Buncha Links!

Haven't done a link-tastic post in a while, so here are a bunch of links on various and sundry subject, that I've been holding onto until the "right time":

A Denyse Schmidt fabric giveaway at Little Blue Cottage.

Free embroidery pattern from BadBird

Something to use up a whole lot of your long fabric scraps.

Amazing under the sea sculptures, website translated from the original French.

A black velvet Elvis painted with....Cheese Puffs, no, really!

Vote in a Stitched-by-Hand Flickr contest.

Ideas for gift sewing at Sew, Mama, Sew

How to make an all-recycled sketchbook by leethal.

A beautiful wreath made from fresh brussels sprouts!

A great new clothes sewing blog called This Large Life.

First Try Needle Felting

I've had the supplies for doing needle felting for a while now. The other day I wanted to do something, but I didn't want to sew or do any of my usual things. The kit with all the pretty colors of wool rolled up called my name.

The white wool was the base, and in the kit they provide a nice thick block of foam. No kidding those needles are sharp.
Layering the fibers and then punching the needle in and out take a while. I was surprised at how long it took to really cover this small area. Now I see why people are buying those embellisher machines.
Every now and then you have to lift the piece up off of the foam, other wise it will get stuck on. This is a shot of the reverse so you can see the fibers sticking up.

Here is where I ended up. It hasn't been washed or anything, so I'm not sure if it will all fall apart. Stay tuned for a report on that! And if you're thinking "what's it for?", heckifIknow!

Two Projects, one done, one begun

Here are two upholstery fabrics, recently purchased, with which I am planning on constructing a spring bag for myself. I was shopping for a spring/summer purse and was very disappointed in what was out there, bleah and double yuck.
So off to the home dec section of the local fabric store, where I found these two lovelies on the flat fold table, $7.99 a yard. The brown one (those dots are a vivid lime green which doesn't show in the pic), will go on the outside and strap/handles(I figure it will show the dirt less!). The stripe will be trim and lining and pocketsessss.
Now to find the perfect bag pattern...Off to the library I go!

I also had to buy some new matches, and couldn't find the small boxes, so got the giant BBQ size. I couldn't stand looking at the box in my workspace so I covered it up.

The polka dot paper was from the lining of a card from Jaye, and the ends are sporting fabrics from Mr. B's. Gotta love that glue stick. Also use yellow highlighter to go over all the edges. Now it looks like it belongs to me.

The words say, "Light It Up!" and "Flame On!". I use an incense and devotional candle on a small altar in my workspace to help keep me on track. The scent and the flame assist the transition to the space I need to be in to create.