489 Needle Felt Fun

I finally broke out  the needle felting kit I bought a while back. I figured... why not. It isn't like I have enough craft addictions. 

The finished product..

The unboxing. It came with several molds, the felting needle, the foam you stab into (I am sure that is the technical term), and the felt.

First you fill the owl mold. You repeatedly stab the felt until it becomes flat and firm. 

Then you transfer  it to the  silicon mold to shape. And repeat. 

Then join the front and back together.

Next you are supposed to  add the white felt to make the face and chest... that was trickier  to get the solid edges.

I ended up rolling the felt between my hands to get a piece I could shape around  the edges.

Then it was on to wings and feet... and a tail.

One day I  will  remember to do these  things  during  the day so  that I can  take better pictures.  I  did make several  more pieces  that were free hand.  It really is quite addictive.

429 It's Been A While ...

Sadly we have had to make use of the Small Animal 15 day guarantee .... TWICE! Poor Kimmy got wet tail. Then we got Rosebud...

She was fluffy and big ... and she bit the heck out of my finger that first night. She also got wet tail. They say it isn't contagious, but there was another hamster in her cage with it at the store. She was with us long enough for Katie to fall in love with her. A few days after she died I found a picture Katie had drawn before she died. Talk about heartbreaking!

Honestly, I would have said no more hamsters if I hadn't seen this picture. I was worried that Katie would start thinking of their little lives as "replaceable", but she really was upset by the loss of Rosebud. I have okayed one more try. We are going to take it really slow with the next one ... and get it from a different store. Third time's a charm, right?

Katie had her check up with the endocrinologist. Everything looks great. She is still thin as a rail, but that probably has as much to do with the fact she can't sit still as it does her diabetes. She was getting a little bored in the room waiting to see the doc...

The weather has been giving me fits. A week ago it was in the 70's, today it barely got above freezing. Not that you can keep the kids inside. At least they don't stay outside long.



 And, there has been crafting (of course). I have just been making stuff up as I go. I wanted to make a felt tree to hang my felt ornaments on for pictures, but I had not gotten around to it. I finally pulled out a legal size file folder and sketched out my tree. Then I had to think of the mechanics of putting it together and getting it to stand.

 It took FOREVER to sew around all the branches! I cut out four identical pieces and sewed them up. Ummm, best I can describe it is like a circle cut into four pieces. If I ever make a better tree I will take pictures, but this was my trial run. It is stuffed to the gills, and two branches have a wire hanger inside for stability.

I couldn't turn down this yarn at Joann's. Sensations Sumptuous. Thick and soft and chunky yarn heaven. 

 On the way home I stopped into the Salvation Army. I had been reading a lot about felting wool sweaters, and I wanted to give it a shot. It was Wednesday, which is half price day, so the perfect time to grab a wool sweater. I was lucky to find this one. It is 100% wool. I only wish it had been larger.

 I popped it in the washing machine on hot with plenty of laundry detergent ... twice. And then I threw it into the dryer on high. I wanted this thing to be indestructible when I was done with it. Look how tiny it got!

I cut out the sleeves ... the sleeves were the PERFECT size for a phone cozy. Stick your phone in, cut off an inch below. Leave a few inches above it to cut a flap for a button closure. Turn it inside out, stitch the bottom, turn. Done. Unless you want to embellish it. And of course I did. I think the finger knit strap might be pushing it, but it was what I had at hand.

I had a little arch of felt from the shoulder, and a few triangle scraps ... for some reason it made me think of a bird head. Ugly, huh?! Katie grabbed it and used it as a finger puppet.

And last night Katie had a sleepover. She couldn't sleep, so she came downstairs and bribed me to stay awake ... she told me she wanted to learn to sew and make pillows for her BFFs. You know I can't say no to that!! Not fair! So, we cut out a heart pattern and she picked out the pieces. I cut the felt and got the thread ready, and she was off and sewing! I fixed many boo-boos, and undid a few knots, but she didn't do a bad job at all. I HAD to do something while she was concentrating on sewing, so I took what was left of that felted sleeve and made a little pincushion. I had to search for a needle for Katie's sewing project, so OBVIOUSLY I needed to make a pincushion. 

 Aren't her pillows CUTE!

 While I was stuffing the last pillow and closing the opening Katie FINALLY fell asleep. Oh, and I used that yarn to make a hat. It started as a cowl, but I had a sudden urge to see if it would fit her head. It looks adorable on her, and I can't help but glow when she chooses to wear something I have made.

 And she continued to wear it today. ADORABLE!

I couldn't leave that bird head as just a head. I attempted my first art/felt bird. It is UGLY! And unfinished. I have wings and feet to add. I just have to figure out how to make the feet for this poor bird.

So ... now you are all caught up. Connor? Oh, he has been more destructive than usual. In a few more days it might be funny, but today it is most decidedly UNfunny. It is a good thing that boy is cute ...

