On The Shelf

It's always nice to get a belated birthday present, especially when it is something to make. This needle felting kit has waited a while to make the journey north, but it didn't stay in the box long once it had arrived. 

I was curious about the name - who was Henry Coles and why did he have a rat? A bit of research led me to this rather gruesome page from the National Archives, but for the faint-hearted, the story is that Henry Cole found the remains of several rats among documents while working in official archives. These were presented as evidence to a Select Committee in 1836, to show the poor state that documents were being allowed to fall into. According to the National Archives website, the skeletons of two of the rats are kept in a box among their collection. I felt rather sorry for the rats. The old documents can't have made a very pleasant diet, nor very interesting reading matter, really.

The kit was produced by The Makerss,  and was a real pleasure to use. All the equipment was included, along with very easy step-by-step instructions and photos of every stage. The wool was very soft and easy to felt, and there was a generous amount of it. The company also has good eco credentials - the wool is organic and all the packaging was plastic free. They also included wool felting mats, which I found much better than the foam ones I had. 

The Rat with his well-rounded bottom.

The kit included a bit of parchment for the rat to hold and some gold wire to make a monocle, but I decided my rat would be a less scholarly type, and so he has a cheerful red scarf instead. I also used black beads instead of the eyes provided, because I liked them a bit smaller.  

A browse through The Makerss website reveals a whole range of beautiful kits, with some very charming characters. I certainly wouldn't be disappointed if I received another untimely birthday present from there. 

 

The Rat has joined a group of random characters who have gathered on the bookcase.
Hopefully he won't be tempted to nibble any of the books.

Another addition to the shelf this week is a new Useful Pot. This one was made from a stitch sampler that had filled up and was just lying around being in the way. The sampler was sewn on a dark blue backing covered with scraps of different textured cloth, including velvet, chiffon and silk. Rather than fall back into the safe habits of embroidery floss, I made an effort to use different textured threads. I kept it to hand, and added a bit whenever I wanted to try something out, or, really, whenever the fancy took me. Because it was small, it was ideal to take on a train journey. 

To make it into a pot, I sewed on a backing, and then cut a cardboard circle for the base (using trial and error rather than maths for the size). I covered the circle with matching fabric by sewing round the edge of a large circle and then gathering it up tight. The gathered edge was hidden with a circle of felt inside the pot. Then I sewed the sampler edge to the base using whip stitches in strong cotton over the raw edge, continuing up the side to join the two ends of the sampler.

For the pot to be functional, I didn't want the top edge to be raw, so I unearthed a scrap of bias binding. I used embroidery stitches to attach the outside edge, so that it blended into the rest of the pot, and then turned over the inside edge to cover the backs of the stitches.  

So far, it doesn't have anything in it, but handy pots and bowls tend to attract random objects, so I'm sure this one will soon be earning its keep. 

 

Granny Squares and Kantha Kat

My Kantha Kat

Number three in my resolution to try out new techniques is a kantha cat.  I found some very crumpled muslin in the bottom of the box, and after a quick iron, cut two squares for the front and back. I sandwiched a scrap of old sheet in between to give it a bit of body. Because it is just a sample, I drew a quick freehand design onto the muslin, keeping the shapes simple and big enough for some rows of stitching inside. I outlined this in red backstitch, and then used embroidery floss for the running stitches inside the shape. I quickly regretted using the yellow thread, as it doesn't show up well (will I ever learn this?) I added eyes and probably should have given him a nose as well. The poor thing has 'experiment' written all over him. 

For the running stitch in the background I used the cotton from the old loom bodkin, which is strong and very smooth for stitching. I echoed the shape of the cat to begin with, but then went all over the place, contributing to the demented lines and the lumpy shape of the finished mat. Being muslin, it was easy to turn over the edge and neaten with an edge stitch. So rather a mixed result. It has a pleasing texture and I could see making lovely cheerful designs using this technique, but probably not something that I would make into a finished piece. 

 

Good old granny squares

Last year's attempt at a wrap around crocheted skirt was added to the official failure list after a few wearings, because it was so bulky to move about in (although it was very warm). It has been painstakingly unravelled, a slow business because it was composed of stripes that changed colour every row or two. With a sizeable collection of different coloured miniballs, the obvious thing to do was to make granny squares. I had forgotten how to do them, but a bit of googling had me on track and production began. The granny squares turned out lighter in weight than the double/treble stitches in the original skirt pattern, and I did contemplate making them into a different version of the skirt.  I started sewing them into a rectangle, and part way through, it got put down on the wooden box of fabric in the sitting room. It seemed to settle down nicely, and so it will probably remain there as a cover, - at least for the time being.