New Pillows - But They're Already Spoken For

Done! Done! and Done!

I am so excited to finish these two pillows as they have turned out very nice.  They feel wonderfully soft when you feel them too.  The final touch was adding a small - as in micro - trim to the edge to cover seam stitching and a few tassel like tufts of fiber here and there!  I am sure their new owners will enjoy them for years to come.

They are washable too!  Just open them up and remove the inside and then pop the covers into the sink with some Soak wash...let them soak for 15 minutes.  Pull them out and roll in a dry bath towel to remove excess water.  Lay out flat on a dry towel until dry.  Or you can vacuum them for a quick clean up...very easy care!

http://www.soakwash.com/

Hope everyone enjoyed their Saturday as much as I did mine.  We had near blizzard conditions for awhile here.  Very cozy inside though.  And I have made more progress on my list of things to do before I leave for Hawaii next week.  Gotta keep at it though as there are many more things to do...

Take care,
Janet

Mohair Madness!

Hello,

Okay... I have gone back to the seam side out version of my little jacket and I have selected some divine mohair yarn from Mountain Colors out of Corvallis, Montana...my home state!

http://www.mountaincolors.com/  These two ladies have been doing their own dye work for 19 years.

And if you go to http://www.paradisefibers.net/Mountain-Colors-Yarn-Mohair-p/999014.htm you can browse all the wonderful colors available.  Maybe you have a project that needs a special touch.  The color I have selected is Bitterroot Rainbow.  I think this will work better than the Gold Rush I have on hand...it is going to be awesome...I can hardly wait!

The mohair yarn is all fuzzy...not smooth like the yarn in this sample...but it will be these colors.

Hey Fiber Fans!

Well I have my little jacket put together!  Now I am stuck on how to finish the edges.  My original plan was to put a bead and mohair crochet edge on it like you see on this cuff.

...but now I am thinking I might want to use the nice finished edges from my sheet of felt to make a 'ruffle' edge.  The next question is should I put it seam side out and attach it with the bead and mohair?  Or should I go with the more traditional look and put the seam in?  What do you think?  Let me know.  You don't have to leave your name you can sign on anonymously.

Oh my!

Just a few minutes ago my little dog sat up from his sound sleep and started barking like a crazy dog.  Then he ran to the back door so I let him out.  Mistake!  Skunk!!! I smelled it just as my dog got to the edge of the patio.  I ran out and grabbed him and we ducked back in as fast as we could, but the odor followed us in.  My husband has sprayed air scent now and hopefully it will dissipate before bedtime.  Haven't had a skunk around here before...just makes for a more interesting evening I guess.  I just hope it doesn't stink out there in the morning!  I remember my step-sister getting sprayed by a skunk once.  The solution to ridding her of the odor involved a whole lot of tomato juice...glad we didn't have to go there tonight.

I have made a great deal more progress on my custom order pillows.  I finished laying the silk on the wool I had laid out for both pillows.  Next I added a golden ribbon yarn and some beautiful mohair yarn to the surfaces.  A few sparkles here and there and today I was ready to roll!  The photos will give you an idea of how much shrinkage there is in this process.  In order to achieve that I first use cold soapy water so that the merino wool  and mohair yarn will travel through the silk before felting.  This is critical to the process and takes a while.  After I can feel and see that it has traveled through then I reduce the size of my inside roller and continue.  After a while of that I shed the bubble wrap, add warm soapy water and reduce my roller even further.  This is the stage you see my rolling in the photos.  Finally, I add warmer to hot water and throw my new piece of felt onto my table.  This shock locks the fibers even tighter together.  Was a bit of a workout for the day as I also did some small pieces for another project.

Now I am off to read, relax and knit for a bit before bed.  Hope you all have a wonderful, sunny Sunday!

Bhahhh! What to do, What to do?!

Hi,

I got the bah-hum-bugs today so I went shopping!!! Great idea, right?  Well I thought so... and I did find a great dress at the second hand shop that I can use to felt with.  Then as I was looking around at home to decide what to do next I ran across this set of patterns I had purchased back when my sister was getting married...



And I decided that I would use some speciality fibers that come from Montana to make the shrug shown at the bottom in mauve.  The fibers are a mix of wools and silk that make a beautifully, rich and vibrant yet soft and supple felt.  To this I plan to add a crochet border that I hope to make out of another fabulously luxurious fiber - mohair - from another company in Montana.  Their mohair yarn has such a wonderful luster and sheen, plus great body that I just want to lay a bunch on the carpet and roll up in it!

So tomorrow I may go shopping again to buy all the fiber I will need to make this very special wrap.  Then I am going shopping for lace weight yarn and needles so I can start on a personal project...more on this tomorrow!

Later,
Janet

The Dance

Hello,

Wonderful! We have Chinese Ring Necked Pheasants in our neighborhood and I just love it when I get a good look at one.  Our small dog, of course, has decided that they do not belong in his back yard, but he doesn't seem to care if we see them out on our daily walks...which is terrific for times like today when two males were dancing back and forth in front of us!  It must have been a ritualistic breeding dance.  Quite fun to watch as they were mirroring each other in movements.  Of course, nothing lasts and they eventually decided we were encroaching in their space and so they took off...one flew to our right...one flew to our left.  Then they landed in the scruff and began calling back and forth.  Wished I had been able to film it for you, but I couldn't so I have included a couple videos so you can hear what they sound like at times. 






What I would really like to try is to create a piece of nuno felt that reflects some of this superb plumage.  Do you think I can do it?  We will see, huh!


Well I did get a bit of work done today on some felt cuffs that I made.  I added a mohair trim with some multicolored metallic beads.  All in all not too bad.  Kind of showy like the pheasants we see around here.

Goodnight everyone...sweet dreams :)
Janet