First things first, revealing the project I alluded to in my December 2nd post — partridges for my purple-themed holiday tree. See one peeking coyly over her shoulder? Isn't she a beauty? I think the cardinal is jealous.
The idea was to create partridges and pears out of wool felt. For a pattern I started with a screen capture of the cartoon partridge from the 70's sitcom, The Partridge Family. (The opening sequence with the theme song is available on YouTube.) From there it was easy to make pattern pieces.
Here is a flat scan of the tatted wings. I added a few glass beads to give it some sparkle. Tatman's shuttle motif adds just the right je ne sais quoi to make this handmade bird stand out.
What about the pears?
For these, I used a wool knit fabric the color of red Anjou pears. Then I added needle felted roving to add dimension. It was my first attempt at needle felting and it was a lot of fun to do. I made six of these last year and ended up giving them all away to friends who fell in love with them. So I made more this year.
The pattern for this comes from the book Warm Fuzzies: 30 Sweet Felted Projects, by Betz White, in case you want to try your hand at making them too.
I love how my Anjou pear turned out. Even if you've never needle felted before (like me) you can do it and it will look good! Plus the stabbing motion made with the felting needle helps relieve pent-up holiday tension. LOL!
My goal for 2010 is to showcase tatting in more mixed media projects. Wishing you all successful and joyful holiday crafting in the days and weeks to come!
