Unfinished pieces-

[pamd]

So, before the holidays I had a picnic to attend and I was planning to wear a green and purple blouse I had purchased, so I made a headband to wear with it. I wore the medallion (even though it's not finished) at the back of my head for the picnic, but I actually like it off to one side better. (okay, so my daughter says I'm a '60s hippie that never grew up - probably right). I also made a cuff bracelet -not in photo- that I also want to embellish, just for fun.

The vessel I did as a last ditch effort to get just a little more felting in before the holidays. I haven't even thought about embellishing it yet, and I don't know what to do with the top, but we'll see. Suggestions welcome.

Finally, the little purse I did on Wednesday. My intention when deciding to do another purse was to make a small purse on a belt that I could put on to wear to the dog park to just carry the esentials. However, just before Christmas my beautiful 15 year old lab, Dilly, died. (She was my dog and the 6 yo lab we still have is my husband's) so I am really not going to the dog park as often (my dh takes Bucky). Still intrigued with the idea of a small purse, I decided to try my hand at adding a strap, since I hadn't done that yet. So, here is the end product. Haven't determined whether to add any other embellishments aside from the bead or not.
multipic by pamd8, on Flickr

[MTRuth]

Great work. I love the top of the vessel the way it is. But I like the uneven natural edges - one of the reasons I like felting I think your bag looks great without further embellishment. I love the front flap edge as well!

[pamd]

Thanks, Ruth. That's one of the things I like about felt also, uneven, and I'm good at it!

[lyn]

I'm so sorry to hear about Dilly - I know just how you feel.

I love the colours and the way you've used them in the vessel and I would leave the top as it is. It looks finished to me.

The bag is very pretty and it too looks finished, so if you decide to embellish it take care not to overwhelm the pretty flap edge and bead.

[pamd]

Thanks, Lyn.

The bead doesn't show up very well in the picture, but it has a dragonfly on it and I was thinking of replicating the dragonfly on either the back or the bottom corner of the front. We'll see, I guess, but next week I think I will do another little purse. I like it!

[zed]

They all look great, Pam
How did you attach the strap to the bag?

[koffipot]

I think they all look good too, and I'm also a fan of 'organic' edges - so the vessel looks finished to me. However, I'm not much good at beading - tried it out on a vessel recently and not sure whether I ought to unpick! That is such a pain though.

Sorry to hear about Dilly, labs are my favourite dogs, especially black ones.

[Shepherdess]

I like them all I am with you about not being sure about the top of the vessel but love the colours and shape. the purse is wonderful and I wouldn't do anything else on the front. I am sorry to here about Dilly. I lost my old cat just before Christmas and they always leave a hole in in life when they go.

Judith where are the pictures of the beading?

[karen]

They all look gorgeous Pam, love the bead on your bag and i think there all perfect just the way they are, Sorry to hear about your Dilly, we had a black lab to and he was 15 when he died a couple of years ago. We also just lost Ike, an 18month old Bull Mastif /Ridgeback/geat dane. i miss them both

[pamd]

Thank you all so much for the condolences on our doggie loss and on the felted pieces.

Zed, I guess I just did the strap the "normal" way, by rolling a long strip of wool into a cord and leaving the ends dry. After I added the first layer of wool to the purse I added the strap and laid wool over and around for the second and third layers, then felted as normal. We'll see how well it holds up to my wear and tear, which is enormous as I always end up with 10 pounds of change in the bottom of my purse - lol.

About Dilly, a few months ago we found out she had lymphoma and decided at her age we would not take any extraordinary measures, like chemo. We had her on meds and they really helped her feel better for a while, but eventually we knew it was time. I so wanted her to live through Christmas so she could see her kids again, but......Gosh, I miss her.

[zed]

I've never tried that, pam. I've made smaller cords for book ties, by spinning some yarn, plying and felting that. How much wool does it take?

I made a little coin pouch for loose change, just about 2 inches high and 1.5 inches wide, from felt, keep it in my back pocket so I never have to hunt for coins

I can't even imagine how hard it is to lose a dog, I hope it doesn't hurt too much and hope it gets easier to remember her

[pamd]

Zed, I had ordered this wool from somone on etsy and the - okay, not sure how to say this properly - width and thickness of the wool roving was about half what I was used to. So, I just broke off (pulled apart) at a certain point that I figured would give me the length I wanted once it shrunk. I didn't measure, so have no idea what that was. Then I just wet it with warm soapy water and rolled until it felt strong enough. Attached, rolled, etc. The strap is 29" long now. It feel really strong, but we'll see.