Happy Valentine's Day

I hope you all make it a happy one in some way or other  ....

Today I read ..if you don't have huge expectations for it ...you will be happier.  That sounds good.

I always think too much is made of certain days of the year ...mostly to generate sales of anything and everything... and we fall for it ..of course.

Days like Mother's Day and Valentine's Day.... hmmm.... we should make those days special all year 'round.  Well, that's how I feel about it anyway.

Here are a couple little furry guys to wish you all a Happy Heart Day.

Tuffy, Posie and Scruffy... playing with the heart cookie cutters.  Think they are lobbying for cookies? .... oh, yeh....

And.... here are some chocolate dipped strawberries....... yummmmmmmm

Little Darla says please have one.... "they're luvly"....
                                                                                 


... and, some chocolate covered cherries....... why not?

I'm giving them all to you ... because... right now I am on a chocolate, wine and coffee hiatus..... sigh...
My gut is giving me grief and I am trying to figure out what is causing it.  And, I definitely am not giving up breads and cookies or thinking gluten right away  ...forget that !!  I'll give up the other three before I give up bread.
I love breads...as a matter of fact...today I am baking pretzels... a first time for me but had to give it a go after seeing some my neighbour guy baked ... Trevor, the Renaissance man.... baking and cooking and .... well, he does it.... so why can't I? ....

WOYWW

....ahhhh...finally I can reveal the rest of the secret to those WOYWWers that stopped by during the "unavailability" days  ..... the secret that Olaf was guarding so zealously several Wednesdays ago.

If you want to know what WOYWW is all about ...check it out sometime over at Julia's .  The list is long and the ATC exchange is about to happen too....excitement all 'round.

So ...anyway...back to the story.  Sorry... longer than most people like to look at or read...but, it is mostly photos anyway.... please scroll on.... and on..... you'll love their little faces, I promise.

The last two little bears have found their forever homes....

This little guy is the only one who stayed in Canada...and he found his way to Dolores...who was one of my 4 Pay It Forward recipients.  (from over 2 years ago if you know the story.. and it is only supposed to be one year..so they were definitely all surprised!)
Now ... she will find some who want to play Pay It Forward and they will do the same and on it goes.... little gifties winging their way around the world.

She has named him Rusty..and blogged about his arrival here.... True Blue Canadian...

He had a lot of fun playing in his papers....

choosing just the right ones.... getting all comfy and making sure he could streeetttchh... right out...all 2 inches of him... if that.......

And, this little girl, all by herself ... found her way to Anne in Scotland... and for some reason I never did a pic of her playing in the papers... but, I got one of her before she was complete....

sorry little girl... almost like showing you nekkid....

your little arms were teeensy....and it was dangerous work..... for me!

Here they are just before getting on planes.... wondering how far they would be flying and how it would all work out.  They were pretty nervous ... but, they got all comfy in their little tissue-for-blankies and off they went...so brave.

Group hug.

Awwww... what fun it was making them and for me...the best part is...my arm/hand/elbow is once again finally able to do some needle felting!  I'm a happy felter!.  It's not perfect..but, if I work at it a bit at a time...I can still make some little guys.  Boy, does that feel great.

WOYWW

Many of you WOYWWers won't have seen the two posts I did between last Wednesday and today... (because you only stop by on Wednesday)...and that's okay...but, you do miss things... (check out my Portugal seaside photos too some day) ..

I did want you to see the 'reveal' though....so here is part of the secret.  The secret guarded by Olaf the Terrible.

Two years ago I signed up for a Pay It Forward.  But, real life, injuries and surgeries interfered with all my fun.  I was unable to complete it until just recently...my arm/hand/elbow finally let me do some stabbing and making little needle felted bears once again.  Whew...I was worried for a bit there....was wondering if I could ever do one again.

Here are two of the little guys...well...actually one guy and one gal.... who have travelled across the ocean to new homes. Click to see the full postings if you care to see more photos of either....

































If you haven't heard about WOYWW, go to Julia's blog and check it out.  A good snoop around the work stations of lots of folks...and some interesting things to see....

I'm cheating and putting it on the list early for us in Canada...it is only 11:00 p. m. here ...but, I have a golf time in the morning and that would mean not getting it on til afternoon... so ...I'm doing it tonight....

Forgive me? .... ta... I'll be thinking about all of you while I'm out there....not ....hahahahha...
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Darn it....I forgot to add.... my friend Shashi, one of the recipients of my Pay It Forward .. has now put a post on her blog, Sewing With Moonbeams, encouraging people to play along.  If you would like to receive a little gift from her...and in return...Pay It Forward with a little fun gift from yourself to three others.... please pop over to her blog and comment to play along...check out her post on the little guy she got from me while you are at it.....

Another little bear...

who successfully found his way across the ocean...  and through a mail slot...hahahha.... what fun!  The second  of 4 Pay It Forwards that I've owed for over two years now.

