Stitching and beading

Experiment it said in my course instructions. Take a piece of dyed fabric , add threads and stitching and anything else you like ! So I experimented with a piece of shibori dyed pongee and a piece of orange organza (well I think it's organza).

First I beaded

Then I scrunched the pongee and added threads and fibres in orange , browns and greens.

I felted with a fine grey followed by fine orange layer of merino fibres.

I stitched by hand and added a few more beads.

I went crazy stitching on my beautiful new sewing machine. I still have a lot learn about its capabilities but I am very happy with it so far.

And finally I decided to stop.

I am not sure what it is but in my mind it is a very good experiment.

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Pleats

I have been experimenting with laminating a pleated piece of silk.

I got the idea on how to make the pleats by reading how quilters make random pleats. So I took a piece of my shibori dyed silk and having sprayed it with water randomly pleated it , you could say scrumpled it , then ironed it flat and let it dry.

I then placed it on top of another piece of silk that had three strands of a merino silk fibre mix laid on it. I captured both pieces together at the edges by using some thin prefelt that was spiky and that I had cut into holes. Here's the piece part way through felting while still wet.

Finished

I love this effect. The silks are caught together just in places and the texture is really varied. The grey and orange also work really well together.

Close up you can see the texture from the felting and the texture from the captured pleats.

This is only a small piece . I think I will make a scarf using this technique.

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Final year 1 assignment : Grey skies

After all the testing it was time to make my final year one assignment a handbag.

To recap it had to be a beautiful but also practical for every day use handbag. I intended to incorporate textured silk and stitching and two handles. It will have a smartphone pocket. After so much testing it becomes increasingly difficult to actually did the real thing for me , which is a bit bizarre.

Getting ready to start , fibre for all layers weighed out!

The pocket

Placing the silk

Attaching the silk

All the cutting for the handles and flap

Finished and thinking about stitching.

 

Close up of stitching just before finishing

Final finished bag

 

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Time for some reorganization

I have decided it's time for some reorganization . I have built a chaotic collection of fibres , now residing in two towers of Ikea boxes and numerous tins, recycled takeaway containers and boxes containing small precious items.

 

I have a range of dyed fabric and fibres . I have lot of white yarns and fabrics that could be used for dying. I have balls of yarns that can be incorporated into felt and I have a range of silk fibres and wastes. Not to mention paper, paints, pens, knives,scissors, threads, beads, and books. Try as I might everything is always lost. So whilst in a lull before I can make the final items for my course ,as I need yet more supplies I decide to have a clear out is needed.

But where to start. Not with my precious equipment , reference books and textiles, and junk , that might be useful one day. But with all the other stuff that's occupying space in my little attic room.

First the exercise bike. That can go to the spare room. Easy. Done.

Next the futon, Can we do without this? I think we can as we now have a spare bed, and we do not get so many visitors. What to do with it. I know recycle to one of the daughters who is about to move. She seems interested, demands photographs.

 

Probably she will have it . Well there is one option , in two weeks time , when we can take it on the ferry to England. Only snag she will not have her new house by then. We can work something out I am sure. She already has stuff stored at numerous locations , one of them can be persuaded to just squeeze in a futon, alongside a bureau and a settee for a few weeks.


So I have not actually reorganized anything much , just have a plan to make more space , which I can then fill with more Ikea boxes and maybe some labels so that I can find things.

 

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Trying to make a Bowl

Well what I have really been trying to do is felt a bowl , but I have been having a few problems.

I thought a bowl depicting a misty Dutch polder winter scene , would ideally match the colours of my Gotland fibre bought from Woolfest. I made some dark prefelt , cut out some trees and a couple of birds.

Here they are ready for felting in. The last time they were ever seen.

I have used a resist many times but this was going to be my first experience of using a ball and bouncing to felt the fibres. I was a little minimalistic with the amount of fibre I used. Far to minimalistic.

After the felting started I realize that I had been just too mean with my precious fibres and not only had I felted a holey bowl , but my trees and birds had completely vanished. The weight dry was only 37 g just not enough fibre.

What a disaster.

Thinking about it I decided , more fibre and only use the darkest for the trees and the lightest of the sky , plus lots of white silk fibres behind the trees and forget the birds!

The final result.

Better

but

the trees are still virtually invisible and although there are no holes there are some very thin patches. Now I have manged to used 65g of fibre. Still not enough I reckon I need between 80-100g . I am really not sure why I have lost the trees in the mist. Perhaps it's the bouncing.

Unfortunately I now have not got enough fibre to try again. Mayb it's time to ask Artybird for some advice.

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Felting Fantasies

Have I broken free from the constraints of deluges and sunsets ? 

 I have and I spent a happy day , with a good friend,  just making the felt that I felt like making. Freedom ?  It was not completely spontaneous as I had done a little planning  even making a drawing from my inspiration.

I wanted to incorporate beads in the work through the technique of knitting , so they would nestle in the felt , not sit on the top. I used my wonderful Shetland Tweed yarn from Harris for this. Knitting thin yarn on big needles with random beads  - yes I can do this and talk and watch the TV , as is really does not matter what it looks like.

 I wanted to try combining Shetland fibres with Norwegian fibres. Sherland for the backgound hill and Norwegian for the textures and colours of the hillside. I wanted to use prefelts for the structure and deliberately make a very uneven edge. So I spent a few hours preparing , prefelts and knitting fine Shetland . Not to mention the time dying scrim cotton yarns and silk and stiching textures into them.

Well I really got carried away it must have been the wonderful spring weather.  

Shetland base, knitting with beads , lots of Norwegian wool , and silks on the top.  Heres my inspiration.

And the final felted effect

I am pleased . what do you think.?

Making monsters

That's what I have been doing all week, making felted monsters!

                       

I have lived in the Netherlands for more than 3 years and I have a long way to go before I am a fluent speaker.  Some Dutch words  just don't stay in

 my head, and other I can't forget.

MONSTER is unforgettable, it's translation is simply - sample. 

It's far more dramatic a word to me than samples, far more exciting, and definitely the right word in this case, for my monstrous felted monsters. 

I have been incorporated threads fibres and fabrics, ranging from silk to linen into small felt monsters . Some are from my dying and some yarns from my extensive knitting yarn stash. I have been trying out the impact of lying the fibres in different direction to find it really makes a massive different.  To both the final size of the felt monster and to the threads and fabric , which are either pulled in two directions or just one.  Both directions gives a more compact and effective monster.

Thread on the surface are my favorite effect. You can see here the way the silk threads concertina up , the wool sinks into the felt and becomes blurry and the cotton thread looks great like waves on the sea.

So now having finished testing, there nothing for it I have to make a final sunset piece how scary!