424 Small and Quick Crafts

I have been crafting, but they have been quick little projects. Mostly, I get the urge to make something, and I just use whatever is close to me at the time. Or I find a blog with something I want to try, and I grab the stuff I need and barrel on through the project.
It sounds like I am not enjoying the process BUT I AM! I love that there are so many projects that you can do with just a few spare moments and kids hanging on you. We finally got our first snow of the season, so we have spent a good bit of time outdoors. And of course, all that led to sniffle-y time snuggling on the couch. I have managed a few projects that I am going to share with you. (and I will try not to forget any of them, but I can't promise)

First I was surfing through some amazing craft blogs last Friday, drooling over other people's talent when I ran across a link on 30 Handmade Days which led me to mmmcrafts and this post about phone cozies. Now, we all know I have had a bit of a felt addiction lately, so of course I had some close to hand. I just HAD to make my own little phone cozie! We also know I do not follow directions (or usually even look at directions). It seems like cheating sometimes when you are crafting to follow the directions. So, mine doesn't look nearly as wonderful as Larissa's, but I just felt like I needed to MAKE something right then when I saw hers. Mine isn't finished. No strap, no button. I kind of like it though, and Connor has been known to slip my phone into its cozie if he finds them apart.

When the girls were looking at my little cozie it reminded me that I had not made a tooth pillow for one of Katie's friends ... well, that and she has a tooth just about to fall out. So, I whipped her up her own tooth fairy pillow. (funny thing, mmmcraft also has a REALLY cute tooth fairy pillow pattern. Hers is much more intricate)

Then on Saturday, Katie spent the night down the street with her BFFs, so I had some Connor time. When we walked in the door from dropping Katie off, the first thing I saw was a little tiny Micro Machine car. Right away I knew I had to make Connor a little car. I drew up a pattern.

(which I mostly didn't end up using) And grabbed the closest BOY colored felt and set to work. I only used the car shape as an actual pattern. For the rest of the car I just cut a strip of felt about three inches wide and long enough to go all the way around the car. FINE... I know it looks very little like the actual toy car, but that was my inspiration.

On Sunday I thought it seemed like the perfect time to finally try to learn how to crochet a granny square. I was sitting on the couch, yarn and a hook nearby ... perfect. I googled "granny squares" and it brought up this tutorial on About.com. Looks simple enough. Words. Pictures ... oh yeah, this is going to be easy! Right?! Uh uh ... for some reason the first time through none of this made sense. I was doing it all wrong. My square ... it turned into ... 

That is pretty ... but not very SQUARE! So, I actually read all of the words in the directions, and squinted at the pictures until it suddenly made sense to me. AH HA! The inner circle is ... what is that like? Macrame? Friendship bracelets? And then you work your stitches in the spaces! Ohhhhh!!

I haven't made anymore, but my friend Jill at Stix on the Beach is also working on granny squares. We just might have to encourage each other. Oh, and our friend Rachel at Memories of Mine to Thine just posted that she wants to learn granny squares, too. I love it!

I have been seeing GORGEOUS cowls all over etsy! I was once again sitting near some yarn and thought I would give it a go. I checked out some patterns on Ravelry.com just to get an idea of how many I should chain first, and I got to work. I just made it up as I went along, but basically I

chained 60

double crochet 57 (I think) for 7 or 8 rows

Slip stitch for 10

double crochet 37

slip stitch 10

Turn. slip stitch back to the new layer and then over 5 more (but wish I had just chained 3 and started double crocheting across)

chain 3. DC 27

slip stitch back to the edge.

I fastened off then started back on my newest row so I wouldn't have to keep going back and forth to keep it even.

I did 4 rows of 27 DC to get some height. I was trying to build a piece that would cover my ears. When we were out sledding my ears were freezing! It turned out ... interesting. It was a first attempt, and I have a better idea what I am doing now. I didn't have any buttons, so I cut four black circles and stitched two layers together to create my buttons. I like how they turned out. The cowl ... needs improvement. (and I might need to learn how to write a pattern that is legible) Katie wore it to school today ... and bed last night, and watching tv, and ...

 I had some yarn leftover, but not a lot. I started to crochet a pot holder in SC ... and I just couldn't make myself do it. I am just not the pot holder type. I had a rectangle, so I folded it in half and created a little purse/crochet phone bag.

 I still had some yarn left so I made another one with a seashell type stitch. Super easy, and really cute if I do say so myself ... Katie stole them of course.



 And finally, last night the kids were running around with this rope. It has been annoying me for weeks. I have rolled it up several times a day to put away, and they always pull it out. Well, some of it is gone, and Katie has a new bracelet.

So, that was my week in crafting. What did you make?!

This post linked up with these parties!

396 More Felt ... Stuff

More time spent watching little man running around means more time with some busy work for my hands. Another heart was added. I was drinking my coffee, and looking at my favorite coffee mug when I decided to make an owl. And I know you will be surprised, but as soon as Katie saw my owl she wanted one of her very own. She requested purple.Sunday, before we headed to the Mid-South Fair (which will be the next post) we watched the Saints game. Thank goodness they pulled it out because I didn't need any bad juju associated with Connor's little felt football. I think I might try to make an actual football next time. It did make the game go faster though ;)