a tail/tale of a whale – part 1

a tail/tale of a whale – part 1

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Updated 08/31/26

I had such wonderful plans for the last two weeks of summer. 1; invite Ann to the cottage to relax and do some felting, 2; do some wet felting to add to some dry felting (while Ann was there, sort of like a life guard, to keep the water behaving), and 3; then finish up the first whale. So I suppose it’s not a surprise it is the tale of a whale, or a whale of a tale, I have for you today.

Like many of my plans, they often go astray. It started out fine, but my luck could not last.

3 weeks ago: I re-watched Sara’s humpback whale felt-along on YouTube, and had hours of fun researching both humpback and blue whales. I inadvertently found out a bit about a few other whales as I investigated. It is the way of research, so many rabbit holes to look into.

I followed Sara’s instructions for creating the armature… mostly, instead of a mix of 12 & 14g, I used 12g aluminum. She used coated floral wire to give extra strength and help the fibre hold to the armature. I had the unlabelled floral wire from Dollarama easily to hand, so I was liberal in its application. She had made the armature in 2 parts: the top of the head and body with tail, and the second armature had the lower jaw with side fins and body with 2 wires to add to the tail.

Black grocery box full of wire, fleting suplys and snacks sitting on black walker1.1) project box for whale project, 12g wire, un-gauged floral wire, tool kit, snacks

I wanted my whale to be able to open its mouth, so had research pictures of mouth interiors and how the expansion happens when it sifts water and krill through its mouth and out through the baleen (we will come back to those). Since Sara had an upper and lower jaw already with her armature, I went with what she had worked out for lengths and proportions.

Sara wrapped the upper and lower armatures separately with core wool, building the basic under structure. Then joined both half’s together and wrapped with more core wool.  she added the wet felted skin over the wrapped armature.  I had taken 2 days to make careful notes of what Sara had done, but as usual derailed and just used the photo-reference I had.  I spent most of a week puttering while adding the core wool and had much of the structure blocked in when, on Thursday, Ann arrived at the cottage.

Preamble: I really don’t like getting wet. It’s so, wet. If water were drier, I would be happier. I kept asking my Dad, a hydrogeologist, if he could invent dehydrated water. He seemed to think water was fine the way it was. (I asked him for a dinosaur when I was 3 or 4 and was told he was not that kind of geologist; at least asking him to fix water was on topic. Other than these minor failures, he was a fabulous dad.)

I had picked up a new 4′ long folding table with adjustable leg heights to work on. I had a new pool noodle and the wet felting kit I won from Marie at Living Felt (Texas).  Sara had done some per-blending for the upper layer of colours. I had an extensive selection of tones to work from, so I relied more on colour placement. The under layer for the darker top was a special blend from World of Wool, called “Indigo”; it is a fabulous blue-black, which I hoped would creep a bit into the upper layers.

thin wisps of indigo (which leaned heavily towords black) layed down in a harring bone oriantation.1.2)first layer of the upper skin (W.O.W. Indigo coriedale)

Watching Sara lay out her top layer was interesting. She said the felt skin should be thin so it would be adjustable with a bit of tugging when done. I remember Moy McKay wanting thinness in her wet felted landscapes so they could be needle felted and fit in the sewing machine. Multiple times Sara said “that’s it”, then added a bit more fibre. I wound up doing the exact same thing, “ah I think that’s it,…… no a bit more just here”. Even with my enthusiasm, I was still able to keep the felt fairly thin.

adding embelishments and colour for the second layer embelishments compleat ready to wet - ick1.31-1.32) Embellishments added to second layer of top skin, coriedale, silk, slubs, yarn and locks

Once the fibre for the skin was laid out, it was time to carefully add the soap and water, just enough to wet the wool but not the floor or me. I dampened the top layer of plastic and started to “gently caress the timid bunny”, or you can think of it as “lymphatic effleurage”, which is about the weight of a nickel in pressure.

checking stability of the felt stuffed big frog holding small blue disk with handle and small bumps, good gental rubbing tool Tupper ware lid has flutted surface slightly more aggressive rubbing surface1.41-checking felt integrity before switching to the wet felting tools;  1.42- photo of frog and rubbing tool, 1.43 -photo of tupper ware lid as rubbing tool)

Once the bunny is less timid and the fibre is starting to migrate, I switched to using the soft rubbing tool, then I used Ann’s Tupperware lid.

rolling felt around large diamiter pool noodle 1.5) Starting to roll the felt, flipping and rotating the skin regularly

When the felt was firmer, I could start rolling with my new extra-large pool noodle. A regular pool noodle would have worked too; I just didn’t have one at the cottage.   When I had rolled from each end and side, on both sides, it was time to gently drop the skin on the table. This is a gentle way to shock the fibres into further shrinking.

hand has let go and the felt is falling towords the table1.61)dropping to continue shrinkage

wet felted skin partly done whale armature sitting on top of wet skin1.62-1.63) top skin shrunk and checked with partly finished under structure.

