Scoring BIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I 'met" Gillian Hunt of FB and fell in love with her incredible photography...the two nature photos. Gillian has agreed to trade these to photos for one of my hats...made especially for her. I am beyond DELIGHTED! I've wanted some of her art for some time, now that will happen. Happy dance all over the place!!!!! Her incredible photos will go in my green guest room. I may start a Gillian Hunt wall! I think these photos will look wonderful in the green guestroom.



The hat that Gillian wants is like the turquoise tam with the hand dyed silk, only done in purples and pinks. I am looking forward to making the hat for her...and trying to make it as special as I think her photos are. I'll try to rememeber to post it here when get it done.



This great moment in the sky happened as I was leaving my friends home a few weeks ago. the whole sky was a series of different clouds, light and shadow play...hard to take your eyes off it. I shot the cloud here from my cell phone. Wish I had had a really good camera on me. I love this photo of the clouds...so reminded me of being 8 years old and watching the clouds in new mowed grass. It was a great moment to capture and I was very happy to have my cell on me with enough charge to allow the camera to work.

This is one of the hats that I was able to complete this week. First photo is of it before felting, the second is finished. I may have to cut the resist down a bit. I used a synthetic organza on the surface. Love the texture it created!

Off to bed. Are you making felt? What are you making?

Shalom and make Happy Felt!

Suzanne

Re-Worked hat

Too busy to write, but will soon. These are re-worked hats and I thought I'd share them quickly.
Hope you are having fun felting!
Shalom,
Suzanne

Hats...

Not much time to write. Very good friend has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and they asked me to be their nurse through the crisis. I'll probably be away for a good bit. I did get these three hats made. Yeah! I need to make felt to feel connected to the felt community. I have to go love my friend through her final phase of this life and help her die with dignity and grace, of which she has much. Hard days ahead of me and I am asking God for the strength and grace and wisdom to get me through.

Spring is coming way too fast here. Crocus are up and looking mighty perking! Robins all over the place. Isn't Spring just too wonderful! The only down side for me is that I'll have to put my much loved sweaters away....and I'll miss them!

Thanks for all of the new followers adding this blog to your list. Much appreciate that.
Shalom and make happy felt!
Suzanne

Who Is In Your Playpen?

Jim and I are well settled into our new routine with Dad, and it is going splendidly. I am accustom to "care-giving' so it does not fatigue me in the same way it does my husband Jim. He is rising to the occasion though, and I am so proud of him ... So much so that I felt I could leave them for a few days and travel to see Pam MacGregor at http://tarveycottagestudio.com/
It was just what I needed. Over the past weeks/months, I felt as though I'd really lost my sense of "play" and knew that I needed a safe place to have that rekindled...no pressure, no expectations, just play...and we did.

I took a couple of things with me that I needed advisement on, and one of the things is the bag shown on this page. The bag project morphed on me during the felting process and went from vessel to bag, then back to vessel and finally to bag again. I was so confused and frustrated at the end of it I just wanted to toss it. But tossing it was not an option. To start with the wool had mohair in it and I do not like hairy felt...at all, so the more I fulled the felt, the hairier it became, even after shaving it. Grrrrrrrrr! Second, I had used some of the organically dyed over-spun silk I'd received from Vilte . So now I have to see this through. So I took it to Pam for help. We got it done and soon it will get the finishing touches. It has already sold, so all was not lost. What Pam and I did is what I would have done here at home, but I'd lost my "risk taking tools", my "play". After the time with Pam, it has all come back. Thank you Pam.

I'm currently embarking on re-working some of my old pattern as well as gathering new ones in my hat making efforts. It is sometimes so much easier to do the 'tried and true" than to push oneself to rethink, retool, dissemble, reassemble, try this, try that...and end up with a failure that that taught me much along the way. It is the felt road I travel. I am planning on being surprised along the way.

I love the black and blue hat, ('tried and true") and the "Tin Man" was an adaptation of a pattern that I like a good bit to. The eggplant purple hat is a pattern I received from Pam. Buttons need to be added and I am already thinking of the changes I'll make to it next time.

Robins are here, so are the Blue birds. It's way too early for Spring in Michigan, but it looks like it is coming anyway. Time waits for no one.. so I'd better get busy. Show Season will be here before i know it.

Shalom,
Suzanne