Nuno Felt Ruffle Scarves

It may be hot in the northern hemisphere at the moment, but down here on the southern side it's pretty cold. So I've been working on these lovely, long ruffle scarves.I've used a nuno felt technique with either hand-dyed silk or hand-dyed cotton as the base fabric. It makes a soft, flowing textile and I like the contrast between wool and the fabric.These are lovely, long scarves that can be worn in a number of different ways depending on how you feel.I have some of these listed on my Beljays Felt online store http://beljaysfelt.bigcartel.com But if you happen to be on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland on the 1st or 3rd Sunday of the month, you'll probably find me at Peregian Markets.

Felt River Walk

I've been meaning to put this up for some time, but as usual, time escapes me. This is one of the pieces I entered in the Sydney Royal Show 2011. I started the designs in January, when the Brisbane river flooded. Every day on TV or when I logged onto my homepage, I'd see this meandering line. The Brisbane River. So it became the centre of the composition. It forms the line between the blue and brown elements, cutting diagonally top right to bottom left. I also experimented with making pre-felt sheets, then dyeing them. I have cut these and relaid them into the composition to get these lovely subtle shade changes. I have tried to give the impression of an orderly landscape being broken-up, shattered, by the rising and them receding waters. I'm happy with the way it turned out.

Handmade Felt Baby Booties

I might have to rename this blog to ‘how time flies’, given the time between posts. It’s not that I haven’t got anything to show you. It’s just that I have been so busy, it’s hard to find time to take photos, make them look nice and then post them with a few words of explanation. Last weekend, for instance, I made a few lengths of nuno felt on silk and constructed a kaftan. It looks quite nice but I think a bit more work is needed. I’ll show you that when I’m happier with it. I also made some felt booties for little bubs. There are two styles so far. The little Mary Janes with a tiny strap. And the wrap over ones. I think they are kind of cute. From time to time I make a sheet of felt to cut up and use for a project and have pieces left over. For a while I just left them to sit, until I could see what they might be. And last weekend it came to me. These pieces would make lovely little booties. Now that it is getting a little colder here where I am, these make a lovely, soft, colourful way to keep little toesies warm. So far I have made them in a size suitable for 3-6 month olds. I’ll see what kind of response I get at the markets and take it from there. Tell me what you think of them.

My time flies...

Wow! Where did that time go. One moment it's the first few days of the new year and the next breath I seem to be in the second quarter (well nearly). I have been busy though. It's coming up to entry deadline for a number of textile events and I am frantically trying to get my pieces finished. A vest here. A table runner there. And a madly wild, or is it wildly mad, waerable art piece. And on top of that, I've been developing a few new ideas for my Etsy store. I love big earrings, but I am finding that more and more the weight is dragging down on my ear lobes. So I have started making felt ball earrings. I start by making felt balls using a wet-felt technique. Then I decorate them and attach the findings to make them into beautiful earrings. The lovely thing about these is I can embroider designs or sew on sparkly beads (why not both) to make all kinds of beautiful balls. And they weigh almost nothing.

Rich Red Valentine

I had a lovely civilised new year's eve with neighbors this year. So as a result I woke up early on new years day, with no hangover. I felt I should get the year off to a productive start, so I sat and made some wonderful red scarves and flower pins. A few people had asked for some rich red pieces and as I love the colour, it seemed an easy request. After a day of making things, I was still enthused and so photographed a couple and listed them in my etsy store. And of course, with Valentines day ahead it seemed right to tag them appropriately. I know, it seems to soon to be thinking about Valentines day, but really... You have to give people time to think about whether it is the right item to buy that special person and if it is, time to mail it. I was so surprised whn not long after lisitng, someone had found my scarf, folded into a heart-ish shape, and put it into this luscious treasury.

'All Red For Valentine' by SilverNGold

Enjoy!!

Valentine's Day... efiwarsh $40.00	Plum Rose Cabochon ... AllureByU $7.00	heart brooch red sa... alopexia $17.00	NEW Lovely Bag in C... bayanhippo $29.00
Swarovski crystaliz... vintageouslych... $24.99	Woodland Outdoor Ru... braggingbags $45.00	TROPICAL DIVA GLAM ... KirstyMcKenzie $222.00	HEART SPANGLED PLAT... grapesofcraft $28.00
Hydrangea, You melt... Raceytay $15.00	Felt Scarf Ruby Red... BeljaysFeltnAr... $58.00	Red satin cupped lo... MorganaFemmeCo... $995.00	Red Rope Chain Brac... CrazyChain $15.00
Red Ikat Cottom Pil... trendypillows $45.00	Year End Sale 10% o... PixieDust $22.00	Iodine Love Uranium... ShopGibberish $9.95	Red Scarf Cowl- Ex... JarvisGift $40.00

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

So just goes to show, it's never too early in the year to set the pace.

Bright Colour on a Rainy Day

Up until the last day or so, it has been raining non-stop for months. Ok, maybe not months, but it feels that way. The sky is grey, the ground is sloshy, and floods are a real problem for many. Not for me, but my little wooden house does run the risk of rotting away. It desperately needs a paint, if only it would stop raining. I lie on my back staring at the ceiling listening to all the watery sounds. Rain on the tin roof. Drops spattering on things. Water overflowing from the little water tank. Gurgles as it makes its way along gutters. And so on. I’m starting to get cabin fever. It’s so grey. Or is it. I’ve hauled myself off the floor and now, looking out the window, see a rush of green and spots of lovely things. The rush of green is, of course, the weeds and grass growing. But in the trees is this extraordinary yellow orchid. Just loving the rain. A little over from that is the beautiful gardenia which seems to flower forever. Its perfect, creamy white flowers. Even the die-ing ones turn a rich wonderful yellow. A stand of elephant ears glistens in this weather. And then I focus on my little african violets, on the kitchen bench in front of me. Forever pushing out little bursts of colour, they seem impervious to the weather. I just love the things that grow in my garden. They are a constant source of joy and inspiration.

Everlasting Flower Brooch

It's been a while between posts and I have been very busy. Not just with the felting, but at this time of year all the bellydance groups have gatherings to showcase what they have been up to all year. So I have been shimmying in sparkley silks and bright colours all month. No pics of that yet. Maybe another post. But I have been making things to give to my special friends and to sell at my local markets. These everlasting flowers are a great present, because, well, they last. They say all the things a flower says, but they go on saying it long beyond the use-by date of a cut flower. Plus you can wrap them with your very own hands and send them overseas. I wear them on coat and jacket lapels, on hats and bags, to keep a scarf in place, or just to brighten up a T-shirt. They are listed in my etsy shop here http://www.etsy.com/shop/BeljaysFeltnArt?section_id=7123447 I'm trying to list a new one each day, so pop in regularly to have a look.