City and guilds

The City and Guilds course I am doing , is called Level 3 Certificate in Design and Craft 7716-23 Feltmaking. Design for craft , I quote " provides the means to develop a design reference for craft , through a series of outcomes demonstrated by a body of practical work. For me it is sometimes difficult to document this process and present this body of work ! I have a tendency to just do the design work in my head, or maybe I am kidding myself. This attitude is not acceptable understandably to the C&G . I need a little more discipline. One of the good things is that although the design process can take many directions , in the course , you get asked to try things. Which is good because I have found something's I really like doing , that I have never tried before.

Do to a lack of design documentation I have been rethinking and redoing my documentation for a piece of bark I picked up last summer. The bark is quite big , well about 25 cm long , so first I zoomed in to a small area.

I then attempted to draw the keg elements of this with wax , ink and bleach. I found this collection of media rather difficult. Not least because you cannot see what you have drawn with the wax until you add the ink and then it's too late to go back. Consquently I am not too pleased with my final result.

After this I had to develop the same concept into colours. This required my active imagination and a play with Photoshop as the colours in the bark are pretty muted. I drew with pastels which I do like using.

I had to use some own printed materials for my felted piece and I decided to try for a texture and a smooth effect trying to mirror my drawing above. After adding my texture effects and slashing the printed scrim I started with no longer resemble a rectangle , it was more like a fish. Never mind . After a bit more slashingof my Shetland fibres here is the finished piece.

Except I think it needs some stitching , but that will have to wait for another time.

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Density matters

Well I am slowly learning the importance of density. Density differences is what allows oil to be separated from water, allows cyclone vacuum cleaners to work and make sponge cakes light and airy. I never imagined it would come into felting.

When I talk about density. I mean fibres density , measured by me in mg/cm2. Not the same units as you would measure the density of an oil or air. So why does the fibre density matter.? Well first you lay out your fibres before felting , thinly or thickly, two , four or more layers and this is the starting point of the final density. Then you felt , and effectively the gaps between the fibres shrink , the overall area of the felt reduces and the fibre density increases. The more you felt , the denser the final piece is. Exactly the same as boiling a sauce to make it thicker or more dense.

Why am I even discussing this. Well I made a piece of felt to show the migration of dark and light fibres into colours. Sounds simple but I thought it looked terrible. The fibres did not seem to migrate and I felted and felted until I had a stiff inflexible piece of felt, like a small doormaat. I felted another piece testing out a few pieces of prefelt I had made and it was lovely , fibres migrated and piece was soft and flexible.

What was happening?

My first piece started with 36 mg/cm2 of fibre and ended up after 56 % shrinkage with 81mg/ cm2. My second one, started at 20 mg/cm2 and finished at 33mg/cm2, with 40% shrinkage. Less than half the density of the first. The first far to dense , the second if I am honest not dense enough, as it has some very thin patches when you look at it. All these density figures disguise thick and thin patches as they are only averages. Very tetchy I am sorry!

So I designed a third sample. I want it to end at 40 mg/cm2 with 40% shrinkage and a starting size of 30 cm X 30 cm. So I needed 22g of fibre to start . Divide in three layers , the bottom two made out of three different colours and the top one , out of six. Well this is a challenge for the sensitivity of my kitchen scales. So it was all bit approximate, but I think it worked.

Start point mini rainbow door mat

Final flexible Fibre Rainbow

Both samples show if you look carefully the migration of the different coloured fibres from underneath.

You know I think there was a lot of information about this in my course notes, but I guess this is one of those things you have to lean for yourself.

 

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Avoidance strategies

Well I can't put it off any longer. I have to put pen or paint to paper for real. Enough , enough of my avoidance strategies. I have a A2 sketchbook. Right hand side for painting and left hand side for felt samples and I have an A4 notebook for analysis ,record, notes, ideas and digital images. So what is the problem , well.........

I am just used to felting, taking photos and adding them to a file, editing the text until I am happy with it and then sending it off for assessment.

Level 2 and I need to write in a book!!!. This seems I bit backwards to me. :(

My problems with this are : well for a start I don't like the look of my writing and then I can't spell, and I can never keep hold of the same pen for more than a day , so the ink colour changes all the time, and...... No that enough crazy reasons . I must stop procrastinating and get on with it.


So today , in faint pencil writing I wrote title, on the first page , ( not the actual title you understand just the word title) and I wrote river on the second and three page of my A2 book. I intend to paint a river and add photos of all my river bank inspirations on the banks - one day. This is OK , as I do not yet know what they all are yet. Don't laugh it's a start but I did not continue to page 4. I went and researched Henry Matisse , artist and Jenny Cowern, feltmaker instead.

But I did write in my notebook . I wrote down where all my supplies had come from, so that I do not forget and can restock. I stuck in samples of my fibres , and I made a fibre rainbow. This actually took a huge amount of effort of hand carding , so I am quite proud of it.

Here it is and below is the samples in the book. Just to prove I have written something in my notebook.

Tomorrow I will, I really will paint some leaves and ferns in my sketch book.

