resurrection fern

The Lazy Girl's Guide to Felting Rocks : A Tutorial

I love felt and I love stones, so it will come as no surprise that I really love felted stones. I have been making them for years now but sometimes I really want the end result without all that energy and time expenditure. In the past there are times when i have literally rubbed the skin right off my hands in felting stones. My skin really can't take the beating it used to so I have devised the lazy girl's ( who loves the skin on her hands too much)
guide to felting rocks.
To get started you will need some small smooth rocks to felt. For the sake of this tutorial I used a bag on smooth stones purchased from the dollar store but I have seen similar stones at Michael's or most craft shops. you will also need some wool fleece or roving , hot water and liquid soap , an old pair of stockings or nylons and some string. You will need to have access to a washing machine.
I used to pay a great deal of attention to the soap I used for felting but in reality it doesn't really make a difference. I use what ever liquid soap I find at the sink now. Take a large bowl or fill the sink with hot soapy water. Take one of your stones and wrap it with wool fleece making sure to cover all directions of the stone. I usually make about 3 or 4 layers.

Now wet the stone in the hot , soapy water.

Gently rub the stone in your hand for a few minutes until it seems wet , soapy and smooth .

Don't rinse it but place it aside for later and start on another stone. When you have covered as many stones as you want you are ready for the next step . You will need to find that old pair of stocking or nylons and some string or yarn for this step.

Starting with the toe of a stocking place a fleece covered rock snugly in the stocking and tie with a string in order to separate the stones so they don't felt together.

No I don't wear fish net stockings , these are from on of my daughter's dance costumes. Now place this rock filled stocking in your washing machine , put the setting on hot , and low water level and start the wash cycle. i have done this many times and have never damaged my machine. I wouldn't recommend you try to felt boulders this way. When the cycle is done remove the stocking . You can hang it to dry just like this or remove the stones first, which ever you prefer. Now you can admire all the beautiful felt stones you made. This batch took about 1 hour up to the point of letting them dry. I bet you never guessed it could be so easy. You can vary the method buy using multicolored fleece or by adding just a thin vein of a contrasting color to make it look like a faux sea stone.

There you have it my first tutorial for the month of september since we are never too old or too busy to learn new things and broaden our crafting repertoire.

a little note : the winner of the giveaway is Celine. When I receive her address I am sending her the little guy with the knitted suit that was hanging on my inspiration board. Thanks to everyone who left a comment , all your kindness was packed up in the box with the little bears for their big adventure.

End of Summer

End of Summer, originally uploaded by knitalatte11.

The air is crisp this saturday morning and looking around the porch, garden and local environment I can see signs that fall is arriving about 2 to 3 weeks earlier than usual. How is the change of seasons in your neck of the woods? Wishing you an observant weekend.

Please Mr Postman Handle the Little Bears With Care

It was just one week ago when I started my Plush You 2008 project although it definitely started in my mind the moment I found out that I was accepted. I worked at my real job every day this week but in my free time here is what happened. I started with an inspiration board .
Then a very busy work table .

After about 5 evenings of work this is what I ended up with. In the words of Helen Keller "Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost".

The finishing touch was to make some fabric sacs with my " trade mark" , resurrection fern name attached and a short explanation printed on 100% recycled paper to insert in each sac. I said goodbye to each little bear and packed then up for their journey. You won't believe how hard it was to hand the parcel over to the postman. I have decided that when I get the chance I will make some for myself, especially the last little green bear with the tear on his cheek. He is deeply imprinted in my heart and soul.

If you would like to purchase any or all of these bears ( I have dream that they might actually stay together forever) I believe they will be for sale after the opening on October 10th. I decided to price them all the same even though the mother bear and child took more time to design and make. They will be affordable to anyone who wants to give them a good home and remember my portion of the sale will go to my favorite environmental group. That reminds me wasn't Obama's speech filled with hope for my american friends and really the world. He would definitely get my vote !!!
Thanks for all the amazing comments this week and I will leave the comments open until Monday, at which time I will combine them all and draw a name for special present. Without you my inspiration would starve. Thanks so much. I have decided since september is traditionally back to school month I am planning loads of tutorials for the month including, crochet button mushrooms, the lazy girl ( or boy)'s method to felt rocks, crochet soft trees, knitted trees to name a few. I also have a new guess the nature inspiration post planned. All this intermingled with photographs of the changing season, it's happening so early and fast this year. Fall is traditionally one of my favorite times of year and I plan to celebrate its breathtaking beauty.

