Happy New Year Everyone

Merry Christmas Every One!!

Slide Show of Clogs

Clogs

Here are some of the homespun, knitted, wet felted clog I have been working on for Christmas gifts.

Beau Jingle

Beau Jingle is an 8 inch Needle Felted Christmas Gnome Doll that I just finished. He has blue glass eyes & knitted knickers & hat & scarf, and lots of jingle bells. He will be listed later in my ETSY Shop.

December Mini Teddy Hugs

Now Listed in my ETSY Shop.

The December Issue of Mini Teddy Hugs is posted on the web now. You can read my new article at: http://www.miniteddyhugs.com/articles2.htm

The whole issue is packed full of wonderful things!

Special Thanks to Mary for all you do!!!

New Felted Purses in ETSY

I posted 2 new Felted Purses in my ETSY Shop today. These are a bit smaller than the other ones.

Custom Bear Ornaments - Needle Felted

Now available in my ETSY Shop You can order one of these tiny Needle Felted Bears. There are several choices of colors for the bears as well as the bows.

Prices Reduced

I just reduced the prices on the Felted Purses in my ETSY Shop
I am working on several new ones to come soon.

Mini Teddy Hugs Article

The new issue of "Mini Teddy Hugs" the online Miniature Bears & Friends Magazine is available & I have an article & pictures this month. You can see my article at:
http://www.miniteddyhugs.com/articles2.htm

Check out the whole magazine! There is a monthly contest & a Holiday contest called Home For The Holidays.

New Little Needle Felted Dolls

I have been making some new little dolls. They are a variation of the little Holy Family Dolls I designed for an on-line class I taught for a while. These are all 4 inches or under & have jointed head & arms. They are all needle felted with Merino Wool. They work well for miniature displays or for story telling time. I hope to make a whole series of different ones. So far I have made A little Witchy Poo with a tiny pumpkin & 3 Father Christmas dolls that some say look like wizards.

You can find some of these little dolls listed in my ETSY Shop and more will be added soon. If there are any special topic Little Dolls you would be interested in, let me know. Orders are always welcome.

Second Topsy Turvy Doll added to my Etsy Shop

I just finished my second needle felted Topsy Turvy Doll. I call this one "Best Buddies" because one side is a golly & the other is a bear...of course they are best buddies!!!
This doll is 5 inches tall, and the golly has violet eyes & blouse and both sides of the skirt have embroidered violet flowers. The bear buddy is Chestnut Merino wool. All features are needle felted. The skirt is vintage muslin feed bag, that I stained to look old with black walnut stain I make from the hull by boiling in water (I use this stain on lots of my baskets). This doll is now listed in my ETSY Shop

New things in My Etsy Shop

Well the weekend show is over & was a huge success, and now I have put some new things in my ETSY Shop
The newest purses seen in posts below are there along with the wreath & monster. Today I finished a couple of Prim Style Dolls & they are there also.
Prim Rose & Topsy Turvy Milk Maid & her Cow

The Monster in the Pumpkin Patch

OK sometimes I just do funny felties, and this one definitely fits that catagory.
This is the monster that lives in the pumpkin patch.

Alpaca & Indigo Merino Purse

Here is the next Purse. It is from Alpaca Wool & Indigo Merino Wool. One strand of each, spun & plied together to make a tweed yarn. I decided on a lighter blue 5 petal flower for this one, and the beaded button I made for this one is made from cut beads that really sparkle & catch the light.

Another completed Purse

I finished this one today.
Needle Felted Calla Lilies on a Raspberry Wet Felted Purse. I made a beaded button for the closure. This one is 11" wide & 9 1/2 " high.

I have another purse wet felted, but haven't needle felted a design on it yet. Will post a picture when it's done.

I should have a wide range of items for the show that is coming up in 1 week!!!

Newest Project

Here is what I have been working on for the past couple of days.
Wet Felted Goat Milk, Oatmeal & Honey Soap Balls.
The Goat Milk Soap is some I made a while back, that was a batch that
didn't come out quite right...set up too fast to get into the molds, so instead
of loosing the whole batch, I grabbed rubber gloves & rolled the stuff
into balls. The soap was setting up so fast that it needed smoothing out
on the outside, and yet it never looked pretty enough to sell, so it sat here &
then I remembered that I had seen info on wet felting a cover for soaps..

