Asymetrical Half Hat

This is a sweet little block. I bought it from eBay a few weeks ago. I wasn't going to buy anymore blocks, you know where I'm going with this. But, I just couldn't stop myself from buying it.
The Pheasant Tail Feathers I cut and shaped then wrapped with a thin strip of the felt. I wasn't sure if I liked the way it looked on the hat, so I tried a small curled Ostrich Feather in light gray. If I come up with another feather from the box that was just delivered from eBay I'll post it later. BTW eBay is a really good source for vintage feathers..

40's Surreal-ish

This block is really insane and I made it more so by blocking it in one of "those" wool felts. It's the one that I worked for days on.. Needless to say it was hard. It reminds me of a barnacle. If I block it again, I'll do it in a straw or in a velour that I'll drape with satin into a Turban. The veiling was a flesh tone, I dyed it black and in the process I tore 3 holes in it. I don't like to dye veiling.
I call it surreal, it is isn't it? Or it isn't is it?

Just Hat

I've been working on another difficult block for 4 days, it's been driving me mad. I decided to take a break from it yesterday and I blocked this Cloche. I just needed to finish something.
I tried to use every last bit of the capeline, and I almost did. There are the few pieces left in front of the mannequin. The last photo is what the leaves look like before they're sewn and the strip is what the vine was cut from.

Josephine and Louise and Michelle and Montez

I made these when I was into covering everything in felt and making long ropes. I met a neat gal, Michelle Shelton when we were in the last throes of life in Ann Arbor. She had these fantastic Braids, it was a new thing back then and I wanted them too. My hair just wouldn't do it so I made mine out of felt. The other was just a project in Portland Oregon, I covered a copper pipe, left over from ice machine hookup for our Fridge and handmade felt balls. Here's a close up of my first Label.. it's kinda sorry looking.

I updated some photos for "Quills and Spills"