felt

Earrings made from felt are light to wear and can be embellished with embroidery and beads to make unique jewellery.
Because wool takes dye so well you can obtain colours from muted to bright making felt the perfect background to achieve any look you want, be it subtle or vibrant.
Embroidery threads come in sumptuous hues too not to mention the variety of glass beads you can get to add texture and sparkle. The mixture of wool felt, glass beads, embroidery and your imagination you can create little works of art.

Over the last couple of days I've been getting familiar with my new sewing machine, especially the embroidery stitches, a novelty to me!

On Sunday 26 September, along with my friend Sue, I attended a one day Nuno felting workshop arranged by the IFA (International Feltmakers Association) Region 5 and run by Emma Jackson 

A couple of years ago I thought I would have a go at making felt beads, how hard could that be? Well disappointingly it proved to be more tricky than I anticipated and I failed miserably. Recently my friend Sue gave me what I can only call a couple of 'master classes' in felt bead making. It became clear where I had gone wrong, with my initial beading attempt, I was too quick to form a 'ball' and it separated. The secret is to take the initial forming of the 'ball' slowly then gather momentum.

These bright flowers couldn't be easier to make, just a little sewing involved.

Following my diagram make a pattern.

Cut out the felt.

The petals are formed by folding the main oblong of felt in half, making six cuts as indicated, giving you seven petals. Sew a running stitch along the bottom edge, pull thread to form a circle. Sew the two ends together, at the base.

For this Easter basket I bought a 99p packet of cleaning cloths, the pastel colours are perfect for this Easter project. In The 99p Shop I found a packet of 15 pearlized eggs, they open up, you can put sweets of your choice inside. Alternatively you could put chocolate or decorated eggs in the basket . For the basic basket I found this comprehensive tutorial on Maya Made Maya has made a beautiful basket, I have just tweaked it a bit for this project.

I love this Christmas decoration, felt skates, such a clever idea that looks simple to make. The use of a paperclip for the blade is inspired. If you want to make this decoration there is a very clear photographic tutorial at Not Quite Vintage 

These birds are so easy to make, the instructions and free pattern to make them are here  on an older Pom Pom Emporium post.

These traditional woven heart baskets look very festive hanging on a tree either empty or filled with sweets. I have made mine in red and white felt but they can be constructed from paper. There is a choice of two templates to download, one is for 4 x 4 square heart and the other is for 3 x 3 square heart, you choose.  Down load the templates. Glue them on to card, cereal packet card or similar. When dried, carefully cut them out. Cut out the channels between the strips to 5 mm (1/4 inch) approx.

I enjoyed the Knitting and Stitching show for lots of reasons, and seeing textile artists work is one of them. There was an area at the exhibition showcasing the best creative talent from this year's textile and applied arts degree courses. All the work was interesting but the artist that stood out for me was Claire Moynihan. She studied at the University of Hertfordshire, a local connection. Claire said , " I am primarily a three dimensional felt designer, working with locally sourced, un-dyed Alpaca wool.