Saturday, April 16, 2016

Felty Prettiness

Well, my computer has proven more difficult to tame than my sewing machine, so though I have greatly expanded my Japanese book collection and made more clothes than my daughter could possibly wear, blogging about the experience proved too much for me.  I still hold out hopes of getting around to it someday, but we'll see.

In the mean time, here are some pretty felt hearts I came up with as Christmas gifts.  (Yes, I am aware that was months ago, but my camera to computer lag time is pretty long these days.)

The one with the three white flowers actually got dropped underneath the tree, so it missed Christmas.  But one thing I like about these hearts is that they aren't in traditional Christmas colors and can be used year-round, so it became a gift for grandma on her recent visit.

The other felt gift I made turned out a little strange, but as it was going to my four-year-old who isn't all that picky as long as it can be deemed "pretty."  
 My husband thinks this little bunny has alien eyes, and I sort of agree, but it  had enough flowers to pass my daughter's "pretty" test, so it worked out fine.  

I have not been able to find 100% wool felt here in Taiwan, but I have been able to find wool blends at the local quilting store, and they are so much nicer to work with than the acrylic craft store variety.  My local fabric shop actually has some pretty decent acrylic felt which I have used to make some food items for the kids, but it shows its age much more quickly than the blended version.  So, if you haven't done so already, I highly recommend investing in a few sheets of the good stuff.  It might be considerably more expensive, but most felt projects are so small you only end up using a few dollars worth anyway.

Post-Christmas I had many more opportunities to make a dent in my felt collection, thanks to one Christmas gift from my mom (which I chose), but more on that later.