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Month: December 2011

Looking Back on 2011

Looking Back on 2011

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Looking back on what I’ve done in 2011, I was surprised to find it was a lot more than I originally thought. I have a hard time felting when it’s warm, I can’t bear to get too hot and the wool always seems extra staticy, so I only really felt for half the year. At the beginning of the year I finished making a series of lampshade covers from felt and fabric. I really enjoy making felt for book-covers and coasters and made quite a few of these. A lot of the felting I did this year was just samples. I treated myself to a whole load of ‘other’ felting fibres from World of Wool, things like plastic fibre, Milk protein fibre, Ingeo, Flax, and different nylon fibres. I also gave myself a refresher course in nuno felting and discovered that pink isn’t that bad, really. I ended up making quite a few things from felt that I had in my ‘spare felt’ box, like book-covers, purses, coasters, glasses cases and bookmarks, which was fun.

I wrote a few more tutorials this year: How to make a zipper purse from felt; Using the textured felt method to make a bag; How to degum silk; Direct Dyeing and How to make a website banner using Photoshop. While I was looking for a button for one of my textured felt bags, I came across some old Fimo buttons I’d made a few years ago and realised that having a good stash of original buttons would be great. It seems a waste to put the oven on for just a few buttons, so I ended up making a lot more than I’d planned to 🙂

Starting the Felting and Fiber Studio with Karen, Ruth and Ann was probably the last thing I expected to do this year. What started as a comment from Ruth about us all keeping in touch, quickly evolved into a website with lots of photos and information. We all worked really hard in a very short space of time adding the content to the site, which wasn’t easy as we soon realised there were limitations to how we can present photos, and a major feature of the site was changed on us as we’d almost finished, and we’d used that feature a lot. It’s been great to be part of a community though, especially since we got the forum up too and have been joined by so many great friendly and generous fibre enthusiasts 🙂

I think the thing I was most proud of this year was the felt scarf I made for my girlfriend. It was made from 18.5 micron merino with Milk protein fibre. It was the first full length, non nuno scarf I’d made and though it’s always a pleasure to make something for her because she genuinely loves what I make; I really wanted to make something special because she’s so supportive and makes it all worthwhile.

Merino and Milk felted scarf
A look back at the last year.

A look back at the last year.

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Well time to look back at the year and see what has happened. There was lots of felting  for sale and some teaching along with family, work, farm and farmers’ market. I decide early I wanted to make a nice nuno felt vest for myself. It doesn’t sound very hard thing to do but I never seem to make the time to make things for myself. It took a month to design the resist and find the time to do the felting and I ended up with a not very good-looking vest. As it turns out it was a good thing because it allowed me to become better friends with Linda as she helped me reshape it with her sewing skills. We went on to design jackets for ourselves this summer. I am still working on the jacket, hems on the sleeves and bottom and it needs some form of closure but I haven’t decided what yet.

I managed to try a couple of new shows to sell my work and expand my felting skills with the help from felting friends when we got together for our annual spring fun felting weekend.

One exiting thing that happened was being asked by Ruth to send some felt to her publisher to have its picture taken to be in her new book. So soon I will be able to say I’ve been published. Supporting Ruth while she wrote her book was a real pleasure and an eye opener as to what is involved in getting a book put together.

Starting the new blog and forum with friends from around the world has been fun and hectic as we decided to do this at the busiest time of the year. It really is amazing how the internet has made it possible meet like-minded people, make friends and take on projects with people you may never meet in person and otherwise wouldn’t have met at all. I feel very lucky indeed. Now I need to have a good long think about what I want to get done this coming year.

Happy New Year everyone,

Ann

Year End Reflections

Year End Reflections

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We thought it would be fun to look back on the past year and see what all we have each accomplished in terms of our fiber art. Many times, everyone has a big long list of what they want to felt or make. The list tends to get longer and longer and not everything gets completed. I personally have found if I write out what I’ve done in the past year and what I want to accomplish in the following year, I tend to get more checked off my list. So I’m starting out with what I have done in 2011. Then in January, we’ll write about our plans for 2012. We’d love to hear about your plans too. So leave us a comment or come over to the forum and let us know.

