More dolls

Here are a few more dolls made the same way the Father Christmas doll or figure was made (see that entry).  As I have stated, these dolls are Steiner dolls, that is, they were used in Steiner classrooms. The philosophy of a Steiner education was that craft was important and that learning happened through doing.  Steiner dolls, like Amish dolls, have no facial features, to encourage imagination (the Amish, however, did not depict faces for religious reasons). The first is a winter doll (seasonality and seasonal displays were important in Steiner classroom). The other two are dolls in summer dress.  The winter doll is dressed for travel, carrying a basket of food to friends, and her knitting in a bag to work on during her visit.  The summer dolls, one with a flower ring in her hair, are ready to frolic in the grass.

Felted lap blanket

I figured I should post these photos of a lap blanket I am working on and not wait until it is done (when will that be???) . I was given the gift of wool for my birthday one year and had half of it made into wool batts (wool felt fabric) at a fiber mill. I made a vest out of one piece (that's another post) and decided to make a lap blanket with this batt. I backed the batt with an old white cotton sheet. I folded the batt into quarters so I could pin the center to mark the center of the design, then stitched a circle on it with needle and thread, after I came up with the idea of a wreathe design. The first part I tackled was the ribbon, and I had to reposition that a few times to get it right. Then I worked the tulip design in loosely (always needle loosely at first, so you can easily remove and reposition your wool without harming the base fabric). I then started working my way around the wreathe, parallelling the type of flowers I added (forget-me-nots, single petaled roses, wisteria, until I go to the off-center "top" of the wreathe where I worked in the sunflowers. Once the flower forms were worked in, I began to add leaves and detail. Lastly I added in the four corner sunflowers. Future plans include a vine border, then I will bind it off and use it!
Till the next time, I'll be needlin' around!

Father Christmas Doll

I had a great deal of fun making this Father Christmas doll, the third one I have made. Supplies include:
2 pipe cleaners
stuffing wool (I got it thorough Halcyon Yarn http://halcyonyarn.com/fibers/fiberswildwooly.html )
Red, green and golden felting wool (also through Halcyon and fiber festivals)
A small amount of colored wool for eyes and lips and face if you want a different skin tone than I have here.
I used washed, un-carded curly locks for the beard and hair- you can purchase wool doll hair or make it yourself by braiding wool hanks and letting them set.
Needling pad or sponge
Needles.

The first thing to do is take two pipe cleaners- one for the head and arms, the other for the bodice, and bend them, as below:

This gives you a form to work with and some flexibility in the arms later. Next, I wrapped the arms in stuffing wool and needled it into place (light needling at this point allows you to make changes later). I then stuffed the head from one side- the smooth front becomes the face, the back is later covered by hair:
Next I took a small hank of wool and needled it in the center to build up a nose. This takes some practice, so try a few times (and use tan or brown or whatever color wool for different skin tones on the face and "hands." When I have made darker skin tone dolls, I have set the eyes off in a white background so they can be easily seen):
I then needled the whole thing into place on the face:
Next begin stuffing the body- this is where you need a firm conviction that it will eventually look like something, not an amorphous blob!
Continue to needle the wool to get it tighter and firmer, adding wool as necessary. Needle from the bottom too, to "lock in" the core wool at the base- here it is firming up:
Begin to add colored wool. The red is a Christmas red, and the green is a forest green, but it appears darker on these photos than it really is:
I took some red wool and made a small poinsettia, adding the yellow accents (these are the true flowers of the poinsettia- the red are modified leaves, called bracts) (you will see later where I add this to F. Christmases robe):
I took a hank of red wool and needled it flat, into a rectangle. Then I folded it into a cone and trimmed it and needled the back seam from the inside to make a cone-shaped hat. Here it is being needled to Fa. Christmases head...oh and I added some facial features and later straightened his nose:
I made a small sack for toys and a wrapped present to put in it (honestly, this is red, not pink):

Then I needled on the hair and beard, folded the hat down, added some holly and assembled my Father Christmas!

