needle felting – Angela Barrow Textiles

Introducing Ganli

March 17, 2016March 9, 2016

This is the latest needle felting kit that I’ve developed for Adelaide Walker. It was way back last Autumn when I had the idea but it was only last month that I found the time and energy to develop the idea into a reality.

We’ve never named a kit before, what do you think of the practice? It’s 100% Shetland wool including the hat which I dyed the fibres for myself. Being Scottish wool we unveiled it at Edinburgh Yarn Festival last week and it’s available to buy online now.

I have so many more ideas for kits but they do take a lot of time to create and time isn’t always easy to come by. What would you like to see me create next? What would make a good kit?

Showtime

November 30, 2015

It’s that mad time of year again with two, large 4 days shows only a couple of days apart. It’s also why I still haven’t had time to show you some of the things I’ve made. Sunday morning saw me working on the base of a needle felted zebra using the only seating immediately available.

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Simon then worked on it, when time permitted, during the morning to complete it.

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This is Stripe the zebra from the Woolbuddies book by Jackie Huang and it was great fun to make.

The Darling Roses

June 19, 2015

Last Saturday I was invited along to the Darling Roses WI meeting to run a short needle felting workshop. The invite included a free lunch (very good it was too, especially the gingerbread thanks Debbie) and I was lucky enough to catch the end of a fascinating talk about death/burial customs in the Victorian era and a talk from a textile artist about their practice and how they approach designing. Beautiful work on display.

We had only two hours for the workshop so I figured a needle felted sheep would fit the bill perfectly.

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What a lovely, friendly, chatty bunch of ladies they were. If you’re considering joining a WI I’d definitely recommend this one. You can see what fun was being had.

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Demonstrating in mid air isn’t very easy but they managed to follow my instructions okay and here’s a close up of a finished sheep to prove it.

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Everyone was eager to participate in the group photo shoot.

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Aren’t they great?

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Very pleased and proud!

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Needle felt workshop

March 18, 2014

It was a fun day on Friday but isn’t it amazing how quiet four people can be when they’re really concentrating. It was well worth the effort though as I’m sure you’ll agree once you’ve seen the pictures.

Made entirely in Jacob wool isn’t this little bear by Penny adorable? First ever needle felting, actually, first ever felt, well done Penny.

This little devil by Sue certainly looks mischevious but is appealing at the same time. It’s a shame you can’t see his shaggy mane in this picture but the final photo shows it best.

This polar bear by Heather, made in Norwegian wool, looks quite distinguished with his Merino wool scarf. I believe the intention is to make him a fishing pole and possibly a fish to complete him.

This last one is by me and you can see that just by changing the angle of the arms he appears to be appealing to be picked up.

They make a wonderful group. What figures / animals would you most like to make in a workshop?

Meet Jacob

March 12, 2014

I have a needle felting workshop the day after tomorrow and I thought people might like to see what they’ll be making.

Jacob is made entirely of British Jacob wool.

He’s quite a splendid little chap about 5″ high. If you fancy making a Jacob of your own there’s still one place on the workshop.

Halloween

October 31, 2013October 27, 2013

Hubby recently discovered needle felting and has some talent for it. So far he’s made santas, sheep and this witch which I thought would make a great Halloween post.

As you can see, she’s far from perfect and her broom looks broken but she was a fun figure to make.

It is unfinished and a bit fuzzy but she’s definitely a character.

What have you been up to this Halloween?

A pair of robins

June 17, 2013June 16, 2013

On Friday I taught a needle felted bird workshop and we decided to make a Robin. It’s so easy to become obsessed when needle felting and to not want to stop working . You could have cut the concentration with a knife as these two perky creatures were created.

Vicky and Anne did very well with their first attempts at needle felting birds, even managing very good wire feet. We had a little time left and they chose to have a go at making quick needle felted creatures.

This cheeky little thing sticking it’s tongue out is by Vicky.

And this rather sad looking individual is by Anne. Aren’t they cute.

Pin cushion

May 29, 2013

I’ve had this quick project in mind for a while, it’s a needle felted pin cushion with a daisy motif. I began by rolling up and lightly needling some Cheviot wool for the core.

Then wrapped it in green Merino, again lightly needling it into place and ensuring there was no white peeping through.

I used small strips of white merino to help me draw the outline of my daisy.

After filling in the petals I then attached a centre in yellow Merino.

Voila, finished!

Catch up two

October 12, 2012October 8, 2012

After landscapes I then moved on to plant life and the first idea I came up with was cotton grass, you get a lot of that on moors.

It’s not really my usual thing but I did enjoy making it. First I wet felted the background then dry felted the cotton grass onto it finishing off with some cotton fibres. More of these?definitely. This led me onto further plants but I wandered off the moors into the hedgerow for this next one.

Poppies are red, well that was what I’d always thought until I started to build this one up and included orange and pink too. I think I prefer the cotton grass but this has it’s own appeal.

Cushion two

September 30, 2012

I know I promised this a couple of days ago but I seem to be stuck in a time warp where the days just speed past in a couple of hours. For this lovely deep purple colour I knew I wanted something serene and friendly to show the positive side of the sun and so this is what I produced.

The title is ‘Warmth of the sun’. It’s much larger than the other cushion being 26″ square with a 28″ cushion pad inside (don’t you just hate those floppy empty corners on cushions?)

The cut edge has been encased in felt and the fastening makes use of an old button. Again, the rug yarn was dyed at the same time as the blanket so is a perfect match.

I loved doing the curly bits on the end of each flame shape. It took a long time as after carding the fibres I needle felted them into position before wet felting. The blankets wouldn’t felt as I wished and you can therefore see through to the cushion pad beyond. I didn’t want any white to show so I made orange covers for each pad before inserting so that it ties in with the colours on the front.

My favourite shot. I had hoped to do some more creative photos but the cushions had to be delivered for the exhibition and the sky was dark with rain so these are the best I managed. Perhaps I’ll get more when the exhibition opens, I’ll let you know.