Plush You 2008 : Last Pictures Before They Fly to Seattle

It is all done now except for some little cloth bags and tags I want to make for them ( after all I am now officially in the plush business , giggle ) . Tonight I will pack them up in a large box and send them express to Seattle. They will be available to purchase at the opening on October 10th and also online from what I understand. You could contact Kristen , the organizer of this fabulous event if you need any further information. Remember I will be donating my money to the David Suzuki Foundation for its work in the area of global warming. I will miss these little bears and really hope they end up being adopted into a home where there is a strong love for the natural world. I hope you like the pictures. I think they would make fantastic cards and if I ever get around to opening my etsy shop ( hopefully this fall ) I think I might sell some sets there. I might even have to make up some more bears so I can take pictures of them in real snow this winter.

Did you notice the picture where I switched the wool suits of the white and green bears? I was having way too much fun. Do you have a favorite? Don't forget you have until the end of the week to leave a comment of any of the plush you 2008 posts and a chance to win one of those little inspiration ornaments that were posted on my board . If you missed it or forget what I mean check the first post in this series. Thanks for all the wonderful comments so far. They have really helped energize me to get this project done in record time . You guys are the best !!!

The Polar Bears are Turning Green #3 : PLUSH YOU 2008

Here is my final entry in the PLUSH YOU 2008 show in Seattle opening October 10th. If you have been following along this week you will know that this is the last one in the series of three and is the one where the little green cub born to the white mother has grown up and has seen the dramatic effects of global warming on the polar ice and the arctic environment. His iceberg that his mother so carefully used to place him on to play has melted and all that remains is a very small patch on snow and ice on the tundra.
He was made from all natural materials in the same way as the first white bear with a removable hand knit woolen suit. His platform is a hand felted stone from Nova Scotia . I used the wet felting technique blogged about in the tutorial about felting easter eggs. I added the melted iceberg details with needle felting. This little guy really melted my heart when he was finished . I hope he does the same to yours.

I will be taking a few more pictures and then packing them carefully in a box to send them to Seattle.

The Polar Bears are Turning Green #1 : PLUSH YOU 2008

The title may seem confusing if you haven't read the last two posts because the first little bear is not green at all. She is all ivory white and is in my conceptualization of this project the mother in number 2 as a child in the arctic. She is hand stitched from wool felt with embroidered details and stuffed with wool roving. Her wooly coat was knit in one piece on sock needles with suri alpaca yarn ( sooo soft) and is removable. Her iceberg was made in the same fashion as the one for the mother bear and it larger .

I am having way to much fun photographing these bears and icebergs. The knitted trees are something I made last winter , my own designs , and I noticed them on my bookshelf and thought they wood look great in the photographs although I know trees like that don't grow in the arctic. Tomorrow I will be back with the last plush for the show. I had better go warm up , all that ice and snow has given me the shivers.

Starting In the Middle for Plush You 2008

In the last post I showed you my inspiration, discussed my concept and gave you a glimpse into my creative process. Some people start their work at the beginning or at the end ( I have heard a number of writers do this), well I start in the middle. It is a good thing that in having to make only 3 items , there is a definite middle. I felt that if I could accomplish what I set out to with the mother / child bears that numbers 1 and 2 would be easier. I wanted the white mother pair to be strong , yet soft to the touch and the child to be green , not yet furry and very vulnerable on its own. I wanted the mother to carry the child . I have always loved the inuit packing dolls and set out to have mine carry her child in a similar way, in the hood of a wool felt hand sewn parka. The mother was knit using my own design with very soft ivory colored suri alpaca wool and stuffed with wool roving. Her parka was hand sewn from 100% wool felt and the trim if hand dyed boucle mohair.
The little green cub was made from wool felt, stuffed with roving and the details were embroidered on with cotton embroidery thread. The cub fits perfectly in the hood of the mother's parka.

This is what the floor looks like so far just before I break for some nourishment, yummy chicken curry on rice.

Before I move on to making number 1 and 3 I start working on the icebergs. I wanted to wet felt the basic iceberg and then add details with needle felting. I searched the yard and home for iceberg looking objects to felt but couldn't readily find them until I opened the wooden toy bin in the basement. I covered the wood with duct tape so as not to damage it with hot soapy water and then I felted them with natural wool roving.

I am so sorry I forgot to take pictures of the icebergs before adding the details. The last one was felted over a large oval stone and was done in shades of green , blue and natural wool . You will see what I mean later right now I only want to show you the iceberg for number 2 . Here it is with the details added and I needle felted a small depression in one side for the little green cub to rest in when the mother wanted to set him down.

