Almost out of the woods...

I love holidays as much as the next person, but I have come to the end of my entertaining repertoire. Thank God school is back tomorrow! I, of course, did not get nearly as much studio time as I wanted to, but we had trips to Tralee and Killarney and art projects and sleepovers and lazy mornings in pajamas. Had to be done! But I am ready for our old routine again so that I can do some fibre focus. After two weeks break from class, it will be a good thing to get into class and see what everyone else has been stitching over the last weeks. I made some progress on my second project, but I have a lot more to get done over the next month to be ready.

This is the new hair barrette that I completed yesterday in the studio. Funny how long something new takes to finish; at this rate I will have to charge a fortune for them. I finally got around to ordering the metal barrette frames from The Galway Bead Shop. The felt beads I had made months ago, so I simply stringed them together and added the beads. I think they turned out cute, so I am going to make more beads this morning and try to crank out some more. This is the medium clip and I got a smaller one for younger girls. I had the idea that I would do pure white ones for Holy Communion outfits, but I have just realized that I only have natural coloured wool and so must try to find pure white--sheep aren't by any means pure white, so I must hunt it, I think.

This little lady is the angel prototype that I have been working on the past couple of days. I am not a doll person per se, but I like the funkier looking dolls and they are appealing all of a sudden. I will keep this one because there are design errors on her, but I am thinking of doing more for www.etsy.com when I am ready to open my shop. How much would you pay for her? She is 18 inches long and made of pure wool. I hand-felted the eyes, lips, and wings and I space-dyed her body in the microwave. Considering the lips on my first doll were a bit of disaster, this one looks ready for her first kiss! She is a cuddly shape that would be good for young kids. I am not sure if I would do the beaded necklace for young kids, but she does look pretty. Needle felting in the hair was probably the most time-consuming part of it. I need to source more of the wool fabric for the body as its very easy to sew (not too thick) and wool so I can quick dye with acid dyes.

I just saw a really lovely light-weight scarf done with merino and tussah silk on another blog, both of which I have in my stash right now. Light and soft and breathable for this time of year, and yet warm enough for the evening chill. I think I might use natural and some colour and then paint on some dye afterward to give it a little pizazz. Must get felting because the day is fabulous again and the afternoon must be spent trying to tidy the garden. If energy holds out, I need to sweep around the house, wash windows, tidy the shed, and clip the hedges before they grow too much more. Also pruning poor plants that did not fare well during all the hard frost that we have had this year. Almost all are bouncing back, but must get rid of dead weight!!

Happy stitching everyone....