Scrapping Scraps

This is the second time Scraphappy Day has come around and I have nothing to show for it.

Regular readers will probably be aware that I’m in a period of transition (housing wise) at the moment and am finding it difficult to concentrate on anything unrelated.

I am slowly but surely starting to sift through some of the outrageous stash of various craft supplies I have. (A nice sibilant sentence for you there. – Ooh, and another one 😄)

These are on their way to a new home

My cupboard, once full of balls of yarn now fallen out of favour and part balls of yarn not suitable for any of the sort of scrap blankets I’ve made for previous Scraphappy Days, is now (almost) empty.  The contents have been split between two local ladies – one who will use her share to make dog coats for the Twilight Retirement Home for Old and Disabled Dogs here in France and one who will use hers in a workshop she runs for children.

Of course there were other baskets, bags, etc. containing yarn scraps but too numerous (embarrassing) to show.

As the bedroom I will be commandeering in the new house for my workroom is probably a third the size of my current one – and will have to have a guest bed in it to boot – I don’t think I can justify taking my bins of cotton scraps, jersey scraps and selvedges (!!!) across the channel with me.

Again, more can be found in various bags and bin sacks but this will suffice to make my point.

Sad, but sacrifices have to be made and I daresay I will quickly build up more scraps once the dust has settled.

Meanwhile, my creative mojo is still missing, only emerging intermittently, which will explain why I still have only half a basset hound face on my worktable after a couple of months.

Those eyes look at me reproachfully every time I go in the workshop but I keep managing to resist.

If you want to see what could be made with all those scraps – and other types of scraps too – by people more focused than I am at the moment, see below.

 

Scraphappy Day is organised by Kate & Gun for anybody who wants to make new things from scraps of any kind – doesn’t have to be fabric or yarn.  Here’s a list of participants – both regular and occasional – if you want to have a look at the sort of things you can do with scraps.

Contact Kate (first name on the list) if you want to join in.

Kate, Gun, Titti, Heléne, Eva, Sue, Lynn (me), Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill, Claire, Jan,
Moira, Sandra, Linda, Chris, Nancy, Alys, Kerry, Claire, Jean,
Joanne, Jon, Hayley, Dawn, Gwen, Connie, Bekki, Pauline,
Sue L, Sunny and Kjerstin

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Further Felting Adventures

I’m continuing down the path of my new obsession – needle felting.

After my idiosyncratic hare which was my first attempt at a beastie……

……..I thought I’d have a go at 2D needle felting.  In other words, making a picture using wool tops and a felting needle.

For my first attempt I copied the ouline of an illustration from a card I’d sent to Mr. Tialys at one time on to some linen. Then filled it in with needle felting.

I really like the texture you can achieve.

Then I went back to the 3D sculpture stuff and made a fox.

He has rather a high forehead – probably a very brainy fox – but, overall, I’m quite pleased with my second animal sculpture.

Here he is again resting in some monster-sized faux lavender.  I need to learn how to tame unruly whiskers.

I stretched my 2D picture in a hoop just to display on the blog but I’ll be keeping my early (flat) attempts in some sort of portfolio file in order to track my progress.

Although I think this would work quite well, with a little felted heart between them, as a Valentine’s card.

I’m not sure yet, whether I prefer making the 3D needle felted sculptures or the 2D needle felted pictures but it’s early days yet and for the moment I will carry on with both until I make a decision or, more likely, continue with both sorts.

Next, I’m going to have a go at a dog sculpture – I think I could adapt the shape of the fox to represent one of my dogs.

Also, I’m going to try to needle felt a picture of my other dog for which I’m going to follow a live Facebook tutorial.

At this rate, I see felted gifts for friends and rellies in the future – which will make a change from blankets and quilts I suppose.

But, first, we’ll see if I can make anything worth giving.