Sometimes a project you thought was finished begs for a little more attention. I wet felted and needle felted these decorative trivets a while ago, but was never completely satisfied. I then had a moment of inspiration when I decided to hand stitch one edge of each of the needle felted strips to emphasize the striped pattern as well as the handmade character of the trivets. Now they are finished, and are offered for sale on Etsy
Although I make something almost every day, I am more interested in the discovering than the making.
This morning I wove a small placemat from fused plastic bags. But I did not originally set out to make a woven mat. That is the beauty of being open during the creative process. I recently saw some giant pinwheels in a store. As I often do, I thought Hmmm, I bet I could make some of those. My plan was to create a large plastic sheet by fusing grocery bags. But the particular plastic I was using proved to be very difficult to fuse evenly. And the final sheet was not large enough to make a splendidly giant pinwheel. So I trimmed the uneven edges and considered what else I could make with a long rectangle plastic sheet. The trimmings were lined up on the counter and suddenly I had a flash of inspiration. I cut the rectangle into strips, wove all the pieces together, and ironed (fused) the final composition. I love it when mistakes or failed attempts become successes.
It is unusual for me to make anything more than once. New inspiration combined with an insatiable desire to experiment with new materials and techniques means I often make one and am done. But these felted vessels have held my interest. They are challenging yet can be made in a few hours. The process is familiar but little variations create interesting surprises. And of course, I just love wet felting. For this piece, I used black alpaca roving for the mat, but included a couple layers of white roving to cover the inclusion (a large Easter egg) before covering the whole piece again with more black roving. During the felting process, the white roving started to blend with the black making the vessel a dark gray. Once the inclusion was removed, the white was exposed on the inside of the vessel, creating a nice contrast with the black mat.
What I love about felting is the process – which is both demanding and forgiving; repetitive (meditative) and very physical (yes, muscle.) I can be precise or loose and still create something interesting. Mistakes can be opportunities.
I received some natural alpaca roving from Benvenuti Farm and decided to make another mat with integral vase or bowl. I love this minimal, modern design and need to come up with a more fitting name than “mat vase.”
This can be made in about 2 hours depending on the size and the inclusion. I first roughly needle felted four small mats which I then joined into a larger square. Then I placed an inclusion (a large Easter egg) on the square and covered it with cream roving and then with the tan roving to create a reveal of color on the inside when the egg is removed after felting. The whole piece is carefully wet felted so the inclusion does not shift around and so the thickness of felt remains consistent. When it feels complete, I cut out the egg and then wet felt the final piece one more time to make sure the interior of the vase is also tight and smooth. I let it sit overnight to dry and then I trim three sides and leave the fourth raw. The vase is the perfect size for a small potted succulent, an air plant, or some dried herbs or twigs.
These are the little half-size business cards I whipped up for the artist market I participated in a couple weeks ago. I created three different image backgrounds that showcase categories of things I make – Plicious clothing, art & decor, plush toys. Since my HP Officejet is unable to perfectly align double sided printing, I printed front and back on separate cardstock, glued them together, and then cut out the individual cards with a straight edge and X-Acto blade. Of course, if I had planned ahead, I could have just used Moo.com. They are the best on the web for business cards and other promo materials. But last-minute DIY just suits me better, of course.
This set of handmade trivets was wet felted from a blend of natural merino and alpaca wool roving. 1/8” thick mats were cut into 10” and 8” squares. The remnant cut edges were then needle felted onto the squares to create a minimal vertical appliqué. Aside from the functional (and obvious) use as a trivet, I can imagine a whole wall covered in a grid of these minimalist felted squares. Like warm, textural wallpaper. Or more simply, they could be applied to a square piece of homosote and used as a pin-up board. I could also sew them into a quilt or create six quilted panels that are then sewn into a modern cube pouf. Lots of ideas and probably not enough time or focus for me to realize all of them.
While browsing through a local thrift store, I found an old 100% wool blanket that someone had (likely accidentally) shrunk in a washing machine. I brought it home and washed it again just to make sure it was completely felted before cutting it up to make a pouf. The minimal design is a 17″ square with exposed raw seams. It is filled with over 10 lbs of fabric remnants that I’ve collected, as well as a layer of polyester fiber fill to smooth out lumps and give it a plush feel.
I updated the lining of my favorite (really only) Lucky Brand hobo purse a year or so ago because the dark brown interior made it impossible to find anything. I love the retro pattern and how easy it is to seek and find things in this bottomless pit of personal items. But then I got the new iPhone 6 Plus and the phone pocket was too small. Way too small – like the phone was sticking up and interfering with the magnet closure. It was ridiculous and annoying. So for months I’ve just been dealing with it. To avoid redoing the lining, I made a separate felted wallet (check an earlier post) that wasn’t quite practical for quick access. So I finally took out the lining and made a new pocket. I even added a fabric loop for hanging my keys. It is so satisfying to have things function well. The new pocket is perfect. My phone does not have to get any bigger. Are you listening Apple?
by pauline 