Shashi is a dollmaker and artist who volunteered all that time ago to play the game.  And, now... is offering to Pay It Forward from her blog as well...so if you want to play along...please visit her to let her know.  You will receive a little gift from her and in return pay it forward yourself with another little gift. It is supposed to take place within one year from the original date... but, as you know...I'm late.  But, what fun it is ...seeing little gifts flying all over the world...connecting us all with some love and fun.

This little guy is needle felted from Canadian wool raised and carded right here in Alberta.  It is a warm, natural, white Romney wool.  His little eyes are black onyx beads and his nose embroidered.  I plucked some tufts from a natural white chunk of mohair and needled them into his head along with some softly needled bits of the longer Romney for 'hair' as well as a bit on his body for that fluffy look that I like for my little guys. .... he has a little tie of silk.

Peek a boo.  Is this my paper? I want something comfy to travel in....

Feels reeeelly soft.....

... and I love the colour....yep....it's comfy alright.... this is the one.......

Definitely...this is the one.

Pay It Forward

Finally, I can tell you!!

Well, I can tell you about something.  One thing. Because it was delivered.

Olaf was helping me guard the completion, wrapping and sending of this little gal.

She went to live in England.... with Dilly St. George ..her brother Bob The Bear, Esq....and, all the other bears ... there are lots...window-sill bears and cupboard bears and all sorts ... you must go see some day.... .. and of course, their Mom... who makes lovely cards.

Two years ago, she and Dilly... who is a green Dragon, offered to play my Pay It Forward game.  I can't believe it took me that long to get around to making and sending.  I do have excuses ...honest I do.... including surgeries and injuries to arms, hands and elbows...which did interfere....but, really!.... I feel bad.  And...I'm so happy to note that all 4 of my ladies that offered to play actually still visit my blog regularly and still are blog buddies.  Thank you ladies!  I love you all!

I was giggling away thinking how much fun it would be to see the looks on their faces when something arrived and they were not expecting any mail or hadn't ordered anything ...and then...huh?  Who the heck is this from?  ... and, what is it? ...... oh, drat...how I wish I had a transporter or blast pack or ..something...  just so I could be there on the porch when they get their mail !

On to the reason behind a pink bear.  Dilly loves pink.  Anything pink  She reeeellly loves pink.  So, I decided to try to mimic a little pink bear I had made for myself years ago.  I still have her.

She is made from tufts plucked from a chunk of rayon fabric... this fabric.  It is total silliness.

Back when I began making little wool tufts into bears ... I wondered if anything other than wool could be needle felted ...and so I plucked out some tufts with tweezers...

mixed and fluffed them between my fingers

 ...and .... started stabbing.  Yes,  It could be felted!  Now I was doing crazy things.... even tried what is known as "throwster's waste" ... I hadn't heard the term til then...but, it is the bits of thread hanging off the edges of fraying fabric..ahhaha...I'm a total nut job.  Yes...I am and I know it.  It's okay.

I made this little guy with that stuff...

Back to this bear.... ..soon I had a head almost the shape I was looking for ...then embroidered a nose... and stuck in some cute little test eyes....  awwww......
I'm a sap.  How I love a cute little face.  I didn't want to name her ..just kept referring to her as little pink girl... and telling her I knew her Mom would name her .... as soon as she got there...

Then I had to give her a little bit of something pretty for her 'hair' didn't I ? .... some ribbons and a few stamens did the trick... (she is still just pinned together here...see the pin sticking out of her arm) .... I knew Dilly would be thrilled with pink ribbons.

All done.   Now, where the heck is a photo of her little white toesies..so I can show you ....hmmmm....

Aha...there it is .... big feet....little white toesies...done from plucked tufts of white rayon.

this is the fabric I used to make my poodles.... remember those?  naaaw...the new viewers won't.... here is one of those....

What fun it's been to hear how Dilly loves her little girl bear .. and she's named her Lavender Lily Lilac.... LA-LI-LA for short...hahhah..... oh, boy.... I always have the most fun knowing people enjoy these little creatures.....

I need to get busy and make some more....

WOYWW

She's finished!!  My copycat goosie...... with tips and advice and even the wool !! from my friend Gretel... a world class felter, artist and now... published author of a children's book... Mrs. Mouse's Cupcakes... for which she felted all the characters and even the cupcakes for the photos in the book!
If you live in the UK... ... you could even get in on one of her in person felting workshops!!  And, I'll be green with envy!

If you want to see progression photos from the balls of wool stage to this..... ... just backtrack a few posts... cover your eyes at the bloody one.... hehehe........ ...it happens..... occasionally, if not often ...
Gretel's goose in the background photo ...mine in front.  Think I will name her Gracie.
She is seven inches tall at the top most part of her neck/head area.  How tall is yours Gretel? .

My little guys were impressed by her sheer height..oh, and also her feet.......

