It all began with making a swan couple from the book Needle Felting Winter by Rachel Austin.  Now that I had these swans, where should I keep them?  In a pond of course, but I wanted one that would hang on the wall.

I made a glorious mess pulling out all my gorgeous fibre to pick out the best colors. (Ohhh, fibre!)  I had a picture from a children's book for inspiration and I wanted their home to be a hazy and hot Summer day.

First:  the logistics.  I found a good, deep wood frame with no glass.  How would they be able to sit in their pond in a frame?  There would have to be 3D and 2D parts merged together.  So first to make the ledge the swans would be secured to:

I cut foam to fit into the frame and sewed the layers together.  Then I started felting! 

This 3D part is the water under the swans, going down to the sediment at the pond's bottom. 

Next the 2D part was mapped out, the hazy sky, light blue pond and still lush green field around it.

It came together really nicely!  

I added the hint of a fish behind the weeds and a paper frog and dragonfly.  And thanks to my sister for reminding me that there needed to be shadows under the swans!

And then it was time to frame the piece... this was tricky.  I had to stitch the 2D part to cardboard that I cut to fit the frame so that the fibre wouldn't buckle...  

...then glued a clean piece of cardboard over that to make a nice clean back.  

And it was finally finished!  

It was June 20 so the piece is named Solstice Swans,

enjoying each other's company in their own little paradise. 

Something wicked...

Honestly, I had no idea what he was going to look like, I just wanted to make a friend for Mort.  So I made skinny fingers, like Mort's, in green, and a skeleton the same size as his.  

I then decided he would have horns, so I added extra toes so he'd balance well with the weight of the horns, which are dyed shell slivers from a butchered necklace (from the days when I made dragons).

The horns were wired into place and then I built his form.

It was a wild ride and at one point I thought I'd give up and put him away for a bit... but I kept going and his gangly arms became more ape-like, his hands took shape and his short legs more muscular.

In the end, I had an ape-like beast that looked better on all fours than standing upright... kinda scary, actually, I bet he could move really fast and climb well!  

So for a face... what does he look like?  I thought a wider face might soften his look, and also  bigger ears.

Of course I wanted the ears to be poseable, so I used a very thin green 28 gauge wire and gentled felted two sweet ears.

They turned out to be just the thing he needed on his wide face, a bit like a koala?  Hmm.

He got the same eyes as Mort, sunk deep into eye sockets, and the same kind of mouth.  

And here he is!  Mort loves him, they are best buddies!

He needs a name, though... any suggestions?

He was made with Corriedale "Fern" from Long Grass Studio and 100% Merino wool "Hojas" from Malabrigo Yarn. 

Sabotage

 This posting on Facebook really struck me:  

It's sabotage on a scale that's hard to imagine:  we've made it harder to just be happy, to just do something because of the pleasure it brings.  

So how do you dance "like no one is watching"?  More importantly, why can't you dance and not care that anyone is watching because it's not up for critique or judgement?  You're just doing it for fun, for how good it makes you feel?

Same with creating anything... How to create because it's enjoyable without worrying about the end "product"?

So, I present to you this beach with grassy dunes.  It was fun to make.  I don't want you to tell me the waves aren't perfect, or the clouds need work.  Tell me you hear the sound of the waves and feel the sun on your face and that's all I want from sharing this piece.  

Moonlit Path

I went to a wet felting workshop on February 29 (Leap Day) at the West Grey Public Library and everyone in the group came away with a lovely piece of pre-felt.  It was a really good experience taking the loose fiber and turning it into a quite stable piece of felt.  Time was tight so it's amazing how strong the pre-felt is considering so many steps were abbreviated or skipped.  Our fearless leader Kimm was aware of the time constraint and ushered us along so we'd have something useable to take home.  Bravo!

This is my finished piece, with the two colors of fiber I used.  It's three layers (2 of the darker blue).  I hope to use it as a backing for a 2D picture.

Here's Kimm's.   As per usual, the instructor was too busy guiding the group and her own piece got neglected.  Kimm was going to toss it but I hate seeing fiber go to waste and was drawn to the colors so she gave it to me to salvage.

As you know, abstract is not my thing.  Also, I would never have chosen this color combination (for example, see my pre-felt:  practical and, you can say it, ordinary).  So here I was with this organic mis-shapen thing that was calling out to be "found".  I took on the challenge, deciding not to alter it too much.

What did I see?  I saw a tunnel leading to an open space, and on the right the shape of a woman or a tree-woman.  (Turned sideways, Mom saw a butterfly).

After washing and drying it, I felted it to a piece of sparkly, black felt.  Then, using the little loose piece, I added a head to the woman shape and marked out a path.  I added some dark green around the outer edges and yellow and white to the faery glade that the path leads to.  I added moonlight to the path.

And finally some locks to really push for a forest look.

Here it is without the flash, better light for a moonlit image.

I really enjoyed this challenge, thanks Kimm!  I wish I had more salvage to work with as it really made me think outside my usual creations.

And thanks to the Library for hosting this workshop!  Check out your local library to see what they're up to!

Under the Sea

Happy 2024!  Just a quick post to start off the New Year:  I made this "Under the Sea" because I wanted to use the lovely blues in my stash.  

Once I had everything gathered, it went quickly.  The frame is an open box with no glass and no back but I had an idea...

I selected 4 blues and blended to get this soft gradient of color:

A few crystals are stitched into the "water" near the top, they add a little sparkle when the light hits them.

Next, I added some green locks, lovely wavy things that look like the water is making them gently dance, and a few findings that look like coral branches and seaweed.

I was contemplating adding fish but then I saw this orange seahorse and tried my hand at creating one.  With a wire "spine", the horse turned out quite nice...

and a bit more seaweed and tada!  Under the Sea!

And the frame?  I used a sheet of clear, colorless plastic to cover the back and so light can shine through when hung in front of a window (or other light source).  You can see a few of the crystals glittering near the top.  

End of an Era

Tomorrow my website, that I've had since 2004, will cease to exist.  I'm giving up the website and email... although I will hang on to the domain name for now.  

Only a very few sales happened from someone stumbling upon my website, it was at shows that I sold the most.  So the expense didn't seem justified anymore.  

I will still have a website, though.  I picked GoDaddy because it's free, it didn't abbreviate my name and it's been pretty easy to use.   So Scratching at the Window will still be on the web, just at a different address.

Frankly, this more streamlined version is probably more user friendly.  We'll see!

And here it is:  https://scratchingatthewindow.godaddysites.com/

Please take a look!

October bliss

 How I love October!  But it all comes to an end so quickly...

It was a lovely month, with the trees looking particularly beautiful this year.  And we saw some great Hallowe' en displays!!  

But the best was visiting the pumpkin patch on Hwy 89!  The MacAndrews Pumpkin Farm is always a must-do for Hallowe 'en but this year we arrived just as the goats and sheep were being treated to pumpkins!  Wow!   

Oh my gosh!!!  Were they ever cute!!

We got some lovely pie pumpkins for soup-in-a-pumpkin.

And their carved pumpkins were masterpieces!

I also spotted the creatures in the tree behind their house, really fun!

Have a great night everyone!  Happy 'Hallowe' en!