Well, it’s that time of year. Time when I just have to make things… things to sell, things to give away, but basically just things to keep me busy ‘cuz it’s too darn dark outside to take photos! Ha!
One of my favorite things to make is felted soap. It’s a bar of wonderful Yardley glycerin soap all wrapped in its own wool washcloth. Great for exfoliating! Maddie and I make them to sell at Imagine! in Bemus Point. The shop owner even talked us into offering a workshop so others could join in the fun. (I hope this doesn’t mean that our soaps won’t sell anymore… hmm…)
We had a blast teaching 4 new friends this fairly simple technique. I don’t have to tell you the technique, because you can google it and find lots of instructions… Though some of the sites give far more complicated instructions than we do… You’ll just have to take the class to learn our easier way!
Once we all understood the basic technique, we applied it to new items. We felted jingle bells – to fashion into ornaments or let the cat play with. We felted some old Christmas ornaments. (Be careful when you rinse… a big change in temperature can cause the delicate glass to break!)
To make the ornaments a bit sparkly, I sewed running stitches with silver thread adding beads every few stitches. I think they’re gorgeous!
I’ll re-attach the ornament hangers after I’m done beading. Or maybe not. Maybe I’ll just put them in a basket or bowl on the dining room table!
What are your holiday projects?
A Passion for Nature 
How bright and cheery! I want to try my hand at making some. I like the photo of the process in action.
Felted soap! What a great idea. Your felted ornaments are pretty, too! No holiday crafts here. I like to quilt and knit now that it’s cold again.
Neat projects and gift ideas. I make my own soap so should give it a try.
Jennifer,
Those are beautiful! Do you just buy the roving in different colors and then felt it all together? I’ve knitted and felted slippers, but always did it in the washing machine.
So far my holiday projects are still in the list stage, although I did dig through the yarn cupboard this afternoon for some yarn to knit up a few pairs of little half-mitts for Christmas gifts.
My holiday project: hosting the big Traditional Swedish Christmas Eve Dinner for the first time. Pickled herring, pickled ham, pickled cabbage, pickled cucumbers, pickled onions, and enough ooze to pickle the guests. Oh, I almost forgot! Potatoes baked with anchovies. (At least that dish isn’t pickled!) Love the felted ornaments!