This lovely pendent was found on “Resurrection Fern” created by a delightful artist who has been making things with her hands since childhood.  When not crafting she is a family physician in a small rural community.

This Snow flake Pendant Tutorial was inspired by the fresh fallen snow on the deep dark brown earth. It can be made in any color and with a simpler design. It could really be adapted to anything you or your children might be inspired to stitch onto felt.  Materials: box board, template for circles, pencil, scissors, felt, embroidery thread, needles and a length of wool, ribbon or trim.

Sayra Adams of Idaho, United States creates the most stunning felted hats that anyone would look dramatic wearing. Sayra not only makes hats but she makes wool art batts, and spins yarn which looks like they would be lovely to work with.  Pay a visit on her Blog “Hat Diva” or shop her charming shops “Hatdiva Hats” and “Atomicblue fiber” and tell her you saw her on Craft Gossip Felting.  You can follow her on TWITTER too.

I was looking for how to create a DIY scarf similar to the “Necklush” and found this tutorial on “NASH ON FASHON”. You could use an XXXL tee in two colors or tie-dye a white to get more volume in your scarf.  Nash grew up in Southern California where she was inspired by the diverse and laid back styles of the West Coast. She was later inspired by her aunt, who works as a fashion designer in New York City. Nash now attends college near San Francisco and works as a sales associate at the fashion-forward company Forever 21, where she puts forth great effort to help people look and feel their best, most fashionable and body conscious selves. She mixes pieces from high and low cost fashion designers (including her own DIY projects) to create her own eclectic looks. Nash asks:

“Ever look at a magazine, a runway, or a website and think “Hey, I can totally make that!” Well, you should! I love to be creative, save money and look fashionable. Plus, what’s a better feeling than answering “Oh, I actually made this” when someone asks where you bought it. So let’s get started on some DIY projects because there’s really no downfall to doing-it-yourself!

I was searching websites online and found this website with a really interesting looking scarf created on Etsy called a ‘necklush’. I figured out how to make this ‘necklush’ and it is really simple. All you need is an old t-shirt and some good scissors”.

I have never used Noro yarns or knit these patterns, but this book is filled with wonderful and fun projects for the fashion knitter and I will try one using Noro yarn.   The colors are amazing as are the patterns.  I did read some reviews on this book and most were 4.5 Stars on Amazon.  I really like this book. Any yarn with the same gauge as the featured Noro yarn can be used for these patterns. Most knitters are familiar with Noro yarns by name and by look, even if they’ve never knit with them before. These yarns are known for their vibrant colors, individual dyeing techniques and doing as much of the production process by hand as possible. Fans of Noro love to use these yarns for a variety of projects, and Knitting Noro: The Magic of Knitting with Hand-Dyed Yarns by Jane Ellison (a specialist at working with the yarn) offers Noro lovers new and old a variety of simple clothing designs to try with some of the company’s products.  The beginning of the book reads a bit like an advertisement for Noro yarns, which I guess the whole book really is, if you think about it. “Compare a hank of hand-dyed Noro yarn with a ball of man-made acrylic yarn and the differences between the two are immediately apparent,” Ellison writes in one passage. This book is beautifully done with lovely clear pictures and some trendy patterns.  Some of the wording  here is taken from About.com Knitting, by: Sarah E. White who has a great review for you if you would like to know more about this book.  I received this book form Random House and they mention designer Jane Ellison presents more than 30 patterns to knit with Noro yarns. Designed to let the glorious colors of the long repeat variegated yarns take center stage, the garments are divided into six classic silhouettes with variations for each. From the Pullovers chapter, readers can make a striped sweater with ribbed details or a turtleneck sweater dress; from the Classic Jackets chapter, both a zippered hoodie and a long textured coat can be made.  From tanks to wraps, the patterns are accompanied by beautiful photographs and clear instructions. The figure-flattering shapes of these garments and the vibrant colors of the yarns are sure to make Knitting Noro a book that knitters of all skill levels will come back to again and again.  If any of you have used Noro Yarns please let us know what you think of them.   This is a random drawing book giveaway that will run from November 1, 2009 through November 14th 2009.  Please type “Enter Me” in the comment area and good luck.

Chrissie the shop owner of “Make Your Presents Felt” does some wonderful designs with felt.  I am totally in love with this Felt bead and wooden petal choker necklace.  Her shop has some lovely items you have to see.  I also love her Nuno felted vessel with burlap/hessian collar, it is so primitive and would make a wonderful conversation piece in your home. Sorry, I just bought both pieces.  Chrissie: “Hello and thanks for looking! I’m a time-served Scots crafter (living in England) who has for the last 30 years lovingly made gifts for friends and family, or to decorate our home. I was always getting told off for “skiddling” when I was little (that’s ‘making a mess with water’ to anyone who isn’t Scottish!) so I’m in my element wet-felting.

This tutorial for this adorable felted sweater floral earmuff /headband comes from the blog “Maya Made” is a very interesting and fun blog.  All you will need is: a felted turtleneck sweater, a scissor, thread, and a needle.  There is another tutorial and template from “Wise Craft” on making the flowers.  This is such a quick and clever idea that was made out of necessity.  Take a look at the blog and you can read how our designer was forced into making this headband.

