Mother Goose comes to call...

Well, after a brief hiatus, I'm back with more felt fun for advent.  I did give myself a bit of a break during this past busiest of weekends. Instead of felties I gave  a couple of ornaments that I bought for just this prpose while we were in Siena.  I love that our tree has ornaments from all the places that we have traveled as family.  Here's one.   It has the emblem of the Lupa (a contrada) and the black an white colors of Siena...

It makes me crazy happy.  Also, taking a break from felting gave me a chance to enjoy all of the performances the lad was involved in over the weekend, plus I was able to get a toe hold on my holiday knitting (which I'm embarrassed to say, I'm just starting  ~ let's just not talk about the fact that Christmas is mere days away, okay?).  

I digress.  Let's get back to the matter at hand...our recent visit from Mother Goose.  Here she is...

I'm still loving stitching on these guys, so I decided a wreath of flowers was in order.   

A quick word about my emerging felting process.  I have watched a number of online tutorials on needle felting lately only to discover that I am apparently not doing it the way most people out there are doing it.  I don't really care much, but I do think it's interesting.  If you're interested in needle felting you should have a ramble around the web.  There is lots of feltie goodness out there.  Anyway, one thing I am still trying to figure out is how to add armiture wire to my felties using my current method, more or less, while still finding the process satisfying.  Several of my felties hav wire skeletons, but I really don't like felting with the wire bases as much as I do without it.  And because I am making these for immediate consumption, so to speak, I don't have a lot of time to experiment too much.  I'm still working all of this out and it really isn't that important, but writing about it here will remind me where I was when I look back from the future.    

Okay, that about does it but I just wanted to add one more thing.  I had a birthday this past weekend.  It was a wonderful day, and I don't mean to boast, but I did want to share one little thing with you.  My darling daughter designed and made this lovely cowl for me.  Isn't just perfect?...

 Okay. It hasn't been blocked yet (the designer would want you to know that).   I wanted to wear it right away and still need to give it back to her for blocking, but isn't it just dreamy?!!!  I love it!  And after being a handmade giver for most of my life, it is such a treat to be a handmade receiver.

Happy handmade to you and yours...​

~xox~​

alison​

festive frippery...

Greetings friends!  I am going to pop in and out quick as a bunny today.  We have carpet to rip out, wallpaper to tear off, kid number two on his way home, the lad prepping for his Shakespeare performance tonight (oh gosh!...that reminds me I'm supposed to make snacks for the cast~okay, note to self), a closet to paint, work knitting to accomplish, the lad's piano recital on Sunday, a party to make an appearance at if at all possible, and hmmmm...what am I forgetting...oh yeah, Christmas gift maikng and shopping...in other words a normal pre-holiday weekend for most moms.  I'm guessing that your schedule, mom or not, isn't too far from this as well.  But it's all good, isn't it.  Busy and full and good.  All this to say that today's offering is a bit short on substance, but still fun and festive.  I'm realizing that there will probably be a few more advent stocking stuffers like this in the coming days.  And I've decided that that's okay.  So here goes...

Ummm...okaaaay...just what is it?...

hmmmm...still guessing?...

Oh right!...a garland!!!  Yep, a garland for our windows or tree or whatever.  Coming to you with the warmest wishes and a whole lot of...

~xox~ 

alison

This little piggy...

Hello! Today I bring a little cinta pig as a feltie offering...

Who? What? Why?...well as some of you may recall, last year ourr family was fortunate enough to spend 3 months of our sabbatical in lovely Siena, Italy. It was a dream come true. Lately  I find myself daydreaming of that beautiful medieval town all decked out in her holiday finery.  Here's what Siena looked like last year...

So gorgeous.  

We spent our days soaking up the history, art, and beaurtiful scenery.  It was truly magical and I still pinch myself when I think of the loveliness of those Tuscan days.  I knew that a cinta would have to be part of this year's menagerie in honor of all the sweet memories that Siena gave us. The cinta  (cheen-ta) is a pig specific to Tuscany.  My favorite depiction of a cinta can be seen in Lorenzetti's 14th century frescoes of the Allegory of Good and Bad Government.  We've spent a good deal of time in front of these frescoes during our visits to Italy.  They are truly remarkable and a wonderful glimpse into medieval life.

Can you see him there trudging up the hill amidst the flourishing countryside and the industrious people prospering in this glimpse of good government?  You will notice after a bit of time in Siena and the surrounding towns that these little cinta pigs are tucked into the corners of many frescoes and paintings.  If you ever travel to the region with little kids in tow you will find that a game of I spy the cinta will give you many more minutes of peaceful museum viewing.  The lad was a champ at this game and could find them in the most unexpected places.

Here is my not-quite-up-to-snuff homage to the darling (and dare I say it, delicious) cinta... 

Not perfect for sure, but a success by and large.  The lad and the mister recognized cinta immediately and there might even have been a little squeal of joy when he was first discovered in stocking number 12 ~~ music to a feltie mama's ears.  

By the way, his front trotters should really be white.  Cinta pigs have that fabulous white belt and most often have white stockings to match...such fashion plates.  Sadly, my white roving is trapped behind a wall of furniture and boxes and I just managed to find enough for his white belt in with my leftovers from last year.  We are in the middle of some home reno and everything is topsy-turvy for the time being.  I figure once I can access those boxes I will do a little front leg-ectomy and perform a double trotter transplant.  Who knew that surgery would be part of this feltie journey?   

Anyway, that's all for now. Stay warm and well!

~xox~ 

alison

Oh dear!

