Happy New Year 2013!

Today is New Year's Eve - I hope the new year brings unexpected delights to all!
I have spent my vacation week knitting and felting to replenish my shop. Mostly I have listed new mittens but I have also added two new items-Kindle Fire and Kindle Paperwhite sleeves and am currently working on a pattern for future iPad Mini sleeves.

Kindle Keyboard/ Kindle Fire Sleeve

When I haven't been working on shop items, I have been needle felting little creatures onto the little feet I made last month. Here are the first three results.

The first one I made, and my personal favorite, is the owl.  I call him Harvey Hoots. He stands 5 inches not including his head feathers.

Harvey Hoots

 I would have just made a few more owls but I only had one set of large size eyes so it was either stop needle felting altogether or think of a different creature that had smaller eyes. I decided to try a rabbit.

I call him Henry Hops. He stands 5 1/2 inches tall, just a bit taller than Harvey. I think he has a very sweet somewhat befuddled expression.

I have been watching Sons of Anarchy on Netflix all week so I think it influenced my final character choice- Biker Chick. She sports a genuine black leather jacket with a Born To Ride patch. She also has black leather accents on her shoes and a lovely chain necklace.

Biker Chick

Who Is Your Favorite Pixar Character?

Last May, on Mother's Day, we were having a"Collins' Family Breakfast" when I asked each of my children which Pixar character was their all-time favorite. The amazing thing is that of the six people I asked, none of them hesitated- they all had a favorite. My oldest son, Neil choose Woody from Toy Story. Carla, his wife, immediately picked Nemo. My daughter Kathleen chose Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc. Her husband, Mike had two favorites, but his first response was Guido the little guy in Cars that changed Lightening McQueen's tires in record speed during the big race. Their son, my darling grandson, immediately piped in with Lightening McQueen. And finally, my youngest son, Mike, chose Wall-E. A psychologist would probably have fun analyzing their choices...even I have thought about that a bit... but I wanted the challenge of trying  to create a surprise Christmas ornament for each of them. At first I wasn't sure if I would be sewing or felting but in the end I needle felted them all. I started right away making the first three.

                                May I introduce.....

Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc.  
5 1/2  inches tall- Needle Felted Wool

Nemo
4 inches long- Needle Felted Wool

Wall-E
4 1/2 inches tall-  Needle Felted Wool with Button Eyes

After completing these first three, I became distracted by other projects and let them sit in my workroom for months before getting back to them. Now I find it is just a few short weeks before Christmas and I am only half done. Plus, I had put off making the most difficult one- Woody! I find it very difficult to needle felt small people. Getting defined facial features on a head that is not much more than an inch long is quite a challenge. But if I was going to have an ornament for everyone I had to get back to it.
     
                     Here are the last three.....

Woody from Toy Story
6 1/2 inches tall  Needle Felted Wool

Guido from Cars
3 inches tall- Needle Felted Wool with button Wheels

Lightning McQueen from Cars
3 3/4 inches long- Needle Felted Wool with Button Wheels

And finally a group shot....

Finished just in time for Christmas Day!

Christmas Elf

Here is the first of three elves that I hope to have completed before Christmas. Recognize the feet? He is made of stuffed felt with a needle-felted face and pom pom on his hat. He is holding a tiny ornament. From head to toe he is only 6 inches tall but add in that big hat and he is 11 inches tall.

Pretty Feet

I finished the little feet! The next step is to figure out who they belong to!

Obviously Christmas Elves

Lots of Feet

 Every year for the past few years I have made an ornament for my children for Christmas as a stocking stuffer. It started with the stars, last year I made mice, so I am now working on something new. Yesterday I actually had time to myself again (I'm not doing anything on the "to do" list) and decided to mess around with an idea... I ended up making these little feet. I drew a template for the sole and traced it onto cardboard 16 times. Cut dowels 3 inches long and adhered them to the soles using glue and a bit of apoxy sculpt. When that was somewhat dry I created the shoe using paper clay and let them dry overnight. This is what they looked like this morning.

 

                                                           

Step #1 Apoxy Dowels to Template

Step #2  Add Paper Clay

                                              

                                                       A Different Style

                                                                

Here are 8 of the dozen I made waiting for Step #3- Sanding, Painting, Finishing

Today I plan on sanding them, painting them, felting the soles, painting the legs, and adding socks and laces. I still haven't decided who's legs they actually are but that will come in time- I have a few ideas about that too. Nine have rounded toes and three have elf toes so there are options for different "people". Each little shoe is about 1 1/2  inches long. I hope this works out. 

My Tart's Ornament

I just finished my ornament- What do you think?
I ended up combining  essence of Sally Mavor with Waldorf style and created this little heart fairy.  She has a lot of reflective elements so she should really shine on a tree. Her legs are made from icicles that are very glittery, her dress is the metal cornucopia, her wings are tin, and the little heart is gold color metal so there is a lot of shiny stuff going on here. In contrast to that she has a plaid country bow, acorn hat, yarn hair and a needle felt featureless face. I used pipe cleaners for her arms with beads on her wrists. I think she is cute and I hope whoever picks my bag is happy with her as well.

