Felting: Wet felted WIPs

I just have time to share some of the current felting projects that are in the pipeline, (see, I really have been a busy little felter!)

1. Wet felted embedded square, 2. Nuno felt cushion panel, 3. Wet felting with resist, 4. Wet felted DS case, 5. Wet felted plush (penelope pig v.2), 6. Felted bookmark, mixed media,7. Wet felted runner or scarf, 8. Wet felted runner or scarf, 9. Wet felted runner & scarves, 10. Wet felted flower 2, 11. Wet felted flower 1, 12. Wet felted embedded square, 13. Wet Felted sheet, 14. Felt Bowl or Vessel no10, 15. Felt Bowl or Vessel no10

For a more detailed description of these items and the plans I have for each one, follow the link to my Flickr page by clicking on the photos, and check out the descriptions. Some of these items will be appearing in my Etsy shop in the coming weeks. So, if you like the look of something you can either let me know or just keep watching the shop. Thanks for all your support and encouragement!

PS: Have you seen the 3rd party Flickr Applications there are available now? This mosaic was created using the 'Mosaic Maker' over on bighugelabs.com. If you want to get more from your Flickr photos, then check out the servicespage on Flickr and follow the links.

Thanks for looking! x

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For Sale, felt goodies

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Etsy shop update, Toadstool Pincushion listed

I've just listed this needle felted toadstool pincushion in my Etsy shop.


It's a simplified design of the original pincushion which was a gift for a friend during a pincushion swap last year. There isn't as much detail as the original as I wanted an affordable version which took less than a day to make. I hope I haven't oversimplified it... we'll see how it goes.

Thanks for looking.

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Things are on the up, up, up!

After the recent disaster with our car, the bathroom, various illnesses and unexpected hospitalisations, things look like they're on the up! I've just received an email from the editor of Lets Knit saying that I've won a Hobby Craft Knitting Basket from the giveaways. I never usually win these things so this is a real treat. Can't wait to get my hands on the woolly loveliness!!

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Etsy shop update, items listed

The following items are listed in my etsy shop this evening, Tuesday 3rd June 2008.

Over the coming weeks I will also be listing other items including hand felted scarves, cushion panels & covers, and other bits'n'bobs so watch this space. Thanks for looking and keep on crafting.

Light blue corsage in BFL wool. Large flower with brooch pin attahced to back. Suitable for bags, hats and lapels. Center is embellished with beads & embroidery.

Close up of embroidery & bead detail.

Rose Garden corsage in shades of green and pink BFL wool. Large flower with brooch pin attached to back. Suitable for bags, hats and lapels. As before, center is embellished with beads & embroidery.

Arrangement of button flowers, a new take on an old idea. Small terracotta pot painted with blue and white acrylic paint. Flowers are wired and entire arrangement is secure. The base of the pot has a felt backing to protect surfaces.

Pink & blue BFL wool, hand rolled felt, cut and shaped into rose. Entire piece is stitched securely onto a 'hat' pin and can be used to embellish just about anything. Not suitable for very delicate or gauze fabrics due to size of pin. Great for bags, hats and jackets alike.

Shades of blue, large felted flower corsage. Needle felted flower, using BFL, Merino & Silk. As before, center is embellished with beads & embroidery. Corsage has a brooch pin attached to back and can be used to decorate bags, hats, jackets etc..

Close up of embellished center.

Small pink flower corsage. Needlefelted using BFL and center embellished as before. Brooch pin affixed to back. Suitable for embellishing hats, bags etc..

All of these items are now available to buy from my Etsy shop.

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ISE6 scarf & goodies received!

I received the most gorgeously soft scarf from my pal Jesi at the end of last week. My photos aren't great as things have been a bit difficult at home. But here's a quick glimpse of the beautiful scarf and goodies that she sent me.

The scarf is knit in Henry's Attic natural silk and Jesi used the opera scarf pattern. It is so soft, smoothy, silky and light. Jesi left it in its natural colour and has left it with me to decide whether to tea dye it or not. I may keep it natural for now and then see how things go. It's got a lovely pearlescent quality to it, almost like mother of pearl.

As you can see, Jesi also enclosed a few treats for me: a box of candles, some jasmine green tea and some gorgeous laceweight cashmere yarn. The candles are divine with a lovely fragrance. Not at all sickly like some smelly candles - just lovely and fresh.

The laceweight yarn is the original yarn that Jesi bought for my scarf but she didn't enjoy knitting with it. Thankfully she has let me have it - I adore the colours and can't wait to get knitting a nice scarf or shawlette for myself.

Thanks so much Jesi. I wish I was able to get a better photo of me wearing the scarf but it does look lovely (plus it covers the 'lads' perfectly!!) lol.