I also did a bit of rolling and rubbing in specific directions to get the last bit of shrinkage I wanted. The skin is still quite thin but is also holding together nicely. It is time to set it aside and work on the lighter underbelly skin. Sara laid out and rolled both together, but I didn’t have a large enough table to do that, so it’s one side at a time.

Underside:

Sara’s lighter under layer was sort of the shape of a large mushroom. I started that way and add a bit more width at the top to allow more wrinkles. I had it layed out, had started to dampen the fiber when i changed my mind and added the “under arms”, OK, fins.

Ann had some grey and white fiber with little black flecks, i think it was from world of wool. i added a bit along the border where the two skins would join.

laying out the base layer in a harring bone pattern second layer of white & Grey, corrodale, silk, locks and slubs adding the under sides of the side fins, sara had not added them to her skin. close up of added fiber fiber layed out and preparing to roll after rubbing gently the fiber was ready to roll2.1-2.6) layout and wetting of the light lower skin

By the time i started rolling it was time for Ann to head home.  We cleaned up the porch a bit, closed up the cottage, and headed out. It had been great to have her company and i felt much braver with her keeping an eye on the sneaky water.

Ann and her dry balls ready to felt3) Ann had been Preparing dryer balls and had quite a few ready to go.

I still have more rolling to do on the under side skin but that will have to wait until i get back to the cottage.  i should let you have a brake and we can continue the whale saga next post.

Making a Blue Bird Feeder

Making a Blue Bird Feeder

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The Ottawa Valley Weavers’ and Spinners’ Guild has an annual Sale and Exhibition. Every year there is a theme for the Exhibition.   This year and the next two years.  we are doing a section of the colour wheel. This year we are doing the blue section. We are taking it to the secondary colour on each side to give people the most scope to work with.

Wendy, the Coordinator of the Exhibition, also asked people to let her know if the piece was done in a class or was a class we teach. So, I made a blue bird feeder. It is a fun class. It is always more fun if it doesn’t have to fit anyone at the end.

I like to do a gourd shape, and with the blue theme, I used 4 shades of blue.

 

Then I picked out some of my blue handspun that has some sparkle in it. I created an all over random design that wrapped around onto the other side.

Then fixed the front so I could cut the hole without cutting the design.

You can see some of the yarn above the hole shifted while I was rolling. Impatience getting the better of me again. I may try to shift them a little with a felting needle.

these to great outside. My mother-in-law’s feeder was hanging outside for 3 years before the rope hanger broke. It was purple with orange locks. After 3 years, it was bluish grey from the sun. The chickadees in particular liked it.

View from Kiwanis Lodge to Little Bitterroot Lake
Cyanotypes at Annual Art Retreat

Cyanotypes at Annual Art Retreat

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My art group had our annual art retreat at Kiwanis Lodge on Little Bitterroot Lake in Marion, MT. This year we had decided to experiment with cyanotypes. We had actually done a bit of this a few years ago but hadn’t experimented with all the “extra” chemicals that you can add to change the colors and the way the prints developed. Luckily, the weather had cooled down, we got a bit of rain at the start of the weekend and the smoke cleared. Perfect weather to stay at the lodge.

We set up the tables with all our equipment and supplies. We were printing on paper and fabric. Cotton paper and natural fiber fabric seemed to work the best. Everyone brought different botanicals, some dried and flattened and others fresh. The first night we mixed up the cyanotype chemicals and painted our paper and fabric. These were dried in a room that didn’t have outdoor light which ended up being the bathroom. Once dry, the papers were stacked and kept under black paper to prevent sun exposure.