As the year winds down, I have been reflecting on what I have accomplished in the last year. At the first of the year I had decided my word for the year was “choose” and that I wanted to make decisions with intention. I actually did most of the things that I had planned on doing and then did several more “big” things that I had no idea I would choose to do. It was a pretty exciting year. Here’s my round-up of the fiber art related things that I completed in 2011.

  • The Design Focus Friday series of blog posts was completed. I really think that writing about design has helped me think about how to design a piece with a better focus on the principles and elements.
  • Continued exploration into surface design including making my own silk screens, screen printing with oatmeal, torn paper and water-soluble glue, gelatin printing, Eco printing with leaves and fabric painting.
  • I played with encaustic and even though I probably won’t do any more, it was fun.
  • The fabric book page swap came to an end and I fabricated my “tree” book.
  • I did attempt to get my work into another gallery in Missoula and sent entries to two fiber art competitions. None of my work was accepted but that’s OK, at least I tried.
  • Completed two rice paper and watercolor collages in my studio journal.
  • Dyed a variety of scarves and made tons of cat toys to sell in the store.
  • Completed Level I Hand Stitch at the Gail Harker Creative Studies Center.
  • Began Level II Hand and Machine Stitch with Gail which will continue until February 2013.
  • Carded half of a fleece of merino wool (still have the other half to finish).
  • Felted three bird houses for Felt United Day.
  • Felted a Möbius scarf for the “twisted” challenge.
  • Felted and direct dyed a bag for my husband’s new tablet.
  • Made a felt scrap bowl and Christmas tree ornaments with a step by step photo tutorial.
  • Mentored another artist in nuno felting.
  • Wrote the book ‘The Complete Photo Guide to Felting‘ which is being published by Creative Publishing International. This was 6 months out of the year of very hard work. I felted tons of samples and projects for the book but wasn’t able to show anyone any of it. The book is still in the editing process and I still have to work with the editor on making sure everything is in the right place and it says what I meant it to say. The publish date will be August 1, 2012. It will be so exciting to see it completed.
  • One of the most fun things I did this year was to get together with a group of three other felters from all over the world and develop our own virtual studio and forum. I have so enjoyed interacting with my felting friends in creating the website and I look forward to our work together over the coming year.

So, for me working a full-time job, that’s a pretty impressive list. The next time I ‘choose’ to write a book, I think I will have to quit my other job. Writing a book is a full-time job in itself. But there are no plans for another book at this point and the next year and a half, I will be concentrating on my Level II stitch class. I am going to be considering what my word for next year will be and what my other plans will be. Once I’ve decided, I’ll write another post to let you know. What are your plans for the coming year? I’d love to hear what you want to accomplish in the coming year.

Bamboo Leaves

Bamboo Leaves

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I was having a look round my garden last week to see if I could find things to felt with. One of the things I tried was dried bamboo leaves. I did a small sample with 3 leaves between 2 thin layers of 23 mic Merino, and was quite pleased with how it turned out. This morning, bored to tears by Christmas telly, I got my sewing machine out and did some simple stitching on the sample. I think it took longer to get the machine set up and put away than it did to sew, but it killed some time and I liked how it turned out 🙂

Felt Scrap Christmas Tree Ornaments

Felt Scrap Christmas Tree Ornaments

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These ornaments are made with the same technique that I used for the Felt Scrap Bowl Tutorial . This was much quicker though because these are only about 3″ x 6″. I had the scraps left over from a prior project and I didn’t change the shape of the scraps at all. I just placed them so they looked like branches. I did cut the trunk pieces out of left over brown felt.

I then sandwiched the scraps in two pieces of water-soluble stabilizer and free motion stitched with dark green thread.

Here’s one of the trees after the stabilizer was dissolved.

I was just going to glue the sequins on the trees as it would be faster. I tried one but the sequins were already falling off and I really didn’t like how it looked.

So I ended up sewing on the sequins with a bead to hold it in place.

I finished two trees. I did add a loop of ribbon to the top so they can be hung.  It was fairly quick for one of my “last-minute Christmas projects”. I always vow I won’t make anything this Christmas but I never seem to keep that promise.

