Archives for 2012

Starting a Project…..of 2,000 Buttons

February 15, 2012 by Ashley Hackshaw

So here’s a perfect example of how I start a project…..on a whim. I never quite know what I’m going to make each day. It all usually depends on how I feel, what I run into that morning, something I might see in passing. Today is no exception…..since I have chemo tomorrow and I don’t have a ton of energy today I decided to start a project I can do from the couch. Another piece of button art…..recorded for another process video. I have an entire series of portraits I want to do now!

In case you missed the other two pieces Boo and I have made…..check out the process on time lapse video….you’ll see Boo eating ice cream on the artwork in the Mona Lisa one…..and I have LONG hair!

Desert, Determination and Methotrexate

February 14, 2012 by Ashley Hackshaw

I love living in the desert this time of year. It’s about 70 degrees out today….and sunny and green and perfect. I went for a walk first thing and did my 20-minute free daily yoga app. It’s been over 4 months since I did any kind of exercise….I can’t even touch my toes and I get exhausted after a 20 minute walk….but I’m on a mission.

I didn’t feel that great all day…..but I never like just laying around so I pulled up a chair to a table and did a few felting projects this morning. My mind wants me to do all this stuff but my body can’t keep up. I definitely like to test it though. Never in my whole life have I had to make choices about what I need to put on the back burner and what is priority…..I’ve always been the “well, I’ll just do it ALL” kind of person with unlimited energy. And all the sudden that energy isn’t there when I want it because of this whole chemo thing. I can completely understand why people make the decision to stop chemo treatment if there were a question around whether it was working or not.

I have this crazy appetite all the sudden for all things hearty: chicken pot pie, bean soup, mashed potatoes etc. I might just end up gaining weight through chemotherapy! My weight got down to about 135 in November…..but it’s been slowly climbing….I haven’t gotten over 140 though yet. Our family friends brought over some soup the other night made with white beans and kale….and last night I tried to recreate it adding in some ingredients of my own. I’ve already eaten about 6 bowls of it today……I’ll have to try to recreate my own version again so I can share the recipe!

My friend Staci’s mother Elaine who had a stroke a few weeks ago took 80 steps last night. That is HUGE. I’m so proud of her. She’s so determined and positive…..and she and her family have always been an example of how to live life to the fullest for me. They say I’m an inspiration for them….but they’ve always been an inspiration for me. Anytime we’ve ever spent with them was completely focused on enjoying time with friends and family….that there’s never an excuse good enough not to. I wear Elaine’s pink bracelet ETS (her initials & Exceptional Tough Strong) everyday next to my Choose Joy bracelet:

Boo woke up early this morning…..excited to wear her new Valentine’s Day dress:

I ran out at the last minute last night to Rite Aid to buy Valentine’s for her class….somehow they just slipped my mind and I thought I still had a few more days! Boo wanted to hand write each and everyone. After 15 Valentine’s were finished we heard “….I’m SO tired…I JUST want to go to bed.” Wow. That never happens. Lisa’s hubby Nick took the girls to the desert zoo yesterday so I think she was overly exhausted. I love this pic….it looks like the giraffe is posing for the camera:

Basic Needle Felting (A Tutorial)

February 14, 2012 by Ashley Hackshaw

Yep….I’m still felting. Starting out with the small projects and working my way up! Needle felting is the process of felting/tangling one piece of wool to another using barbed needles. The needles take the wool fibers from one piece and drag them through the other piece where they tangle and attach the two pieces. There are two types of needle felting:

Applique felting: attaching wool yarn, wool felt or wool roving to a flat piece of wool fabric or felt.
Sculptural felting: creating a three dimensional piece of felt from wool roving.

In this tutorial I’m doing some sculptural felting….3-dimensional hearts….and a matryoshka (babushka) doll:

…..using 100% wool roving (wool pieces that have been combed) and a felting needle pen. If you are doing a free form you might need a needle felting mat too.

I used a heart shaped measuring cup as my form:

I filled the cup with bits of wool roving (mixing colors for some of the hearts I made) and started using the needle tool to carefully punch the needles through the roving. It’s not necessary to punch the needles all the way through…..only into the center because you’ll eventually flip the felt over and punch from the reverse side.

The needles’ barbs tangle the pieces of roving making the wool thicker and denser with each punch. Every once in a while I removed the heart shape and flipped it over to the other side in the measuring cup:

The felt gets thicker and thc

Keep felting until your shape is the density you want it:

For free form sculptural felting, I made this little matryoshka doll:

I started out with a base of 2 different sized felted balls (see tutorial here)….but you can roll felt and use a needle to create a form from scratch too:

I used hot pink roving to connect the two balls….putting pieces around the center and using my needle tool to punch and connect them:

I started using small wispy pieces of hot pink roving to cover the balls….the felting needles barbs intertwines the fibers as you punch:

I kept punching and adding wool roving until the felt was completely uniform:

The base of my matryoshka:

I used some natural roving for the face:

…..and for the dress bottom:

Tiny pieces of wool roving I balled up and punched with a felting needle pen for details…you can remove all but one needle for very small details: