Monday, October 25, 2010

Gotta Go

Here are the headbands I mentioned, made of cashmere, very soft!  Got the Sleeping Bag for Paige's American Girl Doll finished and delivered.
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Saturday, October 23, 2010

Quality Time



Since I am leaving for sunny California for two weeks, I decided I needed to spend some special time with some of my favorite people.  The boys loved the new tepee and got out the pretend bows and arrows and spent the afternoon collecting acorns and chasing squirrels.  The girls chose to make accessories for their dolls.  Annica's doll is showing off her hat and scarf and fingerless gloves, all repurposed from wool sweaters.

Paige made a poncho.  She and I are working on a sleeping bag for her doll, Julie.  It isn't quite done, but my goal is to be able to show it to you before I leave!  Maybe I will be able to get a picture of the matching headbands I made for the girls and their dolls out of chashmere.  Just wanted to let you know I was not goofing off this week.  I actually got a lot done for my last big show of the season at the Missouri Botanical Garden.  It's just a few days after I return!
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Tuesday, October 12, 2010

33 New Sweaters Equals 33 New Ideas??

Friday, I found 33 wool sweaters to repurpose.  I have a LOT of  wool sweaters waiting for their destiny, so I am really picky when I see another sweater.  Yet, the colors, drew me in on Friday!  
So Soft!!
Many of the sweaters I found are cashmere.  I have already started making fingerless gloves with hats to match.

Some felted really well, plenty thick for hat and mitten sets or messenger bags.

This wool sweater from Peru will be extra exciting to work with.






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Thursday, October 7, 2010

Pink for Breast Cancer



Lolailo on Etsy created a Treasury which included one of my pincushions.  Everything in the Treasury has lots of pink in it, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4cad697e2e2f8eef4d74214f/pillow-talk
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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

What can you Do with a Pincushion??

Four Little Wool Pincushions on a
 Cashmere Sweater that will soon be repurposed into ??? 

Of course we know that pins and needles stay sharp and don't rust in a Wool pincushion....
.learned this the hard way. 
 But they are fun to make, and the colors are exciting,
that wool roving is very addictive......
A Pincushion would be a great way to display a favorite piece of jewelry.....
or perhaps several shown off in a glass dish or a pottery plate sounds interesting.

What would you do with a colorful pincushion?




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Monday, September 20, 2010

Patches for Strangefolk







I'm getting ready to travel to St. Louis this coming weekend for the Strangefolk Festival!  I am taking many new creations.  Hat and Mitten sets are some of my favorites.  As you will see, the colors and textures and patterns on the wool sweaters I find to recycle are so inspiring.  But, this past weekend, I had fun creating a group of patches.  I dredged the idea from the back of my brain.  Several years ago, my husband needed me to cover up an area on a shirt he loved to wear. I searched the internet and did eventually find something  that would work as a patch, expensive though!......but now, I have some IDEAS for making unique, original patches, even custom designed patched if requested!

This elephant is one of a series of patches.  The elephants were originally part of a piece of fabric made in India.  The garment made of the fabric was no longer serviceable.  I stitched the elephants onto pieces of heavy, woven wool from a blanket.  The Patch can be sewn onto a garment, messenger bag or used as a decoration on a pillow or.....use your imagination.  It can sewn on by hand using contrasting or matching yarn and a blanket stitch or sewn on by machine.

The piece of wool used in this hat and mitten set has lots of texture especially in the raised dots.
The heathery green wool used for this hat and mitten set is very unusual.  It is very Limey!

If you are near St. Louis, Saturday or Sunday, you culd come see the 150 vendors of indie art, the great food booths and the super  bands.  Check it out on their website:   Strangefolk 
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Monday, September 13, 2010

Repurposed Rabbits

It is lots of fun to hunt for wool sweaters. In some areas they are quite rare, such as a hunting spree in the U.P. of Michigan, which was presumed to be a good source for items to keep one warm.


 Garage sale hunting is so/so. Some days are good, some aren't.


 Like any good fisherman, I'm not going to tell you my exact locations for best fishing (or hunting in this case), but the challenges add to the excitement. Finding cashmere sweaters in bright colors, happens on only the best days.

A few cashmere sweaters found over the summer




Some of the sweaters have already been repurposed into scarves, c'mon cooler weather!



Rabbits don't hibernate......so these little guys are anticipating falling leaves.



















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Thursday, August 26, 2010

I made it to the front page of Etsy!

This treasury which included my hat and mittens made it to the front page of Etsy today.


WOOL WARMTH

Curator
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Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Wool Felted Brooches

I have not perfected them by any means, but my first attempts were enjoyable. I have had lots of interest in brooches, so I will keep experimenting til I arrive at somewhere that makes me smile.
If I do birds, someone asks for flowers, if I do flowers someone asks for birds, so I do what the wool says.






These brooches can have a pin back or a velcro back or can be thread tacked to a purse, hat, sweater, scarf, almost anything. Check out the purple purse on Etsy. It has a brooch attached. The brooch is made of cottons mostly, but is certainly funky.


This style has been the most popular so far.
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Monday, January 4, 2010

Wool is Warm!!


During this month, working with wool is especially nice! Its warming properties are quite an advantage. Take this warm looking wool wrap around skirt. It provides a lot of fabric without sleeves or collars, etc. to work around or incorporate! I will be designing a uniquely styled messenger bag from this piece.


January is a great time to take stock of my inventory. These tubs contain cotton pieces that I use for linings mostly.
This cabinet has lots of unique cottons that could be turned into bags or whatever I dream up.
I have a new cedar lined closet for my wool sweaters. I probably have 150 wool sweaters and jackets and skirts.


January is also the time to start re-evaluating methods of marketing. I will look for new art shows, choose some old favorites, and find some new ways to share my creations.

Since most of my creations are from repurposed textiles, shows like Green With Indie and Strangefolk in the St. Louis area are perfect. Everyone gets so excited when you tell them an item is 100% recycled! Everyday I strive to use less, reuse more, buy more wisely and REPURPOSE. It's fun.


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