rooster

As promised there are a few pictures for your appraisal. If you have any questions please feel free to ask them or comment . That would be much appreciated.

In the above picture you can see that I have added a few peacock plumage feathers and I think, adding a couple of well chosen and placed feathers, it would enhance the overall effect.

Above there are a few more photos of my work, including some ideas for Chrismas cards!! Well it's not far away now, so we have to be thinking about it!!I know! I know!

See-Saw weather

It seems that, nature, having seen fit to half-drown us all here, is now putting us all into deep freeze for a few days!! At least it's dry but can you imagine what those poor souls who were flooded- out are feeling now! And in the very cold conditions, having to try and drag out-side, soaking wet and smelly carpets and furniture. My heart really goes out to them, it's just to be hoped that the insurance assessors don't take an age to sort out their claims, so that they can at least start to get organised. Some may be able to get back into their own properties but some will have to find temporary accomodation until their home is back to normal!! And just before christmas as well. Spare a thought.

I want to talk about a couple of ideas I'm having at the moment, with regards to a mixed media project that I'm thinking about.
I suppose , essentially it will be quilling based but I intend to be using Needle Felting and Applique work as well.
I have done a quilled Rooster, with flowing tail feathers and all but I want to make it more show-ey!! The quilling alone seems a little subdued, even though I've used bright colours   !!
I don't have a picture ready to show you tonight but will get one up tomorrow, so make sure you come back and see.

Crazy weather!! and staying dry with quilling.

So there we were, thinking the worst of the weather was probably over, Boy! Oh! Boy! Were we wrong.
Locally, it's as bad as I have ever seen it here. Nationally, well, we seem to have got off pretty lightly, if that's what you call it!!
There have been some horendous floods in different parts of the British Isles and as of six o'clock local time, there have been three fatalities, attributed directly to the flooding.

Above you can get an idea of the extent of rain we had here. The view of the field in the top picture is the most revealing and shows graphically what I was saying, I have lived in this house for 20 plus years and in the area for 32 and have never seen water on the surface like this. You must understand also that we live on the top and slope of  1500 foot hill!!

It continues in the same viegn tonight and will continue apparently for the next 24 hours.

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One of the things I have been getting back into in a big way, over the past few months is Quilling It's a craft which takes up very little room and you can get started with a few basic bits.

Paper strips can be bought in a mirriad of colours.......but you can also make them yourself with a hand or electrically operated paper shredder. I prefer to make my own but that's probably 'cos I'm a bit tight with the cash!!!
The paper strips can be wrapped round a cocktail stick, kebab stick or anything else that you feel comfortable with.
I make my own slotted tools, which I find suit my style of quilling, that doesn't mean I don't use the affore-mentioned methods at times.And quilling takes on many forms and styles and in the coming days and weeks, I'll try and introduce you tto a good few of them.

The above picture is made by wrapping newspaper round a kebab stick then rolling it round  on itself into rings/ circles , arranging them into pleasing shapes. I also used acrylic paint, nail varnish and glitter-glue to give this piece a servicable finish that can be wiped clean!!
I'm going to publish this bit of blog now as it's getting a bit late but please rate and join the site.

fiber talk: Hi all you wonderful, loyal people of blogger-land...

fiber talk: Hi all you wonderful, loyal people of blogger-land...: Hi all you wonderful, loyal people of blogger-land, who have been visiting my site over the last few months, even though I haven't added any...

Hi all you wonderful, loyal people of blogger-land, who have been visiting my site over the last few months, even though I haven't added any new content for ages!!
Thanks so much for your continued interest and I would like to assure all of you , who are interested , that I shall be adding content on a much more frequent basis in future.
I have to admit that it's been through laziness that I have been absent, rather than having a very pressing engagement, which has kept me away. You probably know how it is yourself, you've been busy and you think , Oh! I'll just give that (whatever it may be)... a miss for a couple of days, which runs into a couple weeks and before you know where you are, it's next year!!!
I have been very busy!! And I promise I will share with you what I have been up to, in the coming days and weeks... I have new things to show you and new ideas to share, here's a little taster.....

then a bit of this....

and maybe you recognize this type of thing....

