side by side

Even though I've been absent from this writing spot of mine, I've had it on my mind. I'd been very focussed on preparing for the workshops I taught at our school's Years of Wonder conference, and that preparing was mostly mental pep-talks like, "No problem, an hour-and-a-half is enough time to instruct a simple knitted body for a small doll, assemble the doll, and discuss the construction of the doll's head!" or "Sure, you can make a dozen little doll heads and give them wigs even if you wait until ten days before the workshop!" or (this is the best one and the most telling) "Yes, I can teach another workshop on a wetfelted play-mat in an hour-and-a-half. Thank you of thinking of asking me." To be honest, sprinkled in the mental chatter was the occassional, "What were you thinking?!" but I did know in my crafty heart-of-hearts that I had it in me, I just needed to exert some major power of will (talk about inner work!).

So, throughout all that mental banter, I also told myself, "Take note of these thoughts. This is part of the process. Give the thoughts their due." And so I did allow the banter. I honoured the process. I thought you might like to hear it and then see some of the results (click to enlarge):

There were sixteen terrific women in the wetfelting workshop! Thanks to the soap and the participants' lively chatter and laughter, the room smelled and sounded heavenly. Their enthusiasm and desire really carried us through what was a rather ambitious project for an hour-and-a-half session; many of them had not wetfelted before! I always worry about being a person's first lesson, I feel it is a big responsibility. All of their efforts turned out beautifully! Just imagine all the stories that will play out with these wonderful pieces as scenery...!

The doll-making workshop was equally successful, but we were a bit rushed at the end, and I had left my camera in the room where the felting workshop was, so sorry, no pictures. Enthusiasm was high though; a few knitters learned to purl; everyone finished their dolls; one knitter made two dolls (!); there was even a very friendly competition going on between two friends! Just hearing them say that their young ones at home would love this doll made me smile (actually, I'm still smiling). The two samples that I made have already made their way into Hana's play here at home, so I'll try to take some pictures to post over the weekend.

So, thank you for indulging me and my process. It's nice to have a place like this to lay such things out and take a good long look. Thank you for reading here and lending me your ear, it means the world to me. This song kind of sums up how I feel about my blog and the friends I have here; this one's for you!

heartfelt tutorial

So today I am going to take you step-by-step through making a felt heart pouch. Brace yourself, there are many photos and directions. I hope you like it!You will need some wool felt and embroidery floss in any colors that please you or your Valentine(s), scissors, a hand-sewing needle, and a heart-shaped pattern.The pattern I use is 2" wide and just shy of 2" tall. I cut it in the good ol' fold-a-piece-of-paper-in-half-and-cut-half-a-heart-shape way. Once I came up with a heart that was just right, I transferred it onto a piece of cardstock (aka magazine subsciption insert), cut it out, and use it repeatedly.Using a ball-point pen, trace around the pattern onto the felt twice. Cut out the two felt hearts.I'm going to show you how my mother taught me to thread a needle a looooong time ago. (If you click on that crazy collage, it will get bigger and be easier to see). Separate out three strands of embroidery floss. Fold the floss over the needle and pinch the floss and needle so you can barely see the folded floss. Slide out the needle. Now slip the eye of the needle over the barely visible fold of floss, and the fold should slide through the eye! Maybe you knew how to do that. That's a bit of Mom Magic that I have never forgotten. A while back, I came across Heather Bailey's brilliant knot technique (scroll down through her sidebar for a tutorial). I had a way I made knots forever before, but now I can't remember it because Heather's way is so great!Now you can stitch a design on one of the felt hearts, or both if your heart desires. ;) I've done monograms in back-stitch or split-stitch, French-knot sprinkles, sashiko type stitches, chain-stitch flowers.... It is really up to you!Here's how I make a French knot. Send the threaded needle through the felt where you want a little 3-D dot. Lay the needle flat against the felt and wrap the floss around the needle. In this case, I went around three times, but two or four could also work. Then carefully point the needle back into the felt very close to where the needle came out in the first place. Tug the floss to snug the wraps around the needle close to the felt. Draw your thread through, keeping an eye on the wraps, maybe use your thumbnail to keep them from going astray. Ta-da!!! A sweet little French knot! Sprinkle them around as you like.

Once you've got the embellishments in a way that makes your heart sing (!), it's time to sew the front and back together. I use blanket-stitch because I like the way it looks and how it finishes the opening.

Let me qualify this back-stitch lesson with "this is how I rigged up starting a back-stitch" because there is probably a slicker way that doesn't leave a double thickness of floss on the first stitch. If you know another way, do tell!

Start stitching at the top of the left "hump" (as you look at it). To hide the knot, start on the inside and draw the needle through the back piece, around to the front, and through both.

So send the needle backwards under the floss of the first stitch.Then come to the front and stitch from front to back.

Before you pull the stitch snug, send the needle through the loop the forms. Pull until the loop lays down over the gap between the front and back. Continue in this manner around the heart until you get to the top of the other "hump".

