Sweet Bilbo, RIP

Bilbo, my big old lovable corriedale, was put to sleep and I like to think he is up there with his old pal Gandolph.  He was wethered and according to the vet it is not uncommon for them to develop kidney stones, which he did.  He refused to eat or drink and was suffering.  Now he is no longer in pain.  RIP Bilbo, I will miss you

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Fun with Fleece

 Processing wool myself this year.  Last year was done by a local business with disappointing      results.  It is a lengthy process but I do enjoy it. Click pictures to enlarge.

      Bilbo, after cleaning and then carded

    The wool from Precious is white white white!

And now the fun.  Dying with koolaid, using Bilbo's gray for a deeper color and some of Precious.

Playing with Felt

I have wet felted several different pieces recently, and this morning I played with one using my machine to free motion on it.  It was a fun process and looking at it from this view I saw an animal hiding.  Can you see it?  I think I will play some more with another piece.  Will post later.

Spring, Finally!  I have been busy making wind chimes, using sea glass, driftwood and old silverplate silverware.  My drill press that Sam purchased for me does such a nice job and makes it very easy drill holes in anything!  Using diamond drill bits to drill holes in the sea glass = easy as can beasy.  :)

 

I made three bells for this wind chime.  By cutting the ends off of three butter knife handles, drilling a hole in the tops and using a fork tine for the clapper.  The sound is delightful!

 This windchime is made with mussel shells, old pieces of pottery and some drift wood.  It makes a different sound than the glass, a very pleasing, deeper sound.

Whew, has it really been since October that I last posted?  What happened to my new founded dedication to my blog?   welllllllllll...I have been busy.  See below, a lot of completed projects.

                                                                 Felted dryer balls

                             

                                       
                                      Made from recycled t-shirts.  Approximately 20" X 40"

                                                 
                                             Hat and mittens made from recycled sweaters

                                                     Another rug made from recycled tees

Papier Mache vase I made for my over-the -top bathroom redo. Below is a before and after shot, although the after shot is not the final answer.  I have a few more ideas (painting cabinet and trim with a black laquer type of paint, tie backs for curtains, new light fixture over sink, etc), but I do think I am on my way to the top!

                                                                        
                                                                           Before

                                                                                 After

Making something

...out of dyed felted scraps.  Stay tuned!

Happy Birthday, Marti

Wet felting practice a few days ago, and I made this little bag.  Does it look like a hippie bag?  Well, I am of that era.  Hollis and Annie were very interested in the bag also.  As soon as Annie was out of the picture, here came Holly. sniff sniff sniff...what's this....?  Love my Aussies!

Today is my 60th birthday and I am amazed to be typing this sentence.  How did this happen, this past sixty years?!  Life is good and I am hoping for another great year like the last one.  





Here is the final result of my surface design round robin.  I love the geckos and the dots and circles on the little guys really make this pop.  Suzi from Iowa added those last details that really make this pop, don't you think?  I am considering making this into a triptych (sp) and placing close to my papier mache gecko I made a few years ago.  He currently lives in my laundry room and I have room on an adjacent wall.

Gandolf RIP

 Gandolf died on August 20th.  It was a very peaceful death with his head in my lap after our vet administered a tranquilizer.  Seeing the pain leave his face is what I have carried with me the past couple of weeks.  He was a serene, gentle soul and I miss him.

 Here is Gandolf with his "don't mess with me" look.  Totally a bluff, he loved nothing better being brushed and hugged.

One final picture of Gandolf with his ears forward.  Always a sign of happiness!

Art Pillows!

Working with recycled sweaters is very satisfying because  1. it sews like butter, both hand work and when free motion stitching with the machine. 2. I feel good about reusing/repurposing something that might be headed for the landfill. and 3. I can get as creative as I want depending on my mood.  A simple pillow with nice lines and colors that please me or one wildly sewn with flowers and leaves.  All great fun!      

         



             

Practice practice practice

I spent the afternoon practicing my freemotion stitching.  LobsterFest is going on in Rockland this week and I found a picture on the Fest site that showed the glorious tents used.  In this piece, I tried to show the fog in the harbor and the clarity of the tents.  It did not turn out the way I expected it to (when DOES it?), but it was a really good exercise doing a sketch type of work.

What if....

I am playing with my wool today.  All has been gathered from the rag bag or the local thrift shops and washed in hot water and thrown in the dryer.  What would happen if  I used the wool as the background to free motion on?  The first thing I learned was rayon thread is too thin.  After some trial and error, I settled on a 12weight white sulky for the dandelion and a Superior cotton for the greenery.

 

In my very best EAE imitation, I freemotioned round pieces of white wool. I do like the end result and plan on making this into a pillow, stuffed with wool graciously donated this spring by Bilbo.

Below is a closeup of the leaves.  I placed tulle on the wool, free stitched the leaves and then cut off the excess.  (as taught in EAE's thread magic book).

Last Day of July

I took my camera today on my walk with my aussies.  

Below are a couple of shots that I particularly liked.

 

 

Just finished a small piece, yes, I am back to lupines. 

 

Looking forward to August!

My sheep, my pretties, my wool source

 Bilbo scratching his bum

 Bilbo and shy Thorin

 Gandolf up close and personal

 Precious waiting to be in the green pasture

 Little Lady

Legolas, aka Meanie

Dyeing wool using KoolAid

I am spending the day dyeing wool, using KoolAid.  Right now I have wool simmering in blastin' berry cherry!  This is such a fun, non-toxic method and my kitchen smells yummy.

                                                                                                                                                                       First I soaked the wool in warm vinegar water

 

                                               

Hot Red before adding the wool 

          

              Finally:  The darker red was a cookies and cream wool from my sheep, Thorin

Click on picture to enlarge

Two new pieces going to Archipelago

Precious

I love taking care of my sheep, watching them is so much fun.  Here is my first attempt - trying to convey their whimsy.  This is my ewe Precious.  I think there will be more sheep pieces.