I used some transparencies I had printed in hopes of creating more tree spirit faces. However, I forgot that I needed these to be like a photo negative. I didn’t reverse the black and white so I ended up with some pretty spooky faces which you will see later. We used both the dry and wet methods. The dry method means that the cyanotype painted paper is covered with either botanicals or a printed transparency, covered with glass, clipped on the edges and placed in the sun. The top left photo shows the dry method getting it’s sunshine.

The wet method adds water and other “chemicals” to the mix. The painted fabric or paper is laid down. Here, Paula used feathers and placed them over the cyanotype paper. She then spritzed with water, watered down vinegar and watered down baking soda. With the pipette, she added some yellow pigment to the mix. Then she covered with glass, clamped the glass in place and put it out in the sun. You could also add bubbles or coarse salt to the wet surface.

Once it’s “cooked” in the sun, the piece is rinsed in water or water and hydrogen peroxide and the result is the typical blue cyanotype.

Here’s a video of rinsing the paper and seeing the change to blue.

Then, if you want a bit different look, you can “bleach” the paper in soda ash water. The picture on the left shows the paper from the video as it is put into the bleach bath and the one on the right is after bleaching it for a minute or two.

Cyanotype of face soaking in water rinse.

Here’s one of my creepy faces. Unfortunately, after I rinsed this one, I decided to bleach it. The cyanotype disappeared all together. I’m not sure if it was the previously screen printed surface that caused that or the type of fabric. Experimentation often lends itself to failures but you always learn new things.

Here’s some pieces drying. Some of the ones that have lots of brown were either previously eco printed or rusted.

 

Once the pieces were dry, then they could be bleached or toned. For toning we soaked in baths of pigment, tea, or coffee. That can add some background color. After the weekend was over, I kept getting all kinds of videos about using different substances to rinse or tone. Apparently, you can use nettles, madder root, citric acid and who knows what else. I am sure there are more options available. If you’re interested, there are loads of videos on Instagram and YouTube on cyanotype printing.

Cyanotype of face

Here’s one more creepy face for you. I have a few printed faces on paper and some on different types of fabric. I even printed on some lightweight, sheer silk so I will be trying a few cyanotypes with nuno felting.

The other interesting thing that happened was printing on these tea bags. The end result had a purple color that we couldn’t figure out where it came from. We used several different kinds of tea bag paper and this was the only brand that gave a purple print. I don’t remember the brand though so who knows if it’s repeatable.

Cyanotypes drying

I think it’s really interesting seeing these other colors develop with this type of printing. Cyanotype printing is so recognizable that I find it difficult to use in my work. I prefer methods that are more layered and difficult to recognize immediately.

Sunset on Little Bitterroot Lake

We had a great time as usual and it’s so wonderful to spend uninteruppted time creating with friends.

Felting in Arnesby & Yarn Bombing in Cosby

Felting in Arnesby & Yarn Bombing in Cosby

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A few weeks ago I travelled down to Arnesby in Leicestershire to take part in the Feltmakers Region 8 annual Summer School. The name is a bit misleading as this isn’t a “tutored” gathering but more of a two day Play Day doing whatever takes your fancy. It’s just great to have the luxury of two whole days of uninterrupted felting and for me this would be my first felting project since March so I was particularly keen to make the most of it.

I knew I wanted to make something to display at a Coastal themed exhibition I’m taking part in September but hadn’t exactly planned what that was going to look like. So I dug out my tin of shells and chose a spiral one, covered in barnacles, to take with me as inspiration.

My initial thought was to create a vessel with a tiny opening in the base to remove the resist through. After working out the size I wanted my vessel to be I drew and cut out my resist, elongating the bottom section of the shell to give this more emphasis and more height.

By the time I’d finished my first coffee I’d changed my mind about what I was doing and decided the shape I’d drawn would lend itself nicely to being a lidded vessel. Its just as well I hadn’t got any fibre laid down yet!

The main body of the shell got laid out first and put to one side while I made the nuno prefelt to cut the craters from which would represent the barnacles.

I did wonder if that narrow base was going to prove a bad idea and whether I had the weight distribution right but by that point I was too invested so just had carry on and hope I could make it work!

This could have gone so wrong so it was a big relief to see it standing!

The finished vessel stands approx 45cm tall and is 25cm at its widest point.