 ...dear deer what can the matter be?...  Do you know that children's song?  I'm afraid it might have gone out of favor but I still find myself humming when I look at this little fawn.  Also it just seems aprropriate since I totally neglected to post this guy yesterday.  Rest assured nothing's the matter! It was just one of those days--a day filled with bedroom painting, baking for a cake order and tending to a sick kiddo (actually he didn't need that much tending-just waiting out an annoying virus-he's a trooper that one).  Anyway, here (better late than never) is a belated day eleven felt friend...

a little fawn in a meadow... 

dreaming of spring...

I'm still playing with embroidery on these felties.  Can't seem to get enough of it, to tell the truth. And I'm learning so much doing these bitty sculptures...things like this ~ noses and snouts can be problematic and can change an animal's species in the blink of an eye ~ that neck circumference and length are more important than you'd think and that even if you don't get those two things just right a cute bum and ears can save the day...

I can't believe that we are almost halfway through this feltie advent adventure.  I think I'm sort of finding my style.  I've realized that while beautiful and so impressive, I'm not aiming to make completely lifelike critters.  I'm not actually sure that I could. There are some truly talented and inspiring artists crafting these little look-a-likes~~really jaw-droppingly beautiful felties . And yet at the same time I don't really want to make cartoony or pop arty felties.  I do love many of them out there.  The cute factor with some of these is practically irresitable, but it's just not what seems to want to get made when I'm working on mine.  So where does that leave me?...somewhere in the middle I guess, hoping that these little creations are easily recognizable by species but are not all together lifelike.  I think anthropomorphism might have something to do with my emerging style of felting (though I'm not sure you can actually call it a style yet).  What I mean is that I find myself making up little stories for them as I make them and /or trying to recreate some of the characters in my favorite children's stories.  That inner dialogue is apparently a very big part of the felting process for me. I don't seem to ever get too far from that fairytale theme, do I?  Anyway, it' still fun, still an adventure, and still worth all that midnight.  Hope you're having fun in this season of making and giving.

until the next feltie, 

~xox~  

alison

Hen party...

​10 !!! Already!  We have a little red hen for today.

I'm sorry about the quality of these shots but the light was not so great and red can be so hard to photograph.  You'll just have to trust me that this litte hen is bright red with jewel tone embroidery.  It's a fun combo and she's very folkloric.  I was tempted to make her embroidery all white.  She would have looked very scandinavian that way.  I might just have to make another and give it go.  

Things are super busy here these days, as I'm sure they are at your house too.  So I will bid you farewell for now.  ​ttfn!

~xox~​

alsion​

flora...

For day nine we are departing from the animal theme to add a bit of habitat.  

Okay so this may not be the most exciting feltie ever, but it was really fun to make.  I got to indulge my love of French knots and experiment embroidering on three dimensional felt (something I want to do a lot more of in the future).  

This past weekend we took a walk in the nature park.  It was snowy and icey, completely deserted and absolutely wonderful.  Walking in the woods and along windy country roads is one of my favorite things to do.  All last spring in Vermont we spent hours almost every day taking long strolls.  This little vignette  reminds me of the mushrooms and toadstools that carpeted the mossy forest floor there.  I'm just silly enough to imagine all sorts of good magic and goings-on happening under those toadstools—little mousie cotillions and the like.  Hmmmmm...too many fairy tales and too much children's literature in my life maybe?  

At any rate it's a peaceful scene (and if nothing else will give some of these woodland felties I've been making a place to rest their head and maybe even something to eat if they get hungry).  Okay yes...definitely too many fairy tales in my world.  

Have a great day!  I'll see you on day 10!  Until then...

~xox~ 

alison

Otto for eight

I ask you, What could be more perfect than a river otter for day eight?  

I kind of love how twisty he is.  He looks like he's ready to slip and slide down a sand bank and splash right into the river.  

Truth be told otters are among my favorite of animals so I knew for sure that I wanted to include one in this year's menagerie, but there's a bit of a risk in doing a favorite animal.  You get a picture in your head and it's sometimes a bit difficult for a novice felter like me to adequately execute that vision.  This little guy was a great example of this.  I knew where I wanted to go with him but had serious doubts along the way.  You wouldn't think that it would be so, but the tilt of a head, angle of a nose, or a minor alteration in the neck to body ratio can change a cute and playful otter into a dinosaur in about a millisecond.  It's sometimes fretful stuff this felting.  I do think I ended up with an otter, a river otter, definitely not a sea otter, after all was said and done, and I learned a ton with him along the way.  There are things that I would definitely do differently next time around, but overall I think he passes.  That's been one of the great things about this project.  I feel like I'm learning a lot and it's so much fun to just delve into something new, to interact with fiber in a new way, to sculpt.  I'm finding that it is giving me all sorts of crazy creative ideas—some totally doable and some pretty pie in the sky, but all fun to ponder.

Sending cozy wishes your way!  TTFN...

~xox~ 

alison

Eleventh hour...

It is literally the eleventh hour as I write this post...just the right time for me to introduce this little night owl for the seventh day of Advent.

He's looking a little bleary in that photo.   Here he is posing for the camera...

He wasn't quite finished in the shot above and as you can see he got a little nippy about having his picture taken before getting his toes.   

Luckily that little feltie love bite wasn't too painful and I was able to get toes on this guy right away.  As you can see he's much more agreeable now...

Well that's all for now. I'm Keeping it short and sweet for tonight.  Sweet dreams, my dears. 

~xox~ 

alison