Some Nuno, Some Treasuries, and a Whole Lotta Shakin'

Quite some time ago I went on a "girls' day out" trip with a couple of my friends.  We ended up in San Francisco at a fascinating place where you can drop off "stuff" that you no longer want that could be used for artsy kinds of projects.  You can also fill up a shopping bag with "stuff" that catches your eye for some of your own projects, and when you check out you'll be amazed at how little money you've spent.  I came home with various sorts of trinkets along with a length of fabric that I would never have given a second look before I started felting.  The fabric is synthetic, is very stretchy, and has a very open weave to it.  And it cost me less than a buck - how could I resist?  I decided that before I spend a large time investment working with it, I'd make a sample piece to see how it works as a base for nuno felting.  My sample ended up being a bit larger than I had anticipated, and I like it so much that I'm going to wear it as a collar, or scarflet if you will, so now I need to make some kind of felted brooch to pin it together in the center.  Here's the test piece that for me passed with flying colors (pun intended).

The reddish colored fibers are alpaca and this was the first time I had ever used alpaca in a project.  It's very interesting - the fibers are very long, and the straight ones really migrated a lot over the surface of the piece.  I'm quite excited about using this stuff in a vessel now!

Well, I've done it once more. Life has gotten in the way of me keeping on top of the Etsy treasuries in which my work has appeared.  Without further ado, here they are - going back in time quite a bit!

tootsytwo included my Embers Felted Vessel in her lovely treasury "Ashen Embers".

Thank you Tootsy Two! Be sure to visit her store to see her vintage items and hand-crafted works such as this lovely "Mini Quilt Art".

 enchantedbeas included my Showy Autumn Leaf Bead in her lovely treasury "COLORS (2)".

Thank you Enchanted Bitz! Be sure to visit her store to see her whimsical jewelry creations such as these sweet "Poppy Love Earrings".  They work quite well with the COLOR theme of her treasury!

vilte included my Aqueous Fossil Bead in her lovely treasury "Peonies and stars".

Thank you VK Felt! Be sure to visit her store to see her fabulous felt work such as her "Treasure" felted cuff.  I'd wear this in a heartbeat!

This morning as I was sitting in my office catching up on the happenings with my Facebook friends, the house gave a sudden hard jolt, the windows started rattling, and then the whole room was shaking.  It had been quite awhile since I had felt an earthquake and it sure took me by surprise!  It wasn't bad, only a 4.1 on the Richter scale, but it was centered rather close to my house.  It felt as if my chair was going to go through the floor!  Here's where it happened, on the Calaveras fault right near the Calaveras dam.  That's about 10 miles or so from my house.  Ka-boom!

After that incident, I really didn't need a 2nd cup of coffee!

Speaking of coffee, I'm about to head out for a Starbucks break, then back to my accounting work.  You folks go have a happy and creative day!