There you have it the finished item titled The Polar Bears are Turning Green #2. If you visit the show in seattle in October that is what you will see displayed and available for purchase with my portion of the funds going to my favorite environmental group in Canada , the David Suzuki Foundation. Tomorrow I will show you number 1 and then hopefully number 3 on wednesday before they get packed up in a box and mailed to Seattle. I would really appreciate your feedback. I have never sold anything I have made let alone participate in a show before. How am I doing so far ???

A Glimpse into My Creative Process

That is my current inspiration board. I am very excited about taking part in PLUSHYOU 2008 taking place in Seattle in early October. I have known about this for months and although ideas for it have been flowing through my brain it was only after I returned from Nova Scotia that I realized OMG my three pieces are due the beginning of September. I created some very sketchy sketches , created my inspiration board and gathered up the appropriate materials and tools. Good thing I have a well stocked craft pantry because I didn't need to go out and buy anything.
So what am I making you might ask? Some people might say I think about things to much but I find it very difficult to create anything without significance or greater purpose. My creative process started with wanting to make something with an environmental message, in this case, global warming and its effect of the polar bears living in the Arctic. I also decided at the onset that since these items will be sold, any money I receive will be donated to the David Suzuki Foundation
which is my favorite environmental education and advocacy organizations in Canada. Polar Bears are very dear to my heart.
My idea was to show in softie form how global warming is melting the polar ice and causing a greening of the arctic and the animals that live there, in this case the polar bear. In the first one the bear will be snow white and the ice , actually an iceberg will be large. In the next piece the white bear has become fully grown and had a cub that was born green instead of white. The iceberg is smaller . In the last one the little green cub has grown and the ice is almost completely melted . The land the bear lives in is green with a few small patches of snow/ice. He will be sad.
The icebergs and land will be wet felted with details added by needle felting. The bears will be made from a combination of hand sewing with wool felt and knitting. The details of features will be embroidered.
All materials used will be natural , including the stuffing. A very special feature is that no energy except that of my hands will be used in making these plush except for a little warm water from the tap for the felting . This week I want to share with you the work in progress and then the final results before they are packed in a box and shipped ( express !!!) to Seattle. If you leave a comment this week to cheer me on in my little plush making olympics I will draw a name at the end of the week . The prize will be one of the little fellows attached to my inspiration board. Ready, set , go........

Lunenberg, The Bluenose II and Tying Knots

You may remember this jacket I made in the spring, named The Bluenose Ghost that I posted back on May 19th, 2008.

When we were traveling through the town of Lunenberg, Nova Scotia I was very excited to be able to go aboard the Bluenose II ship , a replica of the famous bluenose ship .. It was a racing ship and a fishing vessel in its day . It was made in Lunenberg , a picture postcard perfect little fishing town.

Oops, how did those cows get in there? They actually were in the town getting ready for some sort of procession in and around one of the beautiful old churches. I would love to have gone sailing on the ship but we didn't have the time on this occasion. It did bring back memories of sailing lessons taken when I was a child at our cottage and learning to tie knots. Knots are so very important in sailing that they are one of the first things you have to master before they will even let you set foot in a boat. I took some books about knots out of our library so that we could practice.

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on ." Franklin D. Roosevelt

Forests of the Sea

It is impossible to go on a trip to the ocean and not come across parts of the forest of the sea , seaweeds. At every level of the ocean seaweeds, which are mainly algaes, support and protect a wide diversity of sea animals just as land forests do. They do not require roots because they are bathed in a sea of nourishment but they use shoots at their bases for attachment . I rekindled my love for them on my trip to the east coast .

My daughter and I enjoyed making pictures in the sand with some of these colorful , glasslike algae .
See how that bright green seaweed is anchored to the rock we used as her head. I love the palette created here . It reminds me of crisp autumn air that seems to have arrived in Ontario this past week.
My eldest daughter Tamara, loves jelly fish and the last evening of our trip quite a few of them washed up on the beach and although I know it not a seaweed I wanted to show you some pictures of it. The color reminds me of some of the previous photographs. What an amazing creature it was . Check out the radial symmetry.

Did you know that they now spin wool out of seaweed? My very favorite north american wool company is fleece artist and their specialty line handmaiden. They make two different yarns incorporating seaweed into them and if you have never felt them you are really missing something. Many of their colors are inspired by their home in Nova Scotia with names like
Seafoam, Seastorm and Polar Sea to name a few.
Have a wonderful second last weekend of August .