I made a BUNNY!

 Do I sound a bit excited there, well I was, I still am.

I was gifted a kit for my birthday, a needle felt kit. Something new I have never tried before although Kirsty Allsopp certainly made it look and sound like fun.

This is a picture of the kit. 

and what came in the kit

Core wool (on the right) the coloured wool on the left, needles and the needle pad in the middle.

First step separate the core wool into sections for the body, head and ears.

Then cover them with the coloured wool and stabby stabby with the needles, there are two sizes and it does make a difference.

I got a bit carried away with the doing and quite forgot to take any further pictures till I had the elements joined.

Then need to add the eyes, nose and mouth and as the instructions said "add some character" to the make.

 

Now there are often meme type jokes about cross stitching being evidence that the Stitcher had the patience to stab something many many times so beware, but it has nothing on this craft given the needles are more like mini harpoons, barbs and all.

You will notice that my bunny..."I MADE A BUNNY!" Is not exactly the same as the picture on the kit. That is fine I like mine better and it was fun, and cute and its mine.

So is this both the beginning and the end of the needle felting journey?

It might have been if online buying had been the only option but as the local shop this original kit came from, Home Bargains (and compared to the kit price one line it certainly was) had some others well there may be further posts related to this new craft.

The Bunny might be beginners luck, the other kits might not be as much fun or turn out as well.

Oh dear this might be more than one single patch in my patchwork of crafts!

A "Cosy" Finish - BFF SAL 11

 When I last posted on this project I had just got as far as choosing a colour for the carpet on my variation on the Durene Jones design (we think is the Cosy of the Cosy and Quiet companion designs) my initial intent was just the one shade.

and a combination of full and half stitches to hint at depth and reflect the style of the original whilst not having the round rug.

Two episodes of Father Brown and one broken needle later..

 the carpet grew and with two more shades added before it "felt" right.

With the stitching on the main figure completed it was time to backstitch. Most of that was in line (pardon the pun) with the original pattern. 

Made a start on the eyes, a little earlier than my normal do the eyes last but I had my reasons. I did have a thought that I could make glasses for the mini me using wire. I gave it a try but found getting the lenses to match too difficult. 

My first try at a few turkey stitches for steam on that mug of hot chocolate and I hope Jo at Serendipitous Stitching recognises the little green chap? We will get back to him later.

And then we come to the hair, well it was my hair after all and what easier way (I am being sarcastic, since when did I pick the easy option on this project) to get the right colour than...yes use my hair.

Which is a bit shorter now having chopped some off to sew with.

Have you been waiting for the Magnus Magnussen section? The not so sure if it was a good idea, not so sure if it would work, started so I'll finish section. So was my friend and as I had the full piece finished and framed I showed her during our virtual meeting. I held up the finished piece with that last bit still covered..then the reveal....and she laughed so hard it made her cough (that cold is getting her down) and then some more laughter..then a double check as to the method and the suggestion I was just a teeny bit mad. I had to agree,

yup, the picture on the wall behind the Cosy me is the Quiet Roni. With the amendments she made to the pattern as best I could follow. 

I am quite pleased with the result, mind had I intended this from the outset I would have made my life easy (chance would be a fine thing as they say) and worked this on linen so the small section would have been over one and not working 4 stitches into each of the 18 count squares using a fine, pointy quilting needle.

You can compare it to my friends finish by Clicking here you will see that I have left off some of the bottom of the picture, the book is not as sharp and the socks are not as nicely striped. Now I will note that without saying what I was doing I did have her OK to sew the Quiet pattern as well. I had wondered if she might have had her suspicions about what was forming in that hidden space as I was being very careful to ask what colours she was using for her amendments. However, even she did not consider this as a potential option.

Now much as she laughed at my final personalised piece, the last bits of this post are going to make her laugh some more once she sees it.

Now you can see that blue thing is my sewing bag, my DMC threads live in there, the red thing is a photo album and the green squiggle?

