Embroidery on Needle Felting

I recently had another of those “What if” moments.  I was adding a bead to a heart ornament and realized that the ornament looked very plain even with the heart.  So I wondered how it would look with a little running stitch of embroidery around the edge.  And I liked it. 

Heart Ornament with embellishments

So that led me to adding embroidery on other felted items just to add a little embellishment to them.  

Such as using french knots for the eyes of some dolphin ornaments. 

French knot eyes on dolphin

Or adding a little sparkle to an ornament with metallic thread.

Sparkle on Red needle Felted Ball

How about creating the laces on what will be a football ornament. 

Laces on a football

When you do embroidery on fabric you have the knots and stitches on the back side of the fabric.  But with needle felting you don’t have that because you can felt over the knots and stitches.

Back of the football 

Just take a little roving and cover the back side and felt it in and the knots are gone.  Just a little advice: don't felt too deep or the needle might come through the embroidery and ruin your stitches. 

Felted the knots away

So the next time you are needle felting something, add a little interest to your piece and do some embroidery.

©2017  Cheryl Fillion

A Needle Felted Pumpkin

As I mentioned in last week’s blog I love pumpkins: real pumpkins, fabric pumpkins, yarn pumpkins.  Lately I have been doing needle felted pumpkins.  They are easy, fun and make great hostess gifts if you are invited somewhere for Thanksgiving.

When I am doing a 3 dimensional item, I will use a ‘core’ batting to form the shape of the item and then add the colored roving or batting on the outside.  Core batting can be a cleaned undyed wool or even a polyester batting (just like you would use to stuff a pillow) .  You don’t want to us your colorful batting or roving on the inside of the figure where it can’t be seen. 

core batting

Once you have the core batting, start felting it into the shape you want.  If you use a polyester batting you may have to use more than the wool batting and may have to felt longer to get the shape you want.  That’s OK because in most cases the polyester batting is cheaper.

Core batting in its shape

When you have the size and shape you want for your pumpkin, start felting in the colored batting.  The batting I am using in the picture is called a sculptured batting so it has bumps and nobs of wool that wasn’t combed smooth.  I like the look of it for the pumpkin.  Not all pumpkins are smooth in its shell.  Keep adding the colored roving or batting until your core sculpture is covered.

roving on core batting shape

Covered core shape

    

Once you have your shaped covered with the colored batting, pick one side and over felt it.  That means keep needle felting the area until it is flat so you have a base to set it on. You don’t want your pumpkin rolling around.

Needle felt flat base

One the opposite side of that base, needle felt a small indentation.  This will be where your stem will go.

Create area for stem

 Now take some green batting; you don’t need much and started felting a stem . I usually try to make it a tiny cigar shape.  Use whatever colored green you would like as your stem.  I like the look of a dark green although an olive green would look just as nice.

Felting the stem

 Once you have the size and shape of your stem, needle felt it into the pumpkin.  Place the stem in the indentation and felt through the stem at the base and into the pumpkin.  Make sure you put your needle all the way through to the pumpkin or the stem won’t attach.  

Pumpkin with stem

     

Now most pumpkins have indentations along the outside.  To create those, start needling in a line from the stem to the base and keep needling until you see the indentation form.  Do the same thing all around the pumpkin. I usually felt so there are eight indentations.  But you do what you would like (including no indentations.)

Felting indentations

  Happy Pumpkin Season, everyone.

©2017  Cheryl Fillion

I Love Pumpkins

I think my favorite fall icon/symbol/item is the pumpkin.  My Thanksgiving table always has a pumpkin pie.  I roast the pumpkin seeds from my Jack O’Lanterns.  

Roasted pumpkin seeds - Yum

And even though there are no children in my household, Halloween wouldn’t be Halloween without a carved pumpkin.

Smilely the Pumpkin

And of course I make lots of pumpkin quilts, coasters, needle felted ones.  If it has a pumpkin on it, I am probably going to try and make it.

Last year I had a blog post entitled Spool Knitted Pumpkin  which showed how to make a spool knitted pumpkin coaster.  Check it out if you like to spool knit.  And I bet crocheters could figure out how to make something similar. 

Pumpkin coaster

I have also used pumpkins with the kids crafts I do at the farmers market.  I traced a pumpkin cookie cutter onto card stock and let the kids decorate it with orange pompoms.  (Check out the blog post: Cookie Cutters Aren’t Just For Cookies )    

Pompom Pumpkin

Lately I have been making needle felted pumpkins.  Using cookie cutters as a form, I have made some ornaments for Halloween and Thanksgiving. How to do this is in Needle Felting in a Cookie Cutter.  Just switch out a pumpkin cookie cutter for the bunny. 