Till next time, I'll be needlin' around!

Little knitted bags

Little Knitted Bags
Another kind of "needlin' around" I do is knitting, especially when it is hot out and handling wool and wool felt does not seem like a fun idea. Here are some simple knitted bags I made, using less than a skein of Clover "Peaches and Cream" 100% cotton yarn. You need some very basic knitting skills and need to be able to use a crochet hook (casting on and off, knitting with some nice stitch that you like)(and I know about basic skills- I am no knitting expert, just a dabbler).

These bags are easy and are sort of free form. Decide the depth of the bag you want and double the number of rows- these are small- I am going to fill them with little homemade soaps or candies for Christmas gifts this year. I used a half-linen stitch- it makes a lovely pattern and is fun and easy to do (I do not like the "Dummies" books because of their titles, but "Knitting for Dummies" is pretty good for beginners). I knitted rows that were between 33 and 51 stitches wide (half-linen stitch requires an odd number of stitches). When it was done and I cast off, I crocheted a simple chain-stitch ruffle around the edges in a contrasting color. I folded the knitting in half and used a tapestry needle to stitch each side together with the Clover yarn. I made some sort of handle or clasp, using a ribbon, a knitted swatch or a macrame rope- a braid will do too. Find a cool button for a closure, sew it on and voila, you are done! Quick and fun and you can use up odd bits of yarn that we all have laying around! (note- do not use a stretchy yarn-that's why I used the Clover cotton. Regarding the needle to yarn ratio- use smaller needles than you might otherwise, so that the knitting is a little tight-I used Takumi 10 bamboo circulars, though even smaller might work better).
Till next time, I'll be needlin' around!

One fish, two fish

I made a second fish to go with the first. I started with a form cut from wool felt (above) though you can also shape and needle loose wool. Next, I added padding wool on each side (below).
I left the fin and tail area flatter than the body and separately needle felted some blue fins and tail and needled them onto the fish.
I added a layer of color to the body:
..and a lighter color for the belly (working back and forth from side to side). Time for eyes..
Adding the fishing line...
and voila, a companion to the first fish, complete with eyes, eye spots and gill slits!
Happy Birthday to my friend J!
Till next time, I'll be needlin' around!

Felted fish

Needle-Felted Fish
I have a friend who likes to go fishing, so, for her birthday, I am making some needle-felted fish (I don't think she is reading this blog!). The basic process is to first cut out a fish shape from some wool felt (you can fashion and needle a handful of wool into a fish shape as an alternative).

I then built up each side with some stuffing wool, lightly needled it into place, and added some variegated gray wool:
Next, I began to work in details with colored wool, using three, two, then one needle, as the parts got smaller:
Lastly, I added some dyed, curly locks for fun, needle felted a string into the "mouth" (you can also sew it in or work it in much earlier in the process) and tied the string to a pole. I hope to make a few of these to put in a coffee cup or glass!
Till next time, I will be needlin' around!(PS Garden season has started, so I am busy, and needle felting has a season, too, for me, fall and winter, so I will continue to add posts, but they should pick up substantially in the fall!)

Project 2: Felt pillow

Using the same techniques as in the felted card, but on a larger scale, I needle felted this pillow (though still have yet to stuff it). I free lanced on the design, knowing I wanted a wild vine in a somewhat circular form overall. There are a few other differences from the felted card- this design has more shading (on the vines) and I used dyed, curly Merino locks to add the yellow curves to the center flower. I have only ever seen these for sale at fiber festivals-they add a bit of fun, and dimension, to your work. The next step is to stitch this into a pillow and stuff it. I probably will not use wool for the backing- it is expensive and pillows need to have one non-wool side, in case the wool feels itchy to you. I will probably use fleece. Hum..I might add a few vines too...
Till next time I'll be needlin' around!