As you use these soaps, the felting process continues & once the soap is gone,
you have a nice little scrub pad, or cut it open & make a tiny bag or doll or
teddy bear hat.

Ending Tomorrow Sept 23

The listing for these little angel pins is running out tomorrow in my ETSY Shop
I won't be relisting them, because I have a local show in 2 weeks & they will go to the show with me if they don't sell on ETSY.

Needle Felted Pumpkins Tutorial

I posted a tutorial yesterday in the Edinburgh Community Forum. You can see it by clicking on this link.
Needle Felted Pumpkin Tutorial

Let me know if you have any questions.

Happy Felting,
Charlotte

Primitive Artisans Faire Sept 17 thru Oct 1

Coming:
September 17th to October 1st, 2007
http://www.primitiveartisansguild.com/faire.html
We will have many of our Baskets available as well as needle felted items .
There have been many new & special things added. You can visit the forum from the link above to learn about chats & games & contest and specials from all the vendors.

New Baby Grey

I discovered why this little one has a yellow tongue...it's really not his tongue...he has been eating my little Yellow Pear Tomatoes!!!!


I just finished my second Needle Felted African Grey. This one is 2 1/2 inches tall sitting on your finger, & 4 inches total including the tail. It has tiny black cut beads for claws. I will list it later today in my ETSY Shop

Black Eyed Susan Felted/Beaded Purse

Here is my newest project. A hand spun / knitted / wet felted Purse with Needle Felted Black Eyed Susans & bead accents. Peyote Stitch Tubes are on the ends of the handle. This purse will be in my ETSY Shop soon.

A day in my life...crafting & living off the grid

Just thought I would write about a typical day in my life...as in today. As some of you know, I have been spinning some of Edinburghs Wool Roving into yarn. I have an Ashford Traveler spinning wheel that I have had for years. Also as most of you know, we live off the grid. We have a solar panel & a wind mill and a battery bank & an inverter, along with back up generator. Also we have a propane refrig & cook stove.
So anyhow, yesterday I got this brainstorm...spin some of that beautiful Roving into yarn...and knit a purse to wet felt & then needle felt...first I had to make a new drive cord for my spinning wheel...the one that was on it had been working for years...but a certain puppy named Herk....kind of messed that up...so I got out my cotton crochet thread...bedspread weight...4 strands...twisted with my trusty cordless drill...twisted the cords & folded in half...to make an 8 ply cord...ohhh the spinning wheel was working again!!! So I spun the wonderful Raspberry Roving into yarn...then knitted a 13 by 14 square..plus a 3 stitch round cord for a strap...so then I needed hot water & washing machine...which required getting water...from our outside storage/catchment system...bring in the water...heat on the propane stove...pour into the washing machine...with soap...and starting the generator...to run the washer...having enough water for the washer so that it would start...back for more water...heat it...pour into the washer...finally got enough water for the machine to start...keep repeating the wash cycle... ahhh it was felting well...so let the water drain out...still soapy...so I took the felted pieces to the creek, thinking it would be a great way to rinse...the creek was muddy & high from the rain in the mountains upstream...so have to figure out another way to rinse...The knitted piece is now 9 by 10...so it really has felted down, and is very thick...once I rinse it, and let it dry...for however long that takes...I can start my needle felted design...and bead work....are you tired yet? I know I am... it's o-dark 30 now here...had to get greens from the garden for dinner...beat off the stupid catapillar worms who were eating my dill...fix dinner...something is still not right with the battery bank...so genny is still running trying to charge things...tomorrow is another similar day... so I will sign off for now...saga to continue.............

