Betz White Birdhouse Workshop: A Review and Results

“Virginia Springtime”

I just finished a really fabulous online workshop with Betz White.  She taught me how to make one of her darling felted birdhouses complete with resident bird.  I have to tell you that I loved every minute of this course.  Betz posted new instructions, with video and lots of beautiful inspiration, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for two weeks.  I could hardly wait until the next set of instructions arrived.  Each day when Betz’s post would arrive I would drop everything and work on my birdhouse.  I found this project rewarding for lots of reasons:  felt is so lovely and forgiving to work with, the time and materials commitment was small, the creative possibilities were endless, the end result so darned cute! 

Here are a few things I learned along the way.  I hope some of these ideas will help you think and problem-solve creatively in whatever project you are working on.

I had plenty of raw materials to work with, seeing as how I hoard fabric including felted wool and sweaters.  But while I was working on the embroidery using some silk ribbon, I discovered I didn’t have the color I wanted. I thought about taking a piece of white ribbon and coloring it with a marker but then I had the better idea of dyeing it with koolaid. I’ve done this quite a bit and it works really great for both silk and wool. And it is safe and super easy. From the time the idea came into my head to completion took me (literally) less than 5 minutes. I took a small glass jar and put about ½ cup water in it and added roughly ½ packet of lemonade (unsweetened) koolaid powder. I submerged the ribbon and put it in my microwave. It took less than 2 minutes of cooking to achieve the shade I wanted (wool usually takes a little longer). I rinsed and hung the ribbon up to dry. This is a bit of a random science so you might need to experiment (NOTE: start with a small amount of koolaid powder and work up; the yellow I used required quite a bit for a darker color but most DON'T!) Here are a couple of links that will show you the various colors you can achieve with different koolaid flavors:  knitty and wrappedrocks.  The ribbon embroidered flowers with blue beading on the sides of the house were inspired by this photo, taken in my yard.

The next challenge presented itself with the fabric I wanted to use for the leaves on the roof.   I had previously over-dyed some black and white wool pieces with green dye in various colors.  During the dyeing process the wool did not felt very much and I was concerned that it would ravel when I cut it.  I first thought of edging each leaf with Fray Block (that would have been tedious).  Instead, I used my needle felting embellisher to felt each little piece more fully (no pun intended).  This worked great and had the added bonus of adding a soft, fuzzy quality to the pieces of wool.  So, if you’ve got a piece of wool that just won’t felt using conventional methods, try some needle felting.

The stitching on the bird’s wing represents forsythia, spring’s harbinger.  When I discovered that the back side of the stitched wing was going to be visible once applied to the bird, I fused another fabric on the back, and ended up loving that little print peaking out.

But the most joy I got from this project was the realization, toward the end, that I have really “loosened up” with my creativity.  There was a time when I would have cut each leaf for the roof with a pattern.  This time I free-hand cut each one; after all, nature’s variety is what makes it so special.  I also free-hand stitched all of the elements and embraced any and all diversity.  Each stitch in this project was made by hand, something I am turning to more and more these days.  Working by hand really allows me to feel what needs to be done to a project, something I think is missing when I sit at the machine. 

I’ve already sketched out and made notes on three other birdhouse ideas, each celebrating a different season.  This really was one of the most rewarding projects I’ve done in a long time.  I really recommend trying one of Betz’s workshops if you get the chance.  She has such a nurturing and kind teaching style, and all of her projects are so appealing.  Since she lives locally to me I am hoping that one day I can attend a live workshop; I’m betting she is even better in person.

Buttons, Bells, Beads and Bows

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about using my dad's old sweater to make Christmas stocking ornaments for some of my family members.  I also made some ornaments shaped like Christmas trees for my siblings (and myself) but didn't want to post pictures until I had given these gifts around New Years. 

I used a cookie cutter as my template and traced the shape onto a piece of the felted wool.  I then embellished the tree by needlefelting various yarns onto the front.  I layered the shape on another piece of sweater and stitched around the traced design.  After cutting around the edges with pinking sheers I further embellished the trees with buttons, bells, beads and bows.

My hope is that each year when the recipient hangs their ornament on their tree they will remember my dad and me.

Felted Wool Sweater Stockings

Some of you may know that my dad passed away earlier this year.  One of the things I took as a memento was an old dirty, moth-eaten and much-mended wool sweater that he used to wear.  I brought it home and threw it into the washer and dryer and felted it.

Next, I took it apart as carefully as I could.  I particularly wanted to remove the front band and pockets carefully (I put them aside for other projects).  Several years ago I downloaded a free machine embroidery design from Embroidery Garden for little Christmas stockings made from a sweater, and I knew this would be the perfect project for my dad’s sweater. 

