3/30

I haven't posted in a while.... first, I'd changed gears from bags to books... then I went to Idaho skiing, which was wonderful, but I came back with a torn ACL (ouch!)... and since I have been felting felting felting... I nuno felted this little beauty yesterday evening... from hand dyed roving in warm chili pepper colors. This one is really sheer and I think suitable for spring weather.I had some green silk sheer that forms the internal body for this green and white scarf... Silk and pure merino wool make this one light as a feather and soft as well

Here these two are hanging from a door... I love the little bits of felted wool I tossed in for texture...

this is my personal favorite.... probably because it looks so good on me... pale blues and soft grays, sheer crepe inlays for added strength, color, and interest...

And another green... for this one I used four different colors of roving and intermingled them with sheer silk strips... really turned out beautifully.

Again, this is a longer view of the two above... all these scarves are a bit smaller than what I had made a year ago... this time around 10x60... I think I like them smaller... there is less bulk and they seem to drape better.

Now the books... G-son W. decorated the paper for the cover of this one... he ironed the brown paper for the pages as well...

even though I am the one who sewed the whole thing together and added the button... this book is really his. measures 5 and a half by 8

A bigger book - 7x9 - covered in a leather look and feel upholstery fabric - and ties with a leather thong.

lots of creamy colored pages

and a really nice paper to for the inside cover

another book.... whoops, didn't put in the front cover, which is painted... this is Katie's favorite in the bunch measures 6x8

and this one is my favorite... covered in a leather look upholstery fabric - embellished with a stitched on, stamped copper rectangle and

loaded with two tone papers.... this one is soft and flexible and leaves plenty of space to write... measures 5 1/2 by 8

and last... another faux leather and copper book.... with a leather thong to hold it closed

80 lb white paper make this a great drawing book. 7 1/2 x 6

5 bags

I have made it through almost every recycled sweater I have on hand... the only one left is a white cable... beautiful and soft... think it might like being something other than a bag. Some of these bags were beginning to go south and I just let go a little more and did some experimenting and brought them back....
I wore this sweater for years and finally decided it was too short-too tight and so I sacrificed it to the hot water and the heavy duty load and it has been re-born as this nifty maroon felted wool bag. 15 inches wide and 9 deep, this bag has all the room it needs to stash all your things.... and a front pocket, too. (My dad, and honestly, who made him an authority on woman's bags, says all purses should have pockets) So here is a pocket for my dad. Oh, and the "flower" safety pinned on so it can be moved or removed for laundering.

This one was a Goodwill find... an XXL men's size... and it shrunk to this beautiful dense fabric that will stands up to anything you'd want to toss into it. The flower with the asymmetric button center softens the sporty stripes. It measures 15 deep and 10 wide. No pocket, sorry dad.

oh, here is a close up of one of my flowers.... the flowers change everything.

and here is the whole bag... another stripe. I was worried this one would not work as a bag, but I wore it out the other day and had positive comments and the girl at the hardware store told me I ought to sell them.... 10 deep, 13 wide. The stripes are navy, yellow and creamy white

and this one, another Goodwill, half price sale find. The color has some definite cranberry tones but there is a tiny bit of bright orange in the heathered yarn. this one felted quite densely.... something I really like in a bag. The pocket has been machine stitched and then had sewn onto the bag body. The flower is a combo of left over sweater scraps, felted wool, some orange dyed chiffon and a novelty button. Measurements: 9 high, 12 wide.

and I know you have already seen this one, but I couldn't help but include it again.... 10 high, 13 wide.

I have put the sewing machine away, saved every minuscule bit of scrap(a problem, I know), and cleaned off my dining room table and kitchen bar... Shortly the paper will be hauled out, the board and the glue, the waxed linen and it will be bookmaking time. I'll show you those in a couple of days.

Oh, and it is 85 here. Really a bit too warm, but must admit I am loving it.

the winds of grace

The winds of grace are always blowing, all we need to do is raise our sails... I read that once, a long time ago, and while I tell most people it is Rumi, it might not be... but it has become an essential part of my philosophy... God and love are there, always, we just need to open our arms to them/it... and making things is one very important way I do it.
Wednesday night is Art Night(the best night of the week) at my place... one or two friends arrive with their journals or projects, their supplies and ideas. We sit at my table and sometimes work in silence. I feel so blessed to have other people who will sit and paint with me.

This week I've been working on a 'winds of grace' spread... with this funny angel blowing the love out into the world... my daughter told me once, she met an angel at the bus stop. An angel in the form of a homeless guy, who told her it would be all right, at a time in her life she needed to hear it from someone other than her mother. I asked my friend and spiritual director about it, and she told me, if you think it is an angel, then it is... the winds of grace are there, always blowing.

I also felted this little orange bowl. I'd had it knitted a long time ago, but tossed it in the wash Friday and this perfect little bowl is what came out of the machine... makes me think I'll look at this pattern again and make more... maybe make a bigger one, turn it upside down and make a hat... all kinds of possibilities

I filled the bowl with clove studded oranges and cinnamon sticks. I'll put a few little evergreen sprigs in too, and give this to my daughter for her table.

And last.... felted slippers. These are for P. I started with a pattern from Martha Stewart and some re-purposed wool sweaters I've been saving. Drew around each boy's feet, and rather than enlarge the template, drew my own. These are lined with fleece, and I crocheted a band around the top. The soles are leather, so they won't slip on the polished cement floor of their home. After sewing and crocheting, I tossed them in the washer and felted them some more. So while I started with Martha, I definitely ended with Barbara... and I think they turned out very nicely. Now two more to go, and a friend from Illinois is sending more wool sweaters, so I have no fear of running short of wool.

See. Grace. People who love me. People that I love.