Flying Fish

This is my new fish and every detail there is made of ropes - eyes, tail, fins!





At first I made a kind of eyebrows the same way but then change my mind. Here is "Before" and "After"!

Bird Houses - first and second

Much admire these lovely Bird Houses I tried one myself. Here we are:





What I was not happy with - too small, hole in a wrong place, too bland... OK, I will use it as a feeder. After getting a few valuable advices on forum I wanted to make it bigger and "more glamourous"! I've made it, yes, but now I think I like the first one more! Anyway here is my second (and not last!) bird house:

Please note a piggy tail at the bottom - to fix it and to stop the bird house swaying in a wind!

Natural Kap Merino is back!

I've got my order from Wollknoll delivered and was nicely surprised! My first orders from the supplier were a bit of shock - all wool was packed in one large cardboard box without plastic bags or any kind of rain protection. Everything was in one large heap! What a disappointment! Unfortunately I don't know any other supplier of my favorite Kap Merino so there was no choice. BUT! This time it was much better! Wool was packed in plastic bags and it was neat arrangement overall.

So I've got my natural Kap Merino at last! Being excited I used it a little bit too much and the new Kindle case has a slightly misty appearance!





Having nice weather I start to make pictures with more natural background - I think it looks very cheerful!

Fishing is going on!

After tutorial I wanted to make some things differently and made another fish.

The main details such as gills and eyes are made in a different way, some of it I like and some not so... I tried to make eyes easy way - just a soft black ball and some knitting yarn around it but really I prefer the eyes to be more prominent. Gills are OK though.





I was asked how I worked inside the fish with such a small opening. The matter is that I do work inside first just after I cut the mouth and the felt is soft yet so it could be pulled slightly. The first layer of wool is usually Kap Merino which became firm and smooth very quickly. When I start to full the felt with "all my might" there is no need to go inside it's already done in there. After fulling the felt shrink a lot and the opening become much smaller. Now I couldn't put my hand inside!

Textile artist Cathy Needham - York Open Studios

For those of you who live in York or nearby I would strongly advise to visit York Open Studios textile artist Cathy Needham

I was there today and was very impressed with beauty and quality of her works! Believe me the pictures you see on her website do not do her justice, her pieces are much more impressive in reality. I've not make any pictures just enjoy browsing her gallery!
P.S.
I have somewhat restricted mobility at the moment so Cathy's studio is the only one I visited - luckily it's just a few minutes walk from my place!