Needle Felted African Grey

Here is my attempt at needle felting an African Grey. I had a wonderful model for making this one. Peaches, who belongs to a friend in Florida. I spent many many hours on this little fellow & he is now available in my Etsy Shop

How I spent my Summer Vacation

I left on July 11th on Greyhound & arrived in San Antonio, Texas on July 12. My son Jeremy picked me up & my luggage was missing. We went to Jeremy & JoJo's new home about 45 minutes outside of San Antonio, and I finally got to meet my new Foster Grand Daughter Evie. Ohhh she is soooo sweet!!! She is a little clown and for the most part a very happy little 17month old. She was cutting teeth (5 came thru all at once) so she was a little grumpy because of that, but who wouldn't be!!!

On Friday morning we drove into San Antonio back to the bus terminal because they had found my luggage finally. My son had bought me an outfit the day before, so I had something to wear to go out to dinner that night, other than the clothes I had worn for the trip. He also loaned me a t-shirt to wear for a night shirt.lol.

Friday night we went to JoJo's folks house for a fish fry & swim in their pool. Evie loves the water & is like a little mermaid. Gramma sure had fun swimming with her:)

Saturday afternoon we went back to JoJo's folks house & many of her family & friends were there for a huge feast. Rib Eye Steaks, Grilled Shrimp & Ribs & salads & watermelon. JoJo's dad just loves to BBQ, and he is good at it!!!!

We spent Sunday & Monday at Port Aransas , an island paradise tucked away on Mustang Island off the Texas Gulf Coast. This is a blurb from the Chanber of commerce about it:

Enjoy 18 miles of uncrowded, unspoiled beach on this part of the world's longest barrier island, and one of only three in the United States you can still drive on with street legal vehicles and all things beachy. The beaches are great for shelling, strolling, sunning, playing and family fun!

A popular year-round attraction, area beaches and inland waterways offer some of the best water sport activities such as windsurfing, kiteboarding, parasailing, kayaking, jet skiing, fishing, surfing and more. Soak up the natural serenity or take it to extremes in the surf and seas.

We stayed in a beautiful hotel called Beachgate,

that is just a few hundred yards from the beach.

This is the view from the balcony on the 3rd floor of the hotel where our room was.











We spend a couple of hours playing in the sand & water.

We had a wonderful time & did some sight seeing on Mustang Island & Padre Island.

I got to feed the sea gulls, and there were tons of birds around, terns & sand cranes & pelicans who were diving into the water for fish.





This is the USS Lexington.




Where JoJo went to school



Misty & Van Helsing
the kids new home
Got home Wed afternoon...an hour late...and missing luggage again...Greyhound is a place to never check in your luggage...take only carry on!!! Ohh and the people you meet...while traveling this way...interesting mix!!!I spent 6 hours in the Albuquerque bus station Wed...due to lost luggage, 5 hour lay over that turned into 6 & nasty, unhelpful employees, and still no sign of my luggage!!! You would be amazed at how many people can't find their luggage...a 21 year old headed for Colorado...lost all his camping gear...a 30 year old tattoed guy...who was headed for Butte Montana...because his 10 year old son had been in a car accident lost all his luggage...sad sad sad...
OK...enough for now...putting these pictures here is a royal pain....
Hope you enjoy my pictures & story!
I am so in love with Evie & miss that little one very very much...Jeremy & JoJo were such wonderful hosts to mom/gramma...I really had a wonderful visit...but the stupid stuff was a pain!

Primitive Artisans Faire coming up

"The Primitive Artisans Faire"
Postponed until further Notice

Hidden Valley Basketswerks will have a booth in the upcoming online Primitive Artisans Faire. You will be able to purchase many of our baskets & some of my Needle Felted Items thru a shopping cart that will be available on our site there. (This will be an active link when the Faire opens) There will also be links to many other wonderful shops there as well. Hope you will be able to join us during this event.

I added more to my ETSY Shop Today:)

This is a Peyote Stitch Beaded Amulet Bag & Earring Set that I designed & beaded a couple of years ago, and added to my Etsy Shop today. It is done with delica beads & was such fun to create the pattern for & then to see the Moon Goddess come to life was such an amazing feeling. I have had thie set stashed away for a while & came across it today...her skirt is part of the fringe...ohhh and see her crystal ball beaded in her hand:) She is looking into the future & seeing good things for all who see her:)
There are a couple of other new thing listed too!