 

 

 

 

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One year on

Today is the anniversary of the first blog I wrote over my adventures with ArtyBird.

What an voyage of discovery it has been, always something new and challenging to think about and to make.

I have drawn and painted . I never imagined I could draw at all. I have dyed fabrics and yarns and even experimented with making my own colours by mixing dyes together successfully.

I have made lots of felt and started to explore the world of different fibres with their different properties. I can even name quite a few different sheep breeds.

I have made and given felted gifts and have requests for slippers, hats , pictures and bags waiting until I have more time to do them.

I have written 45 blogs, nearly one/week and have more than 1000 views - mostly my mother.

But I think most amazingly I have started to look at the world around me in a different way and to explore with my eyes the texture and patterns in nature and in man made objects. To record this I have taken many photographs , often times looking into the micro landscapes that I year ago I would not have even seen . From this I already have a wealth of ideas I would like to use in designs and I see more all the time !

Here is just a few examples of ideas for the future.

 

 

 

 

So overall it's been a fantastic year of discoveries and I think I will continue my journey by signing up for the next course , which will give me the excuse to continue this blog which I have also really enjoyed writing .

 

 

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A fibre mountain

How has it happened.

How have I come back from holiday with a fibre mountain. I struggle to find room for the fibre I have already and now I have an extra three large bins bags of washed fleece.

Well one is my own purchase at Woolfest, my Mule. I am very proud of it all.

Then I have two bags courtesy of a friend of my eldest daughter. At least they arrived cleaned , so I did not have to run the gauntlet of hygienic dangers in the kitchen . But what are they - now, no- one can remember.

Here they all are, taking the place of the rehomed futon.

My Mule is at the right , quite a lot smaller than the two others and it was enough work.

The fibres feel good to my inexperienced hands and they are British , so that narrows it down a bit. I think I should just get on and felt them and don't worry about their pedigree. I just need to do one felted sample from each . But before that I need to do some carding - well quite a lot of carding if I am to make anything bigger than a sample . So samples will have to do for now.

But in fact I need to get back to my final course work , so this lovely mountain of fibre will just have to wait for a few weeks.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second we had

 

Ant ideas

 

it's a rl pity if hey have to be anoynmous

 

 

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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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Dying again

Well here I go dying again , and this time I can't be banished to the garden as I need to heat everything up to boiling point. I have a brand new, to me, pan to use bought for euro 2.50 from the local charity shop. 

So collect my BFL fleece, Shetland white snd grey fibre and merino fibre , merino half felt, silks, an alpaca yarn , some yarn of unknown origin or fibre , but wool I think and extra special lace weight Jamiesons shetland yarn .



Trial weight 80 g. Near enough to 100g for an engineer to be perfectly satisfied.

What colours to dye. Well I was very uncertain , especially when I thought how the planed second and maybe third dying would turn out. But in the end I I decided on scarlet ,yellow and green, 

Wet out fibre.

Place it in the pan. 

Bring to the boil, slowly , how slow is slow. 

I have no idea, but I think on my lowest setting it would never boil. 

So I turned it up to middling. 

After boiling turn off and sprinkle the dyes. 

Quite simple really!

All without dying the kitchen .

The first batch

LOVELY

The second batch is more muted

but still interesting.


The third is is all too muted for me and its  time to stop , before I dye any more of my precious fibres mouldy looking pinky grey.

Lot of felting opportunities ahead!.

In pursuit of the perfect straight edge

My felt does not naturally made itself into straight edges. Free flowing might be a better description of my edges.  I need to take control.

It is actually very easy to make straight edges, just cut the felt when dry with a rotary cutter. I think that is so easy it can only be described as cheating and when you have done it there is whole feeling to a piece.  So how can i get a straight edge with our cheating.

I think a lot probably goes back to the original layout of the fibres past the point of the place were the edge is meant to be. These extra fibres should be fine and even and then edges must be turned to give any chance of a straight edge.

It's a really delicate balance.

Too much to turn , gives a thick edge which then tends to pleat up and the corners curl up like wings. Too little gives a nice wobbly lace effect. Care and attention, not my strong point, is needed I think right from the start. Why this not my strong point , is because i get too excited over my design in the middle of the piece and let the edges take care of themselves. 

Another problem I have found is use of prefelts distorting the edges. This is an example of what not to do.

The lower rock , did you recognize it , needs to be moved away from the edge , so the main body of the felt has enough strength to overcome the effect of differential shrinkage. I never thought of this until it happened. Complicated. 

Of course after drying pliers and steam ironing are useful to flatten straighten and disguise the manufacturing defects. As I type this I wonder if this might also be a new use for my redundant hair straighteners now I have let my hair return to its natural up kept state. 

Having thought this all through , I decided I would make a special edge piece. 

To try out calmly to make the best edges I could. 

My plan a piece of bunting , based on a scene from a Cambodian temple. Nothing to complicated you understand just the pattern not the dancing girls. Of course this was a ridiculous plan as I had to make three edges and a point, all needing mathematical accuracy ,and a pattern which had to reach just to the edges but not slip over.  I think a should have planned a single colour square.