Happy Holidays to everyone and thanks for stopping by!

Wet Felted Hat Class

Wet Felted Hat Class

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Wet Felted Hat Class

I taught a small hat class this last week-end. I had 3 great students all doing different style hats. Donna was making her first hat and wanted a winter hat with a folded up brim.

Dona laying out

Linda also a first time hat maker wanted an oversized pill-box hat in 2 pieces.

Linda Laying out

Jan who is on her 5th class and wanted a large turned up brim and a long tail to add curls and yarn embellishments to.

Jan Laying out

With patient rubbing

.
Jan rubbing with a little to much soap

And Rolling

Dona Rolling

Then fulling and shaping (sorry no picture)

Everyone ended up with the hat they wanted.

Jan's hat
Donna's hat
Linda's Hat

Linda will need to sew the top piece into her hat when it’s dry and Jan will add her embellishments to the tail. I will post a picture when she has it finished.

Curly Cobweb Felt

Curly Cobweb Felt

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I adore crimpy and curly locks. My favourite curly wools are Gotland, Wensleydale and Teeswater and I love the shiny fibres from Angora goats and soft fibres from Alpacas. Inspired by the Twists, Twirls and Spirals challenge (and my recent obsession with Egyptian cotton top), I pulled out some of my favourite fibres and made a couple of cobweb-type pieces of felt. The main fibre I used was Wensleydale, laying down rows of raw Wensleydale locks, adding some locks of raw mohair, and Suri and Huacaya Alpaca and adding a few wisps of cotton top between the two layers and on the top. There were a few tight crimpy curls of Bluefaced Leicester too.

Achieving that Wow Factor with Memorable Products that Buyers Want

Achieving that Wow Factor with Memorable Products that Buyers Want

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Sell when you can, you are not for all markets.

                                                                                    Shakespeare, As You Like It

Are you thinking of or already selling your fiber art? How do you know what products will sell? In the ever-increasing complexity of the market place, how can you figure out what buyers want? It is challenging to determine what will “fly off the shelves” and what will just sit there. Planning ahead and doing a bit of research will certainly improve your chances.

First think about your skills and if a particular style suits the way you work. Are your pieces more whimsical and comical or is your work more serene? What do you do best and how can those skills be developed into a product that sets you apart from the competition? Once you’ve determined the style of your products, you need to research what the buyer wants. You won’t be able to please everyone as some buyers will like your products and others won’t. However, if you find a niche and begin to understand the mind-set of your customers, you can establish a product line that meets their needs.

To begin your research, visit different craft fairs or online craft sites to see what others are selling and what customers are buying. You can also look for inspiration in fiber related magazines and periodicals. Another source for what types of items sell well is a gallery owner. Visit at a time when they are not busy or make an appointment. The point of this research is not to copy the designs or products that others are making but to see what is available and try to come up with a memorable element that will set your products apart from others. Don’t just look at what is selling well in the fiber arts but examine other media such as metalwork, jewelry or woodworking. Is there something that catches your eye in these other media that you might be able to apply to your fiber art?

Now think about what “benefits” your product will offer. For example, if you make felt hats, are the benefits that the hat is really soft against the skin and keeps your ears warm? Or perhaps you make wild and wacky hats that offer the benefit of being really fun to wear and make the buyer stand out in the crowd. The product needs to be made for the lowest possible cost but be perceived by the buyer as having the highest possible value. Always emphasize how the product will make the buyer feel and what value it will add to their life.

There are many different categories that you can think about when developing a line of products. Consider options such as home décor, garden and outdoor, clothing, accessories, toys or even pet related items. Products can be made for special occasions such as bridal and wedding, babies, graduations, housewarming gifts or holidays such as Christmas, Halloween or Valentine’s Day. One line that is often ignored is gifts for men and being the owner of a gallery, it is something I am always looking to find. Other ideas might be stationary or calendars, religious items or collectibles. Collectibles could cover such diverse topics as sports, music, dolls, miniatures or animals.