After our first day of felting the friend I was staying with offered to drive three of us to Cosby, a village close by that stages an enormous themed yarn bomb. This years theme was “Round the World in 80 Displays”. The event happens every two years and the exhibits are in place for three weeks so we were lucky to catch the final evening before the displays were taken down. I can’t begin to describe the scale of this project! I’ve a friend who’s heavily involved so I’ve known of it for several years but it’s the first time I’ve visited and it surpassed all expectations!

The two leading lights behind this mega yarn bomb are Mel Charnock and Natalie Smith. These fun loving creatives have a passion for colour, textiles, jumble sales and people plus experience of TV & film costume styling, community events, visual merchandising, teaching better mental health & crafts for adults, not to mention a brief stint sewing gussets knickers! All of which led them to founding Gather Create Grow CIC, a local not for profit community group focused on connection and bringing people together, reducing isolation and improving wellbeing with creative community projects.

From very young school children to the very senior residents in the village everyone is encouraged to get involved. Each display area had its own information board telling the viewer a little about who had made what. The exhibits are spread far and wide around Cosby but there is a map available if you want to ensure you see the lot! There was lots we didn’t get to see but I hope you can get a feel for the event with these photos…..

The evening was topped off with a cuddle from this very friendly, and thoughtfully placed, Polar Bear before we headed off to the local chippy.

If you are wondering what happens to the exhibits at the end of the show they are taken down, dismantled, washed, repaired and packed away ready to be reborn again in two years time. Some will re-emerge looking much as they did this year, but in a different setting, while others will have a complete makeover and become something new. If you happen to be in the Leicestershire area when the next Yarn Bomb is on I can recommend you make a detour to Cosby and experience this wonderful event close up for yourself, you wont be disappointed!

Clicking ‘Buy’ was so darn easy, now what to do?

Clicking ‘Buy’ was so darn easy, now what to do?

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Years ago, when the kids were small, I became a collector of recipe books. I didn’t particularly want to cook out of any of these, I simply loved reading the books and marvelling at the beauty of the process and the presentation of the meals.

More recently I have found that I have started collecting felting courses. I have been rather busy over the past few years – not sure where the time has gone – but last May, I decided that I had best do a stock take of the courses I have signed up for and not done. I discovered that I have at least 20 in my list. These courses either have indefinite access or I have been able to purchase and download the videos so there has never been an urgency in completing them. That said, I don’t want these to fall into the same category as the cookery books – lovely to look at but I wouldn’t like to do them.

Over the years, I have signed up for different Felting Camps offered by Corinna Nitschmann. Each year around April, Corinna invites a number of felting tutors to join her in her studio. The tutors record their respective workshops and then deliver the workshops on a specified date during the camp. Students can opt to work ‘live’ on the day, working with the pre-recorded videos with the tutor available to answer any questions they might have; they have access to these videos for a number of months, if they prefer to work at their own pace. Alternatively a student can pay a little extra and download the videos so that they are there indefinitely. This is the option I choose but I still enjoy being present during the live sessions as the sessions are always upbeat and great fun. Corinna herself is an amazing tutor and has a great sense of humour. There are lots of other activities taking place (besides the workshops) during the felting camp. Here is the link, if you would like to find out more about these https://cornitfelt.com/. I have 3 years of felting camp courses downloaded, that accounts for 15 courses. Then I purchased some courses that I found attractive from individual tutors and need to take. But for the summer months, I decided to focus on some of the felting camp courses. I thought I might share some of the results with you.

My first venture was called “Wet Felting Jewellery Basics” by Judit Haulik. It was part of the 2025 felting camp. This is a well paced course and the videos are divided nicely into sections so that it is possible to complete a task and walk away from it for a while. Students work with very small pieces of felt and Judit herself acknowledges that it can be a bit fiddly but, to be honest, I found that once I got into the groove, going small was not a challenge. I loved the repetitive nature of the design too and I can see possibilities for upsizing the process which Judit is teaching. My main learning on the course was how to integrate very fine chain into the overall design. I chose a very light chain for this process and I reckon that I will use a more robust one next time. That said I am very pleased that I rose to the challenge of the very fine chain as, after this, I feel the bigger size will be a dawdle. Here is the piece I made. I didn’t investigate further as I wanted to move on to another course. That said, I have ideas on where I can take my learning. I have done some quick sketches before they go out of my mind!