I created a total of six stockings, each with a different color wool star (which is part of the embroidery design) on the front.  I made one for each of my dad’s grandkids (my two boys will share one) as a memento and will tuck a little note inside the stocking telling the story behind them.

This design was originally a limited-time freebie offered to members of Embroidery Garden’s Yahoo group.   Often, after the time limit for the freebie has expired, Reen will put the design on her regular site for sale.  When I was preparing this post I went looking for the design but couldn’t find it.  I sent Reen an email and she did the most awesome thing!  She posted this design (in THREE sizes) as a freebie on her site!  Thanks so much, Reen, for your generosity.  I know everyone will enjoy using this design.

The stockings are stitched using the ribbing from the sweater as the top of the stocking.  The embroidery design also lets you insert a piece of ribbon for hanging.  I forgot to do that on the first one I made so I thought I would just add the hangers later by hand.  Well, if you want a loop hanger add it as instructed.  I found it impossible to add one later in a way that looked good.  Instead I used a piece of fishing line and made a hanger so these can be used as Christmas ornaments.  (Also, note that I mirrored the design before stitching out my stockings).

I still have a lot of the sweater left and, if I can just find a few more hours this week, will be making some other little ornaments for my siblings.  When those are finished I think I will STILL have some wool left.  I’d like to think that my frugal dad would be happy to see how his old, much-loved sweater is being put to use.  My dad instilled a love of craftsmanship in me and for that I will always be grateful.  I miss him, but hope that these little tokens will help keep his memory alive for me and my family.

Vintage Treasures

I came home from a recent visit with my family toting some new old finds.  My sister gave me a box of old sewing patterns and a bag of wool yarn.  Now, I am not sure what, if anything, I will do with these treasures but vintage items are always fun to look at, and sometimes you learn a thing or two.

I sorted through the box of patterns and pulled out four “Big Four” patterns from the 1960’s

along with six patterns from a company called Spadea. 

Now, I had never heard of Spadea so I did a little internet research.   The most inclusive information can be found in this article at Fuzzy Lizzy Vintage Clothing.  The creators of Spadea Designer Patterns worked with fashion designers in the 1950’s and 60’s to create sewing patterns taken from ready-to-wear garments.  These patterns were unique in their sizing (using RTW sizing) and appearance – there are no printed markings on the pattern pieces, everything is punched or notched and the pattern pieces come precut. 

The previous owner of my patterns must have been a Dinah Shore fan since most of the patterns carry that stars name.

The yarn I received has an interesting history as well.  It was manufactured by the Quinnehticut Woolen Company in Taftville, CT. 

In 1995 the New York Times ran an article about the rebirth of this company under new ownership, who believed in the revitalization of the textile industry.

This lengthy article details the history of the Ponemah Mill (meaning "our future hope," from Longfellow's "Song of Hiawatha"), the mill village of Taftville (all of the original structures are still standing and on the National Historic Register) and the revival under new owners in 1990.  Sadly, it appears that the mill is no longer in operation and has been turned into luxury condos and retail space.  The wool I own looks ideal for felting, one of my favorite things to do with wool yarn.  I might also use it in a needle felting project – I have not put my embellisher to much use recently.  Regardless, I certainly have a rainbow’s worth of lovely colors to choose from.

Bag of the Week 8

Felted Wool Purses

A few years ago I was really into felting hand knit items.  My husband’s aunt raised sheep, and I had a lovely supply of Icelandic wool yarn which was not only beautiful but had sentimental meaning as well.  It was a dream to knit and felted beautifully.  The other thing I love about felting is that it makes my sometimes-not-too-perfect knitting less apparent.  Felting hides a multitude of sins. 

The first thing that I knit for felting was a hat (which is the subject for another post in the future – the before and after pictures are hilarious).  I then switched to purses and made quite a few.  I primarily used two patterns by Fiber Trends and was able to create unique looks by varying the type of novelty yarn I incorporated into the wool as I knit.

These two bags were created using the pattern called Party Purses.

I used naturally colored Icelandic wool for the body of the bags and added Lion Brand Fun Fur in at the top (the dark purse used three colors of Fun Fur all knit together).  The knit bags start out much larger than the finished ones – as the wool felts and shrinks it compresses the eyelash yarn, making a nice, dense trim.  The bags were felted in a lingerie bag using my top-loading washing machine and Wool Wash soap by Eucalan.  

The handles of the purses were both created with additional yarn twisted into a thick cord using a tool called the Spinster.

All of the cold weather we’ve been having has me thinking about knitting wool again.  Good thing I’ve still got some of that wonderful Icelandic in my stash.