a life of felt

Posts Tagged ‘3D. wet felt’

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A late ta-dah and brotherly love

Thursday, February 9th, 2012

Not drastically late. On saturday I began a bag as I find it the best way to help people learn is to demonstrate, but in a workshop situation I don’t have time to finish it off. I finished it on Sunday (very quick for me) , it was dry on Tuesday ready for me to show. Until that is, I took a good look at it and discovered that not all the soap was out. So another wash and dry later, here it is.

My apologies that these aren’t great photos but the sky is dark with sleet so it took me 4 attempts and over exposing it to get this far.

It’s a black Blue Faced Leicester base with some throwsters silk waste decoration. The flap is covered with Teeswater fleece which I put on it’s raw state and let it do what it wanted, I wanted some loose curls but not the whole lot.

The handle and closure is felted in.Instead of a button I decided to make a catch from wooden beads salvaged from a broken necklace. Contrasting textures make me very happy.

I’m going to finish today with a picture of brotherly love.

It must be love as they’re sharing one of the best seats in the house. Not only can they watch the bird table from there but it’s right above a nice warm radiator. Midi (short for Midnight, the darker cat) and Pan are our two youngest cats.

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Jacob pot

Friday, January 20th, 2012

Just before Christmas I was asked to make a pot in Jacob wool similar to the Devon one below.

Here it is. Jacob wool tops with added Tussah silk fibres.

I can show you now because it won’t spoil anyone’s birthday surprise anymore.

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Fabulous!

Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

Last month I ran a 3D pod workshop and showed you the results here. The red pod from Margaret wasn’t completed on the day but I just have to show you what it looks like now. It’s totally fabulous now but here’s a reminder of how it looked then.

The finished item

Inspiring isn’t it? Well done Margaret and many thanks for the photos.

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What is it?

Friday, October 28th, 2011

I so enjoy workshop days as they always bring  good company and lots of felting. Yesterday we were looking at 3D shapes inspired by natural forms.

First up is this offering from Sylvia which gave us much laughter during the day. It’s a family blog so I can’t say what it reminded Sylvia of but I did think it looked gourd like at at one point. It’s to be a wacky prize in a raffle and the lucky recipient gets to choose how to use it., I think it could be used to store garlic, any other suggestions?

Heidi is returning to felting and this pod/pot although obviously based on a natural form has the feel of a landscape to me. Heidi wasn’t afraid to try a few new things and is intending to make two smaller ones to complete a group.

This is a large pod from Margaret that is just a short step away from being finished. It’s quite an exciting shape in a vibrant colour. Once the ridges are stitched in and there are more tentacles exploding from the opening it’ll look stunning.

Last but not least is this hanging indoor bird feeder from Ang. It’s a lovely solid shape with 25 spikes and 3 openings. Having gazed thoughtfully at her finished item Ang now intends to cut into it in two or three places to reveal an inner green layer. It should look really good.

Well done ladies and do send me a photo please if you make more or make changes. We’d love to see them finished.

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Remember this?

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

At the beginning of October I ran a workshop where we made 3D items in British wool. A couple
of the items were well on their way but not quite finished.
Do you remember these from my earlier post?

Well just look at them now. They look fantastic Judith thanks so much for sending in your photos.

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Weekend wool work

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

A whole weekend of making great felted items from a variety of British wools with a very friendly group.
That sums up my weekend and here are the photos to show what was created.

Created by Alex using hand dyed Swaledale wool. I like using Swaledale fleece, it’s hardwearing
and takes dye very well as you can see.

Liz worked hard on this cute little pot. It’s Black Welsh Mountain  with Jacob and Wensleydale curls.

This characterful chicken (Betty, yes we do know it’s the cockerels that have long tail feathers)
is destined to be a doorstop in Cheree’s home. It’s made from Swaledale wool.

Liz tried a different style of bag which wasn’t quite as planned but was a great first attempt at this style.
It’s made entirely in Blue Faced Leicester wool.

Cheree’s Black Welsh Mountain handbag with bright red Blue Faced Leicester interior.
The plan is to decorate it further with crocheted flowers.

This unusual sculpture is from Alex and it’s based on a seed pod acquired on her travels. So sorry
the photo isn’t better but it’s the only one I have. Alex made it using Black Welsh Mountain and plans
to use french knot stitches to give it a textured exterior.