  • Full view of the necklace. Holes felted with sequinned material
  • Top section of the necklace with sequinned fabric in the centre
  • Base of the necklace with sequinned fabric showing in the hole

My next workshop came from the 2026 Felting Camp. It was one of the courses that originally attracted me to this year’s camp. The introduction to “Stool Covers” by Bea Nemeth was very joyous and depicted a variety of different shapes and sizes of stools which could be worked on. Bea also presented different possibilities for fibres which could be used in the design. We worked our design on prefelt and then if we wished we could adorn the stool cover with locks. Bea was fun and a little mischievous and at one stage headed to a dye pot with one of her samples. It was fun to see all this in real time at the session. As for the result ….. beautiful! I didn’t have a stool to work off so I headed out to our local Ikea. I made a variegated colour strong merino prefelt and I used my own geometric pattern for my design. I had some Bergschaf left over from making boots a number of years ago so I used this for the background. The resist was huge and I don’t know if you ever have that moment when you feel that a piece will never shrink down sufficiently (I had that on the stool) but it didn’t disappoint and, finally, with lots of patience, shaping and using tools it fit perfectly. I love the result and it acts as a reminder that patience works wonders when I am trying to fit to size.

  • full view of the stool – blue base is bergschaff
  • pattern on stool made with merino prefelt

Next up, it was a bit of a return to a comfort zone for me, fine art felt. I checked out Jorie Johnson’s ‘Fine Art “Small Works”’ Jorie studied textile design both in the USA,where she is originally from, and in Finland. She moved to Japan in 1987 and has been based there ever since. If you would like to find out more about Jorie you can visit her website at https://joirae.com/biography/. There was something very special about Jorie’s approach to the workshop – it kind of gave me permission to play with my design while being mindful of her teaching. While students had the freedom to use any style resist of their choosing, I decided to use the one Jorie presented, principally because it had some really challenging angles and shapes included. I also favoured roving over prefelt when I was laying out my background. I got a bit carried away with the design (Jorie recommended leaving more space between each element), but this was playtime and experimentation was the key for me here. Here is the result. Again, there was lots of learning on what can work and it is a great reference for future pieces.

  • sculpture with resist to show shrinkage (resist design by tutor)
  • front view of the sculpture
  • Nuno felted ‘window’
  • closeup of raised area and nuno felted pattern
  • closeup of textures and nuno
  • detail of some of the locks and textures
  • closeup of the linen section
  • Second side of the sculpture featuring a variety of textures

That’s all I have for now. I know there are 17 more courses to go, but at least I have made a start. If you like, I can keep you updated on my progress, but the danger is that I am likely to disappear down the odd rabbit hole (I can already see two opening up). Like Alice in Wonderland, there is a possibility that I might meet (or transform into) the Mad Hatter although I wouldn’t mind having some of White Rabbit’s energy (perhaps it would help me get through the classes quicker) because at the moment in this (what appears to be at time of writing) never ending heat wave, my character is more akin to the Dormouse, constantly ready to roll over for another sleep!

Is there anyone out there in the same boat with lots of outstanding courses? Please tell me so that I know I am not alone.

Happy felting!

Hugs

Helene

a green felted/tapestry of the word Exchange
A Few More Oddments

A Few More Oddments

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I’m afraid that the series of heatwaves we’ve been (and still are) experiencing have had much the same effect on me as the Covid Lock Downs. I have pretty much lost my mojo again though not quite in the same way.  Every time the weather cools down a bit I have managed to think about and sometimes even start a project, only for it to be abandoned as soon as the next heatwave starts.  I now cannot see my work table for various piles of project “stuff” in various stages of progress.

Also I haven’t managed to do much about preparing for this post, so I’ve once again picked some topics from my list of things to write about which are in fact mainly “historic”.

Many moons ago back, in the 70s, when macramé was first in vogue and long before I became interested in spinning let alone before I found felting, I was obsessed with string and knots.

Amongst the patterns I came across was one for a lampshade. Do any of you remember the Marshall Cavendish series of monthly craft magazines “Golden Hands” covering several different crafts, which could be collected into 4 (I think – possibly 6) annual volumes?   I loved them and made lots of things from their patterns.

I did think that I found the macramé pattern I had followed for the lampshade in one of the Golden Hands Magazines, but Mr Google has been unable to find it, so it may have been in some other magazine – possibly “Women”, “Women’s Own” or “Women’s Realm” (that was in the days before they started emulating “Hello Magazine” and the like🤢).

