A Craft-y Sunday II

Random yet orderly - I like it :)

The downside to being an adult is that all your friends lead busy lives and getting together isn't as easy as it used to be. It's been two months since our last get-together but a few of my friends and I finally managed to coordinate a crafting day last weekend. The main theme: felting! Of course, as it usually turns out, we all ended up doing a mish-mash of different projects.

It was Michelle's first time felting and she ambitiously tackled three different projects (unfortunately, I only have pictures of two.) That patchwork of hearts pictured above is her felted laptop case. We had gone on a shopping trip to Wabi-Sabi, a yarn store (not a sushi shop :P ) a few weeks ago and she had been enticed by a bag of pretty coloured roving (ie. unworked wool). The gorgeous raspberry coloured roving was her favorite as well as mine. It's nice that she finally got a chance to use it.

A single heart to contrast the busyness of the other side.

There was a fair bit of debate over the design: a single heart for the clean and simple look or a bunch of hearts for a more fun, chaotic look? In the end, she ended up doing both - there are two sides to a case after all.

She tried her hand at a 3D figurine after that. It's a mustached cat ghost/monster...sort of like a Pokemon but not.

Michelle is so creative :) 

My sister decided to be very ambitious and started work on a Chocobo (from Final Fantasy for you non-gamers out there.)

Sharp needles and small fluff - it's a dangerous past-time :P

I'm sure its going to look amazing when it is done but she still has a way to go. I guess we'll just have to wait for our next crafting day.

My friend, Nina, joined us but did not feel like stabbing herself with a needle that afternoon. Therefore, she chose to work on a less hazardous project - a pearl and amethyst necklace.

One small bead to start. 

She also did not finish her project that afternoon but got a pretty good start on it at least. It's going to look lovely when it's done. It's a shame that I'm not that into wearing jewelry or I would be tempted to take up jewelry making myself. Crafters are such magpies :).

As for me, I was working on this little puff of adorable-ness:

Is it a bunny? Is it a dog? Okay, it's supposed to be a bunny with its ears flopped down but I must admit,she ended up looking rather ambiguous between the two.

She is still very sweet though. It was through her that I have also finally figured out why Philly, my felted seal, looks so odd - he is way too toned :P. I felted him so firmly that he lost the cute, fat look. This little bunny had layers and layers of wool added on to plump her up.

Unfortunately, a lot of the other girls were busy last weekend and so we had only a small group gathered around my dining room table. Oh well, it was still a great afternoon and there is always next time!

It's Not Blurry - It's Fuzzy!

Trying to squeeze in some final days of 2014 crafting in. My cousins came over to visit and my sister and I decided to teach them the wonders of needle felting. Check it out!

My cousin Brianna is a speedy crafter - she cranked out two figures in 3 hours. Here's what she used as a reference:

Photo: handmadebybrynne.etsy.com

Hers turned out a lot more - in her own words - "extreme". :P

Brianna: "It needs to stop drinking coffee."

Brianna: "Best model ever! Great from all angles :)"

She decided to capitalize on her love of big eyes for her second creation.

Brianna: "Should have been pink but it's still fabulous!"

My cousin Henrika worked at a slower pace but put a lot of detail into her work.

Henrika: "I got lazy with the head. I will try better next time...when I'm not lazy."

My sister and I decided to underscore the fact that crafting and gaming are totally compatible. There isn't a gamer out there who doesn't know who these two are:

What's your problem?!

I don't need this...

Felted Zoo

Last Sunday, a few of my friends and I met up at Timothy's for an afternoon of crafting. (Thank you to all the indulgent staff who allowed us to occupy one of their tables for 4 hours. We were definitely a source of curiosity and entertainment for the other customers.)

My friends decided to try their hand at felting so I pulled out my stash of unworked wool and needles. After teaching them the basics, we spent 4 hours stabbing at our little balls of fluff, coaxing them into shape. I was delighted to discover that this is a great get-together-and-learn-something- new activity because the basic skills are easy to pick up, its not messy, and the results look good even if you are a beginner.

That happy whale up above was the handiwork of my friend, Emily. Have a look at some in-progress pictures:

First, the body is formed.

It is taking shape.

The white blended smoothly into the blue layer so the smile doesn't look tacked on.

There were four of us and so we each worked on our own project. You can see Emily's whale on the bottom left. The tiny, adorable elephant in the middle bottom is Allison's creation. The fluffy sheep on the bottom right is my friend Maria's handiwork. The unfinished, eye-less giraffe in the back is mine.

This is probably a better picture of our work but it also reveals the remains of our lunch in the back. However, this is the first time that I did crafting in a coffee shop and I can see why it is so appealing.

So again in September, gals? :)

Looks Like a Seal, Smells Like a Sheep!

Not too long ago, a friend of mine convinced me to take up felting with her. She had been seduced by internet pictures of cute animal projects and wanted a partner in her madness. Being the wonderful friend I am, of course I obliged. And the pictures were cute after all.  

Felting can be a dangerous hobby if you’re not paying attention (I stabbed myself twice) as anything involving pointy instruments can be. It basically involves taking tuffs of unworked wool and stabbing it repeated with a felting needle to shape it into whatever you want. It feels a bit like voodoo near the end when you’re jabbing a nearly completed animal.  The results can be amazing though, ranging from cute to stunningly realistic.

His name is Philly. Isn’t he cute? He was my first born in my forays into felting animals. He probably would have benefited from a couple more millimeters in length but I think he’s adorable as the short, stubby bundle he is. He looks a little lonely though… I think he needs a friend.

Dimensions: 7.3 x 3.0 x 2.3 cm

Materials: Norwegian C1 natural white wool, Norwegian C1 black wool, black beads

Tools:  40T yellow felting needle from Felt Alive

Time to Make: 2.5 hours