Wordless Wednesday...



Project for a rainy day...

My friend Norene (mosaic artist extraordinaire) and I are getting together

tomorrow for some wet felting. We are going to attempt to make some slippers.

In the meantime I've been dying to make something else and have all of this gorgeous wool

so today since it was very miserable out, I made a simple pair of cuffs.

These can be worn as an accent on a nice long sleeve sweater or shirt or  if

it's warm enough, with a t-shirt, maybe even around your ankles at a dance or yoga class.

I first layered the black merino which will lie against your skin...

Merino is the softest of wool and will not be itchy at all.

Next I started to layer the colours that would be on the outside, the design...

It looks thick but believe me, the wool shrinks down quite a bit.

This is about 8 layers of feathery bits of roving, criss crossed in different directions

after each layer. This gets the roving to mat together better than just laying

big clumps of it on top of each other.

I learned all of this from my young felter friend Boo when we were making gauntlets.

You can read about that here.

Then I started to add some finishing touches...

 You never know how this is all going to look until it's done so it's fun to try different things.

I used some dark Romney locks and some beautiful red, gold and greyish silk bits...

That's the easy bit.

Now you start the felting or 'fulling' process.

This means you get lots of warm soapy water and gently soak your project...

I use my finger tapping talents on this job...

When the roving is very wet and soapy, you get your bamboo mat and roll it up

in bubble wrap and a towel and roll roll roll roll roll roll...

 This agitates the fibres, matting them ever so close together so that they form the strongest of bonds..

This takes the longest out of all of the steps and you can see how much one has shrunk more

than the other after I've been working on it for a bit...

When you're happy with the shape and size of your cuffs you can rinse them in cold water

with a bit of vinegar. This will set the colours so they don't run.

Then there you have it, a lovely pair of cuffs to wear out to dinner over your cute black sweater!

 I love to see how all of the different fibres and colours blend together...

 buttonholes were cut in half way through.

I'll find some pretty ones to go on these later from the button store...

 See the deck in the background? Very grey and wet today.

A fun project for a rainy day!

 

 

 

 

 



Meanwhile back in Toronto...

No, I'm not back in Toronto but I still have a few tales and photos to share.

Here in Canada we have a political, cultural satirist by the name of Rick Mercer.

Each week on CBC television he has a half hour show where he

showcases strange and beautiful things about our country.

He also has a bit in the middle of the show called "The Rant".

And yes, you guessed it, he rants about a current affair.

For this segment he strolls through the alleyways around Queen St West

which are covered in fantastic graffiti. Is it still called graffiti?

I suppose it could be called Urban Wall art or something but whatever

the case may be it's amazing.

So here's a few shots of some of the strolls Tom and I took through these alleys

and this one near our daughters house which I couldn't resist...

 Queen St West area...

 My favorite!...

 Couldn't resist having my photo snapped at this subway station...yup, Queen for a day!

 

Song for Friday...for the young and old

Lady Gaga has been in the spotlight for quite some time now and frankly

I didn't get her. My niece was crazy over her and has seen her twice now

at extremely high ticket prices.

Then one night I was channel surfing on t.v and there she was

with Tony Bennett. I was mesmerised.

She had me at the first snap of her fingers.

I'm not saying that I'm a big fan now but let's just say

my views on her as a singer changed when I watched this duet.

Shes got a fantastic voice for this genre of singing.

Something old

Something new

Something borrowed ... and yes!

Something BLUE!

Have a great weekend all!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPAmDULCVrU

Wordless Wednesday...pine siskins



Not for the faint of heart...

The last time I was over on Saltspring Island I bought my husband one

of the strangest gifts ever.

Introducing....The Deer Hunter.

He's a coat / hat hook and we are quite smitten with him.

 He looks as though he belongs in the hall of a great Scottish Manor...

It is the irony and the sarcasm that I love.

Turning the tables as it were...

I love his leather bag and pantaloon pants and these hooks for legs!...

I know, it's kind of freaky but in a good way.

It's made to look like bronze but it's a type of resin.

I tried to find out if it's a replica of something old and Gothic but

to no avail. For now it will be up to my imagination of

whence he came from.

We haven't come up with a name for him yet...

Bruce? Which has Gaelic meanings of "woods" and "thickets" in it.

Cameron? Gaelic roots come from "crooked nose".

Or how about Osgar? Gaelic notes of the word "deer".

He was meant to go in the hall for Toms work coat but we

moved him into the front room where we can see him more.

A little Gothic, Grimm's Fairy tale love for Tuesday!

 

 



'New', old books...

One of my passions is collecting old books, especially ones for their covers.

I know, I know, "never judge a book by it's cover", but as far as

beauty goes...I have judged many books as objects of art just on their covers.

(just a few of my collection...)

The other day I was Up Island with my friend Irma and we

did some thrift store hunting. Here's some of my latest finds...

This one is definitely my favorite.

Love the name, love the picture, love the authors name and I especially

love the dedication...

When I open an old book, quite often there's an inscription as to who the book

was given to, when and by whom...

That was for this book...

So I was quite thrilled to see when I opened the inside cover of this book...

It was signed by the author!

Or as she put it "the writer".

I always like to see the date as well and wonder...if the pages could talk.

A few others that I've recently acquired...

 How beautiful is this cover? So Lonesome!

This one was most definitely calling my name...

Although I don't think I need a 'how to' on junk shops! 

These 4 I found together for .99 cents each.

They are Dutch, which I don't read or speak but I loved the graphics on them...

And this one is quite funny.

It has all kinds of advice for children on health and manners.

Sound advice.

Someday I hope to have these books on display so I can see the covers.

Maybe something like a plate rack but for books.

I know I'm not alone in my passion since just yesterday Valerie

over at acornmoon posted about some of her latest 'new' old books.

How about you...have you any treasured old books?

Happy thrifting!