rose hip

woolly garlands...

 

 

...what to do with baskets of felted wool scraps left over after making a few of these patchwork blankets? It seems to me that these scraps are much more precious than normal fabric scraps because of all that's involved in felting the wool from old sweaters; for one,there seems to be less wool sweaters to choose from in thrift shops (more and more blends as well as acrylics) and getting them felted just right often requires repeated washes in the machine. But don't get me wrong, I love the entire process because you're never quite sure what the wool will look like at the end -- it's all a bit magical...

 

 

So while pulling things together for Hycroft, the idea of some kind of garland to embellish the beautiful windows in the room came up and I immediately thought about all my baskets of woolly scraps... et voilà: 5-yard lengths of woolly garlands!

 

 

I will be bringing some of these over to Molly's shop in Vancouver as well as trying my hand at selling some in my Etsy shop   (All sold out -- Thanks!!). While I've packaged them in vintage Christmas wrapping, I do think that they can work as great room accents well beyond the Chrismas season, especially in children's rooms -- what do you think?

 

 

P.S. My garland was included in this very sweet Etsy treasury created by Tiffany...take a look -- you might find a perfect holiday gift! (Dec. 3)

 

Christmas at Hycroft...

 

...Another long stretch of blogging silence!... where have I been? Well, just like last year at this time, I have been busy helping my friend Molly, owner of this lovely Vancouver shop, decorate a room for the annual Christmas fundraising event at Hycroft mansion in Vancouver, being held over this coming weekend. The room Molly was alloted this year to spin her magic in -- the green conservatory at the west side of the house -- is larger than last year's and, in my opinion, is the most beautiful in the entire house; on the walls and floor, it is tiled with gorgeous green ceramic tiles which over the years have acquired a beautiful patina (they are probably more beautiful than when first installed!), and the ceiling is adorned with lovely stained glass (as it is a conservatory) which is also to be found on stunning large windows which look westwards towards a lovely formal lawn and garden.

This summer, I put together a woolly patchwork blanket very similar to the one below; the blanket was one of those ideas I've had knocking around in my head for a long time now and it finally got to the point where I was so itching to try my hand at making one, that I dropped everything else I was working on at that moment and just went ahead and made one! With this Christmas event in mind, Molly then asked me if I could make two of these blankets for the two adorable picket fence beds she put together for the room. I happily said yes because I love putting together the squares for this type of patchwork; they are either cut from felted wool sweaters or woolly fabrics I've been collecting for a while now. There is also something so comforting in working with wool at this time of the year (definitely better than in mid-summer when I sewed up the first of these woollen blankets!)...

 

 

To all you local Vancouver folks, I highly recommend a visit to Hycroft this weekend, especially if you have kids in tow and are in the mood to kick off your Christmas season; my kids are dying to go back this year because last year they completely fell under the charm of this gorgeous stately mansion all decked out for Christmas. I will leave you with all the info for the event here and I shall be back soon with another woolly post... See you then!