I spend a lot of time crying while I’m crafting.
(Behold, one of my crafty eyeglass case endeavours. It made me cry.)
Yep, the boo hoo and crafting are an inseparable pair for me. Partly, it’s that things rarely seem to turn out looking as incredible as I saw them in my head, but mostly, it’s the fault of the felt. I love felt, but it does not, alas, love me.
Quite the opposite, actually. But, I don’t care. I am stubborn and prone to holding on to things and people even when all the signs are saying, “let go, for pity’s sake, LET GO!” That stuff is like catnip to me…and probably makes me just as itchy.
Anyway, I just love felt. It does not really love me. This is the kernel of my inspirational crafting story.
This is a replica I created of a friend’s vintage Boler trailer. I cried the whole time I made this.
Maybe I love felt because I’m not a very patient sort and felt is so forgiving. There’s no basting or pesky finishing of edges. You can cut shapes out of paper, pin them on and just cut the felt. Presto, it feels like you’re halfway to a finished product. Hurrah!
I am meant for projects that the average grade 2 student can finish in under a day.
Maybe I love felt because it seems like an inexpensive risk for me. At 0.49 cents/square (even less if it’s on sale), it’s a perfect low-level investment for a rushed and not always terribly skilled crafter to make. And, I don’t drink coffee so for the price of one of those frappa-lappa-chinos that people buy, I can mess up two or three times without feeling terribly wasteful.
Although, I do miss out on the whipped cream, which is quite unfair.
The e-reader cover I made for my dad. He has an MG sportscar and his initials are MB. I thought it was clever…even while I cried.
Maybe it’s because it evokes such a handmade, vintage feel, no matter what you create with it. So, to my friend who pointed out the hand stitching on my Valentine’s Day heart pin with some disdain…that would be the handmade, vintage feel that I was going for.
Honest.
Ditto for the St. Patty’s Day shamrock and Remembrance Day poppy.
A heart to show my love for Practical Man. Of course, it made me weep.
Maybe I love felt because I hope that someday, felt will love me as much as I love it in return. And, maybe someday, I won’t have to knock myself out with allergy meds for us to get along.
Because frankly, felt is a little rough on me. I think it’s a dysfunctional relationship, if I’m honest. There’s a lot of blowing my nose and wiping my eyes and I always convince myself that things will go better next time.
“Owlivia” felt pillow/doll. A 40-Kleenex project.
That’s why, occasionally, things are a little lop-sided. Not because I am not inclined to measure.
And I get itchy. Which can throw off the stitching. And the allergy meds make me sleepy. Which means I often have to finish things in a hurry. But, this is the nature of my unrequited love affair with felt.
Isn’t it grand?
My most ambitious project to-date was the superhero mobile I made twice for two recent babies. Here are the little pillows that hung from the strings. They were double-sided masterpieces, if I do say so myself.
I hear the babies cried and cried when they saw their mobiles.
I know the feeling.
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A Vintage Life 
Pat Bergen
I think you felt project are cute especially your trailer and your mobile
Christine Fader
Thanks! They’re worth all the crying…
Em
Well, C2 cries and cries when he tries to reach it and can’t, anyway. We’ve had to shorten the strings a few times now, since “gentle” isn’t quite in his vocabulary yet.
Christine Fader
Poor kid. Mobile as instrument of frustration… I guess felt is not especially good to chew on, is it?