At this point, blanket-stitch only the edge of the front piece.When you get to the other "hump", send the needle under the very first stich to create the horizontal "laying down" part of the stitch. Now continue with the blanket-stitching on the back piece.When you come to the other "hump" again, send the needle under the last stitch that joined the front and back.To secure the end, send the needle under that same stitch once more, but before pulling it snug, put the needle through the loop twice, then tug slowly. A knot will form; again, you may need to guide the knot with your fingernail to keep it from travelling up your thread away from the stitch. Now, slide the needle through a nearby edge of the felt, keeping the needle within the thickness of the felt (not sandwiched between the two pieces), poke the needle out again, and snip the floss close to the felt. This will bury the floss within the felt. Finally, tuck a token of your affection inside, and you are done! I find these wee dark chocolates at our local food co-op. I vaguely recall finding some milk chocolate pieces too. An old key would be sweet. Or those pewter tokens. A little love note...

If you have any questions, please ask in the comments, and I'll answer there, it'll serve as a reference spot. If you make some pouches, I hope you have fun. Maybe send me a picture. I'd love that!

heart felt

Oh, I know, silly pun, heart felt... heart-felt, but I couldn't resist!I was trying to ease into the Valentine's Day mood, not wanting to rush anyone (including myself) or cause any panic, so I made a few quick heart-type items and sprinkled pictures of them around my spaces here on the internet. Subtle, suggestive, and satisfying! And now that Alison has got me all revved up about hearts and flowers and all things Valentine-y, there's no stopping me! ;) So, about the felt hearts... I found this Little Hearts pattern on Ravelry last spring, queued it up, and actually remembered it was there last week! With my Stash-0-Plenty of Cascade 220, I knit up a few; they knit up quickly. Once I stuffed them, Hana and I felted them. They felt so great while we mushed them around, sort of bread dough-like or baby thigh-like, you know? Anyway, I've got the pattern memorized now, and four more are waiting for their turn in the sink. I'm planning to embroider on some of them, but they are so cute plain, that I will try to keep from decorating all of them. I think you should make some too!

But wait! There's more! A few years ago, I made these valentines for my family and for a craft/bake sale at school.I'm going to make some more today, and I'll document the process for a tutorial. The project involves felt, scissors, embroidery floss, a needle, and chocolate! I'm guessing if you're reading here, you love all those things and might want to check it out! I hope you will! See you tomorrow...

xoxo

don't play with your food!

Just kidding! Play all you want! Because these three squares are meant to be played with. :)

Sometime around the age of two, Hana received a generous, timely, we-can't-believe-our luck! hand me down gift of a beautiful wooden play kitchen. She has loved that toy so much! It's a rare day that goes by without Hana cooking up some kind of goodness there. At first, dry millet, a jar of little felt balls, water, and strong imagination were all the "food" she needed. However, by the time of her fourth birthday (she's five now), some real food was requested. So for her birthday I made her some of the food below. The invitation for her party were in the form of a simple menu, and guests were asked to rsvp with their "order". Between rsvp date and the party I got busy making, and each guest was presented their "order" as part of their party favor from Hana's Cafe party. It was so much fun!On the daily menu at Hana's Cafe: for breakfast, a shortstack of pancakes with maple syrup and a pat of butter. Yum. {knitted and felted from this pattern but smaller with Rowan Scottish Tweed DK, free-hand felt syrup & butter}Then for lunch, a mixed greens salad with carrots, cucumber slices, mushrooms, and peas. Yum. {lettuce & mini carrots with Brown Sheep Nature Spun worsted, cucumbers with Debbie Bliss cotton and Nature Spun worsted, mushrooms & peas were handmade gifts from a friend who knew the party theme, big carrot wet felted with Peace Fleece roving}Sushi for dinner! Salmon roll, cucumber roll, tuna roll, and salmon roe! Yum. {rice & fish in rolls needle-felted from Peace Fleece roving and wrapped with black nori/felt, little roe pieces wet felted into tiny balls then onto the rice, then wrapped} This sushi is a recent addition to the fare at Hana's cafe, you know, for the more mature chef. ;-)Dessert! Yea! An oreo-type cookie. Extra-Yum! {amigurumi cookie from Brown Sheep Nature Spun & Cascade 220 and a wee bit of felt & embroidery floss} This cute cookie is really one of Hana's dad's holiday gifts (he's an oreo fiend from way back), but he has "allowed" her to play with it in her kitchen.

For the party invitations, we also offered pasta with tomato sauce. I made bowtie pasta with white felt cut in small rectangles (approx 1"x1.5") with two long sides cut with regular scissors and the two short sides cut with pinking shears. I pinched the center and stitched it a few times to secure it; about ten pieces makes a nice serving. The tomato sauce was a "splat" shaped piece of felt. As is the way with the cobbler's children, Hana's kitchen hasn't received its delivery of pasta from the distributor, but don't worry, I'm on it! :)

I'm posting about this play food now because the colder weather means indoor play is gaining favor. As I put my mind to sprucing up her play areas to expand her options, I thought it would be nice to share these ideas with you. There are few things better than a little one witnessing the creation of a toy (or anything for that matter) just for them, or by them!

Just food for thought! {Gah! I can't believe I just typed that, but that's me, so there you go!}

xo - Annri