I call it my ‘Flock of Sheep’ pillow; much more abstract work than usual.

I wet-felted and needle felted his project using five different wool sheep breeds – to add dimension and texture. The finished pillow measures approx 11 X 11 – inches.

And since I’m on the topic of sheep, I finished a little fun & fuzzy red satchel, just   big enough for a cell phone, iPod, camera perhaps?

A little red satchel for St. Valentine’s Day…

Leather lace strap, eyelash novelty yarn and a couple pink heart beads just for grins.

I’m still obsessed with stringing red hearts and sheepy banners all over the house… sheesh! Hopeless.

I tea stained book pages, stamped them with a sheep rubber stamp and a heart stamp (in red). Outlined the heart with red glitter and stamped the letters h-e-a-r-t onto each pennant. I added a few red needle felted hearts on one banner and sweet little red crocheted hearts on another.

I went a bit nutz!

Adjustable heart crochet pattern:

Chain 2.

1 Round: Work 9 double crochets into the adjustable circle. Chain 2. Do not join to first chain 2 stitches.

Slip stitch into the circle to finish round. Bind off. Pull the circle (heart) closed with the loose end.

Tie the loose ends together in a simple knot. Sew-in ends.

That’s all there is to it!

To the un-trained eye, it may appear as ‘rodent’ activity…. what’s left of my poor Christmas tree!

But, upon closer inspection… we can identify the felonious perpetrator(s).

Goats L.O.V.E. (chemical-free) pine trees…

My goaties often ‘help’ with the barnyard chores…

…and don’t mind a nibble here and there along the way.

How can you say ‘NO’ to that mug???

I really like!

hand-made, farm-raised, wet felted, needle felted

100% WOOL

Love the black sheep!

A black beauty sheep.

Have a wooly great day!

 photo courtesy farmersalmanac

“The greatest fine art of the future

will be the making of a comfortable living

on a small piece of land.”

 Abraham Lincoln

During the Colonial days, settlers didn’t have the money or the means to get the fine fabrics of the time. So, being resourceful pioneers, they created their own fine fabric using a form of embroidery, the Colonial Knot and a backstitch. Instead of normal thread, they used a soft spun cotton thread, which at the time was used for the wicks of candles. Thus, Candlewicking was born!

photo credit pins and needles

Candlewicking is a form of whitework embroidery that traditionally uses an unbleached cotton thread on a piece of unbleached muslin. It gets its name from the nature of the soft spun cotton thread (which was braided then used to form the wick for candles). Motifs are created using a variety of traditional embroidery stitches as well as a tufted stitch. Colonial Knots and French Knots are used primarily tone-on-tone color scheme to embroider a design usually taken from nature – flowers, insects, pine trees –  and other traditional motifs resembling Pennsylvania Dutch or Colonial American designs.

A French Knot is formed by wrapping the floss two or more times around the needle. A Colonial Knot is similar; it is formed by using several strands of floss. The floss is wrapped around the needle only once. The terms French Knot and Colonial Knot are often used interchangeably even though they are slightly different.

You might recognize this type of stitching from your grandmother’s house on a pillow or bedspread. That’s all candlewicking!

photo courtest Nessy Designs

So, you know I’m NuTz  (o.O) about: 1) my sheepies… and 2) my needle felted ‘bumpy’ sheep! Well… candle.wick.sheep. are bumpy too!

I’ve been stitch’n up lots of bumpy sheep!!!

Lavender-filled sachets.

‘EWE-nique’ jar toppers.

One-of-a-kind sheepy gift tag/label…  I know. I got carried away! But, you get the idea!

HOW-TO:

You’ll need cotton candlewicking yarn (or embroidery floss), cotton muslin (or tea towel, child’s bib, whatever fabric to stitch your needle work), an embroidery needle (remember, the eye of the needle has to be large enough for several strands of ‘yarn’). An embroidery hoop may help, but not necessary.

Begin by centering your image/pattern on your fabric. HINT: Cute little rubber stamps work too! Begin your first stitch from the back side and continue to make ‘knots’ to outline or completely fill-in your image/pattern.

Stitch away.

I added my sheep’s legs, face, etc with black floss, satin stitch. But, you could just draw them in with a black fabric pen. Use your imagination!

I think this would be a nice ‘craft’ project for kids too! Who knew stitch’n ‘knots’ could be so much fun!

MORE.FELTED.SOAP.  BAM! o.O

…more sheep

Red is my fav color. (some have ‘X’ & ‘O’ on the back-side).

Lavender – a fav w/gardeners.

And a mish mash of flowers & stuff.

Groovy!

a bloom’n garden.

But, THESE are my most fav.

Ying & Yang.

I REALLY like the BLACK felt soap!!!! Yowzer! They’re both destined for the KNIT MICHIGAN event/a donation for cancer research. I’ll wrap/box them up real pretty!

This was my kitchen table earlier today… a work in progress. The banner now hangs in the shop window at Heritage Spinning & Weaving.

…a busy day!

I don’t know where this week has gone? Just kind of flew by… I’ve been busy, but don’t seem to have much to show for it! (I’ve been working on another 3 dozen ‘soap in sheep’s clothing’ (aka felted soap!).