Thanks also to our wonderful hostesses for a great job. Looking forward to ISE7.

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Knit1blogtoo Netring CLOSED

See knit1blogtoo.blogspot.com for more information. Thanks..Bernie

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Felting goodies

I'm busy making some felt goodies for my Etsy shop at the moment and will post info when ready. For now though, here's a sneak preview of my experiements and test swatches. Enjoy!

Ok, it doesn't look like much, but trust me, I've been a busy felter. There's bags, flowers, cushion covers, felted soaps (with lovely wooden soap dishes) and wallhangings all in the making.

I've also been playing around with some BFL roving for the first time, as well as a merino/silk blend. Check out Needleworks Pleasure on ebay for her selection of affordable handpainted roving. They're gorgeous!!! And I'm hooked on the merino/silk blend... oh sooooo sooooft!

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Knitting: Icarus Shawl washed & blocked

I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I last posted. Eek! Well, I have been busy.... busy riding the knitting mojo wave and making the most of it while it lasts. Seriously, you will not believe how much I have knit in the past few weeks. Oodles!

Here's the first of a long line of FOs and I'll post piccies of the rest as and when I get a moment.

I'm so pleased with this shawl and will definitely knit one for myself in 4ply or sockyarn. I have to admit that I'm a little less than thrilled with the yarn. There wasn't much give when blocking this shawl, unlike the FCS. Perhaps it's because the yarn was a laceweight single ply as opposed to the 4ply sockyarn that I used for FCS. Well, whatever. I think it looks great, even though the points are not as pointy!

I blocked it as hard as I could and hopefully my ISE6 pal will like it. For more information and details about this pattern, check out my Flickr photostream.

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Magknits Pattern Archives

I was trying to find a Magknits pattern earlier today via Google Cache but I couldn't. I did eventually find what I wanted via 'archive.org' where a copy of each issue of Magknits up to August 2007 has been saved. Here's how it works:

Go to www.archive.org and type www.magknits.com in the search box.

The search results will literally be a list of dates that are displayed in a table. It doesn't look like much but by clicking on one of the dates you will be redirected to an archived copy of that issue of Magknits.

Unless you want to visit each issue of Magknits that has been archived, try to find the publication date of the pattern you're looking for. You can do this by doing a Google search for Magknits [+pattern-name].

Once you have the publication date, go back to archive.com and click on the date in the table. This will redirect you to an archived copy of that issue of Magknits.

From there you simply click on the Pattern button in the header to see the patterns for that issue. I haven't checked every single issue, but what I've seen so far looks just like it did when the magazine was live.

NB You won't be able to navigate from one issue of Magknits to the next in the archive. You will have to access each issue via www.archive.org.

There may be a quicker way out there to find an archived copy of a particular pattern or issue, as each web page that is published has its own unique address or URL and if I find one I'll share it.

Bernie x

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Comfort Shawl (knitting daily)

I finally got round to blocking the Comfort Shawl by Sandi Wiseheart on Knitting Daily, which I started 6 weeks ago. If only I had actually been 'knitting daily', it would have been finished a lot sooner. Never mind. It will be winging its way to Spain this week.

This shawl was my first dip into lace shawl knitting and it gave me the confidence and motivation to try something more involved... namely the Icarus Shawl and Forest Canopy Shawl!

I wanted to retain a comfortable and casual feel and the Denim Aran was perfect for this. Plus at over 230 yds per 100g ball, and having only used 1 1/2 balls, it was a very affordable knit. The yarn is a blend of acrylic (60%) cotton (25%) and wool (15%) so it isn't a complete affront to yarn snobs!! ;) I am pleased that the shawl has blocked so well considering it isn't 100% wool.

It seems that I am on a roll at the moment and have found my knitting mojo. Does anybody fancy a rub?

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ISE6: Forest Canopy Shawl finished

Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once more... I absolutely adore this pattern and can't recommend it enough as a great beginners lace shawl project. It would also make a quick knit for more experienced lace knitters.

To my surprise, my non-attention span coped with the pattern repeat. I took my time and completed the shawl in two weeks. I imagine the next one will fly off the needles (she says hopefully!).

FCS grows pretty quickly and I can't wait to start another one using DK weight yarn and bigger needles.

Blocking this shawl was fun, if a little bit of a challenge. I've never blocked a triangle shawl before and I got there in the end thanks to Yarnharlot, Eunnyjang and Morehouse Merino.

I do hope my ISE pal will like it.

• Pattern: Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl by Susan Pierce Lawrence
  Needles: 4.5mm circular needles, knit loosely
  Yarn: 100g of GeminiKnits sockyarn in 'Pacific', 75g used
  Pattern repeats: Twelve
  Blocked size: 51" x 21"

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