Natural Fibre Supplies from Tasmania

My dear friend Shirley lives in Tasmania, off the mainland of Australia, 

way down south where it is quite cold this time of the year. 

She surprises me with all sorts of treats to play with. 

Recently, a package arrived with some 

Superfine Tasmanian Merino Lamb Wool 18.5 micron from 'Oatlands Handmade'

- just an hour from Hobart, some wonderful hand dyed,rainbow coloured,

superfine Alpaca Rovings from The Alpaca Shoppe

Deloraine, Tasmania 

Thanks again Shirley xxx

It's nearly Easter !

Can't eat chocolate?

A Mouse in a Candy House !

I'm having fun with these . . . makes me wish my kids were little again.

I miss seeing that look of delight on their faces with their newfound toys!



More Easter Chicks in Eggs

Crazy Daisy Coasters

For coffee, tea, teapots, candles, vases . . .

More Mice

A Mouse in a House

This little mouse now has a house!

This is the perfect mouse - she doesn't eat, smell or escape!

More Easter Eggs and Chicks . . .

Have you heard of 'Madeit' ?

It's our Aussie grown version of Etsy

and growing all the time.

Come and visit sometime - you may be surprised what you might find !

This little chick is listed in my store.

She is a great alternative for busy little fingers who

can't have chocolate - and she doesn't melt !

100 Hearts for 'Donate Life'

I met Shirley late last year at Kingscliff Market and we chatted about felt and the Felt Hearts she creates...

Shirley makes Stress Balls in the shape of Hearts and decorates each one intricately with stitches, beads and ribbons. They're made with loads of love and care and they squeeze snuggly into the palm of your hand.

Shirley donated a kidney to her Grandson when he was 2 years old. Afterward, she donated some hearts to 'Donate Life' Hobart, knowing they would be great comforters for young and old alike - particularily children if they were on Dialysis or in hospital, were sad or unhappy.  

Shirley shares the love ...these photographs are just 55 of 100 hearts she made with love for 'Donate Life' recently. She enjoys the way the pictures evolve and as you can see, she has the patience of a saint! They're all so beautiful !

We swap packages of treasures by mail -Thank-you for all the goodies Shirley ! xxx

Needlefelted Grubs

Look who I found nesting in my fibre stash!

These crazy little critters make great cuddlies for children !

They fit neatly in little hands, are soft and spongy and

have personalities all of their own !

They're needlefelted from corriedale fleece and have tufts of merino hair.

They're kind of cute in a 'grubby' sort of way !

Easter Chick and Egg - Wet Felted

I love the pretty colours of Easter Celebrations !

Felting Silk ?

Felting with Silk Fibres

Are you having trouble making your silk 'stick' ?

Silk fibres are long and smooth and triangular in shape. This makes them slippery and gives them lustre.

Wool fibres are made of layers of 'scales' which cause them to be dull and allow the fibres to shrink.

This diagram from 'Chemistry of the Laundry' is a magnified sketch of

a) Wool  b) Mohair c) Cotton d) Silk e) Linen

The fibres with more surface texture, felt better than those with smooth surfaces.

If you can imagine meshing these wool and silk fibres together, it is fairly safe to say the only ones with real grip will be the wool fibres.

So, when you decorate with silk, the trick is to place down your silk and then lay down a very fine cobweb of wool over the top to 'anchor' the silk fibres into place.

(Nobody sneeze or move quickly or you'll blow it away !)

But beware, too much wool cobweb will suck the silk into the wool and you will lose the silk's lustre.

These silk roses are nuno felted onto cotton voile.

The rose was a circular twist of silk.

The ripple effect has been caused by the wool fibres pulling and anchoring the silk on the surface into place.

Felting Slippers

Felting Slippers

for Me !

I decided my feet are cold enough (especially early morning)

to make a pair for myself.

But, since I've used most of my natural corriedale fleece

on the last pair and I'll need the rest to finish my Medusa,

I've decided to try some dyed corriedale fleece

I had bought for needle felting.

The results are quite different ...

fluffy and took a long time to come together. 

... and it's BRIGHT blue ... but I think I can live with that!

I laid out some light blue corriedale and silk paper flowers...

then laid out the sole...

wet it down, wrapped it over and the felting began ... 

THEN I HEARD

A SNUFFLING SOUND ...

It had been raining and it was cold,

so I had let our husky inside on her mat.

I turned around and there she was 

- a mouth full of freshly carded fleece from my work room.

"Uh - Oh" ... she dropped the fleece and sat quietly,

 looking at me as if to say

"What fleece? ... Who did that? ... It wasn't me !"

I have seen this face before ... but I have to love her !

  I felted, rubbed and rolled, I cut the opening for my foot,

rubbed and rolled some more, turned them in the right way

... and rubbed and rolled some more

and when I had no fingerprints left ...

this was the result

 ... made with love

to find more information on how to make your own pattern 

visit Pat Sparke's site !

Felt Slippers ...

Felt Slippers ... a Birthday present - a perfect gift for this cold weather.

AND ... he likes them ... !

Amazing Felted Cushions !

I stumbled upon this blog.

 ... Look at these cushions !

What a huge job.

What a great idea!