Woolly Thinking

Woolly thinking is a super power isn't it? I am really good at it sometimes. But this time I mean thinking about wool and felt and being creative with it.

Wool fabric and felt is so nice to work with and so forgiving of my stitching skills.

Thanks to Madame Samm and Pauline for this great blog hop.  
Thanks to DMC for sponsoring the hop.

I would like to share some of my woolly work with you today.
I made this one especially for the blog hop. I intend to make it into a cushion cover to place in my favourite places so I can look at it.

I had a lot of fun with this design. It is from the book  Fanciful Stitches Colourful Quilts by Laura Wasilowski. I used variegated stranded DMC threads for all the stitching. I love my collection of DMC embroidery threads. I bought the whole lot a while back when cross stitch was my favourite thing. I needed the variations of one colour for the shading affects so I decided I needed them all.

Another felty piece I just finished is the the little scene I blogged about here.

I am also working on Summertime a lovely felty quilt. I have a separate blog for this quilt. The link is in my sidebar.

My first attempt at designing my own little scene is this pin cushion I made. Blog post and free pattern.

I love it when there are give aways on these blog hops but instead of one winner I thought I would finally upload a pattern I have designed onto Craftsy and make it free. I hope you like it.

Applique Sheep Farm

If you are not already a member of Craftsy please join up through my affiliate link below. Craftsy give me a small commission if new members sign up through my link. It is free to join up.
(The easiest way to get the pattern is to come back here and click the Visit my shop link)

Join Craftsy here

If you have already joined you can download the free pattern from the link below.
When you visit my Craftsy shop please click the follow button to follow me. This means you can see when I put up new patterns or project ideas. Some I will charge for but I love to make free designs.

Get the pattern from Craftsy

There are lots of great super powers out there. Visit today's blogs below. Clicking on the Blog Hop button will take you to the complete list for the hop.

THURSDAY APRIL 17

Kathy's Quilts
Made by Me in Red
life, quilts and a cat too
Val Spiers Sews - me
Quilt Doodle Doodles...
Quilting My Way-5th Generation Quilters Blog

Not into Google + ?
Comment on:
Flickr
Pinterest

Happy Quilting and Crafting,
Val

WIP Wednesday and Sew Kitschy

I am not an expert with paper piecing but I have been enjoying the Sew Kitschy blocks. I actually have a fabric collection that I am using for these blocks so I don't have to search through my scraps for the right colours. The teapot is April and I managed to catch up with the bowl and spoon. Now I have four done and I am all caught up.

I do like the In My Garden pp blocks but I am struggling a bit finding the right fabrics for flowers and birds that need to be a certain colour.

I am taking part in the Super Power blog hop that starts tomorrow. I was a bit concerned that I might have to zip down to mum's again because she had a virus of some sort and I didn't want her to be sick and by herself. Seems it was just a tummy bug type and only lasted 2 days. Hopefully she stays fine and I get my post sorted for the blog hop. My day is April 17th.

I am linking up with
WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced and
Sew Kitschy at Quiet Play

Comment on Flickr if you like.

Comment on Pinterest if you like. Why not follow me too.

I have the Follow me on Bloglovin button top left side bar also. I would love you to follow me on Bloglovin.

Of course I am on Google + as well. I like it when bloggers post to google+ . I don't have to worry about being a no-reply blogger. I can put my comment on google+. Just hover over my profile in the comments section and add me to your circles.

Crazy About Wool

I am so enjoying visiting all the crazy wool people on this blog hop. I love to knit and crochet but I also love to make things with wool fabric and wool felt. I fell in love with crazy wool pincushions when I joined in a round robin sewalong a while back. It is still my favourite working pincushion.

Then I made a whole one myself.

The pattern is here.

For today I made an Aussie Christmas decoration to share. Summer is marked by noisy cockatoos flying over our house so it only seems right to have one on the Christmas tree with the robins and cardinals.

Here he is hung on the mango tree out back. And it just happens that the real cockatoo called in the other day too.

I scanned in the pattern. I am not sure if it will come out exactly the right size but close.
You can download it as a PDF.

I free motioned around the pieces in matching thread.
I trimmed the red square next to the bottom edges of the cockatoo piece first, then the top next to his crest, then the back to make it square.
I sewed the red square to a green square.
To give it a good swing as it hangs I added two washers from the tool box to a second green square and sealed them in with some iron on vilene.
I folded a piece of ribbon in half and tied the ends in a knot. I then sewed on the second green square sandwiching the ribbon.
To get the pieces to stay in place while I sewed them I used my trusty spray baste. I quick squirt on the back of each piece with an A4 piece of paper as a drop sheet.

I really wanted to get my knitted dolly finished for today but she is not quite done and she will have to make her debut another day.

Make sure you visit the other blogs in this Crazy About Wool blog hop. Today's list is below and you can see each day's schedule at Pieced Brain. Thanks to Denise for hosting this fun hop.

Tuesday, September 24

Quiltscapes

Marla's Crafts

Secretly Stitching

Marjorie's Busy Corner

Sew Many Yarns

Val Spiers Sews

Quilted Crow Girls Design

Happy Quilting,
Val

Give Away Today - comments now closed.

I told the neighbour's cat that he would be included if he didn't look out.

See the book list so far in the left hand side bar - about 50 authors and books

I have registered with the Quilter's Blog Hop Party with Give Aways. I'm sure there will be something for everybody so after you enter my give away click on the button to find the list of blogs with give aways.

While you are here check out my new page for Stumpy the cat.

I have just started looking at some tea sites. I have their buttons in the left hand side bar. I am going to try to join in their linky parties each week. There are so many pretty tea things.

I have also just discovered a sewing lady with a beautiful Newfoundland. I nearly cried looking at her blogs including him. Here is a picture of my dear Lupi 2000 - 2009
Anyway, she has a nice free newsletter with some free designs and an emag that you have to pay for but I like her designs. Bustle and Sew.

Also, if you think we have something in common why not follow me. I am always looking for bloggers like me. I will visit you and check you out.

I have four things to give away:
A fabulous A to Z of Quilting book
A cute pear pattern
2 fat quarters of Urban Landscapes fabric

To enter -  Leave a comment telling me the name of a good book you have read or a favourite sewing project you have made.

Entries will close on Dec 16th 12pm Brisbane time.

(I am always looking for good books and good sewing ideas so I am hoping you can help me out.)

Before you go check out my favourite free things in my latest post