Here it is.  A partial success I think. Edges 7/10 , point of triangle 3/10, pattern about 5/10.  

Beading

I have tried a number of ways of incorporating beads into my felting. 

My earliest experiments just using beads on wool and placing them in the felt were pretty unsuccessful as the threads and beads were not firmly enough attached.

I have stitched beads on top of the felt and that works fine , but requires sewing, which isn't my favorite occupation, and also looks like an add on.  

I have tried placing beads under some scrim , this again had the problem of just too much movement , unless they were attached to a piece of half felt first.

My next attempt was to incorporate some beads into a knitted square out of wool that I knew would felt. This worked well, but involved quite a lot of wool and time knitting for the final effect. There was also a large area of knitted texture incorporated into the felt. 

I think I might have finally solved it. Crochet. 

Thread the beads on to some thin wool that will felt. Use a really big crochet hook and just make a chain. This is actually the limit of my crochet skills. I have tried random spacing and also adding a bead to every stitch. 

The chains can then be laid into top of the fibres and with a few fibres laid on top, are easily secured into the piece. The beads , sit sometimes in the felt , invisible , sometimes half buried and sometimes on the surface. 

I really like the effect , it's as though the beads are a integral part of the felt.

Transformations

In 1882 John Constable painted some cirrus clouds using oils. The original is in the V&A, Heres a link. 

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O82649/oil-painting-study-of-cirrus-clouds

In 2012, only 130 years later,  I attempted to copy this painting using pastels. Not quite my first time using pastels , but I am a real novice.

Then I made a felt picture using merino batts. I have used merino tops many times, but never batts before. They are very fine short fibres randomly mixed,like fluff, rather than lined up neatly as they are in a top. Interesting different, one I need more practice with !!

I then photographed this felt picture and printed this using my ordinary printed onto silk. I never even knew this was possible. 

It is not as clear as it would be as a photograph but recognizably,upside down, I think.

Finally, I felted the silk using some merino tops , yellow , white and blue fibres. I mixed some white and blue fibres together with my carders for the background. The shrinkage of the silk gives a wonderful crimped effect - unfortunately some of the colours have been lost.  

Transformed from oil on canvas,via the V&A website, to pastels on paper, to felt, then via the computer and an inkjet printer to silk and then shrunk into a small silk and felt picture, 130 years after the original was made.  

Bizarrely this small size felted silk is almost the same size as Constables orginal oil!

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.?

Crinklely clouds

The trauma of the missing vivid violet was eventually resolved by a home made and not so vivid purple. After a lot of tracing and transferring of one or two lines at a time I was close to the final intended effect. I am sure it was worth the effect, because after crinkling all defects were well disguised.

The finished and slightly wobbly printed polyester organza had to be felted. I had tried to felt polyester before with no success so I knew be it needed a lot of persuasion to felt.

So I laid out a few purple , to make the point , merino lines and then random white blue face leicester fibres. With lots of cold water and soap I eventually persuaded the odd fibre to struggle its way though the polyester and start to bring the whole thing together. What a lot of hard work.

Eventually it looked kind of laminated and normal felting with warm water could commence. I think it was worth all the effort to laminate it because when it started to felt , I was suprised that all the lines became zigzags surrounded by crinkles. Quite a cloud like texture if not cloud like in colour.

I am quite pleased with it,although its shape is a bit random ,  but I am not sure Constable would recognize it.

More than Merino

To date most of my felting has been with the widely available merino fibre. It's very dependable easily available and comes in a wide range of colours. My current challenge is felting with different fibes in natural colours. What a range there is. I have barely touched the surface with my exploration into Shetland , Blue Faced Leicester and Herdwick. So I decided to do a little bit of research into the fibres, more to help me tell then apart than anything else. 

Shetland has a slightly bigger diameter fibres ,than merino but slightly shorter fibres. In my limited experience they are both equally easy to felt, but Shetland is maybe a bit bouncier when it is felted. It comes in shades of brown , through to cream along with grey.

Blue faced Leicester  a cross between a hexham and a swaledale sheep is lovely . Northumbria and Yorkshire mixed. It has a far wide fibre length but it's fibre diameter is similar to Shetland. Colours range from mid brown through to cream. It has a luster and a wave that the other fibres don't have. When felted it retains the waves in the felted item and it is lovely both as felt and as fibre.

Herd wick, although it has a place in my heart , due to my love of the English lake district, has what can only be described as bristles , not fibres., in mixed grey colours. . Good for keeping the sheep warm on the damp fells, but not so nice for felting. I have tried but I am yet to have a success. More suitable for carpets and insulation rather than felting I think.

So there is a new world for me to explore of textures and colours and I am only at the beginning. There is Mute, Suffolk, Norwegian, Romney , Jacobs , Gotland and much much more.

Here is arrange of half felts and fibres from Shetland , Blue faced Leicester and merino, soon to be converted in a big deluge felted project.