Tuffy was hoping she didn't decide to get up and go anywhere........

From Ruggles' perspective .... view of the situation.... and little Buttercup just looks on in awe of the long, lean model on the runway....

Here is how a needle felt begins....  a bag of wool... and there are many types along with a huge array of colours (or you can dye your own ... I've even used Kool-Aid to do that) .... from various breeds of sheep....
Here is the wool Gretel sent me back when I began my project.  She declared that the stuff I was using was never going to work.  hahah....thanks Gretel... for taking pity on me.  I love it.  It's like having a second sister...

You also need some barbed needles to stab, gather and shape the wool into various parts before assembly.  A pen holder like this one is a good idea instead of trying to hold the tiny ends of a needle...just too hard on hands and wrist.  This particular one will hold up to 3 needles... you can also use only two for the smaller pieces or even go down to just one for tiny things or for the finishing ...

This 'copycat' mentality is what got me started on needle felting in the first place several years ago.  Could I make a little bear as cute as Norm was making? the first ones I'd seen .. .. and that I just had to buy on e-bay?... because after the first two I bought  .. the third one got into a bidding war and I paid waaay too much for him.  When he arrived in the mail, I carried him around for a day just looking at him... totally in awe... he was so cute and so tiny ... well, ...that was it.  I was hooked before I even found some wool and needles and tried to make one for myself.  Hahaha... and the first was pretty funny ... looked more like a monkey than a bear..but I finally got him to look sort of okay and was pretty thrilled that I had made my very own little guy.  However, I have to say.....I still want to own at least one of Gretel's creations... yep...I do.

For the WOYWW we are supposed to keep our posting short...but, eh..... just wanted to also tell you about my doll making start.  Almost the same thing.  For months I had wondered if perhaps I could make a doll.  One just like "youknowwho"....  and.....  had to give it a try.  Turned out I could.  I did.  She worked out beyond my wildest dreams for a first....and from an online course actually.  How I loved the little personal challenge of the attempt.   I don't think I have much imagination of my own really ...but, I love to try making some of the things I see others doing.

Here's my first doll .... Echlin... from a Sherry Goshen pattern.  Wow... back in '07 already  .... hmmm...time sure flies....

The painting of the faces was the most intriguing part to me.  I'd never tried anything like it in my life.  But, there were about 18 pages of pics and instructions... you just follow along and all of a sudden...a face appears... absolutely amazing to me!  We also made the little chair.  It was supposed to be made by cutting and cleaning a big dirty old gourd.... I just couldn't bring myself to use one.  Instead I just made a paper clay shape over a shallow bowl and went from there. ... lined it with silk and made some flowers from paperclay as well... and voila.  My first doll!  Pretty darn thrilling to me.

If you want to check out blogs of others participating in WOYWW....go to Julia's blog and see our list of bloggers...wow...it gets longer each week....

Frilly dilly...

I got the feet attached...and then did the frilly dilly little thingmebob on one of her upper legs....sheesh.... what a tricky spot to needle felt.  Had to spread her poor little legs a bit to get in there .. poor baby...

Maybe my mentor did her goosie somewhat differently ... maybe she put the frill on the upper leg and then attached the leg? ...I know not.  I am just playing copycat here ... and trying to figure it out for myself without asking too many questions.  That's part of the game, see? .......... I want to know if I can accomplish anything near the original by doing that ... although... as soon as Gretel sees this...she will then let me know if I did it all bass ackward...! Which is a distinct possibility........

Then... took some time out to bake some scones...because strawberries were on sale ...and I had to have some.  Soooo sweet they are too.

And... found a great recipe for Hot Cross Buns....yes, I know ...I'm several days late now.  I was busy.  But...I'm still going to give them a go one day this week to test and taste.

Oh,....and speaking of late.... my doll and bear making buddy, Maggi, came to play on Friday .... and brought me a car.  Well, brought a car for one of the little guys cuz I'm way to big to fit in this little roadster ....

Perfect fit for Scooter...

Time for tea!!

Especially when this happens.   It was a total through and through ....in one spot and straight out the other.  I was sort of going sideways with one good stick .... and all I can say is thank goodness I didn't get any on Ms. Goosie!

If it happens... you have to lick the wool ...hahaha...yeh...your saliva works wonders.  But... hhaakkkk!!  it feels like a cat trying to get rid of a hairball for a minute or two after that .... ptoooey .....

You just have to walk away ...and wait it out til the bleeding stops .. especially with white wool.  And...hopefully you don't leak any of the red stuff before you snatch away the poor aching finger.  It hurts to stab a finger or thumb... almost feels bruised as well as stuck ... it hurts.  Please be careful if you try some felting.

Think it's time to stop for tea and a cookie now.....oh, I forgot to bake any.  Just for that ...maybe I'll bake something next then.....

But, before I did that ...I finished up both wings....and began to add a bit of wool for the leg tops...oh, and... stuck some wire into the feet...