Felted Pumpkin with Cookie Cutter

Next week I will have a tutorial on how to make a 3 dimensional needle felted pumpkins so check back here then and we will have some pumpkiny fun. See you then.

© 2017 Cheryl Fillion

Fabric Pumpkins

When The Worst Happens

For the past couple of weeks, I have been watching the news reports of the damage done by Hurricane Harvey in my home state of Texas.  I never received any of the rain from Harvey but I did wonder how I could help those who did receive the wind and floods.

When Hurricanes Katrina and then Rita hit in 2005, there was a call for quilts for those who had been displaced from their homes.  Our local guild sewed and quilted for days.  No call has come for quilts yet but I started working on some charity quilts just in case.

I wondered what else I could do and have come up with a list of how to help in times of personal or community disasters.

1- Give to local trustworthy charities that are helping in the effort.  My favorite is the Red Cross.  It might mean giving up some supplies for your art but it is worth it.

2- If you can make something to donate, do so.  Quilts, scarves, hats, anything that will help keep those affected warm and wrapped in love.

3- If a local organization is collecting items to take to a disaster area, donate some items.  It is better for those affected if those items like clothes and blankets are new.  You might have a wonderfully warm blanket that is gently used but if your cat or dog or anyone who smokes has been around it, that won’t be helpful if the recipient is allergic to any of these allergens.  (and the same might also be true if you are buying soap to donate.  Try not to give any with perfumes).

If you are bringing canned goods, get some that have a top that opens without a can opener and that might not need a microwave to be cooked.  People in a disaster situation might not have can openers or microwaves.  Peanut butter (or any nut butter) is always a good thing.  It can be eaten on bread or crackers (or in a pinch with fingers), doesn’t need refrigeration or be open with a can opener and still provides a lot of protein.

4- If you and your friends have some art or crafts you can sell, set up an impromptu craft sale and donate the money.  If this seems like something that will take a long time to arrange, know that usually in a natural disaster the need is still there weeks and months after the storm has gone.

5- If the disaster is a personal one such as a house fire, see what you can do for that person.  Take up a collection of kitchen items, or craft or art supplies. Or even a monetary donations so they can get what they need or want.  

Most people want to help in situations like theses and anything you can do is helpful; even a small donation.  A small donation could buy a case of bottled water which in areas of Texas was greatly needed.  Or your small donation could be added to another small donation and help in a bigger way. 

Do what you can to help.  And while you are helping, keep creating.  You never know how what you create now, as people are healing from a disaster, can help in that healing.

©2017 – Cheryl Fillion

Beginnings -- A Reminder

Last year at this time, I started this blog.  I thought it would be nice to repost my first blog.  It is also a good reminder, especially for me, of beginnings. So here it is:

I have come across two philosophers in my life who have the best advice ever for people exploring their creativity.  The first was a German poet and scientist by the name of Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe who wrote "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." (That quote gives me goosebumps.)

The second philosopher was my nephew, Alex, at the age of five who, when I asked him how we were to make a housecleaning robot he wanted to give his father for Christmas, very blunted told me that "You just do it, Auntie Cheryl." 

Both wise men had a point.  If there is something you want to do, you will never know whether you can do it until you begin it.  Is there some creative technique you want to try but are afraid to?  Just dive in.

Now it is okay to start at the shallow end (sorry, it is hot outside and water metaphors seem cooling to me somehow right now.).  Dip your toes in.  Paint a page of just one color. One color can express any emotion. Write one line to start a poem.  One line can say a lot (Alex had a lot to say with his one line and it has stuck with me for 23 years.)  Sing one note.  A continuous note can be very relaxing to the diaphragm.

 Just begin it. Don't jump from the high dive. Don't plan a gallery show yet.  Don't figure out your office at the Library of Congress for when you are considered the next Poet Laureate.  And the Grammy nominations are already made for this year.  So relax.  All you are doing is beginning.

 And beginnings are wonderful.  There is mystery in them - you aren't quite sure what will happen next.   And there is an adventure in them - traveling to a new area of your heart.   And the excitement of them - you actually did whatever it is you were wanting to begin.

 You have had beginnings all of your life.  You survived all of those  - school, college, work, marriage, family.  You can survive this one.  But you have to just begin. As Alex said, "You just do it, Auntie Cheryl."  Who can argue with that?

© 2016 – Cheryl Fillion