A Few Felted Nursery Items

I've started making a few pieces for our little man's room.  We're going with a Forest Theme - with a mid century modern flair. These pieces don't really hit on the MCM side of things, but there's more to come.


This first pic is of a needle felted Forest Mobile. I'm still going to do a few adjustments cause I'm worried some of these guys might be a bit creepy. Work in progress!

Here's a 30" x 20" wall hanging I needle felted with the help of my niece. She did the wool canvas which was super time consuming - so yay Jessica!

I took a few pics along the way - so here's the process in reverse.

Add some fiber to the table this thanksgiving

My needle felted pumpkin workshop at The Sheared Sheep Yarn Shop was a huge success. 12 people showed up and each pumpkin was adorable and unique!

Fibery Pumpkins in all sizes are so sweet. I think they'll be perfect for our Thanksgiving Table!  You can get them too at Patchwork in Long Beach on the Sunday the 21st!

Craftiness and Musical Theatre Come together to make Willy Wonka Magic.

You might remember this post about the performing arts studio I went to as a kid.  It's called The Music Room and I am so lucky to have grown up in such a supportive loving fun environment. They are now in their 25th year and running stronger than ever.  Now, I'm back at The Music Room as a teacher/director.
 
The production of Willy Wonka Jr. I co-directed and choreographed opened last night at the Fairmont Private School in Anaheim. They were serious Rock Stars!

 We have 2 more shows and they are almost sold out!

With only three weeks to put up the show, we did some seriously collaborating.  Here's how we made a few of the tricky sets and costumes work...

 CANDY GIRLS! I'll Be posting a tutorial on these headbands soon.

 Wonka with a giant Molly Made needle felted flower with wool from Suzoos Wool Works.

 AGUSTUS! The first ticket winner!  Our fantastic set designer David built a giant TV that sat on stage right thru the entire first act. It worked very well. Especially when Augustus leapt out of the screen to steal a kiddos candy.

 Happy Birthday Charlie! I love our little Bucket family and their newspaper birthday hats!

 Varuca Salt wins a golden ticket!

Mike Tee Vee wins a Golden Ticket.

There's no Knowing when you are on Board the USS Pink!  We used a strobe light, black light and disco lights to create this creepy effect. 

Violet! You're turning Violet Violet! We used a Blow up Pumpkin Costume underneath this blue fabric. I can't believe how well it worked! Our parent volunteers are the best!

Oompa Lompas! In the Lion Brand Yarn wigs they made all by themselves! 

SQUIRRELS! These tails really worked after lots of hemming and hawing. There are little slits cut in the back of their hoodies and an elastic band is slipped thru and tied at the waist. They had to quick change out of their Oompa cotumes... hence the green tights : )

Charna and Melissa! An amazing directing team to work with.   Sporting our new Molly Made Peppermint clips, of course :  )

*** Willy Wonka Jr. is available thru MTI if you are interested in putting it up with kids of your own***

Back At It!

So much has happened in the past few months.  A cross country move, bridal shower, several new jobs, my first California craft show, a bachelorette weekend in wine country piles of house guests, and a wedding!     I've tried to blog about bits of this all... but a few weeks before our wedding... it all just because too much.

    We had a beyond amazing time at the wedding, and as soon as family left, we both went right back into work.   SO looking forward to our honeymoon in August. As things start to settle down, I'm hoping to post a few bits of joy and inspiration a week.

    For now... here's some pics from my most recent craft show.

I also hope to catch up on your blogs soon! 

Springy

I officially just shipped 3 giant boxes full of yarn and chunky knitwear to California.  Once this show closes we are headed to NYC, packing up our apartment and MOVING TO CALI!  We'll still be back in NYC often, so don't you worry.

In an effort to make the transition as smooth as possible... I've decided to slowly clear my chunky winter items from the Molly Made shelves. I'll be replacing the skoodies and neckwarmers with light springy pieces of wooly wonderment.

Keep an eye out for Felted Flowers, Ladybugs, and Cherries  like these from last year...

And... Look for my new crocheted Lariat Headband/Necklaces - they are already a hot item in my etsy shop!

BRING ON THE SPRING!

Actor Crafts Success!

Loads of fun was had at Molly Made's latest craft show. It was a little slow at first, but ending up being quite a hit. I mean really, I would NOT have been there at 10am either if I wasn't working. Wish I had taken a pic of the table and my GORG new table cloth, but you'll have to wait til my next show Dec 13th, Winter Blast in Astoria!

Here's a few pics of happy customers!

Love the family pic! Susan is sporting a Molly Made Felted clip on the white knit hat made with love by her Mom!

Elliot is busy measuring the table using his official Molly Made tape measure!

Gorgeous Daryl Getman in her Gorgeous custom skoodie! This was made just her Daryl and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! Daryl is a brilliant performer and photographer.

check out www.DarylGetman.com

Craig and I died when he tried on this skoodie! It looks like it was made just for him! Love it! Craig is super talented has been busy performing all over NYC - check him out here.

