What a Hoot..y!

I spent yesterday at the Bluebird Indoor Market in Dover, and while we weren't selling we were chatting away... one lady, who makes gorgeous plush fabric doorstops was crocheting an owl from a magazine pattern and having a bit of trouble making sense of it... some just don't make sense! Anyway, it piqued my interest so this morning I decided to make my own... and try to write an easy pattern to go with... so here's the first one, wasn't too hard to plan and he looks great! The instructions are over in my PATTERNS section.

  

What do you think? Sweet or not? I'm going to do a girly version now which I'll probably get finished in the morning...

Why not gather some wool up, it doesn't take very much and you can use scraps for a funky version, pop over to the tute and have a go, promise you'll get hooked and want to do more! 

Valentine Friends Dreamcatchers

It's coming up for Valentine's Day, and I don't know about you, but I don't like the idea of perpetuating  profits and growth  ideals of large stores and card companies... I want to give something because I want to- not because I'm told I'm obliged to! Thankfully my hubby agrees, so we just do our own thing. Having said that, I also don't believe it has to be restricted to partners... if you love someone, say so!

With that in mind, and the fact I love making dreamcatchers of all sizes, I thought I'd make some special little ones with a charm for each friends favourite hobby- or animal!

Here's a pair... 

complete with a ball of wall and knitting needles, and a few gorgeous pieces of garnet and red jasper. It's kind of sent me into a making spree so I have made others in various colours, with various charms over on Etsy. They're not all there, but if you're interested in something a little different, pop me a line- I might already have a set made up!

Anyone remember the old party games?

Best be quick- It's the last day to sign up for the December Fabric Postcard swap on Stitchin Fingers, the theme this month is "Toys". I wanted to do something special so I planned to do a chess set that folded into the postcard size... but then realised that the squares would be TINY! 

So I racked my brains a bit and remembered a game we used to play at parties... great fun running around with a blindfold, and to get to stick pins in the wall, my word, such wickedness!

So this is my tiny, portable version of an game- Pin the tail on the donkey.

Here's the outside, there was  little point making it just 1 postcard size, I doubled it so you get a bit more to play with, well, my swap partner will...

And here's the cute little donkey. His tail is secured onto a piece of velcro, which sticks nicely to felt. Hours of fun, eh! Well, maybe not, but it was fun to make and I hope it inspires a few more portable games to be created. I've just heard, my swap partner is in Oz, I know there is still a memory of alot of our old traditions so maybe my partner will be familiar?

Here's a link to download andd print your own donkey... printable_pin_the_tail_on_the_donkey

Super fast bookmarks

When I was cutting up the card as the inserts for my rainbow book  I ended up with lots of thin strips left over.... never one to throw away....

There's recycling... and hoarding... I do both... much to hubby's annoyance... but I found a use for the strips...

How simple to make; punch holes, fit eyelet, cut wool then doodle on each one... I now have a supply of bookmarks for RAAKs (Random Acts of Arty Kindness/ Happy Mail)... it's a shame UK postage has just doubled! There's a few birthdays this month...

Bookmaking Adventure...

Ruth posted a new challenge over on Milliande's The Hinges group, the theme for April is Japanese stab bound books. I've had a look at some and thought it would be perfect for a reference book I want to create. Similar to my Zodiac wallhanging, I want to compile info on colours and their associations- chakras, crystals, healing, moods etc... and rather than keep looking in many books I want it all easy to hand, specific to me.

It's taken 2 days so far, but the book is finished... now I just have to compile the info I want, do some texts and sketches and she's a done deal!

I shall put a tutorial over in the how-to's books  section- I've just edited the pics...

 

The cover is collaged textiles, the inserts are sponged watercolour paper separated with tissue paper. Card is folded, punched, eyeletted and threaded to create info sheets which will stand alone for ease.

I can see me making more like this...

Fabric fun... pincushions, needlecases and flowers...

This week's  art-time has pretty much been taken up with fabrics and fibres. I've had several things I needed to replace for quite some time... eg, a pincushion, a new needle book, a case for my crochet needles... many of which I've had for faaaaaaar too long and are long past their youthful sturdiness.

I found some nice fabrics a while back and decided to use some of that, especially as I can use 3 patterns. The ball I made is so easy- it's an adaption of a baby soft toy. I cut 12 ovals each in 3 fabrics... this should be about 2 inches long, 1 inch wide, but you can make larger or smaller... smaller is seriously cute!!

Here's the finished pincushion...

As you can see it's very simple to create. Sew 3 pieces together and stuff to make a segment. (I added 1/8th inch to the template because I was using a machine and turning them out, but you can oversew if the material allows)

Then sew 4 segments together at one end, twice. The remaining 4 segments are sewn to each available end to create the waist of the ball. I finished it off with buttons and ribbon.

This can be made in one fabric, but I like to vary what I use- both in patterns and material...

As I was in a wool and crochet cycle I spent some time making flowers and hearts... these are cute little things that I hadn't made for a long while and was reminded of by a friend...

I keep all my wool ends just for such projects....

simple crocheted roses

crocheted lilies

sweet frilly hearts

fun combo....

As I'm gradually posting a number of creations that need a pattern of some description I shall create a pattern section soon and add them all there, so if you fancy trying something yourself the details will be available.

Here's a pic of the felted crocet hook case

Equinox dolls

Having finished the dolls for the Equinox swap on Milliande's , I finished my own equinox doll last night.. both sides, so she's now hanging up pride of place over the tv. Here's how she looks... I even managed to find some relevant little charms hidden in one of my bead boxes- I love not having to buy stuff for projects!!

 Remember those fimo faces I sculpted and then cast for a beading project? They're in the craft tutorial section if not... well, I decided they weren't what I wanted for that project and set them aside for later use. Perfect for this project, the resin plaster takes acrylic paints really well.

I'm going to make a Summer/ Winter doll to match, but I shan't start her until nearer the time... I need to gather my materials up first... can't wait though, these 3 were so much fun after 40 years since the last one, my how time flies...