I’m hoping, even if you don’t have a ‘thing’ for sheep, you might take away some ideas/inspiration and apply it to your own ‘thing-y’ WHATEVER that may be?!

I’ve been hopelessly smitten by St. Valentine’s Day bUg  since our XMas decorations came down.  I made a few more ♥-shaped ornies.

You don’t have to be a serious scrap-booker to make these ornies. I was actually re-organizing a drawer of bits  when I found some wood heart cut-outs (available at most craft stores). You could make ANY shape ornie from card stock.

I decided to use book pages from an old romance novel (it seemed apropos) and stained/aged them with coffee. (To give a vintage look to paper, spritz with a strong solution of instant coffee; place the paper on parchment paper in the oven on the lowest setting to dry. Once dry, you can iron the paper if you’re planning on running it through the printer.) Or, you could use sheet music or any decorative craft/wrapping paper.

Trace the heart onto the paper and cut it out… I also stamped a sheep onto the paper. Next, apply a coat of Mod Podge or dilute white craft glue to the wood heart and neatly place the paper onto the surface. Carefully smooth and remove any air bubbles. Apply another thin coat to the surface of the paper to seal.

Now comes the fun part… you can decorate with trim, lace, bits of this and that, buttons, glitter! Whatever suits your fancy. I used tissue paper hearts, bits of paper lace doily, pink sequins, ribbon and vintage lace. (I decorated front & back.)

I used ‘letters’ cut out from old magazines for little messages: love, ewe, bliss, etc.  Some I cut and pasted; others, I used packaging tape to transfer the ink image from a magazine page onto my ornie.

I wanted simple & prim: ornie, gift tag, garland… for the sheep lover & fiber enthusiast.

I drilled a hole at the top and added a piece of twine to hang! I think this would be a fun project for the kids too!

Dream pillows have been made for hundreds of years, dating back to the days when herbs were believed to have magical powers. Fragrance unlocks pleasant memories that play out in our dreams in a most delightful way. Dream pillows ~ or comfort pillows ~ are used for inducing sleep and vivid dreams. They were often used in the sickroom to ease the nightmares that may come with medicine and the smells of illness. Tucked into your regular pillowcase, the subtle scents that emanate from a small dream pillow will aid in better sleep and more lucid dreams, perhaps summoning long-hidden memories.

Scents do evoke memories, especially florals, perhaps of childhood days when there wasn’t a care in the world. Since everyone’s sense of smell is different, you really must experiment with different plant materials to find your preferences. Most everyone likes lavender, and makes a nice relaxing base scent for a sleep bag. Other herbs may cause more action packed dreams!  For the frequent traveler, herbal dream blends are meant to give quiet rest, a familiar scent and peacefulness to inspire confidence and ensure the fullest enjoyment of the trip. Make one for yourself prior to a vacation or business trip!

The healing energies of aromatic herbs and flowers are designed to:

• Reduce stress
• Nurture your creative spirit
• Inspire romantic thoughts
• Increase mental clarity and awareness

Here’s a listing of commonly used pillow herbs:

chamomile – relaxation, pleasant dreams
balsam fir needles – relaxing, soothing
dill – comes from Norse word “dilla” meaning ‘to lull’, helps one to fall asleep
hops- relaxation, pleasant dreams , strong scent
sage – “helps dreams come true”
thyme – to bring dreams of fairies
orange peel – protected and safe feelings
sweet woodruff – protection from nightmares and bad thoughts of others.
lavender- eases headaches, promotes psychic cleansing
marjoram – healthy thoughts
mints – adds vividness and alert feelings to dreams.
rose – loving thoughts, can be exotic or even erotic
rosemary – keeps away bad dreams.
red clover – prosperity
lemon grass – prophetic dreams
mugwort – for remembering dreams, vivid dreams
damiana – sensual dreams, aphrodisiac
patchouli – sensual, erotic, aphrodisiac, haunting
leather scraps – wild west dreams, action and excitement

Some herbs to avoid: chamomile for people prone to allergies, other sages, tansy, and artemisias may cause nightmares.

Dream pillows are easy to make with little effort. A simple muslin bag works well as a sleep or dream bag to tuck inside your pillowcase. You can make prettier pillows (or sachets) with floral fabric, lace and ribbons, vintage buttons, hand-stamped messages, and so on… to set on the bed as both decoration and mood setting.

The following recipes will help to get you started. The muslin bags should be filled about 1/2 way with herb mixture so that they will flatten in your pillowcase.

Restful Sleep
1/2 part hops
1 part marjoram
1/2 part linden
12 part orange granules
1 part lavender
1 part chamomile

Relaxing Sleep
1/2 part catnip
1 part lavender
1 part mugwort

Lovely Dreams
1 part mugwort
1/2 part roses
1/2 part chamomile
1/2 part lavender
1/4 part peppermint

Explore your own fav custom herbal ‘recipe’ blend… and ♥ sweet ♥ dreams!

Knit Michigan – Saturday, February 4, 2012

hands create for a cure

spin   ~   weave  ~  knit  ~  crochet

 Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield, MI

(follow link for additional info)