Christmas Ornament 2013

 I have always loved our Christmas tree. We have ornaments on it from my husband's childhood (fragile glass ones), two very special ornaments my grandmother made the first year my husband and I were married (38 years ago). They are Raggedy Anne and Andy completely hand sewn. I treasure them. We have the "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments for each of our children, and recently added two more for our grandchildren. We have every ornament our children made over the years, including one which is just a brown button on a red string (my favorite). I have ornaments given to me by my students and my husband has a few Home Depot ornaments that were given out at company gatherings.

When I look at our Christmas tree I see my life. It brings me great joy- and when times are tough- great comfort. For the past four years I have been making a Christmas ornament for each of my children. They are all grown now and have their own trees in their own homes. This year the theme is Christmas Trees. Every tree needs it's own tree! I think they are pretty cute, and very easy to make. I had everything I needed on hand. I am including these photo instructions in case you would like to try your hand at one.

What you need:
Wooden bead- button that fits the base of the bead. My bead is about 3/4 inch tall, white shirt button
Styrofoam cone - I used the small sizes - 2 1/2 inches to 3 inches
One sheet of crafting felt. 9" x 12" or more than one if you want different colors.
White glue
Straight pins
Thread the color of your chosen felt
Decorative thread or ribbon for the hang tie
Assortment of beads and sequin- to decorate your tree

Step 1: Glue a button on the end of a wooden bead.

Step 2:  Glue a scrap piece of felt flat on the top of the styrofoam cone bringing the edges down the sides. This does not have to be pretty as it will be covered. Also, trace the base of the cone on felt and cut out the circle.  Glue this circle of felt on the bottom of the cone. Double thread a long needle and sew the trunk (through the button) onto the base bringing the thread through the cone up to the felt on top of the cone. The felt on top will allow you to tie off the thread securely without breaking the styrofoam. The trunk is now secure. You could probably just glue the trunk to the base if you don't have a long needle but I sewed mine on.  Next choose your hanging thread or ribbon and attach it to the top of the cone. Again the scrap piece will give you a good firm footing.

Step 3: Cut out a bunch of tear drop shape felt pieces and attach them to the base of the cone using straight pins. Be sure to always put your pins close to the top of the felt so that they will be overlapped by the next layer. I let my petals hang about 1/4 inch.

Step 4: Once this lower level of felt pedals is complete, add glue to the very bottom edge of the cone and secure this layer. Be careful not to go overboard with the glue or it will seep through the felt (not good). Grip with your hand to help secure the petals to the base. This is the only layer you need to glue until you get to the very top. The pins are enough to hold the rest.

Step 5: Continue to shingle layer the felt up the entire tree making sure each layer covers the pins in the layer beneath. When you get close to the top, cut your felt pieces smaller.

Step 6: When you get to the very top petals, use glue to secure them. And voila! You now have a cute little tree to decorate anyway you wish- the sky's the limit! As you add your decorations sew them on letting your needle pass through the styrofoam cone- this way the petals will become more secure and you will not be able to lift them up.  I sewed sequin and seed beads on mine, but you can do whatever you wish. The star or bows on top are glued or sewn around the attaching tie. Enjoy!

Some of my finished trees! I think I will make a white tree next- still need 4 more before Christmas!

Rat Band

I have been needle felting a band of rats. Why? I have no idea, I just found the idea stuck in my head for a while now and had to let it out. The first rat I made was the clarinetist. He is also the tallest measuring in at about 5 inches.

The second one was the trombonist.  He is about the same size but has a smaller head in relation to his overall body size.

He was followed by the piano man. He only stands 4 1/2 inches. 

Then the saxophone player.

And finally the bass player. 

                                                   All Together Now! One Rockin' Rat Band!

Una: Fairy Queen of Truth

I completed my second Fairy Queen today. Her name is Una which means "one". She is my interpretation of the heroine of the first book of Edmund Spenser's poem "The  Faerie Queen" She represents truth.

Una is constructed in the same manner as Nefertiti. She stands 13 inches tall.  Her head, upper torso and arms are needle felted. Her gown is felt over a styrofoam armature. She holds one pansy flower in her hand.

My two Faerie Queens
Nefertiti: Queen of Strength and Una: Queen of Truth

Nefertiti: Fairy Queen of Strength

Love the back- curved wings

Toby Jugs

About a month ago I discovered Toby Jugs.  I know I'm about 60 years behind the rest of the world, but...what can I say...  They're produced (vintage) by Royal Doulton and each one is a representation of some literary character. Most are male, but I actually purchased a female. She is a Dicken's character: Sairey Gamp.

