Ideas & Inspirations No5. ~ Portuguese man-of-war (Bluebottle):

 

Portuguese man-of-war (Bluebottle): a small marine creature that I remember from childhood.  I have lovely memories of strolling the beach, with stick in hand, bursting the little blue bubbles washed up along the shoreline – but, don’t be fooled, although not lethal, this iridescent beauty can deliver a mighty sting…

The moment I saw the vibrant, blue/purple of this gorgeous ‘Noro Silk Garden’ yarn I was reminded of those earlier days – the felted crochet crown is 100% pure wool with the band crochet directly onto it – the textured coronet is a continuous band of fairy wings which have been individually hand-beaded with tiny glass seed beads & then hand-sewn to the finished beanie. I’m rather please with the result…

I felted some crochet flowers, now what?

Some months ago I had a big spurt of making crochet flowers, felting & then hand-dying them at my kitchen sink. Heaps of fun & I ending up making quite a few, well.. actually, I made a lot.

But, since then they have been languishing in the cupboard with all the other ‘gonna do something with these one day’ items that we crafters seem to collect over time.

The light bulb moment came some weeks back when I was invited to do a local market/display/demonstration… out came the felted flowers, my collection of beads, needle & tread & I set to work beading these little beauties & turning them into pretty brooches that can be worn any-which-way – I’m rather pleased with the results…

A collection of these Beaded felted brooches are available in My Zibbet Shop

Happiness for your Hair…..

I made a few of these cute little hair combs as custom orders & thought I’d share the happiness  – the flowers were crochet then felted & hand dyed – a bit of fun….

Amy – How A Felted Jumper Becomes A Handbag – E-book Tutorial

~ This E-book Tutorial (12 pages) is available as PDF downloads from this blog & on Ravelry, Etsy & Zibbet ~

Reclaim that old woollen jumper & turn it into a stylish handbag

It’s easy to become excited about this up-cycled, eco-friendly project & even easier to make. The tutorial takes you through the basics of washing machine felting, laying out pattern or template & embellishments – the step-by-step instructions are given in written form with clear photos & diagrams with some alternatives included

Requirements:

* Old woollen jumper

* Top-load washing machine

* Pure soap

* Template – 26 cm (10”) embroidery hoop or strong cardboard

* Sewing machine

* Crochet hooks of choice

* Eyelash yarn of choice

* Plain 8ply yarn of choice

* Sharp scissors

* Darning needle

* Sewing needle & strong cotton thread

* 2 buttons/beads

I love felting too….

No doubt it’s no secret that I love to crochet – freeform,  traditional or exploring new techniques but sometimes it’s just as exciting to play in a different playground –  splashing about in my kitchen with soap & water & beautiful silk fibres I came up with these little beauties… & very pleased with the results