no internet, and a special chirimen book

well, life in a foreign country is never predictable. and yesterday the internet at the house i am staying in went out! last time this sort of thing happened, it was the crows` fault...so perhaps they are the culprits this time as well.

i was all excited to get back into the daily posting habit, and this is definitly going to slow me down a bit, and make it harder to have pictures with my posts, which i really really prefer!

but, in the meantime, i was able to find a chirimen craft book that is out of print and a little hard to find, and it`s in the shop. http://www.feltcafe.etsy.com. oh, and i guess the computer terminal that i am on right now doens`t allow any http script, along with a ban on files (like photos for uploading). so please bear with me as i figure out some workarounds!

anyway, this is definitely a good time to do some more exploring, craft sourcing, photo taking, and start in on the felt fruits and veggies i want to make! i know that sometimes i let the internet suck all my time, so this is a good opportunity for me to be creative and crafty off line.

yet another adorable needle felted animals book

i finally got to this book, which has some really cute animals made by needle felting.
i think the most special part of this book, is that it includes all the wee pastries and fruits that go along with the whimsical animal characters, many who have little shops!
and, it shows how to make all the little accessories...
and of course the animals themselves! the instructions are very clear, and this book would be good for a beginner to intermediate felter, and an advanced needle felter could also get inspired by the cute characters.
there's a full set of photos on flickr , and the book is in my etsy shop.

needle felted japanese sweets book

oh my, all the adorable japanese craft books are a little overwhelming! this one is all about japanese sweets, made by needle felting. and it is really really cute.

little bunny mochi
and strawberry chocolates
and look at this leaf around the sakura mochi! they are all just so sweet and realistic. and really they don't look very hard at all. more photos in the flickr set here, and the book is in my shop.

cute felt play fruit and veggies book

this book is seriously one of the cutest ever, and it's all about play food sewn from felt! i pretty much want to make every single thing in it. more details in the shop, and more photos in this flickr set.

new nuigurumi book

this book is so so so cute! it's all about stuffed animals, ones that look super easy to make, and are inspired by simple line drawings. i'm having some etsy trouble tonight (japan time) and also some very heavy eyelids (the last lingering effects of jet lag are giving me a strict bed-time), so i will list it in the shop tomorrow. but for now, you can see more in my flickr account.
UPDATE: i've listed this book in my shop, and will be listing more over the next few days.

tamar mogendorff

tamar mogendorff is one of the artists i discovered in selvedge, a magazine i mentioned last week.
she made all of these soft designs pictured here, and some are for sale in the selvedge shop as well.

printed textiles from jewelweeds

jewelweeds prints lovely designs on natural cloth, and sells a range of products in her shop.

handmade market april 15th, 2009

my favorite felt works, by komakoma.
including these wee animals with suspenders. love it!
bags made of recycled fire hoses!
cute japanese style crafts.
and more felt, including all these intricate and wonderful felt flowers.

i'm in japan!

it was a long trip, but i made it. after my connecting flight was delayed 4 hours (!) in san francisco, the flight itself was rather pleasant. and i have to say, i think i interacted with the nicest and most helpful united employees ever throughout the day. of course, the fact that the plane was less than half full helped a lot, as i had a row of 3 seats by the window to stretch out it.
i brought a stack of magazines after i realized that i would be flying during the day, and sleep might not be an option if the movie selection was lacking. (it was, but i watched 2 anyway). one magazine i splurged on was selvedge, a gorgeous textile publication from the UK.
it was totally worth it, and i want to share a few finds from it's pages later this week. but for now, here's the lovely easter craft spread from this issue and from their website.

and now for the jet lag update: i woke up after 5 am, which is infinitely preferable to a few sleepless hours between 2-4 am, in my opinion. today i'm off to the handmade market in kyoto!

easter weekend

i dyed wool felt eggs!
using paas egg dye.
it was super easy.
and making felt eggs is pretty easy too–just make a felt ball, and then squish it while you are finishing it.
i had a wonderful last weekend in town, filled with friends and meals. this souffle was from brunch yesterday,
seen in it's entirety here.

lisa hannigan

lisa hannigan's beautiful solo debut, sea sew, is complemented by some amazing and beautiful craft projects. for one thing, she stitched ALL the words from the liner notes onto linen.

in the first of the two videos below, she turns the pages of a wonderful handmade pop-up book, and in the second, she creates an entire landscape from cut paper.

and the winner is...

wintunancy! email me your address to feltcafe@gmail, and i will send off your felt flowers. i've enjoyed doing a few giveaways, and i plan to continue them...from japan!

felt by matte stephens

all together :D, originally uploaded by matte stephens.

matte stephens is a etsy star, and you've likely seen his paintings before online, or at one of his many art shows.

and now, he's making felt sculptures!

via design*sponge.

another felt flower giveaway

i have 2 more felt flowers to give away! these were such a fun way to play around with felt scraps i am always accumulating.
they are both small, around 2 inches in diameter. leave a comment for a chance to win them both! i will mail them on saturday, so that's the deadline.

one more amazing portland shop: olio united

olio united was one of the best finds during our one day tour of portland. olio united is a wonderful shop that showcases ethical and socially responsible designers, many of them local to portland. it's also a very well curated shop, that spans a wide range from fashion to housewares to paper to jewelry.
this folded miso bowl is made by portland's pigeon toe ceramics. so pretty!

sweet necklace by portland jewelry designer, appleseed designs.
and of course i fell in love with the felt bags by feel design, also from portland!
you can see their other bags on sale at olio united here.

if you are looking for the new best showcase of independent designers in portland, i think it may just be olio united! and on top of that, they have a great commitment to ethical craft and supporting local artists. AND, you can shop online from their website! does it get any better than that??

portland recap part 3: shopping

here's a little peek inside the lovely garnish store.
owner and designer erica lurie creates her own line of very pretty clothes, and also does custom work. i love this little framed example of fabric swatches.

while we were wondering down alberta street, we also visited bolt fabric and next door close knit (how great is it to have an independent fabric store and yarn store next to each other!), ped x shoe store (i am a sucker for campers), tumbleweed (with kids version grasshopper next door).