As it was so long ago that I made the lampshade I can only show you what it looks like now.  It was made from dishcloth cotton and made directly on a lampshade frame.  I lined the shade with red satin type fabric and gave it to my mother for one of her birthdays.

During my “macramé period” I started to make small free standing sculptures using just clove hitches, rather than mixing knots like flat or square knots.  Then my niece became pregnant with her first child so I thought I’d have a go at making a macramé rattle for the baby.  As it would need to be washable, I chose to use nylon curtain/blind cord and one of the indoor balls (the plastic lightweight sort with lots of holes in) with a couple of brass bells inside for the inner body.  I did not have a pattern to follow (by then I preferred to make my own designs rather than copy someone else’s).

By changing the direction of some of the clove hitches I was able to give the rattle a face.  Here is the only picture I have of the rattle, which my husband took for me before I sent it off to my niece.

 

a black and white image of a baby's white macrame rattle showing the "face" worked into it. There is also a small bunch of daffodils and a cube box of tissues with some pulled out to frame the rattle
Unacknowledged macramé rattle

My niece had another child a few years later, but I’m afraid that, as I have had no confirmation of receipt of the rattle (even now, although I know it was received) let alone any thanks, I stopped sending even cards to her!

Around the same time as I made these pieces, I made a crochet cotton macramé Dorothy bag, using a stuffed oval ball shaped thingy as the base to work on.  I added pearl beads and lined the bag with pink fabric and used it as a sample for a wedding accessory (back in the days when a couple of friends and I were making crocheted wedding “favours” and sold quite a lot of them – that must have been getting on for 50 years ago), but I wasn’t asked to make another one and I didn’t sell the original.  I still have it somewhere.

a white macrame drawstring dorothy bag with pink satin inner bag on a dark red background
Dorothy Bag – big enough for a bride’s handkerchief

Back in 2012 I was doing bits of tapestry weaving and to be honest I was getting bored with it – it was taking too long and I wanted to get on to something more interesting.  I had decided to weave the word “Exchange” but I can’t remember why now.  It may be because I liked the monogram EX that I was using.  The “e” was in black and the “x” was in bright red.  The background was to be a strong green.  The rest of the word was to be in black, but in outline only.  I managed to complete the monogram before I decided to do something different, which was to felt the rest.  I felted green merino fibres over both sides of the cotton warps with the work still on the loom.  This made the “fabric” quite tough so that it kept its shape.  I then needle felted the “change” in lower case.  I did actually exhibit it at The Exchange when we had one of our several exhibitions in their Café/Gallery.  The bear with the felted tapestry in the featured image was made by a friend, who makes bears for adults, and bought for my birthday by my husband.

a green felted/tapestry of the word Exchange
My felted tapestry woven Exchange

I did think that I might get some people commenting on the coincidence with The Exchange’s name but no-one seemed to notice, or couldn’t be bothered!

Back in early 2022  I told you about a couple of door stops which I had made, one of which was named Yoda by my husband.

https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2022/04/18/we-need-a-new-door-stop/

During the making of Yoda I made what I now know to have been a construction error.  Because I was concerned that if he had been picked up by his head it might come off, I placed a strong loop made from the hem of a towel behind his head to be used as a handle.  This resulted in him becoming very tatty around the head.  Every time he was picked up by the handle it rubbed the back of his head and his ears and the fibres began to come away.  In addition his head was beginning to get droopy, as you can see from the way he is peering around the bathroom door.

felted doorstop cat peering around a door
Peeping Yoda looking the worse for wear

Thus he needed what my late brother in law used to call a “Warranty Job” (he used to make all sorts of parts for traction and railway engines for others as well as himself and now and then someone would ask him if he could effect some repairs).

As is my wont it was some time before I finally got round to doing Yoda’s warranty job.

I hadn’t been happy with the shape of his head, it was a bit flat at the back.  For this reason as well as his tatty appearance I removed his head as well as the handle.  I moved the handle to the middle of his back so that it would balance him when he was picked up and it didn’t rub against any part of his head or body.

Next I moved on to his head.  I didn’t have any more fibres of the right colour to match his body so had to blend some to match.  Then I started to cut away the rubbed fibres from his head and add more of the new.  I rounded out the back of his head a bit more and thickened up his ears.  I still had some of the correct pinky-grey fibres which I had used for his face so I tidied up his face too.

