Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Totally awesome!!! Thanks for sharing!

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Ohhh what beautiful pictures...Congratulations Gemma, Stuart, James & William!!!!!!!
May you live happily ever after!!!!

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Thought I would share the fact that Needle Felting now has an Etsy Street Team.  Any Needle Felters who sell on ETSY can check the NFEST list & if you are not already listed, you can join the Team.

http://team.etsy.com/profilest/needlefelt.shtml

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Glad it's a little better today..and I know how scary it can be...our eyes are so important!!! :hug:  :hug:  :hug:

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Oh Gijzette,
I totally understand...been there..done that. Especially when I was doing a whole lot of bead work!! It hurts!!!!
There are a couple of tricks I have learned...
1. Re-focus often. Don't look at your work for too long without stopping & looking away. As at something far away.
2. Make a cozy little resting place for your eyes every so often, by rubbing your hands together fast until you feel them getting hot & place them like little warm cups over your eyes to create a warm dark place for each eye.
3.Remember to blink!!!...when concentrating so hard on somethings, we forget to blink.
Hope your feeling much better soon!

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Hey there Penny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Thank you Pauline!!! I can't believe how easy they made it for all of us who wanted sites during the faire. They made so many wonderful options available & it is so easy to add items & manage them & they link to a shopping cart...
There is even a place for visitors to Visit the Vendors in the forum at:http://www.thesimplertimes.com/community/
Glad you like the baskets :hug:

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Thanks everyone!! Looks like it's up & running now, after a few glitches this morning. Just click on the Booth Directory on the right side of the page.
:dance:  :dance:  :dance:

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Oh Yes...shorter hair is such freedom...thanks & look forward to hearing how you like the baskets once Monday comes

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I wasn't sure where to put this, but I will have an on-line booth with many of my baskets, starting Monday Sept 17 thru Monday Oct 1 where there will be many of them available & thought some of you might like to check it out.
You can find it here:http://www.primitiveartisansguild.com/faire.html

Just look for Hidden Valley Basketwerks to see the baskets.

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awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww     

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Patty,
Do a web search for homeopathic Ruta Grav.

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You are most welcome Claudia. Glad the timing was right...Welcome to the wonderful world of needle felting.

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I posted a little tutorial on how I make Needle Felted Pumpkins at:
http://eii2.com/Community/viewtopic.php?t=2080
In case anyone is interested.

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Oh Lynette,
Sounds like fiber heaven!! Have fun with it!!!
Looking forward to seeing what you create with such a variety.

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You are most welcome Catherine, awww glad you like my wings :hug:
I did a web search for Bienfang Parchment and found this link for the paper I use:
http://art-supplies.misterart.com/store … -Paper.htm
It's not regular tracing paper, and I don't know if it would work or not.
As for using wire, I used Florist Wire & layed it carefully on the outside edge lines of the wings & slowly squeezed out a line of Liquid Sculpey on the top of the wire. Then I squeezed a bit more Sculpey inside the wings & smoothed that out with a tooth pick or small paint brush until the entire inside was filled in & smooth.
Hope this explanation helps.

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Somewhere on here is my tutorial on how I make my wings. I only use good quality parchment tracing and colored pencils to do mine. I have not used Liquid Fimo, I use Liquid Sculpey. Hope this helps.

http://www.teddy-talk.com/viewtopic.php?id=15209
I found it :dance:

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if you go to post #7 above & check my webshots album again, there are pictures of the spun Alpaca & Periwinkle Merino 2 ply yarn I spun today...I really love spinning the alpaca!!!

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I found this information this morning on the web.

Cleaning Alpaca Wool
It is not necessary to clean alpaca before spinning, because the fiber does not have grease in it. Some spinners find it easier to spin without washing it first. But if you have a really dirty fleece and want to clean it, follow these steps.

1. Pick out all of the vegetable matter by hand.
2. Fill a sink or dishpan with lukewarm water and a mild detergent.
3. Gently press the fiber down into the water without agitating it.
4. Let the fiber soak for 10-15 minutes.
5. Gently lift the fiber out of the water and squeeze the excess water out with your hands. (Do not wring the water out).
6. Repeat steps 2 - 5 depending on how dirty the fiber is.
7. Spread the fiber onto a towel and roll it to absorb excess water.
8. Spread the fiber into the open air to dry. It is best to dry the fiber on a screen so that the air can circulate underneath.
9. Store the alpaca in a paper bag, cardboard box, or a plastic bag with holes in it. (Storing alpaca in a garbage or trash bag will cause moisture to build up inside the bag and the fiber will felt.

      awwww...what beautiful babies...no wonder she can't part with them...I would love to have some...maybe I can trade a couple of my goats for one, but I think it would take a whole herd of goats for one alpaca...I hear they are quite expensive...

I would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have about carding! Will let you know what I make for sure.

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Ok...I have all the alpaca carded into batts!! Got 6 beautiful batts out of what you sent me Patty. You can see how it came out here>
Click on the picture of the spun merino yarn to see the alpaca pictures.

It is very clean, but not washed. There was a tiny tiny bit of dirt & vegetable matter in it, but that came out while I was carding it. Patty, you cousin really keeps her animals clean, and must have given this one a bath before sherring time. I would strongly suggest washing it  before it is used for needle felting. I have washed wool before, but not alpaca. I wonder if anyone out there might have some advice about that. I am going to spin most of this into yarn & knit some things with it & then wet felt it, so it will be washed that way. I do want to use some for needle felting too, so hope someone can explain how to wash it.

Thanks again Patty, and tell you cousin I love the alpaca! I will add pictures to my webshots album when I get some of spinning done.

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Patty,
Thank you so much!!! I got my alpaca today...it is so clean & soft, and I love the color! I can hardly wait to start working with it...will let you know how it goes.

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Wow Lisa, that is awesome!! Congratulations!!! :clap:  :clap:  :dance:  :dance:

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That is wonderful news Sophie! Congratulations :clap:  :clap:  :dance:  :dance:  :clap:  :clap:

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:clap: Lisa, it looks fabulous :clap:     
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