Textitle Tart Ornament 2012

Today I am going to make the ornament that I need for our holiday party. The Tart's decided to make ornaments this year at our June pot-luck gathering. I have had months to do this but as usual I am now just a short two weeks away from the event and I haven't even started it yet. How does that happen? 

Fortunately, I have two ideas dancing around in my head. I think I can create an angel or fairy from this small mesh cornucopia. That will be my first attempt. If that bombs, I will needle felt some more polar bears and string them to a festive ribbon maybe add a bell or two.... 

I'm hoping the fairy/angel will work out. I was thinking of using Sally Mavor's dolls as inspiration for the design or if that doesn't work I will probably needle felt in a Waldorf style. It always amazes me how my initial idea seems to transform during construction to produce a surprise in the end.

Vintage Spirit #8: Witch's Brew

Here is my latest commissioned piece- a witch! Last month I was given this bottle with instructions to make whatever I wanted. Of course, with the Frog Syrup label it screamed witch! So here she is looking very intently at the unfortunate frog in her hand. I wonder what she is thinking?

I will be giving this piece to another doll artist on Saturday and I must say I am a bit nervous. I really hope she likes it. Personally I love it- but that's certainly no guarantee that anyone else will think the same. When she gave me the bottle it already had the Frog Syrup Brew label on it but she also gave me a second label to use in case I couldn't relate or didn't like the frog one. How could I not like it? I was born on Halloween for goodness sake!
I think my favorite part of this doll is the skirt. It is a vintage handkerchief folded to highlight the lace edges. I think it falls over the bottle beautifully and adds a touch of Victorian charm. She also sports a painted lace collar and cuff, a felt inner vest and a black jacket. There is a small bat on the back of the jacket. The frog is needle felted with green bead eyes. The witch's hair is also needle felted wool roving and she has a small wart on her chin although it really can not be seen as it is blocked by the frog in these photos. Let me know what you think!

Hampton Art Walk 2012

The Art Walk is over- I can actually catch my breath now! It was a wonderful experience for me- my figures first step out into the world. I was in a tiny room at the back of a large dance studio and yet many people found me. I shared my space with Carol Whalen, a remarkable painter, so there was a nice contrast between what she was offering and my work. The room also had a window that overlooked the gazebo and green where many tents were set up for artists that preferred to be outside so I had a great view. The outside area had artists demonstrating their craft: a muralist, a pumpkin carver, a weaver, musicians, and historical characters dressed in colonial garb mingled with the crowd. On Thursday night, amid the raindrops, there was an edible art competition and on Friday night the chefs from many local restaurants were offering samples as part of a culinary contest. So much to see. All the businesses surrounding the gazebo area offered Hampton Arts Network artists space to display.
The weather did not cooperate on Thursday- rainy - we had a small turnout. Friday night was spectacular though (temps in the low seventies) so many people came and they were having a great time.
I got a lot of good feedback on my work from other artists as well as the general public. Many people had never seen needle-felting before or if they were familiar with this art form they had never seen figures before only animals. Next year I will have to demonstrate. I did bring my needles and a bit of roving so I could explain the process to people but it would have been nice to have been working on a piece as people came by. Something to plan for the next time.
Besides participating as an artist in the walk, I also was part of the planning committee. My job was to create a system in which sales could be negotiated and catalogued- not an easy task considering it was an entire community event. In the end, twenty seven artists had their work displayed for sale. I created individual sales cards for each piece (more than 100), catalogued the entire show, and developed a easily manageable system for two cashier tables. The one thing I completely forget about was "petty cash". The very first question one of the cashiers asked me was "what do I do if someone comes up with a $4 item and a $10 bill in their hand?" Yikes- a quick run to the bank solved the problem but it was a stupid omission on my part. Well, something to remember for next year. In the end I sold three pieces. It was nice to see a customer's delight was the result of something my hands created.

Part of my display area.

Entire left wall space

Harvest Fairy on adjacent wall

Hampton Art Walk 2012

Hampton Arts Network Art Walk 2012. If you're around the New Hampshire seacoast on October 4th or 5th then be sure to stop by and see me!

Pebbles

I made it!! I finished my third needle-felted wall doll for the  Hampton Art Walk with a week and 1/2 to spare! Now that's what I call timing! This one I call Pebbles because she is holding two pebbles in her hand (not very original naming I must admit). Trying for variety between each of these three elves, this one's skin is pure white wool. She has color in her eyes and lips but that's about it.  Her pantaloon's are made from left over fabric that I used on my bathroom curtains. I just redid that bathroom this past summer so the material was new and still in my head when I started costuming. The pebbles are from Hampton Beach. I collect beach stones, varnish them, and display them. Mostly they're granite- very pretty I think, especially when varnished as this brings out the colors. Anyway- may I present Pebbles!