I decided to add yellow slightly opened eyes just to show that he was really awake.  This is him now.

felted doorstop smiling with slit eyes sitting beside the door
Finished Warranty Job – Yoda back at his post

That’s the lot for this post, hopefully by the time my next one is due I will have got my mojo back again and have something new to show you.  In the mean time here’s a real smiley cat.  I do wonder what’s going through his mind – any ideas?

head and torso of dark grey and white cat with closed eyes and smiley mouth
This is my Boy (originally named Radius by his previous owners). He really is a smiley cat.

A Mini Quilt

A Mini Quilt

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A friend persuaded me to enter a mini quilt into a local quilters group exhibition to be held towards the end August.

The requirement is for a mini quilt, A4 paper (UK) size, portrait or landscape, depicting a house or a home.

Three layers, and any technique, with a hanging sleeve and a label giving make details..

I have made some quilts before, but just for family, utility, or to use up some fabric bits and pieces, so no reason why I should not do a mini quilt, she said! I hasten to add that I have no prior experience of entering a quilt competition.

I decided that ‘the old woman who lived in a shoe’ would be my topic. I found a vector free picture of a house shoe online and used that as inspiration.

Some time ago I had made some patchwork squares with 1.5 inch squares of fabric (yes 1.5 inch squares). I thought that this would be fun, but it very quickly became a chore. I used some lightweight fusible interfacing, and ironed all the little squares on and then stitched the seams using the sewing machine. These little squares of fabric had been in a box for some time, and this was a good way of making a larger piece of fabric. I think they were all little sample packs; some were patterned, and some were solid colours.

I cut the shoe house shape, and the tree shapes from these patchwork squares. The roof and the tree trunks are from other scrap pieces. Then I appliquéd these pieces to the background; I used the sewing machine for this, and a little glue to stabilise the pieces while I stitched them. This is a raw edge appliqué, rather than a turned edge process. I added a few shapes to indicate windows, smoke from the chimney, and a door. Then I added some batting, a backing, minimal echo quilting, and bound it with some spare bias binding.

I was quite happy with the finished piece, and posted it to the contact for the little exhibition.

I have been to Orkney main island with my family for a holiday. We went there in 1994, and ’93, and we stayed on one of the smaller islands at that time. I really looked forward to going back. Mainland Orkney has changed quite a lot since then; there were lots of tourists and many visitors from cruise ships, and all the popular neolithic sites were very busy. But, I enjoyed our visit very much, and we visited many sites off the tourist trail. This copy from a gravestone in St Magnus cathedral reminded me that women are special, there were many more, but I loved this one – short and to the point.

I saw a wonderful tapestry in St Magnus cathedral, that was gifted by Norway to the people of Orkney, and presented by the King of Norway to the late Queen Elizabeth, in 1987, on the 850th anniversary of the foundation of St Magnus’ Cathedral. The tapestry is so beautiful, and my photo does not do it justice. The cathedral is a wonderful building.

Mason bear closeup
A wee escape into the Highlands for some knitting

A wee escape into the Highlands for some knitting

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If you’re reading this post, there’s a good chance you have at least one crafty friend group; whether yours meets up for felting, crocheting, summoning the Gods of Wool under the full moon (wait, that last one might be just me…) or a bit of everything, it’s good to get together with like-minded people and share an activity in joyful companionship.

This past weekend, I met up with 3 friends for some light travelling and knitting. We rented an AirBnB in the Highlands and departed on Thursday for 3 days of crafting and castle-visiting fun.

Our first stop was Glamis Castle. This is a castle dating back to 1372, with rather lovely gardens. Sadly we’re not allowed to take pictures inside due to it still being the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne’s residence, so I shall only be able to regale you a few whimsical images of the outdoors.

First, witches!

The 3 Macbeth witches, weathered wood sculpture
Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble

The back of one of Macbeth's witches wood sculpture

I was mesmerised by these sculptures, the weathering and liveliness of the faces, the texture… Surely this could inspire a felted artwork?

I’m terrible at taking photos of the “big picture” but love details. Here are a couple.

This needs to be a yarn colourway…
Buzz buzz
What a lovely concept.

The following day we went to Crathes Castle, this one in the capable hands of the National Trust for Scotland. Again, marvellous gardens, and this time I was allowed to photograph the inside, but if you know me, you won’t be surprised I forgot to… apart from one little detail that I’ll show below.

