ones are my favorite. They remind me of worn beach rocks. Sadly, they were given away. The other balls are a gift also. Maybe I'll make some for me to try.

Why don't you?
Cheers,
Amanda

more cell cozies

In the bags of sweater scraps origins here were a lot of sleeves and turtle necks.
I couldn't help but make more cell phone cozies.

It was fun to choose colours of wool blend felt for the diamonds.

And the hearts were bought from Deserres.

My first batch of cozies can be seen here

Dryer balls will come tomorrow. I just felt like having a bit of colour for today. We got dumped with between 5 and 10 cm of snow yesterday. Blizzard, can't see the end of the street kind of snow. Today is very bright and the sound of trickling, melting waters everywhere was encouraging.

Ciao,
Amanda

tea pot trivet

Continuing on the tea theme... (really, how many posts do you want to read about tea? this is number 3 this week)
A trivet had to be made to match the tea pot cozy from a few days ago. (yes, the wool keeps the pot warm without having to make a lining. yeah)

Not quite what I had in mind. But it will do. I do know though, that when it is washed, it will fall apart. shhhh, I haven't told the recipient that yet! It's for the parenting centre where we frequent. Luckily, I can make a new one or fix it up. I should have sewn the seams twice with the zigzag to make sure the ends were solidly attached. This time, I used a mylar batting thing they make for oven mitts and such in the middle.

Oh, and I took the twill off the top and replaced it with a felted cube and little bead on top. Both bought at Deserres.

So, ready for some crappy phone photos tomorrow of my newly made dryer balls?
Cheers,
Amanda

tea pot cosy

When I got the confirmation that this was available to me,

I had visions of this tea pot cosy. It's the back.

Here's the front. It's not quite as I imagined it. I'll do that one another time. Instead, this creation came about.

Hoping it will fit the pot I made it for. I think it's a little bigger than mine. I cut out the shape of the cosy on an old dress, then sewed the sweater ribbing directly on the fabric. I didn't line it. I figured the wool on it's own would keep the pot warm. I'll let you know.

cheers,
Amanda

Friday finds

As Thrifty Thursday usually happens on Friday, I'll change the title. Hence Friday Finds.
I bought this beauty about a month ago. So excited.

How many times did I try to bring a cuppa tea and a snack upstairs and balance it all with a project I had downstairs? Fight no longer. From what I can tell, it's handmade. The coaster is stuck to the tray. nice. I did break it a few days ago, but I have a husband who is a fixer. Double nice.

I also decided that I want to trade my boring Canadian Tire mugs (store in Canada) to pottery mugs. The wee one is for the Missy Moo. The others are not hand made, but I like 'em. Especially the one with the tea in it. Yes, my tea is usually that weak when I have orange pekoe. I like to bless the cup with the tea bag rather than have it steeping for hours.


While I'm on the tea mug thing, here's another score from a shop. Brand new in box..
JoeMo travel tea mug What's so special about it? Many things. It's a thermos, so I load it up, put the cover on and throw it in my bag. No more saving a hand to carry it. It stays hot. It's a bit of a con..it doesn't cool down. I'm used to preparing super hot tea and letting it cool down on the way to school. Then I enjoy it. With this mug, it doesn't cool down, so I have to wait longer. No biggie, just an adjustment. The drinking lid is a push down button so that you can drink it from any part, not just a hole in the edge. And the best part of all......it has a tea leaf basket! Since I buy flavoured tea as loose leaf tea, I can put the leaves in the basket, pour the water in, put the cover on and let it brew. Then dump the leaves when it is steeped. Bonus. I have to say.. it is THE best travel mug I have ever had. check it out.
Hmm, think I'll put the kettle on. Wanna cuppa?

cheers,
Amanda

sweater bonanza

Day 4 of March Break and all is well. We've been busy, so we're taking a lazy morning before heading out.
Yesterday, we headed here...

I mean here.

To pick up 3 bags of this...!!!!!

For free!! It's from a local designer here Thanks Jenn!
And when you do a load of this laundry, you get this...

An explosion of dryer lint! :}
Many ideas in my head for the sweater ribbing and scraps. Now to get some time to actually make them.
We're having a field trip to the optometrist! oooh. Neve asked, "when I have my eye infection, will it be in upper case?"
After a few careful questions, I realized that she was asking if the reading chart was going to be in upper case letters at her eye appointment. Then Rafael asked my uncle how they make the letters blurry. Maybe the blurry uppercase letters have an infection? From the mouth of babes, from the mouth of babes. (shaking my head and laughing)

Have a good one.
Amanda