Southeastern Animal and Fiber Fair

This past Friday, Maya and I went to the Southeastern Animal and Fiber Fair (SAFF) in Asheville, North Carolina.  We'd been planning on this event for the past eight months and kept our fingers crossed so that nothing would prevent us from attending.  We were so excited to be on the road.  The weather was brisk and the sun was shining.

All I can say is that we had a blast.  We walked around the main section that was in a small arena at I believe the fair ground.  Immediate overwhelm, looking at all the fibers, yarn, roving, patterns, handmade and knit items.  Oh my gosh!  I so want a loom and new spinning wheel.  Maya wants alpacas, which are so stinking cute. Especially the babies.  And the noises they make.  A cross between a grunt, bark, and bunny sounds.  The tiny ones had little blankets over them.  I guess to keep them warm.  If I had room, I most definitely would have a couple.  There hair is so soft.  Some say it's softer than cashmere and easier to take care of.  I bought some to make gloves.  I guess I need to finish my second pair of socks.  We also went to the other buildings for more animals and vendors.  I will most definitely have a project in mind next year.

Oh, and the Angora bunners.  So cute!

Emma

This is Emma. It's one of my grandma's name. She started out with a stuffed head and needle sculpted face. I then put Rigid Wrap over her face. When that was dry, I put on a layer of Creative Paper Clay, then painted her features.

She is cute. I like the Paper Clay, I'll have to work on getting a good brown color. I don't like the stuffed head underneath though. That was a learning curve. Her hair is wool from Gypsy Wools in Colorado. I made her bonnet which was a lot of fun.

Her dress and apron are made from reproduction Civil War fabrics.

Is that bonnet adorable or what?

Her boots and stockings are painted, along with the detail of the buttons.

Mug Rug

I went to my last applique workshop for the year.  It's so good seeing those ladies once a month.  I love laughing with them, sometimes so hard that we're all crying.  Our project for the evening was a mug rug.  I probably won't be using it as such because it was a lot of work and just too cute.  But I put my mug of coffee on it to show you some scale.

The bottom is plaid wool, you can barely see the edge.  The next layer is black wool and on top of that, red wool with white wool circles for the snowmen.  I embroidered their faces with French knots and their carrot noses are three stitches with a satin stitch over them.  The pattern was from a quilt magazine, I forgot to write the name down.  Any hoo, it was quick and fun to do.  I love make it and take it projects.

Time to Make Some Pirates!

Okay, Spring Sprites are done and it's time to get to the sea. I'm feeling pirates right now and will attempt wet felting again. This time I will have access to a good washer with different settings for a hot wash.

Yes, you do see hot pink in that bunch of wool. Why shouldn't there be a hot pink pirate?

I'll also start stuffing mermaid tails. They're calling me too. Not so much a siren sound, more like a bunch of little kids and one big cardboard box. Both Wendys are getting a little impatient because the Spring and Halloween sprites are having a party with Oswin and his pals. They do make a great group. I'll have to take a pic.

I'm Back!!!!!

Sorry for not posting in a couple of days but I had to take a day off and do nothing. I also started walking again and oh my gosh, I'm creaky. Anyhoo, here are the beginnings of new Koji Bears. I'm still missing him but it's the beginning of being a self supporting artist.

A better picture of the armatures.

I used some wool that I'd had for ages because I was low on core wool. This stuff is polyester roving and I didn't think that it would felt but it did. They look like little grey game birds.

I finally got my wool order. Woo hoo! I'm so excited. You can't really tell, but the colors are gorgeous. This is the Citrus pack, I also got the Ocean pack which is pictured below. I've got enough core wool to keep me busy for awhile and white for more skull ornaments and some bunners. I didn't take them out of the package because I knew I wouldn't be able to get them back in neatly. Like unfolding a road map. I love maps too.

At some point I will take these out and get another pic. I've found that I like working with C-1 batt instead of roving because roving fibers are too long for what I want to do. Live and learn eh? Well, I guess I better get busy.