Sunday, July 15, 2012

Anatomy of a Nuno Felted Jacket

This nuno felted collage jacket was quite the undertaking but I am pleased with the results.  It's reversible and looks great on either side. I dyed all of the wool roving and a lot of the silks used in the project.  It's an upcycled garment for sure since it includes fabric from cast away clothing, ties, a vintage obi and recycled sari ribbons.



The front and back are made in one piece from a piece of black silk chiffon 78" long by 39" wide.  I folded the fabric in half lengthwise and then again horizontally from the folded edge.  I cut the neck opening from the folded corner.  I then opened up the fabric, laid it flat and cut all the way down to make a front opening.  I then made a collage of my wool roving and fabrics.


I covered up the collage with a cloth and then wet down the whole package with cool, soapy water.


I used an electric sander to get the wool to adhere to the silk fabric.



 Once the fibers got to the pre felt stage,  I took it out side to dry.

 I then started the sleeves by cutting two pieces from the black silk chiffon each 36" wide by 18" long.  I prefelted the sleeves just like I did the body.

I put the sleeves outside to dry with the body.

Once the pieces were all dry, I sewed the sleeves to the body, wrong sides together.  I then stitched the front to the back, wrong sides together.  That's all the sewing there is on this project.

 I covered up the seams with more wool roving.  Wet it out and again used the sander.  I put plastic in the sleeves to assure that they did not felt together.


 I added a little wabi sabi by placing a piece of red velvet inside the jacket and felting it in.





And now for the fun part - the slamming session to felt and full the piece.   Hot water, soap and slam away!  I do this in my kitchen sink.
Finished nuno felted collage jacket
Back of the jacket 
Close up of the pocket and the cording
It's reversible too and looks great on either side.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Another Mah Jongg Marathon

What a delightful weekend we had at my house for our mah jongg marathon with an old fashioned girlfriend PJ party and a whole lot of eating and drinking - after all no one was driving, so drink we did.  We played game after game of mah jongg making it a real marathon event.   And to top it off on the very last game of the marathon, I got a mah jongg on the difficult second to last hand under "Singles and Pairs"on the 2012 card and pulled my own making it double pay of $1.00 from everyone.  This is exciting stuff in the world of mah jongg!

Set 'em up and let the games begin.

Started the weekend off with margarritas, chips and home made guacamole.

More appetizers of cut up little peppers and a ricotta dip.

Yummy tea from fresh sage, mint and fennel.  Just steep it for 15 minutes, add honey, more mint, lemon slices and ice.  It's so refreshing for the summer.

Don't mess with Stephanie when she's got a drink in her hand!

Spinach salad with red onion onion and grapefruit and toasted pine nuts.  Homemade dressing of peach vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, and dijon mustard.

Lecia made a chocolate cake from scratch.  Way to go Lecia!

Check out the that the fingernail polish matches the spatula.  Was it planned this way for the photo shoot?

I made these polenta stuffed polano peppers and they were so yummy.  For the sauce I roasted tomatoes and red onion and then chopped it in the food processing with S&P and a drop of cinnamon.  I slit the peppers lengthwise, removed the seeds and then then roasted them.  I stuffed the roasted peppers with a mixture of polenta, goat cheese and grilled corn from the cob.  Using a 13x9 pan, put some of the sauce on the bottom, add the stuffed peppers and top with the remaining sauce.  Bake 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Stephanie and Lecia comparing iBook notes

Old and good friends Beth and Bonnie.

Lecia's home made yummy chocolate cake.  The secret is to add coffee instead of water.

Easy zucchi bites.  Click HERE for the recipe.

Fresh out of the oven.  Click HERE for the recipe.

Bonnie's breakfast contribution, a home made David Eyre's pancake.

Breakfast al fresco

Clean plate club memebers

Beth enjoying the warm summer's morning.


What a way to start the morning...

Starting the morning with maj, coffee and French martinis

Home made ginger cookies

Steph testing out the drink.

So much fun.

Lunch time - chicken couscous salad on a bed of romaine.

Cold carrot, curry soup with lime and lite coconut milk.  Click HERE for the recipe.

Red Velvet from Cupcake Winery - this red blend is oh so very delicious.

My best and the biggest winning hand of the marathon.

Beth, the happy camper with her best winning hand.