Found a fun paisley-patterned tunic at the flea market for a dollar. Discovered that although quite large, it had ridiculously tight sleeves, and the slit went down waaaaay too far. Black man’s tshirt from thrift store (another 3 dollars!) fixed the sleeves and the slit. Now if only it actually looked good on me….
At last, something to post: hammered recycled copper wire earrings for a friend’s big birthday.
After seeing the photo I realized I needed to flip one around so they mirrored.
copperspiralearrings-koamist
For a friend’s favorite work jeans = a use for the silly power tool print! Large patches stitched behind both knees, the one that was already torn through got additional tools fused on.
Found a lovely handwoven Irish mohair throw at the Thrift that someone had probably machine washed, causing it to felt. The colors are great and the fabric feels wonderful, with an intriguing bumpy texture.
I debated for ages what to do with it and finally settled on a long vest as a birthday gift. It was a bit too narrow to go over hips, so I knit inserts from some stash yarn. Deciding on closures took forever. Nothing suitable in the button stash. Hooks didn’t stay shut. Finally found these unusual buttons at a fabric store. Perfect.
I loved hand-stitching the seams and edges, it’s so soothing and satisfying.
Finally, for the new year, some “making”….leftover felted and unfelted wool trimmings, random beads, a tiny bit of roving…loosening up the rusty creative gears.
My contribution to India Flint’s wonderful Solace project (http://prophet-of-bloom.blogspot.com.au/2015/06/solace.html)
Salvaging a pillowcase from a grandmother’s dowry, dated 1922, with hand-crocheted lace insets. The inset background is dyed with turmeric, a quick amateurish attempt. It will probably fade immediately, but the boldness of the yellow made me very happy.
After seeing the heart-breaking images of koalas with burn injuries from the Australian bushfires, when I heard about the call to make mittens to cover their burned paws I had to participate. 16 pairs of mittens sent off to Australia this afternoon. Heal quickly little guys!
Read about it here, with a link in the article to the mitten pattern. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/09/koala-mittens-needed-to-help-bushfire-victims-with-burnt-paws
Update, 1/12: IFAW has received enough mittens to last through the fire season. You can still help koalas rescued from bushfires by supporting IFAW through donations and spreading the word about their good work!
Read more at http://blog.theanimalrescuesite.com/ifaw-koalas/#1erQMcj4U8cKfByM.99
A gift for a friend to fit over 2 extremely different pots – a tall thin coffee pot and a short fat tea pot. The colors were chosen to coordinate with the kitchen decor.
Body is a felted sweater with needle-felted roving, embroidery, and a silly tassel. Lining is cotton, with a layer of batting for insulation.
Bought a beautiful (looking) skein of handspun wool thinking I’d make a cowl. Things didn’t work out. It wasn’t nearly enough, and while the skein looked beautiful, it was not really great for knitting, being under and overspun. In a fit of craziness I decided to make it a hat. For days when only wacky headwear will do.
A fun and fast gift for a friend’s kitties. I received a video of the reactions! So I made one for mine and it was snubbed. Felted sweaters and random embroidery floss, stuffed with vintage polyfill and organic catnip.