 Yes?? well trust me, there's a lot more where that came from!!
So thanks again for keeping the faith and please do stop by very soon as I have lots of crafty treats in store for you.
Take care and god bless.

General things and Needlefelt Hedgehog

I am always doing or talking about random (that's on trend!!!) subjects as well as fiber crafts I know but that's because my interests are so varied and I do like to let folk know that I'm not just some boreing ol' fart, who doesn't have any other strings to my bow or should that be bows??
Some of you may know that I recently aquired a greenhouse which has been put to good use this spring. If you remember, apart from the last few days, the weather in our area has been pretty poor to say the least, in fact I was beginning to despair of ever getting any decent weather!! So when the greenhouse was sited, it was almost immediately filled with trays of seeds, pots, cuttings  and all those good things.
Now, most packets of seeds contain hundreds, if not thousands of seeds, which invariably sprout and grow on, ready for pricking-out into bigger trays and so on. Well you may be able to guess where this is going....I now have the equivalent number of plants for which I need to find garden space !!!
I have runner beans, broad beans, planted out and just about starting off up the strings. marigolds in every nook and cranny not to mention literally thousands of Anthirrhinums coming on !! Sweet williams, Wallflowers, tomatoes, Lettuce, Spring onions and loads of trays of Beetroot.
Some of these trays of plants were recently put outside to 'harden off' and were doing great 'til last night, when the so-called 'breeze which was forcast, turned into a full-blown gale!! causing untold havoc...trays over-turned, established plants shredded and broken. Well, I have managed to salvage most and the wind has now died down somewhat but it's pretty disheartening, wouldn't you agree!!

The false eyes post generated a lot of replies offering solutions and useful feedback...thanks to all.


On to the Hegehog.
At the moment he looks like a monk hedgehog, with a patch on his back devoid of spines!!
I'll post this now and later I'll stick a couple of pictures up and give a brief description and how-to!!
Thanks for reading thus far, Phill 


One hour later....

OK I'm back with the pics and I've watered the seedlings, Oh! and by the way, the ind has dropped to a whisper!!
 

 In the picture above you cansee the hedgehog, the working area and the felting needles as well as the lengths of wool I'm using for his spines.These are around 3 1/2 inches long, it just depends on the size of your project and what looks right.
 The body is made from polyester wadiing as discussed in earlier posts....one large ball, one half that size and one in the shape of a cone for the head!!

 I started with the underside and used a lighter colour which was used also as a 'fringe around the head and edge of underbody.

Use whatever colours you prefer, try one with really funky , flouro colours, use wooltops or rolled yarn for the eyes and nose. Add all sorts of features such as spectacles and goofy teeth!! Have fun with it1

 Now you can see why I called him monk hedgehog!!

 And the portrait!!
I've just realised that i neve told you to fold the yarn in half when making the spines!!! Just fold in half and needle the bend into the wadding base, simple as that.!


Have you met my little dog?? Friends, Igive you Jack, the laziest dog in Wales, possibly the world!!

I hope you have fun with this project, it's a nice easy one to start out with, if you're just beginning with needle felt and if you are experienced, it perhaps gives you a little inspiration.
Have fun, if you need advice or help, just ask, I will do my best to advise you. And if you would like to comment, I would appreciate that too.
Thanks for reading and see you soon, Phill

The eyes have it!!

To my regular readers, this post has nothing to do with fiber crafts!! Its with regards to another love of mine which is Papier Mache....I know, it's nothing like my felting stuff but it still has the same artistic merit...I hope!!
This relates to a little problem I was facing, which was the making of eyes, more to the point, realistic eyes. It's possible to buy them online but difficult to obtain eyes much over a couple of inches and those are really only available from specialist taxidermy shops...and run into a lot of pennies!!! So, I was hunting around for ways to make my own and came up with what I think is a, not too bad a solution, using clear plastic spoons!!!
Before you fall over laughing, have a look at the picture and let me know what you think. They are set in a plasticine eye socket!

The yellow one, I bent abit using hot(very hot) water, then painted the backs.