Black and White and Snow

Today, my corner of the world is in full, bold, stark and stunning black and white. It is snowing a very wet snow and though there is a bit of wind, it is not yet strong enough to disturb the snow. The Kalamazoo river runs through our small city. These photos were taken at a local park that I go to nearly everyday to watch the water and the wildlife that comes to it. I put these up on small pics this time, but if you click on the pictures, it will bring it up into full size for you. I love when the world turns into black and white all on it's own. It is peaceful to me and strikingly beautiful
Shalom,
Suzanne

This sculptured hat was sent off before I could get good photos of it, but here it is anyway, only showing one side of it. The other side has a rosette on it sculpted from just the black wool. It has a very nice feel on the head the only color other than the black is on this side flap. I hope whoever buys it finds it as much fun to wear as I had making it. It is double hooded, so it should be very warm as well as elegant

I've had a energy surge today, so I'm tempted to think that I might be on the road to recovery from the dreaded "MISERY". Beloved husband is not faring as well. If I have enough energy, I may felt a hat today...or pay bills....I think the felting sounds like a better choice!

Trying to create through "THE MISERY"

The hat/scarf combo I crocheted while I've been sitting on the sofa sick with "The MISERY" (see previous post). The tiny wall piece is constructed from bits and pieces with some heat bondable angelina. The colors are white, gold, burgundy and a deep olive green. The angelina is in gold, pink, green, and a wonderful blue. The photo does not capture how lovely this little piece is. It makes me smile. The final photo is one of the married hats I've designed from scraps of wool felt that were made with no purpose in mind. The pieces were put onto one of my needle felt forms with pins, then hand sewed. I was not sure if I'd like the effect, but I do.


My beloved husabnd is also coming down with this horrid cold/flu. God bless him. I was so hoping it wouldn't happen!

New Friends!

While I was in Rhinebeck, NY last year, I met Amy. She was interested in needle felting. This year she sought me out to show me what she had done. I love this little gal and the sparkle all over her is just amazing. She is a wonderful new friend and I am anxious to see what she will bring to show me next year. She is as sweet as a Georgia Peach!

I am wearing my favorite hat and a new wrap that I'd just purchased from Theresa May-O'Brien. Not a usual color for me, but I do dearly love it!

I have been busy, mostly with the flu/cold! Have managed to get a few hats done, several of which will be posted here as soon as I can get the photos taken and get then put up on the blog.
This hat is a combination of several of my favorite things: felt, crochet and needle felt. In the past, I've made felt for the sole purpose of making felt, with nothing in particular in mind. In my attempts to get organized ( a challenge thrown down by my dear friend Dawn) I am using up some of those felts to create hats that are a bit different from what I've done in the past. This one is an example of that marriage between felt making, crochet and needle felting. The band is handmade, merino wool felt with hand-dyed merino silk on the surface. I then crocheted the top of the hat with a soft grey colored wool yarn. To add more texture to the hat. I needle felted Teeswater locks into the crocheted top and allowed the locks to tendril down the side of the hat. I like the many textures playing together and am going through my box of felts to find what other little pieces will ask to to married into something. It is a much longer process, but I am enjoying it very much.

The weather has turned significantly cooler and it feels as though it is time to do the things that take a bit longer to do. Many evenings I am now crocheting or drawing out designs. After a long day of cleaning closets, trips to Goodwill, and filling orders, all through the fuzz of a bad cold, crochet is about all I can manage to do. I am totally convinced that the common cold is misnamed. It should be called '"MISERY"; cold sounds so benign, when in fact, one can be quite miseraly sick with a cold.

Zenni Optical--Great Find

This entry has absolutely nothing to do with the joy of feltmaking, but is is so worth sharing! While I was at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool festival, this young woman was in my booth trying on several of my hats. She was wearing the coolest glasses. I asked if I could try them on and told her how much I loved them. ( They really were wonderful in color and design!) She said, "15 bucks" to which I responded, "Oh, cheaters?" She said no and told me about www. Zennioptical.com
We all wear glasses in my family. From now on, this is where I'll be getting mine. If you have a moment, or a need to purchase glasses, check them out!