Pansy

I finished my second needle felted wall doll for the Hampton Art Networks Art Walk. The walk is just a month away and I have committed three pieces to be displayed- but have only two completed at this point! Yikes! Periwinkle and Pansy and a third that is just a vision in my mind right now. Well I do work well under pressure so hopefully I will make the October 4th deadline!
In any case Pansy is a throw back to the 1960's with her embroidered skirt with matching caplet  topped off with a pillbox hat. She holds a basket of pansies.

Her hair is light purple braided wool yarn. Her outfit is powder blue felt lined with a patterned blue cotton. She has laced undies that extend just a tiny bit below her skirt. I also made the flowers in her basket from felt. She is the same size a Periwinkle, 24 inches, but both her legs are extended straight. With each of these wall dolls I have tried to use unusual colors or color combinations- in this case- powder blue with royal purple accents. 

Periwinkle

Introducing Periwinkle! I just finished her and currently she is feeling very at home hanging on my living room wall. She ended up being 23 inches tall. It always amazes me how every doll evolves during the construction process.  Originally I had planned to have her dressed more elaborately with some type of skirt over the pants but in the end nixed that idea. Working with the pant color was a big challenge for me-way out of my comfort zone! I collected different shades of green, gray, and cream/tan fabrics and ribbons and pulled from there. I knew I wanted to use that particular yarn for her hair as soon as I felted her head. The yarn was a Christmas gift I had been saving. Is is hand spun Romney wool called copper. The spinner said she dyed the wool using pennies and it resulted in the aged copper color. Very unusual color- sometimes it looks grey, sometimes bluish green. In any case, it is a very soft color that I think complements her needle felted face well. It is also a color that does not really go with the pant color so I had to tie the two together with the use of the other fabrics. A bit tricky.

I wanted to make a wall doll so that I can have something to display during the Hampton Art Network Art Walk which is scheduled for October. I'm not sure what the space configurations for each artist will be so I want to be prepared with dolls that can be hung if that is the only display option available. I hope to be able to show different art doll examples but that would require a table which I am not sure will be an option. In the end I now have a pattern for a wall doll with a needle felted head, hands, feet (not used on this one) and with straight or bent legs/arms.  Her hands, arms, and neck contain a wire armature. Her fingers can be moved. The rest of her body is stuffed muslin covered with costuming. She holds a needle felted periwinkle snail in her hand.

Needle Felted Wall Doll

I am in the process of designing a needle felted wall doll. There will be many challenges to this,  the first being the larger size of this doll compared to what I normally make. I think it needs to be larger to have a presence on a wall. It will be an elf or more specifically a shore elf because I plan on incorporating some shells and beach stones that I have been gathering this summer.  I needle felted the head already- as you can see it is still bald and need a little more height in the forehead - but you get the general idea. It is a bit over three inches high with an eight inch circumference at ear level. If I follow the rule, 7 1/2 heads tall then the finish doll should be about 23 inches. But I'm not sure if the human proportion rule applies to elves??? In any event, I'm on vacation this week so I hope to get the body parts completed and put together so I can move on to costuming.

Sunday Morning

I've named this piece Sunday Morning. I didn't model this couple after anyone in particular but I do feel as if I know them somehow. I see them walking home from church on a Sunday morning in spring stopping to enjoy a park swing. Or maybe coming to the seacoast to spend an afternoon looking out at the ocean. I know I've seen them before, maybe if only for a moment in my childhood past. In any case, they are in love and love is timeless.

I made the man first, or I should say I started him first. Originally I planned he would be alone on the bench feeding the squirrels or birds. But I had this idea for a netted pillbox hat (what is it with me and hats?) and she emerged from that. The hat is straight out of the fifties and completes her outfit perfectly. In the end, I finished her, right down to the buttons on her shoes, before completing him. The last stitches were his three coat buttons. Both figures are all wool. They have pipe cleaners in their arms and legs so I can pose them but they are not really meant to be manipulated out of their seated positions. Their clothes are made from partially felted wool sheets. This makes them a bit fragile (only I could make "fragile" wool figures!). Initially I wasn't sure if I could put it though a sewing machine to do the embroidery elements on her suit, but I managed. The clothes are needle felted together and onto the figures so they are not removable.

These figures are not large. From the bench seat to the top of their heads is 7 inches.The bench is just a bit over 12 inches high which includes the swirly top piece. It is a swing actually and it does work with them sitting on it which is fun. It is a lovely bench that I got at a Textile Tart's meeting a few years ago. People bring stuff to the meeting periodically when they are cleaning out their stash or studios. It is rod iron with a wooden seat- very cute. It has been sitting on the floor of my sewing room waiting for them.

I'm very pleased with this piece-especially as it is my first "people" needle felt if Humpty Dumpty is considered an egg and not a person! It was a challenge for me. I wanted the faces to be life-like with thinner features than I see on many needle felts. I wanted them to be realistic. I also wanted them to look different from each other but fit well together. I think they do.

Let me know what you think!