Bits and pieces.

In amongst my fabric stash I have some lovely, soft, organic cotton flannel.  I wish I had enough of it to wrap myself in, cocoon like, and then I would just lie on the couch and watch movies throughout the fall and winter.  However, I do not have enough of it to do that but I do have plenty with which to make wee slippers/booties for babies.  Having never made any such thing before, I decided to test how difficult it is and to do that, I used this pattern by Joanna at www.stardustshoes.blogspot.com.

Turns out, small booties are very easy to make (especially when you have a great pattern to follow).  I've only made one so far but will be making up a second to match soon.  I love, love, love this linen/cotton blend robot print that I found on a trip to Seattle.  I'm not sure who it's made by but it is from Japan, if that helps.

If you're looking to make little shoes like this, I'd recommend using the pattern mentioned if you've never done it before.  It is for personal use only but I see Joanna's blog that she does offer licensing for the pattern if you're wanting to make some to sell.

In other news, I went to the September Portobello West market with my cousin (Hi, Kim!) for a lovely time of wandering and chatting.  While there I came across a stall selling these:

How cute is this?

Can you guess what's inside?

The packaging alone drew me in but the contents sealed the deal.  I've been wanting to try my hand at some needle felting and this pack seemed like a good way to start.

Bought from Honey Canada

Six colours of roving and two needles to get me started.  I have no idea what I'm going to make yet but for now I'm just happy to look at it every now and then.  If anyone knows of any blogs or sites that have good tutorials in needle felting for beginners, please let me know in the comments!

P.S. There is another Portobello West market coming up on October 30th, if you live in or will be in the Vancouver area.