more quiet books

just to give you an update on my quiet books :

giraffe with bow ties that turn around or can be removed

fish with bubbles (pearls from an old necklace) in a labyrinth

beautiful butterfly fish

it's a puzzle !

cookie monster ate a lot of...

cookies !

tree with owl and fimo birds

owl can fly away, there's a frog too...

flowers can change appearance

monkey in the tree (can go upside down too)

what is hidden in the corner ?

i love to make them.  These pages are inspired by what i see on pinterest, some of my own imagination, and also by all the nicnacs i saved over the years, that finally have found a destination....

autumn decorations

I'm indulging in a little felt embroidery.

The big red mushroom is a fly agaric (had to look it up - thanx google translate)
Apparently you can call these mushrooms  'punks' or even 'spunks' in English. In my language they are called 'zwam'.  I liked to sew the spores - that's the detail to make it look real.

catching some late rays of sun

So I guess the little baby on the swing-chair can be called a baby punk..... although he doesn't look the part... Maybe I should 've gone a little more crazy on his hairdo. 

I'm putting it on display under a glass bell.  In Flanders, in the fifties & sixties, every home used to have a glass bell with a madonna + child under it.  In the zen-nineties they became really old-fashioned and were thrown away or sold at flea markets. I bought one there, threw away the (plastic) madonna and now I fill it with other objects.  It's vintage revival.
Feeling pretty hipster now. :-)

Swing along, little punky.

a felted bag

Last friday, I spent a day at Mieke Recour's atelier, making a felted bag.  I really enjoyed this, although it was pretty hard work.  We started from scratch : first we made a design,  then we choose our colours and worked our way through the many layers of wool, with the aid of soap, and hot water.

It was funny to see that we all had a different bag in the end.

this is how mine ended up.

our hands were sooo soft afterwards !

with an orange inside

Mieke came to help with the details

pretty in pink

everything is felted

a wonderful bag this is !

in black 'n white

with curly endings

this finishing touch !

accents in real sheeps wool

rolling and hitting the felt

and more soap...

Mieke at her table

so, what do you think ?

the black beauty

artistic !

nearly finished !

this one is ready, pffff - now it has to dry

We enjoyed the day very much, it was well organised and we were all proud to go home with the great bags !

felting

There is a lot more you can do with wool than knitting.  I was about to learn this at the 3-days workshop given by Mieke Recour.
We worked really hard at felting, it is quite intensive to make the wool change into felt.  You have to start very gently, but then just hit it, throw it around, slap it, get all your frustration out of your body, and the result is simply beautiful !
We could chose what to make, and as I'm not a scarf person, I made a few necklaces.
I love them, they are very light to wear, and I made them into the colours that fit my clothes.

earring made of silk cocons, handpainted

felted wool in spiral technique

plain felt ovals, but I love the colours

silk ribbons

handpainted, they were white when we started

needle felted rose

the only scarf I made : silk cut in fine strings

silk flowers on a felted base

silk is all handpainted

I'm quite proud of this one.

love those colours !

and here are some pics of the workshop itself :

Mieke explaining carefully what we can do

I love this necklace she made !

She has her own working place, an 'atelier'

silk ribbons painted in matching colours

lunch is served in the garden !

the spiral one and his secret : a plain plastic tube

Claire is making one too

Karin is making a book cover

ready to finish, or should I add more stuff ?

trial and error ?

look at that lovely stash of wool in the background....

Claire busy making her bookcover

it involved ironing, in this heat !

finishing the necklaces

I really enjoyed this 3 days.  Mieke is thinking of organising 'free ateliers' , that means you can come and join her in her atelier in De Haan, use all the material she has (and pay for it of course) - and she will help you when you have a problem or want to turn an idea into a scarf or necklace or handbag or anything.  She is a very good teacher, patient, friendly and empathic.  Check out her website for more info !