My first Christmas present finished...


I made this for my neice for Christmas. It's completely made from felted woollen jumpers bought from charity shops and jumble sales. So money spent on materials went to a good cause and I have recycled, doing my bit for the enviroment. My daughter has named her Molly, and now wants me to make her a pig. The pattern for this rabbit was in the japanese book below. I have adapted the pattern slightly.

On the go....

I am not one of the worlds fastest knitters, in fact I am very slow, which is proberbly why I don't knit as much as I'd like to. I like instant results. Here is some yarn I dyed a while ago. I couldn't decide what to do with it as there was only 250g, I finally decided on a poncho to wear when we're camping. Hope I have enough as I'll never recreate that colour again. I figure now I have posted this on my blog, it will spur me on so I can post the finished article. However this didn't work with my weaving on the peg loom, which has not changed since I posted the photo.
I have just listed some Japanese felting books in my fibrespace store, they are really nice! I'm quite tempted to keep some for myself, there are five different titles, but I only have one copy of each, as I wanted to see how well they go down. Here's a taster...

I am a very untidy worker. I try to keep my work area (and cupboards) neat and tidy, but I have come to the conclusion that I am more creative when surrounded by mess. I think if things are too neat I am almost afraid to do any thing that might muck it all up. I never have a neat approach to my work either. I will have an idea in my head which I have to try out, with out any planning or preparation. Sometimes this can be wasteful, although I try to recycle any disasters. Mostly, I think it is a good way to work, I often stumble on new techniques by accident, and I love to start a project never quite knowing how it will turn out. It's much more exciting to be spontaneous!!

Anyway, my sewing box is a real mess. It needs a good sort out, as all my threads are getting tangled and I can never find what I'm looking for. My pins are just loose in the top compartment and I'm gradually losing them, so the other day I made myself a pin cushion. I needle felted it with merino wool. I'm quite pleased with the way it looks, but it is far too shallow (the pins go right through it). I'm already working on pin cushion number 2. I shall let my daughter have the first one (shown in the picture) to use in her doll's house as a floor cushion / foot stool. I am now thinking they would make great stocking fillers so there could be many more to come. I am on a mission this year to make as many of my christmas presents as possible. I say this every year, but always leave it too late. This year I have already started!!! I am in the middle of making a rabbit ( from felted jumpers of course) for my niece.

Here is another jumper bag, at the moment I'm having fun playing around with different styles. I spend a while looking at the jumper and a design usually pops into my head. They take quite a while to make as I have to hand sew them, the wool is just to thick to fit under my foot!! The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of creating something new and beautiful out of something people have discarded, and it's always good to recycle. I feel more trips to jumble sales coming on!!