Needle Felted Pumpkins and Acorns

I had my friends Kelly and Jennifer over the other night to do some needle felting.
If you'd like to try your hand at this fun craft, head on over to my friend Pat's website (designed by yours truly) and buy yourself a little starter kit! DecadentFibers.com

I made all of these little pumpkins/gourds and acorns. Aren't they cute?!

Now I just need a cute wooden bowl or something to display them in, instead of grouping them all on the piano.

The color is much more true on the picture above, than it is below.
I just love my little acorns, though!

If you want to see more fun fall craft projects from bloggers all over the net, head on over to Rhoda's at Southern Hospitality and join the party!

The kids didn't have school on Monday, so my sister asked me if I could watch Madeline for the day. Of course I said yes! We went to the apple farm, waited 45 minutes in line for some YUMMY cider donuts, and then drove up the mountain to Thacher Park, which is always a great place for a photo op. I think we were there barely 5 minutes before it started raining and we had to make our great escape.

I got some great pics before we left though! (You can click to enlarge.)

They look like sisters, don't they? :)

I'd like to go back in a couple of weeks when all those leaves are orange and gold, and get another shot just like this one.

Happy Fall!

Superbowl Crafts

This little needle felted chick was my inspiration. I just photographed him ( i didn't make him!)"for DecadentFibers.com the other day, and I decided I wanted to do some of my own needle felting while I watched the game:

...so I made a "chocolate" bunny!

Isn't he precious?

..and then I decided to try my hand at the Decadent Fibers basket of eggs....but I didn't have the kit or the directions...so I just winged it. It came out OK, but Pat's is much better:

This is a bunch of wool balls that Kathleen rolled for Pat. It's Kathleen's day job...and the bonus is we get to grab a roll each of the colors we want!

Kathleen's working on a cat...it's supposed to be her cat Puff. I think he is coming out SO cute. Sometimes that kid's creativity amazes me.

If you want a chick kit, go to DecadentFibers.com! They are SO cute, and fun to do! Kathleen and I are talking about having a felting party in March, after we get settled back in after our Florida trip.

Easter Felt

Some weekends you just get to do something fun with friends, and the bonus is when you get to take something tangible home with you, besides the glow of friendship. This was one of those weekends. I spent most of Sunday at my friend Jennifer's house with about 12 other ladies (and young ladies), a big bowl of colorful hand-dyed wool roving, some felting needles, and our imaginations. Jen's mother Pat (http://www.decadentfibers.com/ )was there to guide us, and the above picture is some of the fruits of our labors. Aren't we good?!

This little chick in a basket was Nancy's creation--she has sons, and doesn't get to do "girly" stuff very often. This was her first time trying needle felting, as it was for many of us. She was VERY enthusiastic about the whole thing--as you can see by her creation. Fantastic!

Needle felting consists of a barbed needle, some wool roving, and a piece of foam. You punch and stab your wool with the needle until it holds together in any shape you wish. Obviously, we were working on an egg theme. It was very interesting to see what everyone decided to do with their eggs. Some of us decided on flowers, while others went for bunnies, chicks, and butterflies.
This one's mine--a blue egg with 3-D flowers, which I felted separately, then applied to the egg.

Kathleen felted a bunny directly onto her egg. I was very impressed with the perspective/pose she used. The kid's got talent!

And of course, there was a bunch of food, including a blueberry buckle that Jennifer made, that I could just NOT stop eating. I grabbed the recipe from her, and I'm going to share it with you...as soon as I can put my hands on it! I know it's here somewhere.....in the mean time, how about a picture of it--just to get your mouth watering? :)

That crunchy topping was to DIE for. Yum! Needless to say, BF was extremely disappointed at not being invited to this little shindig...he had to stay home and do "boy stuff"....lol...I'm SO sure he was crying in my absence. :P To make it up to him, I harangued him into cutting 8 pieces of plywood for me later that night. With his tools at work, we were done in 10 minutes. If I had had to do it myself with a jigsaw or something, it would have taken me 10 times longer. Thanks, BF! ;) (Ya' gotta love a man with power tools.)

UPDATE 3/2/08 Recipe for Blueberry Buckle

350* oven for 45-50 minutes for 9x9x2" greased pan

Sift together:

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 2.5 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt

Beat together in a bowl:

• 1/4 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg

Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and bead vigorously for about 2 minutes.
Stir in 2 cups of blueberries. Spread batter in pan. Sprinkle topping (see below) over this, and pop it in the oven.

Topping: (mix together until crumbly)

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup soft butter (NOT melted)

Let me know if you try out this recipe, and if you like it!!

Heart Felt Bouquet

Remember me talking about my friend Pat, and her gorgeous hand dyed wool? Well, she and her partner Christine have come out with a great needle felting kit for Valentine's Day, and I just had to share it here. If you click on the photo, it will take you to Decadent Fibers, which is the website where you can buy the kit. Be sure to surf around while you're there. If you are a crafter, this will be a great new craft for you to try! And even if you are NOT a crafter, needle felting can be a really fun place to start expressing your creative side, while making great gifts for your friends! I mean really, could that bouquet be any cuter? You should see the penguins, and snowmen, and pumpkins, and...well...you're just going to have to go to the website and check it out.

This Heart Felt Bouquet was featured in February's "Create and Decorate" magazine, too, so they're famous as well! :) If you live anywhere in the vicinity of Pittsburgh, and you're into wool and knitting or crocheting, look for Pat and Christine at the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival February 9th and 10th, at the Crowne Plaza, Pittsburgh South. You won't be able to miss them...their yarns will be the most gorgeous! :)

Decadent Fibers

My friend Pat sells wool. She sells some of the most gorgeous wool I have seen. She and her friend Chris started their business a number of years ago, and they attend all of the big craft and wool festivals and fairs around the Northeast to sell their wares. They also have a lovely website (I say that because I designed it for them...heh), where they sell yarn, knitting kits, needle felting kits, and wool roving for felting.

They custom hand dye all of their yarns, and have exclusive yarns and knitting patterns, that rival the best out there. They've been featured in many knitting magazines, and even Country Living magazine, for their felted pumpkins.

Pat's daughter is my very good friend Jennifer. Jennifer and her sister used to raise prize-winning sheep when we were kids. I remember going over to their house with the crisp of winter in the air, and the new lambs would be huddled in the barn with their mothers. I even watched one being born once, which was an incredible experience. I tell you this, because they used to sell the prize-winning fleece for others to use. This eventually morphed into Pat not raising the sheep any more (after her daughters were out of the house), but buying the fleece from other prize-winners, and creating her roving and yarns from that. Her eye for color combinations is incredible. Her yarns look good enough to eat, and feel divine in your hands.

Ok, enough gushing. Check out her website at http://www.decadentfibers.com/ . If you're a knitter, I don't think you'll be able to help yourself. If you've ever thought about starting a new craft, needle felting might be for you! If you look back at my first post (from March, I think?), you'll see a couple of things I felted. It's fun!

I just did the egg and the carrots, too. My carrots need some work, but hey, not bad for a first try, right?

This is one of the many little projects I've been working on this spring. It's my first little felted creature....a chick inside a tulip.