Crazy for crafts

September 10th, 2006

crazy for felt:

I took to felting right from the start. Dragged wet parcels of wool across the kitchen floor, spent hours mooshing a rolled-up felt in the bathtub, tossed experimental pieces into the washer and dryer, made shoes, purses, a rug, hats, cuffs, and arm warmers. It’s one of the most practical materials for craft, I think. You can make it yourself from wool roving or by knitting wool into a rough shape, you can cut it, sew it, applique it…endless possibilities.

What’s been hot for years now is knitting a bag and then felting it. You end up with a carrier bag that’s unbelievably tough, and since it doesn’t have seams anymore (they incorporate into the body of the bag during felting), there’s no weak spots. ~~I like this method, but I’m a little more into flat construction, and I also have scarf-level knitting skills.~~ (Not anymore, the ongoing forays into knitting have moved me beyond the flat. I have made hats, cabled cuffs, a skirt, and various other things. I’m going to start knitting sweaters once the boobs are gone, so I don’t have to re-do the tops to account for the changed landscape of my chest.

The rug is a good example of traditional use: it’s an old horse blanket, with felted circles appliqued to it. It’s a year old now, and holding up pretty well to daily foot traffic and the cat, who attacks some of the wobbly areas.

I had a scroll through my images of felted gifts from last year, and thought I’d post some of them here:

The cuffs were overdyed heather-colored felt, and both got antique buttons and felt applique leaves or circles. The circles cuff has an inner layer of felt, in the original color. These were really well-received gifts. The skull-chick purse is for my iPod or camera, and was my gift to me…I loved it so much that I couldn’t give it away.

crazy for raw materials:

I love hardware stores. I see a million possibilities in the aisles…when I look at yardsticks, I see a wall-rack system. (witness the craftster post: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=119966.msg1149033#msg1149033) and the associated project:

crazy for reconstruction & recycling:

I’ve made tablecloths and raincoat linings into skirts, scrap styrofoam into a portable cooler, and much more. As I can devote more time to crafts & less to cancer, I’ll be posting more of my projects for everyone to try if they want to.