This fun sheep was made by Judith using Swaledale, Cheviot and Blue Faced Leicester wools.
It’s going to get  legs and an even shaggier coat, I can’t wait to see the photos.

Using the same shape as Cheree, Judith made this lovely bird for a very
special purpose – to keep her eggs in!
I’ve been promised pictures of it finished with more feathers around the tail end.

Over the weekend we had two clear winners on the wool tops front – Swaledale
and Black Welsh Mountain. Both are coarser wools from hill sheep
but it goes to show that they felt very well and can even earn places as favourites.
Go on, give British wools a try, you may surprise yourself.

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Blue vase

Friday, August 19th, 2011

I haven’t managed a lot of felt making recently but here is one I have managed to finish. The fibre is Blue Faced Leicester in a mix of  blue and turquoise with a little purple added. The turquoise I hand dyed earlier in the year. I’ve included crystal organza, silk chiffon and parts of an old damaged silk cushion into the felt to give texture and shine.

Also added is blue and purple roving, blue yarn plus turquoise, copper and blue silk fibres. I like the feeling of movement that all these additions give the vase. As before, I have used a glass liner so that I can use this for fresh flowers if required. Given the shape, the liner cannot be removed but you can get your hand in for cleaning.

The height is 29cms. If you look carefully you can see the tip of a cat tail. Have you ever tried keeping four hungry cats at bay whilst you take a quick photo?

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Little brown pot

Sunday, July 17th, 2011

I’m on a roll!!!!!  More felt made that I like oh so much it’ll be hard to part with it. In this pot I’ve used grey Jacob fibres on the inside and black Jacob on the outside. Yes I know it looks dark brown, it is dark brown but in the sheep world black sheep are usually actually a very dark brown and not a true black.

Jacob is a British wool fibre that takes longer to felt than Merino but it has a lovely texture and the natural dark brown colour is lush. The sheep themselves are mottled white, brown, black.

I adore the shape of this pot and have to admit to sitting cuddling it this morning. You may have noticed  that it has a glass inner. I prefer to model my felt around glass or ceramic vases, not because it gives a defined shape but because I can’t bear to make vases that can’t be used. This way I can recycle pots and vases which have passed their best and upcycle them into a new usable art item.

Aren’t the coloured curls gorgeous? They’re Blue Faced leicester. Most people are familiar with Wensleydale or Teeswater curls which are much larger and longer but most have never used BFL fleece. These have been hand dyed and I think they give fantastic texture without stealing the show as the bigger curls are wont to do.

Too good not to show them twice!  I’ve heard rumours of these being available at a local supplier soon and will let you know if this happens, I highly recommend giving them a go. What’s more, they still have a lustre to them.

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Reminds me of rust

Friday, July 8th, 2011

I love rust, the colours and the textures. Fishing boats with mixtures of peeling paint and rust are my absolute favourites and it was this I had in mind when I was laying out the fibres for this little notebook.

The reds, oranges and browns are also quite autumnal so I used a leaf design on the front in nuno felted organza.Th process began by stitching into the fabric before it was laid on the fibres. At the pre-felt stage I stopped and added some extra stitching and then added more once felting was complete.

Extra texture is supplied by hand dyed Teeswater curls in turquoise, yellow and brown. There’s also space dyed roving and some silk fibres on a merino base.  Using organza in nuno felting gives scrummy textures, much bigger than using natural fabrics.

Not sure I’m going to be able to convince myself to sell this one. If you’d like to make your own I’m running a workshop on Saturday 22nd October in which you’ll make an A5 sized cover.It’s one of my favourite workshops and the notebooks make great presents which can be used year after year.

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Seed pod

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

Quite often when I start a hand moulded vase / vessel I’m not sure what shape the end product will be it depends how I feel and what starts to develop under my hands. I recently bought some Dorset Horn fibres and have just been waiting for an opportunity to try it.

It’s a lovely colour and the texture can vary from English fibre to Merino fibre quality. This began life on a round resist and I cut a y shape slit to remove it. I’m really pleased with the result, it looks like a seed pod, a little like a poppy.

Hopefully it’s possible for you to see the shine provided by the throwsters silk waste that I added on the shoulders.  really liking this one.

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