There is no right or wrong way to what products you develop, just what is right for you. If you develop a plan and continue to research and study the possibilities, your goals of having that ‘Wow’ factor in your products can be achieved. So start thinking about how to develop or improve on your product line. Next time, I’ll talk about making your product line cohesive and knowing when to diversify what you’re selling. Thanks for stopping by!

Egyptian Cotton

Egyptian Cotton

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One of my favourite fibres to use in felting recently is Egyptian Cotton. It smells, looks and feels gorgeous. Egyptian cotton top is soft and silky, but it has a short staple length. I realised when I was making some blends of wool and other fibres for a recent project, that for blending, cotton works well if it is fluffed up or carded first. The soft fluffy wisps of carded cotton reminded me of clouds and sea foam on waves, so I blended some of the cotton fibre with a few different blue shades of merino and made an abstract wet felted piece in sea and sky colours.

Egyptian cotton top and merino wool

 I have a nice wooden picture frame and cream photo mount that I think this would look good with. Have you tried cotton fibre? We’d love to hear about your experiences with cotton fibre, whether it be dyeing, spinning, felting, weaving or anything else. Post a link in the comments, or if you’ve joined our flickr group, add your photos there. Photos added to the Flickr group show up on the main page of the blog. Clicking on a picture in the flickr widget takes you to the owner’s photostream.

Guest Artist

Guest Artist

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Our first Guest Artist to be featured is Judith from North Yorkshire in England.
This is Nebula 1, one of Judith’s entries for the Twists, Twirls and Spirals Challenge.
It was wet felted with Merino wool and dyed silk throwster’s waste.

You can see more of Judith’s work on her flickr page

 

Felting 3, 2, 1

Q-3 Three types of fibre you can’t live without?

I can’t live without merino wool, it’s so fine and soft.
Then there’s silk, I just love its rustle its lustre and it takes dyes so well.
I also like bamboo, lustrous and soft.

Q-2 Two tools you use all the time?

The tools I use most are very simple; my fulling roller, made by my son-in-law from an old wooden rolling pin. I use it as a roller with bubble wrap or the bamboo blind for the rolling stage and as a finishing tool at the fulling stage.
My other favourite is the Tupperware star lid – of ‘Shepherdess’ fame. So useful at the rubbing stage, especially if hands have become dry and rough. Just goes to prove that expensive equipment is not a necessity.

Q-1 One fibre art technique you love the most?

It’s difficult to decide which technique I love most, but cobweb felt comes high on my list. I love the challenge of laying out the fibre very finely, resulting in such a delicate fabric. Perhaps it’s just that I’m a bit miserly and hate to waste my beautiful fibre, but I find I have to really try hard to lay it out more thickly for heavier projects! 😉 

Felt Hats

 

How did you get into fiber arts?

I’ve always been a ‘crafter’, whether it be sewing, knitting, lace making, batik, patchwork, quilting – this list is not exhaustive!
Some years ago, I saw some amazing felted ‘paintings’ in a local gallery, they were monochrome and mostly of sheep and our local Yorkshire Dales landscape. I decided I’d like to give it a try – although I was well aware that I wouldn’t be able to produce anything approaching the same standard.
The years went by and last Christmas my husband bought me a bag of wool fibre, a mixture of Merino and Corriedale and a couple of books and I was hooked!

Did you study art at college?

The only art study I’ve done are a couple of City and Guilds – Soft furnishing and Decorative Paint Techniques. I particularly enjoyed the design elements of these courses.

What do you like to do when you aren’t creating art?

When I’m not creating art, I like to walk in the Dales, play Bridge, cook, read, join friends for French conversation and spend time with my four small grandchildren. However, spending time with the grandchildren involves a lot of creative play, they just love grandma’s boxes of things to cut, stick, paint etc. The 3 year old tells me I’m just like ‘Mr Maker’ on TV, which I think is meant as a compliment! They also like to felt and the 4 and 5 year olds have made themselves a couple of splendid hats.

I sometimes wonder how I found the time to go to work, then I realise that when I was working I just didn’t have the time to do all the things I enjoy most.

Many thanks to Judith for taking the time to answer our questions and share her work and enthusiasm with us 🙂