Fibre Art - Poppies and Dahlia Brooches

Total melt down at the weekend. Once, I'd finished my shrug I fancied knitting something easier and quicker, and decided to use my beautiful recycled sari yarn to make myself a knitted knitting bag. I wanted something to put in my current project to keep it save whilst I wasn't working on it. So I started my knitting bag and ran out of wool! Not fair. So I ordered the wool on Saturday morning, but it'll be a couple of days at least before it arrives.

Next, I bought some wool (and as I thought the right needles) in town on Saturday to make the beautiful wrist warmers for which I'd specifically bought a pattern on Etsy. You can see the pattern here: Piquant Purls. However, my needles were too long to knit in the round. Sigh. So no wrist warmers until the new needles arrive... :-( Sniff. Luckily the sun is out and about so I don't desperately need them just yet.

Totally heart broken I decided to do something totally different and set to do some felting. Below is the result of my hard work. :-)




Blue Poppy Brooch

This one has been needle felted in three layers. Each layer had a border added in the same colour to make it look more like a petal. The centre has tiny Japanese charcoal matte cube beads to add detail.



The design has a simple elegance that really appeals to me. Sorry guys, this one's mine! Teal is my favourite colour. However, I will be making more of them in different colours. Or, if your heart really is set on a teal one, drop me a line. The brooch is 6cm x 5cm (2 1/4" x 2").





Damson and Mauve Dahlia Brooch

This brooch is a mix of wet and needle felting. The loops are in fact wet felted 'ropes' that have been turned into loops on a needle felted circle and needle felted securely into place. The brooch has a diameter of roughly 6.5cm (2.5").



The centre consists of two vintage beads (both plastic to keep the brooch light) in matching colours. I am really pleased with how this design idea turned out. The little loops look very organic and give the brooch a lot of texture. Like in the Teal Poppy design I've used three different shades of Merino wool.




Red Poppy Brooch

This was actually meant to turn out like the Teal Poppy, however for this design I wet felted each of the layers and when they were dry enough to handle I found they didn't work the way I'd intended them to. So I arranged them differently and I really like the boldness of the design.



The three petals were wet felted in three different shades of red, from very dark red to a coral red and then wet felted together with detail added in different shades of red. I must have used at least 5 different shades of red. The centre has been created from red/black lined Japanese seed beads. The brooch is 10cm x 8cm (4"x3").


All brooches (apart from the Teal Poppy brooch) will be available from my Etsy shop soon (or if you cannot wait, drop me a line). You can also order all brooch designs in custom colours. I currently have various shades of red, pink, purple, blue, green, brown and white, grey, and black. Prices vary depending on the design/size/etc but start from about £10.

Felted Flowers - Caroline's Brooch and Stacie's Hair Barrette

Caroline and I have been buying wool together and been swapping things rather than paying each other. I got the most gorgeous pineapple ramie scarf from her - you can see a picture of it on Caroline's blog.

I made the brooch for her in exchange for the postage. Yep, we've been having fun! :-) The little hair barrette was a little surprise for her daughter Stacie. They arrived today so I can finally post the pictures! ;-)



The brooch was made in three layers, first a damson layer, then the bright pink, then the paler pink. The conglomeration of beads in the centre gives it texture. The back is the same as for the African/Tribal brooch in the previous post.





Stacie's hair barette was made in several layers. Each of the leaves was made separately, then I made the pink flower, added the orange and yellow centre. The beads are stitched onto the centre of the flower, then I sew it onto the barette. It looks totally cute when worn.

Christmas Presents

Here is a selection of Christmas presents I made.

The first one is a set with green hearts framed in copper - which I have also used in the bracelet Fhiona bought. The set includes vintage copper chain, green fresh water pearls, and gorgeous two-tone faceted and a few vintage beads.

Here's a picture of the set:



A close-up of the 'pendant':



A close-up of the bracelet:


A close-up of the earrings:


Another set I made for Erja - my big sis! (Sorry, insider joke.) The set is mostly made with vintage findings and beads. The centre jewel in the 'pendant' is a pale green vintage faceted glass cabochon wrapped in a brass filigree with a vintage butterfly charm hanging from it. I've also used the same faceted pale green vintage beads throughout the set. The vintage brass butterflies on the earrings are slightly smaller than the one on the necklace. The ear wires are antiqued brass (new), the chain is a vintage brass chain with a lovely patina.

Here's the whole set (necklace and earrings):



The 'pendant':

The earrings:

And here is the bracelet I made for another friend. I've used purple shells, purple fresh water pearls, purple crackle beads, purple leaves and gorgeous tiny Magatama beads (which are much more beautiful in real life than they are on my picture):

Here's a close-up:

I also made a scarf based on a new design - imagine sea weed and you get the idea. Here are a few close-ups. Promise I will post a better picture of the one I made for myself just as soon as I've taken the pictures: