Where Oh Where…

…has my crafting mojo gone?

Oh where, oh where can it be?

With my yarn and threads and material galore,

Oh where, oh where can it be?

Do you ever get into a crafting “funk?” I don’t seem to want to finish anything I have started. I don’t seem to want to start anything new. Nothing really seems to be inspiring me. I guess it must just be that time of the year…or maybe the month…for the last couple of months!

It’s not that I haven’t been seeing some darling free projects online. There are lots of those. Here are a few I have found recently (just click on the picture to be taken to their site):

I also have a couple of lovely stumpwork books by Jane Nichols that I received for Christmas:

AND a kit to go with the above book:

So it’s not that there aren’t enough projects to keep me busy…I just don’t seem to have the energy. I think I just need a break…a vacation… How about a European tour…that would be fun. Or maybe a trip to the South Seas where it’s warm and blue and sandy beaches galore. I wanna be like one of those famous people who, when asked, say “I’m going to Disney World!”

Since none of those lovely things are going to happen anytime soon, I think I just need to add a bit of springtime here in my northern climate. I believe I will start with Paulette’s felt strawberries. Hopefully I’ll have some done to show you tomorrow!

Peace Out!

My “Felt Smack Down” Entry…

Well, here's my entry for the "Felt Smack Down" contest! I really enjoyed making this. I have loved working with felt now for quite a while and have been inspired by Salley Mavor for years.

It was a learning experience for me as well as a fun project to make. I tried some techniques on this piece that I haven't employed before as described below. My piece is a wall hanging that is 8" x 9", mounted to foam core board and finished along the edges with ribbon and pearl headed pins.

My “Little” (doll), as I call them, measures 1 3/4", including the little tip on her cap. I painted her face (no easy feat being as she is so small!) and embroidered her tunic and skirt. Her hair is made from yarn.
The pot of hydrangeas measures just over 3/4" and is sculpted and then painted using watercolors for extra dimension. Each flower was made individually with a single strand of embroidery floss worked in colonial knots, gathered and then sewn in place.

The apple tree measures 3" and is sculpted and painted using watercolors as well for extra dimension.

I needle felted the clouds then stitched them down to the sky.
The wisteria vine is actually a couple of different colors of floss that I dipped in a 50-50 mixture of white glue and water, then wrapped around a paintbrush to dry before stitching in place with some silk fleurette's. The clouds ended up being my least favorite part of the project. I need to experiment more and come up with something more satisfactory and realistic.

Overall, I am pleased with my end result. There were times that I was feeling dissatisfied with it, but as I added more detail, the picture started to match what I had in my head. I can see making more along these lines in the future.

Lapghan progress and a Christmas project to come...

So I have been working on my lapghan alot! I have made almost half of the granny's daughters that I need to make the larger squares. I get bored though... so I have started sewing some of them together.

It's a lot slower going than I thought it would be. I only have until they extinguish the Olympic flame to get it done...well...for credit anyways. I will finish it no matter what!

Have any of you seen the new (to me) Holiday Crafts magazine? I have found a project in it that my fingers are just itching to make! It's the "12 day's of Christmas" quilted and embroidered banner. I'll add a picture as soon as I can, it's absolutely darling! Of course, I want to count down from December 1st, so I will add 6 little...somethings...on each side. Probably stars but I'm not sure yet. I'm going to try to use only materials from my stash...really I am...honestly...although it couldn't hurt to just look at the christmas fabrics...and some patterned felt...no really...from my stash...maybe...

Matryoshka Doll

Create Your Own


This is my latest completed project, matryoshka dolls! They turned out so sweet! I got the pattern from Maisy Hutton's site and you can get it here too! It's a pdf that she has generously made available to all who want to try it!

I made mine completely from felt. I just love working with felt! It's so forgiving and you can do just about anything with it. I prefer to use a wool felt blend as I just hate the craft felt! I have a bunch of it from before I became a felt snob. It makes a great material for my 7yr old Daughter to play with - and I don't care what she does with it!!

There are lots of great places to buy felt from online. I just happen to buy from Wool Felt Central. I was very happy with their speed and service.

I also love to do little embroidery projects so these little darlings satisfied me on two fronts! There are lots of ideas out there (online) for ways to embellish if you need some inspiration. Just google the dolls and hit images!