I am not planning on becoming a collector- I actually plan on using her.  I'm going to fill her with felted core wool roving and use her as a pin cushion/storage unit for my felting needles. Much nicer than the generic tupperware bin I have them all in now.

Well, for Mother's Day my husband bought me three more! He bought the first one- The Old Salt and when it arrived he thought it was hideous so he bought two more, the Pied Piper and Rip Van Winkle, in an effort to get something that I would like.  Crazy guy I married! Well, needless to say I like all of them! Now I just need to figure out what to use them for... it will come to me.

NH Sheep and Wool Festival

I went to the 37th Annual NH Sheep and Wool Festival last weekend. It is held each year at the Deerfield Fairgrounds in Deerfield, NH over Mother's Day weekend. It is sponsored by the NH Sheep and Wool Growers Association and the NE Alpaca Growers and Breeders Association. Of course I forgot my camera or I would be sharing pictures now of the most adorable sheep, rabbits and alpaca you have ever seen! Although I didn't take any pictures, I did do a lot of shopping while I was there. Every yarn is hand spun /hand dyed.

 Creme and aqua blue mix. Merrilyn's Fiber Products- Fitzwilliam NH
I bought 120 yards so I may make a cowl instead of a doll.

River Valley Farm Wools and Wovens
Pittsfield, MA

Wooly Beers Yarns, Newmarket NH

Angoraonline.com
Handspun, hand dyed, mohair angora yarn

Dillner Hillside Farm, Montgomery, VT

Acker's Acres Angora

Joel S Perkins and Son
Textile Mill Suppliers Since 1880
South Strafford, VT

This is the second year I have gone to this festival- but now that I have discovered it I plan on going every year! I just love it! Last year I saw the man that was selling the bobbins but I didn't buy any. I kicked myself all year for that dumb decision so I was thrilled when I found him there again this year. At first I thought I'd try converting the bobbins into dolls but I almost hate to mess with them. I really like the look as is. He has made lamps and of course candle sticks out of lots of them. I need to think about it for a while. The holes on the sides actually go all the way through so could easily be treaded with ribbons...

I couldn't resist the shoe last. I have shoe-makers in my family tree. Rochester and Nashua NH were once very important manufacturing cities in the shoe industry. 

Mermaid

This wall doll is needle felted from the waist up with a stuffed fabric tail. I created the stitched design on the tail to represent the movement of water. There are clear crystal beads hanging from the bottom of the tail that represent water droplets. She holds a complete shell that has "pearls" inside it. I found this shell last summer on the beach, varnished it to bring out the natural colors and saved it for the right doll. Well here she is!
I really am pleased with her. She has a lace bodice that I layered with the fin fabric and beaded. She also has a vintage fish earring as part of her headpiece. Her hair is pale blue "fun"yarn that was popular a few years ago for making scarves. I think she has a very gentle expression on her face.

Miniature Doll House

Many years ago I made three miniature 1:12 scale doll houses. I don't even remember why I left this craft it has been that long. But this weekend I decided to clean the smallest one and move it downstairs into my living room. Here are some pictures of the outside. It is on a swivel platform.

It is a replica of a country mercantile. The inside pictures show a grocery shop, post office, doctor's office, bathhouse, photographer shop and dressmakers shop. It's pretty chock full! Now that it is cleaned up and in a new location I think I will finish up a few parts. I always wanted to make a better sign for the roof so I think I will start with that.

This is the smallest of the three I have made. The original building was The Coventry Cottage by Greenleaf dated 1993 which makes it twenty years old. Instead of a cottage I made it into a shop. The other two are actually homes. One represents a Victorian Christmas house and the other is a contemporary family home.  Now that I have started, I am determined to clean both of these and make any necessary repairs as well. The problem is once I started with the mercantile I realized I could easily slip back into miniatures again. They are a lot of fun, and much like doll making there is no limit to where your imagination can roam. The only thing is how am I going to fit another craft into my life???

Snow Day!

How many days until Spring?  I can't believe we are in the middle of another snow storm! I took a quick picture this morning of my house. I used my iPad to take the picture because the battery in my camera was dead (of course) but it came out better than I expected. Actually, it is much snowier than it looks in these pictures. We have already gotten about 6 inches from this storm and it is forecasted to snow throughout the day. The sad thing is, yesterday we were pretty much snow free- there were only a few dirty snowbanks that had yet to melt away. Now this!

Well, obviously school was canceled this morning so I now have this unexpected "free day"- what shall I do?

My house - believe it or not there was grass yesterday!

Snow bank to the right of my driveway. That stockade fence is over my head. At least the new snow is covering the ugly old dirty snowbank!