These hats would be adorable for young children for Halloween.  Shown are an Owl and a Butterfly hat for a boy and girl.  There are downloadable templates and a video with step-by-step instructions.  Before starting this project, you will need to felt an old 100 percent wool sweater. Simply wash the sweater in a washing machine with plenty of detergent and hot water, and dry in clothes dryer on high heat.  The soap, agitation, and heat will cause the scales of the wool fibers to open up, lock together, and condense. Washing the sweater with something made of heavy cloth, like a pair of jeans, will speed the process. You may need to wash and dry the sweater a few times — every sweater’s different. Test your sweater for felting by snipping the edge — it should not fray. If it does, wash and dry again.

These are the cutest and warmest looking mittens I have seen.  Easy to make in any color you would like.  “The Purl Bee” tell you all the supplies you will need and offer complete instructions.   They come from Molly’s Sketchbook, a person of many talents.  There are step-by-step pictures to guide you through this project.

This is the cutest idea to duplicate an expensive project on a budget.  I found this pictorial tutorial on a really cool blog called “Living with Lindsay” where you will find some awesome ideas and photos. When making these pumpkins don’t worry about being an artist? No worries. Lindsay did the hard work for you and drew out everything you need for the four pumpkins. There is a downloadable the .pdf file of the artwork. The artwork is scaled for a medium sized pumpkin, so you will need to enlarge or reduce if you are using a large or small pumpkin.

Taffy Knit’s has a very charming ETSY shop filled with enjoyable items to decorate with, wear or just for fun.  I love the witches brewing kettle, pumpkins and apples as they are all seasonal for the fall.  Check out this stay at home mother of four ETSY shop and offer some comments.  Her designs are unique, fun and practical. She offers felted knitted items because she feels that felted wool is such an efficient fabric for our busy lives. She also loves the fun and the shrinking process because it always brings the element of surprise.

I immediately fell in love with Ann’s Owls. They are a delight and so timely since we are coming into Halloween.  Ann’s creations are one-of-a-kind and you will never see another like hers anywhere.  Ann works in fiber and paper mache and works with vintage fibers and fabrics and second-hand goods to create wonderful new useable art.  Check out Ann Wood’s Blog and learn all the marvelous art she creates, she is an amazing artist.

Artist Statement: I live in Brooklyn New York near beautiful Prospect Park. I make things, paint, and draw for my life and livelihood.  I work with mostly found and salvaged materials, many of them vintage or antique garments. There is a kind of affection and tenderness in the re-use and re-purposing of things that were once personal and perhaps treasured possessions. Much of my inspiration comes from these materials as well as from many of the ideas I have been infatuated with my whole life: smallness, intricacies, miniaturization, collections, repetition; lost or abandoned things discovered and rescued; the idea of haunted and enchanted places, things and creatures;

Now is the time to think about your Halloween decorations and I thought it would be fun to see what the ETSY shop owners are selling for this trick or treat fun holiday.  I was taken in by “Two Left Hand’s Shop” with its smashing array of adorably scary dolls.  Mrs. Two Left Hand’s lives in a little cottage on a little lake in Michigan with her husband and their two adorable dogs. Muffie is a Shitzu and Poker is a Cocker Spaniel. They have three grown kids and nine beautiful grandkids, five boys and four girls. She has been sewing for as long as she can remember and because she has never been good at taking instructions (she always does first and reads later) she never know exactly what she will come up with. She loves doing needlework and experimenting with different embroidery stitches.  Most items are made from wool felt, wool roving, gauze, bead, pearls, glue, floss.  Every holiday is celebrated in this shop, so visit often.

I found this amazing site called “The Island of Misfit Patterns “ with all free patterns of felted and unfelted bags, hats, mitten, scarves and toys created by people like you and me. I have pictured a couple of free felting projects and there are plenty more for you to browse through About The Island of Misfit Patterns is about: Let me guess. You created something fabulous, wrote up a pattern, and submitted it to all the online magazines. But sadly, no one wanted it. Or maybe you wrote a great essay, but again, no one took it. Or, maybe you were just too lazy to try and get your great pattern and essay in the exact correct format for publication.  We know how you feel. But, don’t worry your pattern or essay has a home here! This site is designed to host all the lost and homeless patterns out there.

I am a facebook fan of “ecco*eco” and almost every day they feature a new artist. Today it is Taiana Giefer who is a stunning designer using felted merino wool textiles. She is featured in The Moment Blog – NYTimes.com and her designs are marvelous and wearable and usable.  Taiana is a native of California and works in New York.  Throughout her life she has immersed herself in the world of art and textiles and is certainly is an up-and-coming designer.  All her designs are handmade by Taiana in the USA and you will never find an identical piece due to the organic process. Taiana Giefer is only 21 years old, but her edgy, felted merino wool textiles have already captured the attention of some pretty influential fashion folk.  Francisco Costa collaborated with the New York-based designer on custom fabrics for his fall Calvin Klein collection, and Rick Owens liked her cloud-soft creations so much that he decided to sell them at his Paris boutique. Giefer whose boyfriend is the artist and Abraxas Rex Jewelry designer Paris Kain also sells her hand-woven scarves, throws and blankets at Maxfield in Los Angeles. Each richly textured piece is one of a kind and takes up to a week to make. “I love creating things that are new and innovative, but really show off the handwork that went into them,” she says. Get them while they’re relatively affordable: prices start at $300 for a small scarf and go up to $3,000 for a large blanket or tapestry. Go to taianadesign.com for more information.