Um... this is clearly just me being goofy. I made a bunch of dino skoodies (I call it a Skoodosaurus)a few years ago and I really need to bring them back! This one is going to Craig's nephew! I love the wonky eyes!

There's lots happening with Molly Made. I'll keep you posted!

Cheers!

Big Chunky Winter Goodness!

ACTOR CRAFTS IS TOMORROW!

Holy Cross School

on 43rd between 8th and 9th

10am - 6pm

Stop by and say hi!

As winter approaches I'm loving giant chunky pieces. Check out some of my newest designs!

New Giant Skoodie!

New Chunky Headband/Cowl

New Giant Pom Pom Choker

New Large Lady Bug

CHECK BACK SOON FOR MOLLY MADE NEWS!

CRAFTS IN CHELSEA

Molly Made is making it's craft show Debut! CRAFTS IN CHELSEA Here's a quick look into all I've been working on...

I'd love to see you there!

Saturday October 17th

10-6pm

21st Street Between 8th and 9th

The Ideal Local Yarn Shop

Opening a Local Yarn Shop(LYS) of my own has been on my mind and in my heart. I've dreamt about it for quite some time. Lately, I feel the dream tugging, tugging. tugging... OPEN OPEN OPEN. When something pulls that hard, I think it should be paid some attention. Several signs have been put in my path telling me this is something I should seriously look into and soon!

I've made steps towards making this dream a reality. I attended a great conference through the Crochet Guild of America. I've sold several pat

tern designs to two different nation wide yarn companies. I finally signed up to sell my own hand made items at a craft fair. I've made wonderful con

nections with professionals through blogs and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. And, I have visited about 20 different yarn shops around the US and Canada and even Spain.

Perhaps the most helpful tool I have used to find information has simply been speaking to yarn shop owners and friends who knit and crochet. When ever I meet someone who has the slightest idea of how to own, shop in, or appreciate a yarn shop, I tell them I'm looking to open one of my own. I ask millions of questions, and have gotten some great advice. The advice that

seems most prevalent is "IT'S VERY DIFFICULT!"

So, I figure, GREAT! I'm am never afraid of a challenge! Nothing about pursuing a career in musical theatre is easy. However, with the help of some very supportive people, I have had a career in musical theatre. After getting my Equity card, I worked as a singing waiter for a little over a year, and then I started booking work... consistently. I have worked successfully as an actor for four years now. I am very proud of this accomplishment and I've loved (almost) every second of the journey. But, I can't help but notice my passions are pulling me in a different direction. I know I will never want to stop performing completely, I just might want to change my focus. I find when I'm on the road, nothing makes me happier or helps me to feel more at home than when I step into a Local Yarn Shop.

Now, what am I accomplishing with this post?

I've been to LYSs of over the country and I've started to get a feel for what I want in a shop of my own. As of now, it's all a bunch of mumbo jumbo floating around in my head and heart. Today I'm going to begin a list of everything I hope my shop will embody. I'd LOVE feed back and comments on what type of a shop you most enjoy. What turns you on about your favorite LYS? What turns you off? You've never been in a yarn shop?? Tell me what makes you happiest about your favorite independently owned clothing shop, paint store, shoe store, coffee shop. Anything that makes you happy (or unhappy) about a small retail shop will help.

Here's my list and I'll continue updating as I discover or rediscover ideas that will help describe my ideal LYS.

MY IDEAL YARN SHOP WOULD HAVE...

Clean organized shelves

Organize yarn by weight and then color then fiber

Enough, but not too much yarn - lots to choose from but not so

much that it is overwhelming

Clearly labeled prices (this is a big one for me)

Encourage cross crafting (knitting, crocheting, felting, using yarn with glue or playdough if it works)

Greet each customer as they come in the door in a jovial relaxed encouraging manner

Offer project and technique classes

Offer one on one and group classes

Offer some classes that span over a few weeks and some that are completed in just one day so that people who travel for work still have an opportunity to take class

Craft and coffee nights

Afternoon crafting tea

Men's night

Family crafting groups

Handmade items for sale

Cute Reusable Bags (this is from Persones Llanes in Barcelona, Spain)

Projects (or knit AND crocheted swatches) made out of most types of yarn

Happy felted items around shop, but not too many so that it's cluttered

Coffee and snacks

Kids play area

Comfy Chairs and tables for hanging in the shop

Easily accessible swift and winder

Offer to wind more than one type of yarn together for multi yarn projects like at this shop

Interesting notions, buttons, and beads

Skacel and Lantern Moon needles/hooks

Tunisian hooks maybe by ChaioGoo

Machines for felting (this might not happen right away)

Some sort of mascot that greets shoppers at the door (this guy is at Knitch in Atlanta)

What are your thoughts?