Even more sewing!

I've been busy tidying up/clearing out recently, but I've managed to get some sewing done when I've had some sit down with a cup of tea time. The first thing I did was some sewing on a very hairy hand felted alpaca bag. I used some poor quality alpaca tops that I got a few years ago and made a little bag with a flap. You can see pictures of it here. I thought I'd use it to try out some TAST stitches. The first thing I did was add some little shapes to the flap. I made a pattern in Photoshop, stitched an outline, then filled the shapes in with really close blanket/buttonhole stitch.

I've started on the front of the bag, but I've only done a border so far. I used shisha mirrors bought from ebay in the centre of my shapes and a few people were interested in them. While I was searching for pictures of the mirrors, I came across this great tutorial from Emily at joyfulabode.com about how to sew your own shisha mirrors. I gave it a go and was surprised at how well it worked out. I'm not sure I do it exactly the same as her on the back stitch, but it works and looks good! :)

I added chain stitch around the edge:

I've already started working on using different things to attach with the same technique.

The latest thing I finished was my chain stitch piece from last week's TAST. I'm running really low on my natural yarn now, so I'll have to get the spindle out and make more! It'd be nice to have a supply of bought natural wool threads, so if you know anywhere that sells them...something around the thickness of cotton perle 5...I'd be grateful to know :)

Felt Lamp Shade

Hello :)

Sorry I haven't posted recently, I just didn't have the time for felting for a while and then lacked inspiration and motivation.

I spent ages recently trying to find some nice lamp shades, but wasn't impressed with any I saw. So I just ended up buying some very plain ones. I love the way the vessel I made for my girlfriend looks when there's a tealight inside, so I decided to try to make my own shades with felt and hoped they'd look as good.

I made a piece of felt by laying out two fine layers of merino, then a fine layer of curly wools and locks (angora, wensleydale, mohair, bluefaced leicester) then a top layer of fine merino and finished off with silks, ramie and bamboo.

I made a template from the lampshade I'd bought and wanted to cover, and cut out the shape I needed from my felt. I blanket stitched around the edges, then sewed the two seems together. It fits snuggly over the top of the shade, and looks great when the light is shining through :)

For a quick guide on how to make one, visit my flickr page