Is this a thistle? Regardless, it’s gorgeous!
Well. There’s really no need to comment on this plant, is there?…
Facing the wrong side…
What a marvellous fuzzy plant. It almost seems made up…
I really want to know how a tree is crowned champion. Also, this is the best tree because it’s Portuguese (and guess half my nationality!)

I think my captions really er, capture my thoughts on these images (hover with your mouse to read them!), but I do need to point out my outrage when I saw that the spinning wheel was facing the wrong side. WHY do I see this all the time in exhibits? Yes, I had to tell the people responsible. Yes, if I lived near I’d go back in a few week’s time and check up on the status of this scandalous situation. Yes, I am aware most people wouldn’t care.

Finally, you’ll be delighted to know I do have knitting photos to share!

I went to the Highlands full of hope and with a sense of endless time, and of course was perfectly convinced I’d knit and finish all three of the projects I took with me. The truth is, I hyper fixated on just one and that’s what I have to show you.

Meet Mason Bear.

Half-finished knitted bear

This is an adorable knitted bear pattern that I’ve made a few times already, and until recently never kept one. That’s been corrected, but this guy was meant for a friend who is going through some challenges and I thought could use a pick-me-up.
Although the pattern is meant to be knit flat, a few simple adjustments make it perfect for knitting in the round, and this means you can purl a lot less and stuff him as you go along. Very convenient, if slightly menacing-sounding.

Now renamed Timothy, this bear took a brave bus ride during the busy Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and is now living his best life in a place where he will be loved.

Tell me about your retreats! How many have you taken part in? Are they “official” or are they just with friends?

Purple and Gold Nuno Felted Scarf
New Online Class!

New Online Class!

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Do you want to learn about nuno felting, adding fabric to your wool to create a wonderful piece of textured cloth? My new online class is an affordable and easy way to learn about nuno felting. Registration begins tomorrow (August 10, 2026) and the first session will begin August 21, 2026. Click here to find more information.

Nuno Felted Scarf with Prefelt Leaves

You will learn the basics of nuno felting, creating samples first and then working into scarves and a nuno felted “painting”. The course has four weeks of PDF and video instruction and two weeks of further instructor interaction. You don’t need to be present at any specific time over the six week course.

Manipulated silk roses nuno felted to background

You will also learn other ways to use fabric and paper in your wet felting. There is even a bonus PDF with dyeing information and resources so that you can dye your own fabric to create beautiful nuno felted pieces. Click on the link below to register and read all about the class.

Nuno Felting – Fiber + Fabric

Other online classes available:

3D Multi-Part Resist

Hanging Felted Spiral

The finished pod

Wet Felting a 3D Pod

Wet Felting for Beginners

Small Spiral Attempt 2

Small Spiral Attempt 2

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After the last less than successful attempt at making a small spiral, I thought I would try some prefelt. Here is the link to the last attempt. Small spiral fail

I have 2 kinds of prefelt. One is thin and almost transparent. The other is thick, and you can peel it into two layers if you want to.

I cut 3 circles from both types of prefelt. I also cut holes in the centres and a slit. You can really see the difference in thickness in this picture of the circles stacked together.

The green is very thin, so I just overlapped the ends of each circle and gave it a few jabs with my felting needle to hold it in place

The white is quite thick, so I split the ends, then cut one side off. I then overlapped the ends and needled them a little so they would stay in place.

I wet them and inserted the resists between the layers.

Then I tubbed them both for 5 min on each side.

5 min on each side seemed to be enough. They were stuck together and feeling more solid. They had shrunk a tiny bit.

I gently rolled them in my hands so they would full. I kept checking them. I didn’t want to turn them into felt balls or snakes.

They both had good shrinkage. I was worried about the hole in the centre getting too big, but they stayed about the same ratio to the outside circle.

 

They both turned out quite well.

 

I let them dry flat, and they hang about the same dry as wet. If I weighted them, they would stretch longer, but I like them like this.

My plan had been to add them to a beaded stick keychain like the ones with the sheep.

When I tried to add them to a beeded stick, they wanted to stick in between the beads, making it hard to get a nice spiral. I may try them without the beads, but I am wondering if I got some of just the keychain end part; they might just hang free with maybe a curly lock on the end.