Introduction to Needlefelting

bunny brooches - perfect for Spring time!

Hello! I have some very exciting news to share today - I am going to be teaching my first workshop! This is something that I have wanted to do for a long, long time but have never actually taken the time out to fully visualise, plan and organise ... until now!! 

pincushion in progress

So, what is needlefelting? Put simply, needlefelting is the transformation of wool into 3D objects using a very sharp, barbed needle. The wool fibres become tangled and then tighten causing them bond together into a solid shape. You can manipulate the wool in many different ways creating a huge variety of effects. It's a craft that I really enjoy because it very quickly develops from a smooshy handful of wool into a finished piece - it's very satisfying and addictive!

needlefelting in action!

My first workshop will be held on the morning of Saturday 7th March at Dalmore Croft, Barry near Carnoustie. Dalmore Croft is a 12 acre small holding owned and run as a small mixed farm by Rosemary and Dan Champion, and the workshop will take place in their wonderfully cosy, converted outhouse - complete with wood burning stove and comfy chairs.

the studio at Dalmoe Croft

bunny brooches with the cosy
wood burner in the background

Over the course of the morning I am going to teach my students to make a small pincushion with a vintage cotton reel base and a bunny brooch. There will be lots of colour options available in the Merino wool for the pincushion, playing with colour combinations will be fun! The brooch can be tailored to suit lots of different styles and made in natural Blue Faced Leicester wool or in the bolder colours of the dyed Merino fibre. By the end of the morning my students will have the skills and confidence to carry on with the craft at home - the possibilities are endless!

... and me!
 All photos taken by Niall Mitchell

As you can tell, I am really excited about the opportunity to start teaching - I hope this is the first of many! If you would like to join me on this course you can book here. If you have any questions, please get in touch via the comments below or directly with Dalmore Croft.

Until next time,

Marta xx

A Bunny for Easter

I have been very productive over the last week or so, designing and crocheting new things! I was asked by my brother in law, Ian, to make a bunny for his goddaughter's birthday, a challenge I immediately accepted! I love crocheting soft toys and a wee bunny sounded like a cute idea! I decided that as it was coming up for Easter it was an excellent opportunity to design the pattern myself and write it up for others to make one too!

finished bunny

I have been making various crocheted animals for years and have designed a few myself already so I simply followed basic construction techniques I have learnt along the way to "build" the bunny up. Ian was lucky that I had some appropriate wool in my stash to get started right away - I used James C. Brett "Legacy", a really soft pure wool.

progress photo

The ears were one of the hardest things for me to crochet, I had to keep going back and forth asking family members for their opinions but eventually they turned out how I wanted them!

completed bunny

Once I had finished crocheting I still had a day until Ian was popping round to collect her so I decided to have some fun making a dress! I chose some pretty Liberty fabric, which was actually from a vintage blouse I found in a charity shop and cut up. I made up a simple gathered style maxi dress and studded it at the back to show off the bunny's cute tail!

back view

The bunny was opened up by her new owner yesterday. Apparently she was pulled out by the ears (ouch!) and then hugged and kissed! Awww, I love my job!

close up

Now the bunny is finished I have started a new project which I will share in my next blog post, or hop over to Instagram if you can't wait till then! 

Marta xx

Summer Projects

Oh dear, I seem to have neglected my blog over the summer! To help ease myself back into the habit I'll start with this easy post and share a few photos of some of the items I have made over that period.

At the start of the summer I made this 'Sunday Shawl' as a retirement present for my mum.

This is the first childen's garment that I have designed and crocheted.

I made 2 pairs of Happy scrappy Wrist Warmers. This pair is still available in my Folksy shop

I upcycled a handful of curtain pole hoops into cute little brooches, this is one of them.

Not a finished piece of work but a work in progress! This is my 'Sophie's Universe' blanket.

My first ever knitting design! A knitted washcloth with crochet border, in soft linen yarn.

Finally, my latest finished item; a Happy Scrappy Crocheted Scarf. I have just listed this in my Folksy shop 

That is a quick update of what I have been up to. I hope you have enjoyed my colourful photos because colour is such a key part in my creative work! You can keep up with my crafty adventures by 'liking' my Facebook page or following me on Instagram. 

A little bit of this and a little bit of that!

I've been jumping about from project to project recently and thought I would share a few photos of what I have been up to on here.

I'm still making hexipuffs!

hexipuff blanket so far

my youngest son made the raccoon, I made the fox

started something completely different

 with an embroidery hoop

close up of finished hoop art, it's a present, 

can't show any more just now!

finished deep pile crocheted rug

close up of the rug showing the textured finish

I hope to be back soon with a fresh update. Happy crafting in the meantime! 

Upcycled Chunky Necklaces

At the weekend I spotted the perfect location for a photo shoot whilst out on a family walk to the beach. This morning I went back with 4 new newly made necklaces to photograph, in preparation for listing them on my folksy shop site.

Upcycled Chunky Necklace, 

pink with red and orange

It was a beautifully crisp, frosty morning and with the warmth of the sun on my face I headed back along to the location. The tide was far out and it was very calm and still, not even any dog walkers were around (I was slightly concerned about adventurous dogs bounding off with my necklaces!)

My spot for the photoshoot, 

Westhaven, Carnoustie

I was able to quickly photograph each necklace without any disturbance and I left the scene exactly as I had found it.

Upcycled Chunky Necklace,

green and yellow

Upcycled Chunky Necklace, 

yellow and cream

I make my necklaces out of reclaimed beads from lots of different necklaces and bracelets. I also crochet around beads with wool or embroidery thread, add felted beads and embroider around some beads. This all adds to the variety of textures in the necklaces - from smooth shiny plastic to soft wool felt.

 Upcycled Chunky Necklace, 

turquoise and pink

I am listing all these necklaces in my folksy shop today, click on the link at the top of this page to take you there and if you would like more information please get in touch.

New Ideas

I've been very creative so far this week but have very few photos to show for it because the weather has been consistently dark and rainy. I prefer to use natural light for photographing my work and there have only been short glimpses of sunshine. In the northern hemisphere I think we are all looking forward to the coming of Spring!

I finished writing up a crochet pattern for a cowl and a close friend has agreed to test it out for me. The cowl is made with alpaca wool which feels luxuriously soft and warm against the skin. The use of chain stitches makes the pattern quick to make up, and gives the cowl a light and airy feel. 

Detail of cowl pattern

Today the cold and dark weather continues and I decided it was time to start thinking of warmer weather and plan what to make to sell at Easter time. I remembered making hanging bunny ornaments 5 or 6 years ago, when crafting was simply a hobby and thought I would try sketching out something similar to see how it looked. The bunnies can be made from thick woollen jumpers, embellished with scraps of fabric and lightly stuffed with ends of wool from my numerous crochet projects.

Bunny sketch in my drawing pad

I have a good selection of flowery fabric in my stash which I can look out for the ears and tummies. These sunnier fabrics are sure to brighten up these dark days!

Deadline Achieved

I started making heart shaped coasters at the start of the week and set myself a personal deadline of today to make a dozen coasters, photograph and list them on folksy.com. I was very happy to achive my goal early this afternoon. Our middle son was off school with a virus mid week which held me up a little but other than that I focussed and sewed away!

Work in progress

Finished coasters

Working for myself is proving to be a lot of fun and I think I will continue to set myself goals and targets so as not to end up at the end of the week thinking "what have I done this week?"