Yes Jo, it is a frog, I forgot to add his stitch ripper for the cross stitch look-a-like photo shoot, so he had one all of his own.  Whilst a comment from Jo on one of my previous posts on this project prompted me to try and add Mr Frog, he does actually sit on the back of my couch overlooking my sewing.

Here it is on the wall keeping company with my Previous Project to include wallpaper.

Having totally Deborazised this project I am looking forward to a more KISS (keep it simple stupid) for BFF 12. What are my chances?

And Roni..red cushion...yes I did!

BFF SAL rest days and Sunday Stitchings

 an update.

My current Sunday Stitching's Project cam out for the BFF online sewing session as the last few bits of the SAL have become a little too tricky for proper chatting. However, the finish and reveal for those fiddle bits is not far off.

Additionally I have something in mind for my Sunday Project so want this one finished quicker.

oh sideways..my laptop is away getting fixed so using my mothers and it is set up differently so at this point managing best I can. Might come back and tidy up later.

We did manage to agree on our next two BFF SAL projects, with minimum messing around with the pattern..well minimum for me at least. And of course should we come across something that "sings" well there will be a rethink.

To see my BFF's update please use the link to her blog at the side of the page.

The finishes before the start

  have been shared for this pair of projects which were an investigative purchase from a charity shop of a kit from a "discount" shop.

So what came in the box?

The pattern, thread , pre-sorted which is always nice. pieces of Aida, a needle and a packet of stuffing. The only thing not included was the twine pictured to hang the finished item up with. That was made clear on the box and was not disappointing for me as the twine did not appeal.

The patterns were both nice and clear and a reasonable size.

They were very soothing to work on blocks of colour big enough to enjoy but not so big they challenged my ability to count.

Now then intent was obviously for the cross stitches to be backed with the other two pieces of Aida.

That felt wasteful and the colours in the designs reminded me of some material I had in the loft that would be fine. I also decided that there was the possibility the filling might peek through the Aida a bit of lining would not go amiss. 

ready to stuff.

ready to add ribbons

now if you are a regular visitor and blog hopper you will recognise them both from the Secret Stitching Sweetheart and Easter Hop 2023.

The designs were wonderfully convenient, heart shaped for the February Hop  and a bunny for the Easter one. They had me nicely in advance for my hop stitching.

However my stitched in advance projects for Hops are used up and I best get thinking what to do for the next ones coming along later this year.

I am as yet undecided if the two left over pieces from this kit will be used for a second set of fox and rabbits as there is also plenty of thread left from the kit and filling also.

Easter Blog Hop 2023

Time once more to celebrate Easter by "hopping" around the participating blogs collecting letters to make up a seasonally inspired phrase. 

Organised by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching you can find a list  of and links to all of the participants over on her blog, and that is also the place to go once you have collected all the letters to comment the answer.

CLICK HERE to pop directly to her blog.

Now its not just collecting letters but sharing themed stitches, this is my stitch for this year and I am sticking to the bunny theme.

if you are wondering about that letter you need, well here it is, blackwork Rabbit is back again.

now you can either nip back to Jo's blog or link to the next blog in the hop Mary's Thread by 

Clicking Here

 Have fun., oh and don't forget to leave comments as you hop, we bloggers all like a comment from a real person a visiting.

BFF SAL 11 still just

 sewing wallpaper.

I sorted a frame out for this piece (sadly not one from my stash) and the height means I can have the top of the frame and so needed to put wallpaper above as well as below the frame.

The contents of which remain Magnus Magnusson as per the previous post, and are still feeling shy, not even my BFF has seen it yet.

The skein  of thread in the picture is auditioning for the carpet. It might be successful, it might not.

Oh and this is the wallpaper I have been trying to reflect on my sewing, although in warmer tones.

As for my BFF, I think things are looking good, makes me want to get started with the backstitch. Pop on over to her blog and take a look.  We would both be delighted with comments  so we know the occasional real person visits.

click here for link