And the Bowls Keep on Coming!

Before the felting!

Have you ever had so much fun doing something that everything else just fell by the wayside?  Well, knitting has done that for me!  I just want to knit.  I now have so much understanding about my mother and my daughter, both of which were and are avid knitters.

I reduced the yarn down to one ball and pulled from the inside and outside, reduced the number of stitches and rows to half the number of the full size bowl and off I went.  I've now made four of them and I might add they all felted to a different size.  This neutral colored bowl is the first one I did and I loved the size and shape.





I knitted three more in various colors and felted them all at the same time.  I placed each one in a pillowcase, placed them in the washer with hot water, soap and some towels and agitated them for exactly the same amount of time and once they were rinsed and spun dry - I had these three bowls!  Go figure three very different sizes and all of them different than the first one.












It's a mystery!  It could be that all of the wools were a little different, but I used the same brand of yarn, same size balls, knitted the same and felted the same!  All of them are cute as buttons!

I don't think these particular "bowls" even needed to be set, although I did use some cans, as they seemed to be complete when they came out of the washer.  I had them standing straight as in this picture, but rolled the top down and think it makes then look completely different and very cute.  They can be used either way.

This is such a simple pattern and so much fun.  I love that I will always be surprised by the end product.

Alpacas in our future? Hope so!

White one on right!

Yesterday was a fun and exciting day!  Bill and I visited an alpaca ranch to look for a possible addition to our family!  Actually it will be two, they don't ever come in singles as they are herding animals.  We looked at about 65, not all for sale, but have decided on males.  We (I) really don't want to get in the baby business, I just want pets and fiber, so males would be best for us.

 We have pretty much settled on a young white one, great fiber and very good conformation and deciding between a solid brown one and one with some white on his face.  I want at least one white one because the wool can be dyed and I want that versatility.  They all were adorable.  It's been very hot here in Texas so the cold air today had them very frisky and it was fun to watch them run around and play.

When we said our good byes, we headed to a wool shop in Navasota - WC Mercantile - and what a surprise!  It was full of beautiful wools and in nearly every color of the rainbow, no way more than the rainbow!  Of course, I had to buy a few things to bring home.  Not for sure what they will turn into, but right now they're just beautiful to look at and their time will come.

Fibers in back and felted fabric in front.

I was so excited about wool that I came home and pulled out some product I bought at Festival in November and sat down at the felting machine.  A friend had given me some really nice black wool scraps she had used for a dress and I had wet felted it (washed and dried it in the dryer) and so I used it as a base and this is the result. Now do I use it for a small purse or a pin.  The colors make me think of watermelon even in this cold weather, but they're also really nice winter colors.  Once I decide and get it cut I can then begin embellishing with some hand stitching, some beads and more.  So much fun.  I'm so thankful for all of the artists, Liz, Ruth, Judy, Sally, the list goes on forever, that have come into my life the last few years teaching me to do so many different things.  Felting, stitching, beading - oh, what fun on a cold winter's eve.

Be back with more soon!

Play Day

What a wonderful Saturday spent mostly in my craft room. I began the day working on a jigsaw puzzle, OK, so that's not really creative, but it was relaxing. And then I headed up to my craft room, I mean studio (sounds so much more grown up) and began to play.

I already posted my first project, a small watercolor in my art journal. My next was another small watercolor, this time for a card front.

I practiced free motion sewing and quickly learned that I need lots of practice if I'm ever going to complete a small quilt project.  I want to make some wall hangings, but believe me it may be next Christmas before I've mastered this and can actually do something I would be willing to show!

And then I decided to make another felt iPad cover. I made one several months ago after my iPad slipped out of my arms and shattered! Real bummer by the way! :-(





This is the beginning, some solid felt and beautiful wool roving and my fabulous needle felting machine. The next picture is of roving and embellishments to add to cover



And now the final pictures and I'm pleased.


Love the butterfly and all of the sparkle.  Unfortunately the sparkle doesn't really show up well in the pictures, but there's lot of it!  I especially like the three crystals for the butterfly body.  These are so much fun to make and easy too!



I can't remember when I've had an entire day that I could spend playing with my crafty stuff.  It was so nice to just do and not feel like I was rushed.  We all need those days and I'm so thankful Saturday was mine.

Here's hoping this inspires you to take a day and enjoy creating!



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